Just a quick note - I may be mia for the next few days. I can feel the most awful cold coming down on me, and if it weren't for the fact that I have an event to work today, then I'd totally still be home in bed. Not sure if I'll feel up to logging onto my computer while I'm sick. We'll see.
This series feels like its gone on forever - perhaps because there are other things I want to talk about! But this is the part everyone's been waiting for (and by everyone, I mean me because I want to remember this in 20 years)!
You can begin reading this epic storyline here ....
My MIL came back up from the chickens at 3:30 AM, planning to get a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5 AM to meet the catch crew at 6 AM. She lay on the living room floor (so as to not wake up anyone else - and so she wouldn't oversleep), and at 3:44 AM set her alarm for 5 AM.
The catch crew arrived at 3:45 AM.
Making them simultaneously both hours late and several hours early. MIL jumped up, and rushed back down to the chickens to meet them.
The entire catch crew was Hispanic, and most didn't speak any English. They were upset with my MIL because the chickens weren't ready for them, and my MIL was upset for everything that had happened previously! But, knowing that the chickens weren't ready to leave for another 2-3 hours, she started very slowly prepping the houses and the chickens for the catch. The crew would just have to wait on her.
She finally finished up in house one, and left the catch crew to begin setting up, while she went and prepped house two. Once she was finished with that, she took her tools out to their Mule, passing one of the Hispanic men on his way to their van. She returned to house one to watch and help the crew. Shortly afterward, the Hispanic man she'd passed came up to her and asked, "Did you take our bags?"
She was startled. "No, I didn't take anything. I've been here working."
Apparently, while they were working on the farm (a good 30+ minutes from town) someone had snuck onto the farm, and stolen all the workers backpacks out of their van! Their backpacks which each contained: hundreds of dollars, iphones, driver's licenses, and green cards.
Work completely stopped. The men talked among themselves for a few moments, and then about 4-5 of them jumped in their van, and took off down the driveway as fast as they could - trying to catch up with the thief. As they reached the end of the driveway, they saw a large black truck take off down the road; they gave chase! Next thing we know - there's a van full of Hispanics in a high-speed chase after a Black Truck down country roads at 4:30 in the morning!
I don't know what would have happened if they had caught the truck. But once the truck turned onto a main road, the van turned around and came back to the farm; they probably didn't want to get caught without their licenses and green cards!
Meanwhile, my FIL heard all the commotion from up at the house, and got down there to catch the end of all this. He immediately called the police (who took about 45 minutes to get there). They arrived and took down everyone's names and interviewed everyone and got a complete listing of everything that was stolen.
After the police left, someone (I'm not sure who) got the idea to go take a closer look where they had seen the black truck sitting. When they went down there, they found all the backpacks in the pasture - everything was there except for one iphone. All the workers spread out through the pasture, combing the fields looking for that iphone. My MIL had the idea that maybe the phone had been in the thief's pocket, and he perhaps threw it out the window once he was in the truck. The searchers moved up the road a little, and they found the iphone!!
Needless to say, by the time the actual catch was over and the crew left, it was 9:00 AM. Both my MIL and FIL went back to the house, took quick showers, and went to bed for a few hours. John and I got up, and made lunch for everyone. We all ate lunch at 12:30 PM, and then John's Dad left for work. He had another 10 hours of work to go to.
While MIL got ready for the day (I think she should have gone back to bed!), John and I drove to a local mattress store and bought a mattress. Upon returning, MIL and John surprised me with a trip to Ikea - I had no idea that they were planning on going! I agreed, on the condition that we stop by my aunt's house on the way home. I had picked up gifts for my aunt's family the night before, and wanted to be able to deliver them. About that time I realized that all my phones (I have three!) were completely dead - and I didn't have my aunt's phone number.
Once we got to Ikea, I realized why they had been so insistent to go that day - even though I though my MIL needed to rest after the crazy Thanksgiving! She was completely intent on buying us a Poang chair for Christmas - and wanted us to pick out something that we liked.
By the time we left Ikea, it was 8:30 PM - meaning it would have been 9:30 PM before we could get to my aunt's house. Since I didn't have her phone number, I couldn't call to see if that was okay, and I thought that 9:30 PM was too late to stop by unannounced. So, we just drove straight home.
Just in time to almost hit a cow in the driveway! One of the cows had gotten out, and we spent the next 45 minutes running all over the farm at 10:00 PM trying to chase this cow back into the pasture.
So, that was Thanksgiving and all its drama. Certainly more interesting than any Thanksgiving I'd ever had previously!
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama ... Part Two
Last time I ended the story with us getting in the car and driving to the factory to hopefully find someone to help us save the chickens.
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama ... Part One
Now that we're a week out ... let's talk about Thanksgiving!!
Hmm. Perhaps some backstory is in order.
My in-laws own a chicken farm; they have two chicken houses that can each house between 25-30 thousand birds. (And since I've had more people ask lately - no, the birds are not in cages. They can wander where-ever they like inside the houses, which are each longer than a football field.) Basically, the birds that my in-laws raise go to the company that provides chicken for places like Zaxbys.
Well, my in-laws work super hard on the farm and on the chickens; the days leading up to getting the birds and the days leading up to getting rid of the birds are almost non-stop - full of crazy hours, hard work, and little sleep. They get paid by how much the birds weigh, so not only is it important for the birds to be alive and healthy, but they need to weigh a decent amount.
That being said, I didn't realize until I married the son of a chicken farmer just how hard it is to keep these birds alive. These birds are dumb. Really dumb. As in, you have to shuffle your feet along the ground when you walk through the house because they don't know enough to walk out of your way so that you step on them. Since my in-laws get the birds practically just out of the egg, they need to keep those birds at a very strict temperature - even a 5 degree difference can kill thousands of birds. They are always praying for the weather to cooperate whenever they have birds!
My inlaws latest batch of chickens were scheduled to be picked up on Thanksgiving evening at 8 pm. A "Catch Crew" would come out with all the trucks, catch the birds, and take them to the company plant. About 6-7 hours before the scheduled catch, my inlaws took the birds off their food and water; this is a requirement by the company so that the birds don't contaminate the factory. What this means is that they are now dependent on the catch crew showing up on time and doing their job; from here on out, the birds will just lose weight - and if they wait too long, the birds will start dying.
Because my inlaws were both working so hard prepping the chicken houses on Thanksgiving, my MIL put the meat in the oven (we had a standing rib roast instead of turkey - So much better!) and I did everything else. While they were working outside, I made the mashed potatoes, the corn on the cob, the zucchini, the veggie tray, and the biscuits. Right before the meal, my MIL came back up and helped me with the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal! And I'm not just saying that because I made most of it! ;o)
Anyway ... we were planning to go Black Friday shopping after the catch that night, so John and I took naps that afternoon, while my inlaws continued to work in the chicken houses.
Finally it was almost time. My FIL was down with the birds, while my MIL was with us in the house watching for the catch crew. 8 pm came and went. By 9 pm my in-laws were starting to get really frantic - in their almost 20 years of chicken farming, the catch crew had never been so late. The birds were starting to lose weight at an alarming pace, and would start dying soon. My MIL tried calling everyone she knew to call, but only got voicemails - it was Thanksgiving Night - who's going to answer their work phone?
After some quick, frantic discussion, we agreed on a course of action - a rather desperate thought, but the only one we could think of. We left out FIL in charge of the birds, and John, my MIL, and I hopped in the car, and at 9:30 that night we started the 30 minute drive to the plant. Maybe, just maybe, we'd find someone who could help us.
Before this gets too long - I'm going to break here. Part Two is Here!
Hmm. Perhaps some backstory is in order.
My in-laws own a chicken farm; they have two chicken houses that can each house between 25-30 thousand birds. (And since I've had more people ask lately - no, the birds are not in cages. They can wander where-ever they like inside the houses, which are each longer than a football field.) Basically, the birds that my in-laws raise go to the company that provides chicken for places like Zaxbys.
Well, my in-laws work super hard on the farm and on the chickens; the days leading up to getting the birds and the days leading up to getting rid of the birds are almost non-stop - full of crazy hours, hard work, and little sleep. They get paid by how much the birds weigh, so not only is it important for the birds to be alive and healthy, but they need to weigh a decent amount.
That being said, I didn't realize until I married the son of a chicken farmer just how hard it is to keep these birds alive. These birds are dumb. Really dumb. As in, you have to shuffle your feet along the ground when you walk through the house because they don't know enough to walk out of your way so that you step on them. Since my in-laws get the birds practically just out of the egg, they need to keep those birds at a very strict temperature - even a 5 degree difference can kill thousands of birds. They are always praying for the weather to cooperate whenever they have birds!
My inlaws latest batch of chickens were scheduled to be picked up on Thanksgiving evening at 8 pm. A "Catch Crew" would come out with all the trucks, catch the birds, and take them to the company plant. About 6-7 hours before the scheduled catch, my inlaws took the birds off their food and water; this is a requirement by the company so that the birds don't contaminate the factory. What this means is that they are now dependent on the catch crew showing up on time and doing their job; from here on out, the birds will just lose weight - and if they wait too long, the birds will start dying.
Because my inlaws were both working so hard prepping the chicken houses on Thanksgiving, my MIL put the meat in the oven (we had a standing rib roast instead of turkey - So much better!) and I did everything else. While they were working outside, I made the mashed potatoes, the corn on the cob, the zucchini, the veggie tray, and the biscuits. Right before the meal, my MIL came back up and helped me with the gravy and the cranberry sauce.
It was a wonderful Thanksgiving meal! And I'm not just saying that because I made most of it! ;o)
Anyway ... we were planning to go Black Friday shopping after the catch that night, so John and I took naps that afternoon, while my inlaws continued to work in the chicken houses.
Finally it was almost time. My FIL was down with the birds, while my MIL was with us in the house watching for the catch crew. 8 pm came and went. By 9 pm my in-laws were starting to get really frantic - in their almost 20 years of chicken farming, the catch crew had never been so late. The birds were starting to lose weight at an alarming pace, and would start dying soon. My MIL tried calling everyone she knew to call, but only got voicemails - it was Thanksgiving Night - who's going to answer their work phone?
After some quick, frantic discussion, we agreed on a course of action - a rather desperate thought, but the only one we could think of. We left out FIL in charge of the birds, and John, my MIL, and I hopped in the car, and at 9:30 that night we started the 30 minute drive to the plant. Maybe, just maybe, we'd find someone who could help us.
Before this gets too long - I'm going to break here. Part Two is Here!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Little Bits of Drama
Here are some small dramas that are happening right now.
My Work:
I'm in the middle of a company merger/consolidation. Thankfully I have a job afterwards, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm working with various committees to make sure everything transitions smoothly; which I honestly enjoy since I like knowing the details behind things. But that's not the drama.
The drama is that one side of the company (the one I'm on) backed out of a planned joint event at the last moment, and now the other side is offended. The people on my side are frustrated and annoyed because the other side keeps harping on it, while the people on the other side hasn't been directly told why my side backed out. I'm in the middle, attempting mediation. I managed to get our side calm enough to agree to address the issue calmly at the next meeting. Let's hope the other side can react in a similar fashion. This particular drama has been going on too long.
UPDATE: Another situation exactly like this has just landed on my desk. Argh! We haven't finished cleaning up the last one!
John's School:
Most of John's classmates are amazing. Very intelligent people from all over the world, who have also been kind enough to "adopt" me into their group. The fact that I make them cookies doesn't hurt!
But some of his classmates are causing trouble in the lectures. Some don't show up to lecture at all, even though there is a strict attendance policy (3 absences = failure). Others spend the lecture interrupting the professor with stupid questions. For instance, the professor explains a picture on the powerpoint. The student raises their hand and asks, "Can you explain that picture?" Not even exaggerating. That happened.
Those questions mean that the professor can't cover everything the professor needs to cover for the test. Those same students have been known to raise their hand and say, "Excuse me, professor, but class ends in 5 minutes. Can you just tell us what will be on the test?" AFTER they had spent the whole two hours interrupting with stupid questions so that the professor got behind.
John's Labs:
John is in his second lab rotation, and although he says it's a good lab, he doesn't think it's a good fit for him. We've been having an on/off discussion over the past few days about what he wants and expects out of a lab. For some reason, even though we were talking, we weren't communicating, and both of us were getting frustrated with the other one.
Thankfully, we finally had a breakthrough last night and were able to talk it out. We're good now.
On a completely different note, John and I decided that I need to try various types of tea. The only tea I've ever tried is the tea made in the south, and I do not like it at all. It tastes and feels like flavored water, and often leaves a bitter aftertaste.
I do like Chai tea, but can't drink that all the time due to how many calories are in it. (But if I could, I would. So good!)
So, probably starting soon I'll be trying various types of tea to decide if there is a tea out there I can drink. I wonder if there is a place nearby where I could get samples...
My Work:
I'm in the middle of a company merger/consolidation. Thankfully I have a job afterwards, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm working with various committees to make sure everything transitions smoothly; which I honestly enjoy since I like knowing the details behind things. But that's not the drama.
The drama is that one side of the company (the one I'm on) backed out of a planned joint event at the last moment, and now the other side is offended. The people on my side are frustrated and annoyed because the other side keeps harping on it, while the people on the other side hasn't been directly told why my side backed out. I'm in the middle, attempting mediation. I managed to get our side calm enough to agree to address the issue calmly at the next meeting. Let's hope the other side can react in a similar fashion. This particular drama has been going on too long.
UPDATE: Another situation exactly like this has just landed on my desk. Argh! We haven't finished cleaning up the last one!
John's School:
Most of John's classmates are amazing. Very intelligent people from all over the world, who have also been kind enough to "adopt" me into their group. The fact that I make them cookies doesn't hurt!
But some of his classmates are causing trouble in the lectures. Some don't show up to lecture at all, even though there is a strict attendance policy (3 absences = failure). Others spend the lecture interrupting the professor with stupid questions. For instance, the professor explains a picture on the powerpoint. The student raises their hand and asks, "Can you explain that picture?" Not even exaggerating. That happened.
 |
| This seems apt. |
Those questions mean that the professor can't cover everything the professor needs to cover for the test. Those same students have been known to raise their hand and say, "Excuse me, professor, but class ends in 5 minutes. Can you just tell us what will be on the test?" AFTER they had spent the whole two hours interrupting with stupid questions so that the professor got behind.
John's Labs:
John is in his second lab rotation, and although he says it's a good lab, he doesn't think it's a good fit for him. We've been having an on/off discussion over the past few days about what he wants and expects out of a lab. For some reason, even though we were talking, we weren't communicating, and both of us were getting frustrated with the other one.
Thankfully, we finally had a breakthrough last night and were able to talk it out. We're good now.
On a completely different note, John and I decided that I need to try various types of tea. The only tea I've ever tried is the tea made in the south, and I do not like it at all. It tastes and feels like flavored water, and often leaves a bitter aftertaste.
I do like Chai tea, but can't drink that all the time due to how many calories are in it. (But if I could, I would. So good!)
So, probably starting soon I'll be trying various types of tea to decide if there is a tea out there I can drink. I wonder if there is a place nearby where I could get samples...
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