Life here sucks big time. I want to write about two other incidents that happened to me in the last two days which are somewhat related to each other.
 
Having no life to speak of and very little positive feedback that I am a "somebody", I decided to strip the floor of my office. Mind you, it is really little more than a closet, but it is my space.
 
So, after cleaning out all the moveable stuff: printer, collator, stripper/folder, desk, drawer file cabinet, etc., I started laying down the floor stripper.
 
I started off mixing it about five parts water to one part stripper. I let it sit on the floor for twenty minutes, and then started scrubbing the floor with the electric machine.
 
But no wax came up.
 
So I vacuumed up the liquid and tried again - and then again. Two hours later and there is no improvement in the 10’ X 6’ part of my office. I then lay down a fresh batch mixed one-to-one, and, after letting that sit, I pour a healthy glob of the full-strength stripper on the area. I run the stripper machine, produce lots of noxious fumes, but alas, no wax comes up.
 
This is about 3:00 PM Saturday and I am feeling really sick by now. Think enclosed space, ammonia-based product, vacuuming up fluid, pumping in more fumes; you get the picture?
 
Well, I get back to the dorm at 3:25 PM and rush to rinse off before they lock us in for the daily 4:00 PM count. The lock-in usually occurs around 3:30 PM, so taking the fastest shower possible, my skin stops itching.
 
However, my gastrointestinal tract begins to let me know that it is not a happy camper. Well, having to share a cell and having the runs is not a winning combination.
 
Suffice it to say, by 7:00 AM Sunday morning I was in dire need of a toilet. Our cell doors are open at 6:00 AM, but by 7:00 AM my cellie still had no signs of getting up. So I call his name twice and tell him that I need to use the toilet. He gets up, pouts, and tells me that his official position is, if he is asleep and I have to go, so be it; don’t wake him.
 
Well, I don't know about you, but sharing my case of the runs when it is not absolutely necessary sort of turns my stomach. And if he somehow gets his jollies that way, I certainly do not want to be a part of his enjoyment.
 
So, you asked for it, you got it. Life here sucks big time and the small glimmer of hope that it would be over in three more years went almost totally out today, so yeah, I am pissed off to the gills.
 
Oh, the other thing was, I asked one of the staff in our Safety department if I did indeed have the right solvent. He said yes, I did. I told him that it did not seem to work at all. He said, yeah, he had heard that it smelled powerful but did not do much good. Yet he was still giving it out. That is a safe procedure!
 
Enough venting for now.
 
  ¶ 12:27 AM