Don't tell me that work doesn't treat me right, and Floyd, Floyd, Floyd...

Take a look at the photo seen here. Now don't tell me that work doesn't treat this kid right. Damn straight. I work 50+ hours a week for well over a year, and what do I get for my toil and trouble? A free horrible chicken lunch. Let me list what is wrong with the above picture. Sure, it looks delicious and tasty, but was it? Really, was it? Indeed, it was not.

1. The chicken was tasteless and dry.
2. The pasta salad was not cooked completely (the pasta, not al dente, just NOT DONE).
3. The bread, stale.
4. The cole slaw, too salty.
5. The string beans, well, I can't complain about those. They were actually pretty good.
6. Potatoes, not cooked semi raw.

Today was about an "employee celebration", or that's what the signs said coming into work yesterday. What we were celebrating, I'm not sure. Maybe loss of jobs to our Mexican sister plant, loss of overall work force, loss of productivity, loss of quality, loss of our Ford Motor Company certification, or maybe the loss of 2 of our plants in NC and SC. Yep, celebrations galore! Man, what a silly little thing to do, when before this you haven't even paid attention to the people working in the company at all, or even said, "Hey you're doing a good job out there." Or anything like that. Sure, it was a nice gesture, but that's about it. The folks I work with will forget all about this by the end of the day tomorrow, and remember how badly the company really treats their employees. But hey, a free lunch, everyone likes that. Don't they? Well, see my review above for the food. I should have gone to the sub shop for lunch instead, like I normally do during company lunches, or maybe I should have just skipped it altogether. Ah well. Nice thought and all, but it does fall a little bit short and all. I know some other folks in other companies around where I work who had some work lunches, and what did they get? Steak and lobster. Ah yeah, to work in a company like that. Ah well, it's a manufacturing plant, oh wait, so where those other companies I know of. What are you going to do. I guess it has been wearing on me, since the earliest that I've gotten home this week has been 7PM. That's a lot of hours, and I just picked up a new customer, and will probably be putting in 30 hours per week, just for that one customer I bet, mostly because they're needy. So much fun, I can barely stand it. I tend to bitch about work a lot don't I? Jeesh, someone should just tell me when I'm being a whiney puke like this. Call me out for crying out loud. Then again, this is my blog, I can write what I want. Can't I? Or maybe folks reading this tend to feel like I do about their jobs. Now, I know that there are folks out there who love their jobs, but I just can't seem to find anyone like that.

And now to the really disappointing news of the day. Yesterday, it was reported around the way that someone in the Tour de France tested positive for something during the race, and the rumor going around was that it was someone "big" someone in the top of the GC (General Classification). Then, there were reports that Floyd Landis had missed 2 post Tour criteriums, which lead folks to believe that he was the one that tested positive for something. There were rumblings around about it. Then today, Phonak released a statement saying that Landis was the one who tested positive for testosterone. The UCI had released the information to Landis and the team, and they went public about it to deflect speculation about who it was. This could be bad. Really bad. It is more than likely that his "B" sample will come out positive as well. Chances are then good that Landis will either be suspended by his team, or outright fired from his place on the team. And then his Tour de France title will be taken away from him, and given to #2 on the podium. And then Floyd Landis will spend the next 2 or more years trying to defend himself against the positive tests, which in the end will be held up by just about every sports court in the world. The odds are stacked against him incredibly, even if, and this is a big if, he didn't do it. I want to believe him, because his story made the race this year. Cracking spectacularly in one stage, only to rise and rage again the next day, it was an awesome sight to see, and of course now we have the questions of, "Hmm, I wonder how he did that?" Ah, Floyd, Floyd, Floyd... Not you too. Then again, back in the day when Tyler Hamilton got busted, I didn't want to believe that either, and now Hamilton is looking at a lifetime ban possibly if things are true about him about what is becoming uncovered over in Spain and Operacion Puerto. It's disappointing that the sport I love, is being torn limb from limb by these almost daily reports of doping and subsequent suspensions of riders from the sport. It stinks, it absolutely stinks to high heaven. I've always been a big fan of the game, but now, it's getting harder and harder to be psyched about a sport where almost everyday, there is bad news. To all the pro cyclists out there doping, and cheating to win; thanks you bunch of assholes for taking the sport I've loved since about 1986 and making me start to hate it. I hate feeling like this, but that's how it is. I hope that he's found "innocent" or that his "B" sample is clean, and that this whole thing goes away. I'll feel better tomorrow if it is, but time will tell.