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Winter 2016 (Dec-Feb)
Since having experienced Florida summers firsthand for the first time I've come to learn that my high tolerance levels for atmospheric heat comes with a number of caveats. Florida summer heat genuinely challenges that whole notion of my stoic heat tolerance & preferences as the heat here is not only intense but staic, as the surrounding air barely circulates at all, with the exception of an impending storm.
I've also again reassessed my degree of ''fault'' in situations where I've come close to becoming involved with vehicular accidents: I was more than willing to lay a significant part of the blame upon my own shoulders for my lack of defensive/cautionary riding, but I've since discovered that even with the added alertness and precautions taken on my part that I'm still often vulnerable to the mercies and whims of these haphazard & inconsiderate drivers on the major roadways.
June 20 - 23, 2016 (Monday-Thursday)
Returning from work on Tuesday (Jun. 21) I stopped into the post office to claim the inflatable kayak which had actually arrived the previous day and which I'd researched and soon-after ordered during my first set of ''off-work'' days at the beginning of this month in between the times I was able to manage some minor activity during the entire period which for the most part found me bedridden with a relentless and persistent migraine attack which had begun not long after my 3-hour phone conversation with my mother which I'd placed immediately after returning to the apartment on what was my final day of work for that week.
Included in the same delivery was a combo AM/FM/NOAA weather alert radio I'd also purchased, which I took to work with me on Wednesday (Jun. 22) to read-up on the setup & operation instructions and to begin programming it for use.
It was also during work on this date that I'd literally stumbled across a ''Florida Scarlet Snake'' -- (literally the first snake I'd observed since having returned to the Mainland U.S.) -- which met me right outside of a door I was exiting: the encounter reinforced in my mind the ''need'' to carry my camera pouch with me at all times, as this encounter limited me to having to resort to the sub-par camera/video functions on the cellphone.
After work on Thursday (Jun. 23) I decided to stop into ''Staples'' to have the final set of poster prints made, and upon hearing a radically lower price quoted to me for five (5) color prints of various sizes than what I'd originally paid for just the pair I'd ordered back in April (Wed., 13) I inquired about the discrepancy, and upon returning to the apartment and retrieving the original order receipt I discovered that I had actually been charged with having six (6) prints made instead of the original pair.
Unmentioned Highlights from Previous Quarter...
''Week in Review''
June 24 - 26, 2016 (Friday-Sunday)
Was treated to a number photographic opportunity surprises while back at work throughout my Friday shift (Jun. 24). First, I discovered that the Scarlet Snake I'd first encountered during my previous workshift was still roughly in the same specific area as before: this time around I was toting my regular camera with me, so I was able to record some clean & clear images of the animal. I would also be bestowed with a number of additional interesting encounters throughout the remainder of my workshift, including coming across a large turtle in the road (no certainty to the identity as of yet) and the finding of what I'd suspected of being an owl feather but clearly (in my view) having belonged to some sort of bird of prey and not any of the marine birds common to the area.
When I went to pick up my poster prints after work it was determined that the original handler of my first project had misinformed me when she stated that the heavier plain ''quality stock'' paper I'd preferred to use was the same price as the ''glossy'' paper which I was apparently charged for; the ''six'' as listed on the original sales receipt was in reference to ''square footage'' and not ''quantity,'' as I'd originally surmised. In any event, I received a ''credit'' for the overcharge, which resulted in the latest project being declared ''pre-paid,'' and I also received a dollar and some change credited back to my card account: I would later decide on Sunday (Jun. 26) to consider sending the smaller set (8.5'' x 11'' pair) to my mother and have those images re-scanned to the larger 16'' x 20'' sizes as per my original intent, now that it had been revealed that I'd been improperly overcharged when I'd initially had prints made in that size.
''Weekend in Review''
July 4 - 7, 2016 (Monday-Thursday)
Stopped into ''Staples'' again on Tuesday (Jul. 5) on another return from work trip, this time to pick-up the 18'' x 20'' enlargements I'd requested to made of the pair that I'd originally had done in 8.5'' x 11'' late last month (Thu., Jun. 23), on the strength of the ''corrected'' information that I'd initially been overcharged for the very first order I'd placed, and so with that updated ''accurate'' knowledge I wanted to fulfill my original intention of having those smaller prints done in the larger sizes. This latest order had actually been placed the prior week (Tue., Jun. 28), again immediately after I'd gotten off from work, but yet again, after I'd made repeated inquiries in regard to which paper stock and which prices would be reflected on this latest order (in order to make sure that I'd be receiving the identical product & service), I was informed by the person behind the counter on this occasion (not the same as the previous encounter, and whom in this latest instance I was almost certain was the same woman who had handled my very first order when I'd been quoted the supposedly ''incorrect'' price) that what had been told to me by the previous clerk was the ''incorrect'' price had indeed been the ''correct'' price all along, but due to the discrepancies & conflict of information she agreed to ''honor'' the price from the earlier print job (to which I'd insisted that she make a notation on the receipt I'd produced for comparison purposes to assure that I had ''written'' confirmation that statement). However, when I placed this latest order, the printing machine was down and repairs had been scheduled for that Friday (Jul. 1), but I'd waited until after work the next day following the machine repair (Sat. Jul. 2) to pick-up the completed order, only to be told that there was a record of the job having been done but the finished product was nowhere to be found, so the clerk (a different, third person) said he'd run the job again, and I again stated that I'd be back in a few days to claim the items. This brings us up to Tuesday, July 5, when I came back in for the items (allowing for the likelihood that they store was closed for the ''4th'' holiday), and again found the same situation as before, i.e. the work had ''claimed'' to have been done, but the finished product could not be found, so the job was run again by the clerk who had ''corrected'' my pricing information who again assured me that the prices he had quoted me had indeed been the correct ones, to which I helped supply additional validity when I explained to him what had happened with the woman who had insisted on the higher price and how the other clerk whom I'd interacted with over the weekend had given indication that seemed to support that the lower price was correct as well. So while the job was finally run-- after a few ''error'' glitches occurred when launching the program, which seemed to explain why no finished prints were ever found --I stayed on location in the shopping center to make a couple of planned purchases, and once the job was completed (about 10 or 15 minutes later) the clerk allowed me to part with the prints gratis, as compensation for all of the hassle of waiting and the confusion, so that the only expenses I had to shell out related to the poster prints were the pair of extra frames I'd purchased prior to leaving the shopping center.
Thursday night (Jul. 7) I decided to test-fill my kayak inside the apartment, which in retrospect turned out to be a good thing that I'd decided to delay trying to take it out on an actual test run, as the process did take a little time to learn how to do properly, which was made more difficult than needed to be thanks to the confusing instruction booklet.
''Week in Review''
July 14, 2016 (Thursday)
After the past couple of days' of delay, I finally decided to take the kayak out into the shallow ''orange rust'' colored waters of the ''James E. Grey Preserve,'' after having left the fully inflated unit set-up in the main room of the apartment in order to get a sense of how well it would hold its filled capacity over time. En route to the site I stopped by the post office to mail the original framed smaller poster prints of the images I'd recently had enlarged, along with the remaining bag of Kona coffee that had been part of my original first order.
I'd spent (remarkably) close to three hours paddling about in the general trail area, battling with the awkward handling of the propulsion using the ''standard'' methods, eventually adopting & semi-perfecting my own individual technique which I'd found to be both most effective and most comfortable. All-in-all, it was quite the learning & adapting experience for a very-first timer at the gig.
22:55, Eastern Daylight Time
July 25 - 28, 2016 (Monday-Thursday)
Stopped by ''Staples'' again after work on Monday (Jul. 25) to have them reprint one of my posters which I'd further damaged over the weekend in an attempt to ''iron out'' some noticeable and distracting wrinkling which I would learn upon retrieving the replacement item the following day (Tue., Jul. 26) had actually been attributed to the printing process itself and not due to humidity in the apartment as I'd initially suspected. After claiming the newly printed artwork, I stopped into a ''Dollar Tree'' to purchase a few items, where I made an impulse buy of several packets of vegetable garden starter seeds.
Spent all day sick inside on Wednesday (Jul. 27), mostly remaining in bed and doing little more than sleeping over the course of three days.
''Week in Review''
August 18, 2016 (Thursday)
Attended a ''mandatory'' employee meeting that was scheduled for this afternoon, which cut into what was supposed to have been my day off, but it's requirement to bring me back to Tampa at least gave me the time & opportunity to take a trip out to ''Adamo Drive'' to shop for a few items at the Asian supermarket there, which also served to further reinforce in my psyche just how ugly, stressful, and dangerous Tampa City is overall.
23:35, Eastern Daylight Time
August 19 - 20, 2016 (Friday-Sunday)
Nothing eventful or noteworthy until returning from work on Sunday (Aug. 21), when I doubled back on the highway (''East Lake Road'') after observing the body of an alligator, about two feet in length, lying partially in the road, apparently having very recently been run over by a car/truck while perceived to be attempting to cross the road, found roughly 1/10th of a mile from the East Lake Fire & Rescue Station #56 intersection -- a sighting which lent further support to what I'd perceived to have been the quick glance of an alligator floating in the middle of ''Tarpon Lake Canal'' on May 10, which had also been lent additional 'personally non-observed' support several weeks back when reading a newspaper article relating to the alligator attack that had occurred in Orlando at one of their theme parks, and in discussing other such attacks elsewhere in Florida mentioned one that had occurred in the town of ''Oldsmar,'' which is very near the aforementioned canal. I'd pulled up next to the dead animal in order to take a photograph of where it lie (very fortunately no other traffic was behind me during this period, as the body was well into the road): unfortunately, the entire top portions of its head & snout had been shorn off. After photo-documenting the moment, I pulled the animal's body from the roadway.
Also that same day, after weeks of debating the issue, I finally made the decision to order a book about Confederate seizures of Federal property & personnel prior to their bombardment of Fort Sumter which ignited the American Civil War -- having delayed for so long because of my discomfort of being faced with a $35 price tag while having great difficulty locating any other works which supported or otherwise examined or even acknowledged the claims of the publication. I'd also ordered a replacement oil filter for the motorcycle as part of the purchasing session.
''Weekend in Review''
August 29, 2016 (Monday)
Arrived at the jobsite over an hour late after getting lazy and trying to ''rest'' past both sounding alarms and falling back into slumber. Although it was still my mess-up, I had curiously been granted an applicable out when it appeared that there had been a disruption of the power grid at least along Rowan and Seven Springs Roads, which seemed to even affect my attempts to fill my gas tank, as I had to pull into three different fueling stations before finding one that worked properly.
At the end of my regular workshift I was approached by our site supervisor and asked if I could be persuaded to stay on and work through the next shift; I informed him that I'd be willing to do so if he would allow me to switch it out with my next scheduled shift as compensation, which he agreed to and later verified when he was able to confirm that someone would take over later on my behalf.
Just a quarter-hour before my ''pau hana'' time, a major squall hit the area and nearly soaked me to the bone: ironically, I'd explained to our supervisor that it was precisely because I had concerns about the impending tropical storm related weather patterns that were being forecast for the local areas which were being anticipated later in the evening and expected to continue for the remainder of the week that I was largely interested in making the workday switch.
19:55, Eastern Daylight Time
Winter 2011 (Dec-Feb) /
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''Lost-Summer'' 2012* (Jul-Aug) /
''Lost-Autumn'' 2012* (Sep-Nov) /
''Lost-Winter'' 2012* (Dec-Feb) /
''Lost-Spring'' 2013* (Mar-May) /
''Lost-Summer'' 2013* (Jun-Aug) /
''Lost-Autumn'' 2013* (Sep-Nov) /
''Lost-Winter'' 2013* (Dec-Feb) /
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Winter 2016 (Dec-Feb)
