Last night was a long one. We were not called out for work until after midnight because it took them (the guards) too long to clear their count of inmates for the unit. No one was missing; the guards were just moving slowly.
Once we finally got out to work, I was able to finish my assigned dorm in about fifteen minutes, less than my usual time. When I left the dorm to check in and go home, the boss for the night told me I needed to clean another dorm. Alright. I was ready to get back to my dorm, make some food, and maybe play a game of Power Grid if anyone else was in the mood. Not yet, though.It took about an hour to clean the next dorm: scrub the showers, wipe them down, scrub and rinse the floor, wipe the sinks. Again, I left the dorm and checked in to go back to my dorm. Nope. There's another dorm that needs to be cleaned, but "you have to wait here until I finish this count."
At 2:30 count was cleared and I went to clean the third dorm of the night, a record for me. Luckily, I had help and we knocked it out quickly. Finally, I can go back to my dorm to clean up and eat. I hope they get some more workers for shower crew because all that scrubbing is gross and tiring. I wish they would let us go back to our old schedule of one wing per night instead of doing the entire unit. All this on my "spring break", too.
Yesterday we didn't go to class because the roads were icy from some rain we had last night. Of course, I didn't get to experience any of the weather. I was hoping to go to class, too, so we could cover this strange Zoroastrianism. Oh well, I guess we'll cover it eventually anyway.
The newest guy in the dorm, Rabbit, found out that I had the necessities to make Power Grid, the board game, last week and has been excitedly anticipating its creation in the dorm. I haven't made it since I've been here because the effort involved last time was enormous and there hasn't been enough interest to make it worthwhile. (See "Work and Play, January 7, 2008, and "Work and Play", Part 2, January 11, 2008.)
Today I got a couple illustration boards from commissary for the board and pieces. Instead of tracing the enormous board like I did the last time, I just taped the copies of the board to the illustration board with pieces of deodorant label as tape. For the cards Opie and Rabbit drew crude drawings on manila folders and cut them out. The process took only a few hours.
I spent a few hours playing two games teaching them how to play and they stayed up all night playing with Ozzie while I was writing a letter and reading. I think it's a new hit. It's great to be playing board games again. And it takes a load off me for coming up with new story lines for D&D. As I write, the three guys are busily buying power plants, resources and cities. Awesome!
I finished making Power Grid last night. Finally, after more than a month (I think) of work, it's finished. I was going to do a play test today to refresh my memory but I was wakened for work. Like many other mornings it was a false alarm. Instead of playing the game I ate my oatmeal, cereal bar, and graham cracker and went back to sleep. Tomorrow is another day to play the game.
Yesterday's letter from C. really shook me up. Not too badly but enough to keep me up two nights in a row. So many guys have talked about their girlfriends or wives leaving them while they are in prison and C.'s thing with Diego was maybe the first sign that it could happen to me.
I don't mind C. dating other guys but I wish that she would tell me it's over between us first. I know that if I was at home right now we both wouldn't have to worry about it, but unfortunately that's not the case. As much as I miss her, I have not even sought magazines with lewd women in them ( though, if I am to be honest, the temptation is always there.) She has it much tougher than me because she has guys trying to pursue her, even if they know about me. I wish that I could make things right between us, but I'm powerless except through my letters. God is the only one who can release me from the bondage I'm in and the worry that plagues me.
Sometimes I wonder if C. is embarrassed by me being on probation or in prison. I think that if the situation were reversed I might be. I hope that it's not causing too much strain on her because she already has enough stress with school and extracurricular activities. Why do I have to be such a screw-up? I've ruined almost everything I've touched in the past five years, especially my own life. I'm working on my pride (though this environment certainly doesn't help in that area) but it won't go away. It's stuck on me like tar... sticky, oppressive, black ooze. When will I get the chance to prove that I am a good guy?
Lord, please raise me up to be your child, one who abides by your perfect will.
Today we went to hack up some new dirt. But before I get there I need to explain a project that I'm working on. My mom sent the Power Grid game components - all of them, including cash (play $, of course.) Most of the week I spent copying the cards and main board. I got Tony to help with the cards and Johnny was supposed to do the main board. We got carbon paper to do true copies of the original, not dumb-looking free-hand ones. Unfortunately, Johnny was daunted by the size and detail of the board so I have to do it myself. Looks like it will be a monster job.
Yesterday afternoon I spent two or three hours just prepping the boards: taping the carbon paper tightly, followed by photocopies of the board on top of the carbon paper. I was only able to finish 7 of the 42 cities before we had to go to sleep so I decided to marathon through the night knowing that there was a good possibility of working in the fields the next day. By 3:30 am I was dead on my feet so I finally hit the sack, leaving only 7 cities remaining to trace.
At the usual time - 6:30 am - we got the call for Two hoe to get ready. Reluctantly I got my clothes on and got my usual bowl (actually a cup) of oatmeal, thinking we would be going out in about 30 minutes, after count cleared in the dorm. Silvey had a sore throat and already had a play to get out of work: he dropped his ID off with some laundry buddies so he could say that he lost it. Brilliant!After I finished with my oatmeal I headed back to bed and dozed off again. I woke up to Silvey tapping my bunk."What time is it?!" I asked."Almost 8:30. You're about to be called out to work.""Man, I was expecting a break like we've had earlier this week. Oh, well..."The patch we were hitting was newly broken ground and had very large, very hard dirt clods that caused the hoe to merely bounce off, even if you hit it with force. We gave the ground at least eight passes and I helped lead the chant with "lean with it, rock with it" in alternating order with the guy in front of me. Not bad for only four hours of sleep.I was also called to the mailroom to pick up a package. After standing in line for 30 minutes I found out that the package was from Office Depot. Apparently they thought that an inmate needed a business card holder and a catalog. I needed or wanted neither. The business card holder was denied anyway and I gave away the catalog after briefly poring over the pens, pencils, and other office products. Maybe someone is interested in the 70 types of white paper available 24/7 online or by phone.
Today was the first day to work outside in almost a month. Mud was everywhere and we had nine new hands, so everything was tough and off-beat. I got to talk to with Waco, a friend from county, a bit. Hopefully he'll be moving over to C dorm with the rest of Two hoe.I got the Power Grid instructions and board today - in full color and with play money! I was stunned. I'm looking forward to sharing a great game with people.
Last night was a long one. We were not called out for work until after midnight because it took them (the guards) too long to clear their count of inmates for the unit. No one was missing; the guards were just moving slowly.
