My world of music just got much better. For the first time since arriving at this unit, I am able to pick up the TCU radio station, KTCU 88.7. That was the first station I looked for on the dial when I got here and I was disappointed that I found static in its place. The TCU radio station was one of two stations I listened before my incarceration, the other being KERA, the local NPR station.
Shortly after I arrived here a new station came on the air that played indie artists that I'd heard of. KXT started out great, but has been playing more and more 70''s and 80s music, moving away from the new stuff that I wanted to hear. My friend, West, had repeatedly told me about brief periods of time where he picked up KTLV. This gave me hope. College radio was out there and I was going to tune in.
After stripping the cord to a broken pair of headphones and manipulating the coverage for about an hour to find the sweet spot, I was met with success. KTCU came in stereo and even with some static, it was worth the effort. College radio, in all its goofy,
eclectic glory, is mine to hear once again. That includes Fanboy Radio, a weekly talk show about comics, to indulge my nerdy soul. The only thing better would be making my own playlists. Hopefully that isn't too far away, either.
This afternoon Dawson, my coworker, was called out by a friend and told that he would be on chain the following morning. He will be going to a unit in Lockhart, the only place in Texas I know of where inmates are paid to work.
Really? Do they have any kind of screening in place? This guy took advantage of every perk in the library, dug through and rearranged nearly everything behind the desk, and made mistakes beyond counting. It seems to me that if a unit was going to hire inmates for pay they would at least find out how they worked elsewhere.
I'm glad for anyone who has the chance to make money for themselves. I just hope Dawson is able to pick up some work habits to take with him when he gets out.
Time once again for the unit-wide soccer tournament. The draft took place last week and my team is truly horrible. I was our captain's first pick, followed by one other actual soccer player. Everyone else West picked was completely inexperienced in the sport. I don't know if the field of players was really so bad or if West just didn't recognize available players. Either way, we were s_____d (rhymes with "dude").
Our first game today was ridiculous - a 4-0 stomping. Most of our inexperience w
as placed on defense. It was there that they displayed not only their inept soccer skills, but also their lack of fitness. If they weren't in our goalie's way they were miles away from the ball without any desire to get any closer. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but not by much.
My style of soccer is as a play-maker. I usually need someone who is able to finish the play I create. Often the opportunities take one or two touches to capitalize on for a goal. That didn't work at all, My ball control isn't rust-free so i couldn't weave the defense either, so we were just stuck.
After this loss, we have one more game to redeem ourselves and stay in the tournament. In order to win that one, we will need to find some unrecruited players and come up with a good game plan. Anything less and we're gone for good.
With the two new guys n the library and my release coming anytime this summer, I'm trying to take a step back form work and let the new guys take over. I figure that I can show them how to do the uncommon tasks, like adding or deleting books, when the opportunity arises. Just in case, I do leave before I'm able to teach them, II typed up a how-to manual for the library, complete with daily tasks and screenshots for walk-throughs of the trickier stuff.
Unfortunately, one of the new guys didn't wait to learn and completely ignored the walk-throughs when adding and deleting books yesterday. He seems to be in a massive hurry to get everything. As we all know - or quickly discover - mistakes pop up like weeds when you rush through something, even when the task is almost second nature. I've told this guy, Dawson, that most of our work is not time-sensitive, but it's like screaming at a submerged swimmer form above the waterline.
It took two hours for me to clean up the mess in our database and another hour to fix the tags on the books themselves. We probably could have done the entire process together in about an hour. That's the cost of impatience.
Yeah, this is a prison library where the workers don't apply for the positions and aren't paid anyway, but the lesson carries to the streets. The habits formed here will stay with him.
I hope Dawson can pull a 180 - or at least a modest 90 - because I don't want to see all my work wasted. I don't want these guys on the inside deprived of a decent library on top of every other thing missing in their lives. I hope the new guys will maintain the progress achieved over the past year and a half.
For the first time in a couple weeks I have coworkers, two of them. That makes this the most workers in the library since my first week. There's not much room behind our desk, so I've been sitting at one of the four tables in our tiny library. The fire code only allows fifteen people inside at a time. After my boss, my coworkers and myself, there is only room for eleven, technically. In reality, we pack twenty during our busy periods.
My main goal right now is to get these new guys trained. I'll be leaving soon and I don't want the library to fade into disrepair when I leave. For the past six months, I have done nearly all the work myself - my boss and coworkers have been pretty lazy. It's like that old maxim: if you want anything done right, you gotta do it yourself.
I think these two guys will be able to do my job just fine. The question is - do they want to? Will they care enough about providing something for the other guys to look forward to - a good library with good service? Time will tell.
I've been in a foul mood for the past couple of days. I'll be leaving sometime this summer and I want to leave the library in good hands so my work isn't wasted. Unfortunately, the guys that are there right now don't seem to want to work, just hang out instead. This has been added stress on top of the stress of going home soon and facing all the unknowns that will meet me there, including the challenges I'm not even aware of right now.
I went to the worship service tonight. On each fifth Saturday of the month - usually one out of every three months has one - a worship band from Midlothian or Red Oak comes to do an all-music service. When I was in the choir, this was the only time that I was able to actually worship and now it's the only service I attend. All the other services have messages that I can't really relate to.
During this service I was able to just sing and allow God's love and grace wash over me. Music has always been a powerful force in my life and tonight was no different. I feel buoyed after praising my Creator, knowing that He has it all covered.
After the service I went to one the volunteers to talk and pray. He was about five years older than me so I figured he would be able to relate at least a little, I shared my concerns for my uncertain future and worries about the library, and the guy gave me reassurance that it is normal to stress out and reminded me that God is ready for my trust. After our prayer and farewell I was in a much better mood. It sounds silly but I feel like a pulled 180 tonight out of my funk.
My cellie Freddy left on Monday and I now have a young guy from Weatherford here with me. He ha only been in prison for a couple of months and this is his first cell. Everywhere else has been like a warehouse full of bunks. The cell offers much more privacy and quiet than Jeremy has had before, so he has been staying in the ell all day long since Monday.Some other guys in the dorm have noticed him absent from the dayroom and rec.
"Do you have a cellie?" they joke.
Yes, I have one. Right now it annoys me that he is in the cell all the time - I don't get any privacy - but I definitely understand why he stays in.
I've already told him to enjoy it for a little while. If it goes on too long, I'll have to give him the same speech I received when I stayed in a cell reading all day: We share the space, but we each need some alone time to unwind.
Side note: The Principal has been fired for her mistake.
