Vents and Strings

So I've managed to get myself into playing guitar at church, which only serves to add to my instrumental repertoire (to date, I've played piano, bass, and drums at church and now guitar). But all was not clear sailing yesterday as I had finally swapped the B & E strings on the guitar to new strings that are the correct pitch. You see, I managed to bust the E string while going to town on it during one of the songs.

Undaunted, I retuned the instrument and went after church to get new, heavier strings so I could continue rocking and not worry about breaking anything. During the subsequent rehearsal, I broke yet another string (that actually unwound on me), so I was determined to change all of the strings to these new ones I'd gotten.

So, although dead tired after being up for nearly 24 hours by that point, I removed the old strings and set myself to stringing the new ones and getting myself a preliminary tune. Much to my surprise however, the bridge, which has a hole for a whammy bar and moves, started pulling up off the instrument and sitting at an angle as I tried to tune it. None of the strings would tune as they continued to pull up on the bridge every time I cranked them to raise them into tune.

Well, being that I was, as I said, dead tired, I left it in that angled position and went to bed, figuring I'd just look up the info today. And look it up I did.

Turns out this guitar has something called a floating bridge that is kept in check by spring tension. When you change the strings to those of a heavier gauge than the factory strings, the bridge doesn't have the tension to support the extra "weight" the strings require to stay in tune. Is there a solution? Of course there is. You can adjust the tension on the strings, and if that doesn't work, you can get an extra spring for it to create the additional tension required.

After getting some help from the Queen who is at home, I found the model number to be RG150, which is a basic model of the RG series on Ibanez guitars. Checked online and these springs are actually pretty standard and run around $7 for a pack of three. What's that? Why don't I just get the lighter strings? Did I mention I busted two of those lighter tension strings? Perhaps when I get better at playing I can move back to the lighter strings, but for now, Mr. Heavy Hands will try to go with the heavier strings.

Of course, one might bring up whether I should spend $7 on the springs or $4 for the lighter strings, but to this I must remind the viewer that I've already spent $8 on strings since I quickly busted one of the new ones. I still have the other five, of course, and I'll just let Rock Girl have them since I've found the lighter ones are what comes from the factory on most guitars. Ironically, however, there are four strings remaining in that batch and five strings remaining from the spares that came with hers. Can you guess which one I busted on hers? Yup, that high E. Mr. Heavy Hands strikes again.

But hey, when I know and can hit all the chords, it's a lot of fun. Gotta keep practicing.

What else is going on in my world? Well, given that I'm coming out of the weekend, I've been stuck at the world's largest retailer practically sequestered from my family thanks to the sleep hours involved. The amusing part is that although I've shopped there all my life, the more I work there, the less I like the business.

I mean, first and foremost, they've got to hire the laziest, most self-centered people in the world. Occasionally, you'll get someone willing to actually work, but a lot of them will take a narrow field of "this is what I do and nothing else," and if you're lucky, they'll do that one job. And this includes departments, since it's a department store. I think I've hit this before. As both a customer and associate, I've heard the phrase, "that's not my department." The only time I've ever uttered anywhere close to that phrase is when I've already tried to find whatever it is and flat can't, and I have to explain why all the trouble before I find someone who can really help.

A few things from just this last night that really brought out the laziness and egocentricity of the people there. Occasionally, people will park pallets having stuff from where I typically work in front of the door to the freezer making it impossible for the freezer people to get their stuff out without moving these pallets. So, me being the nice guy I am, I tell them straight out that I'll go ahead and move the pallets and remarks that the people who truck these around the store shouldn't set them there to begin with (because they really shouldn't).

So as I'm jacking one up to move it, this...person...who works in the freezer tells me that I need to get them out of their way because they're blocking the freezer. A) duh. I was already doing that. B) Guess what? They aren't in my way; they're in yours. I don't have to move squat since I can work with them where they are. You're the one who needs them moved; curse me for being such a nice guy.

The second thing that happened was during this wonderful little institution called a cart rally. Now, these events are the biggest instance of disorganization and chaos you ever did see. They say "all overnight associates," but in reality, it amounts to whoever feels like screwing their peers and not pulling their own weight outside in pushing these carts. Don't get me wrong; the principal behind the cart rally is as solid as a rock: push in the carts for the customers to use. Trouble is that if people don't want to go out, no one will give them any grief at all. Might as well be optional. Those of us who understand the impact of that action, however, go on out.

Now, while out at this cart rally, there are ways for these lazy people to look like they're doing work when they aren't. One such way involves the carts around perimeter of the lot. These parking lots are enormous, so carts that have drifted to the outskirts are a long way from the store and take a long time to get. Usually there are so few that only one person is really needed to get these. Only one.

Well, on this evening, I'd gotten several of the other carts on that side of the lot and was getting the last of the carts along the perimeter when this other guy walks over to a few spaces down, takes the last three carts and walks them back. I just shook my head and thought this was a pathetic way to get out of doing anything. I, incidentally, didn't see him pushing any other carts that evening.

Our final offender in this bout of laziness got everyone shaking their head. In the back is a large machine called a baler that is used to compress the cardboard boxes into this large cubes called "bales." Making a bale is a simple process that only takes a few minutes, but it's a little involved in doing it. There is also a mis-conceived notion that it takes some kind of strength to accomplish this, but the machine does all the work, so it's fairly non-intensive strength-wise as well.

Well, this call comes over the intercom, "Attention grocery associates: I need someone to grocery receiving to make a bale." I rolled my eyes. I know full well if I don't go back there, there is only one or two others that actually might. I show up, and sure enough, the only other guy there happened to walk up at that moment, and was willing. No one else showed up, not even the person who paged. Yup, they paged for someone to make a bale (which is understandable if they don't know how), but they didn't even stick around to help.

This goes back to the company's un-official (yet unfailingly practiced) motto: Somebody else will do it.

On the bright side over here, it's been so busy for me today that I haven't had any chance at all to be tired. I am busy in part because Optimus is on vacation this week taking care of that house thing, so I'm doing the work of both of us. It's a lot to handle for one person.