Defrosting the Mini Fridge

So today at work I dropped off my direct deposit sheet and then proceeded to collect and transport a stereo (no calls so we can have MUSIC!), two chairs and a small fridge loaded with ice. That was the tricky bit. We got help from a coworker who had a Toyota 4Runner and could actually fit the three big objects, then brought them down to the shop. After, she drove us to Staples for a desk and a few other bulky things. I spent part of the day trying to update a windows Vista laptop, which is harder than it sounds. Crashed it completely on the Java update. Had to pull the battery just to reboot. I'll figure it out in time.

Also did a conference call for the quarterly meeting, all 10 of us. Small companies are fun. There's still drama about the product getting here, but hopefully that will be resolved in coming weeks. I spent much of the afternoon assembling a desk from piece parts in the box. Rather labor intensive, but I wanted to do it right, too. If you screw up with particle board, it breaks and that's a bad joint, a weak spot. That's no good so I did it right. Nearly done, too. Unfortunately, there's some kind of guilt-dance-march thing today so we bailed at 5:00 sharp to avoid them ruining our commutes home. Ladies? Get a baseball bat and just say no to codependent relationships. You can do it!

This might be my next commuter.

I took a long hard glance at a Yamaha Zuma, what looks like a 125cc, at the local used motorcycle yard as I passed by. I wonder what they want for it? Does it still have rings? Will I have to buy tires? It would be a good commuter though. I'm going to be at my building with the tiny parking lot for at least a year, possibly more. Possibly the rest of my working life. And that would be okay. Its not a stressful job, not yet. The Zuma would be a good functional commuter vehicle on those many many dry California days. I'd drive the car when it rains, but we're 300 dry days a year, here. I wouldn't bother if its only 50cc, however. I need 125cc to climb Hughes Road. Its very steep. Cars struggle there. I could park it right outside my door, or even on the back porch, out of the way. The hair salon, Bang, is run by and older woman and two of her stylists are probably just barely 18-19 years old and live downstairs. I really like that there's businesses everywhere. The more of them, the better. This is real re-localization.

I setup the electric kettle and used it, finally. Oh, and Earl Grey this afternoon with lunch was divine. I love that tea. I think we need better water, however. Dunno if we're gonna do water deliveries or a filter setup. I'm okay with filters because I know they work. The stuff in the pipes is almost gritty with minerals, but the house is probably 110 years old and I think the pipes were probably installed around 40 years ago. The ones in the street are probably even older.

The folks I work with, the women are all mothers, many with 12 year olds. They're pretty stable people. Not fuzzy like I first thought. The best description is they're normal people with 1 (one) hippie interest. The general manager likes yoga. The owner is all about the world travel and promoting the product. Honestly I consider that very hard work. One woman likes environmental subjects. Another woman lives on San Juan Ridge, which is hippieland, but she drives an SUV and is locally raised so despite a few tattoos seems pretty normal for the area. Most of the folks who work there are locals so they are here for a living and accept the lower wages and short commute, being close to their kids in particular. I like scooters and want to ride one because they're both fun and good fuel economy. Fun. Remember that. They're fun. That may be harder when it rains or snows or someone in a big hurry doesn't see me and drives me off the road, but there's a lot of motorcycles and scooters in town and the more of them there are, the more visible they are. I saw a young lad on a red Vespa on my 8 minute commute home. Possibly this model:

I spent about 25 minutes before lunch defrosting the mini fridge we borrowed from uphill until we get a proper fridge in. We're planning three large fridges for product storage, actually. I wanted to defrost it because the little ones don't work right otherwise. That took lots of boiling water thrown from a coffee mug onto the ice block on the "freezer" portion, and eventually the use of a fork as an ice pick. This was the best way. Anyway, it's done. Boss is happy so I'm happy.

My boss/supervisor is very reasonable and I'm providing useful tips on logistics and getting stuff done without being asked, so that's taking strain off of her and building trust between us. So we're saving time and trouble every day and are ahead of schedule on our project of turning this house into a business space we can use for bottling and shipping our products, which are technically considered cosmetics or health supplements (non-FDA). So calling it perfume isn't wrong. I found out some of the oils are $2K/Liter so I better not spill them. Fun! So more office setup is ongoing, probably Friday and much of next week and hopefully we'll have product to put on those shelves very soon. We need electricity that can handle two fridges and a computer in one of the interior walls, and we're still expecting the bottling machine next week, which I'll be setting up and operating. That goes in the back room in a corner with good light. This is going to be fun. We're planning to setup a priority list with shipping at the top and bottling below that, and resupply/inventory control below that. These are things the current contractor in Colorado was doing badly and why I was hired for this job.

I get this right, I'm set and I can get serious about the scooter. I just wish the local Honda dealer sold the Wave 125 EFI. Its ideal for the area and my needs.

Its got large wheels to roll over the potholes and enough suspension to bounce through them, but is still light enough to get properly fuel efficient and practical. That's 80 mpg. I wonder what they'd charge to import and do the paperwork? I understand its pretty easy to fill out a few forms the state wants, and it sidesteps the whole carbon and safety nonsense. Something to investigate in coming months, after I get my motorcycle license.