Scotty J took a vac day, and Pad B's getting out pretty far ('cause we're running like 60's yields so the cullet silo's filling up and we're having to dump to pad), so Jay was out in the payloader all day putting a third level on the pad, which left me to haul cullet when the cold end bins red-lighted.
Which means that the dude who would normally do that was gone, and the other dude who would then do it was occupied because we're making sucky glass--more that we can melt back into the process--and our sucky-glass storage area is getting overfull and thus needs to be reorganized. So I got to drive the dump truck around for an hour or two, which was a welcome activity.
Later in the day there was a garbled page for all hot end personnel to high tail it to the tin bath. We were getting a narrow shot, which means a sudden decrease in the amount of molten glass flowing out onto the liquid tin. That's bad because you have these shafts sticking in to the tin bath with toothed wheels on the end that spin on the glass and pull it out to the right width and thickness as it floats on the tin. If you get a narrow shot, the glass can suck inside of those wheels, and if you lose one of them (they're called "top rolls"), that's baaad news. So everybody rushes over, throws on a headset, and runs to a machine (another name for "top rolls," which are actually technically called attenuators) to manually crank it in if needs be. I'd never been on a machine before, but there was no time for that. So I got on number 2 left, and held my face at the burning hot window, staring in at the the glowing tin and the glowing glass and the little turning glowing wheel. Sure enough, the glass started to suck in, and I started to lose it on the wheel (which is called graylining, 'cause the edge of the glass lifts up and the shadow under it looks gray). Everybody on the radio was freaking out, and I was cranking like a madman, but apparently you have to push in and then crank for it to engage, so it wasn't moving! Tom ran over and ripped it in barely in time, and once things settled down everybody talked about it and how freaked-out they were. I was very very glad I didn't lose the ribbon, even though I had a legitimate "excuse." Making an honest mistake and getting saved is way better than bombshelling the process and having a "good excuse."
And though it was hairy, I love those times when there's a real need and I'm helping with it. It's the best way to learn, and there's this amazing feeling of empowerment and.. I dunno what, that comes from being thrown in the "front lines" and having to do the right thing and having it matter. I can only faintly imagine what being in a war would be like, and how that would draw you together with your comrades and make you feel like a man. I'm happy with dump trucks and top rolls for now :-)
I got Chick-fil-A for lunch that day, which was good, and contributed to the interestingness of the day. I also enjoyed hanging out in the tin bath, looking at the furnace, and reporting on the furnace, all carried out with a degree of knowing-what-I-was-doingness. Which is the best.
I made a good dinner tonight, so I'll write about that too:
I sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil, wilted some kale down into it, and cooked it soft, steaming it part of the time with balsamic vinegar. Ate a bunch of that, plus I've got a bunch left for tomorrow.
I've become convicted of the place and utility of whole grains in my diet, so I baked two pre-made Pepperidge Farm rolls from the freezer, which were very good.
Lastly, I heated up a Dr.Pepper-basted hamburger patty from last night and fried up an egg to complete the meal.
Ahhh, skillets and really really sharp knives are wonderful!
I ate whilst being buffeted by John Piper. I downloaded all the NA sermons today, printed out song sheets for most of the new songs they did, bought the "Doing Things Right in Matters of the Heart" book, and bought a CD of hymns done by various Passion artists. Not quite my usual musical preference, but the resonation of those old and magnificent words in my soul is better than anything, and modern rock sounds can add a legitimate force and swell to those words and melodies.
I am
I hardly listen to music anymore,
I hardly do Facebook,
I haven't been to Akron in almost 2 months;
I haven't watched a movie in who knows how long;
I wake up at 6am on Saturday on my own (but still go back to sleep, don't worry :-) ).
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
When you're filled, you feel blessed.
When you're sitting there gnawed by hunger and dying of thirst, you're still blessed... but you actually feel like you're about to die, which isn't such a pleasant state to be in.
Such is the nature of a valley. No pain, no gain.
Real pain? Real pain? Sitting there hurting because things are wrong and they hurt??
Real gain.
Hate that deal?
No wonder! You were made for Heaven, not this place.
But God's hands are all around you. They're even holding the wrongness that causes your valley. He died for it all, and the great gaping depth of that payment lets you sit in a cocoon of favor and right standing that you'll grow more aware of as you make your way through this life. It pads you all around; it covers every angle; it hedges every path, past present and future. You'll grow to love that cocoon more and more as the years wash over you, and run to it quicker and quicker when the ground gives way to another valley.
So run to it now, with whatever you've got, and believe this:
As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
--Clear Ambassador
] Psalm 103:12 [
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