One of those sins my Wifey mentioned

We used to go to Goth clubs with our friends in San Diego.
Wifey mentioned in her blog a picture or two all Gothed up and heading out for club.

Here's the first one I've found, combing through our picture archives.


Really as much Rockabilly as Goth, but by San Antonio's standards, it probably sufficiently deviant to raise eyebrows (for the record, I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of a white corset beneath that little black dress).

Now piss off, you closet deviants!
:)

Still job-hunting

I didn't get the grievance investigator job at Connally (that's the prison, for those of you just wandering by). On the other hand, my interview with SA Police Dept went really well. I sincerely hope I get the Management Analyst job with them. It seemed like a great group of guys in the department, and interesting work.

The prison/CO work has been business as usual. Threats, Uses of Force, and lots of Offenders (I've officially gotten onboard with calling them offenders, rather than inmates, convicts, or thieves; after all they ARE offensive). I won't bore you all with the details of the violence. I'm fairly sure all 7 of my readers are Americans and as any POS UN rep could tell you, we Americans are self-important barbarians completely desensitized by violence.

:)

I WILL however, share one gruesome image with you: One of the psych patient offenders off the high security pod I generally work, recently jammed the small end (small being a relative statement) of a state-issued plastic spoon up his urethra. Why? Because the voices told him to.

Cliche? Yep.
Disturbing? Certainly.
Outlandish? Not where I spend half my time.

Tired of the DRAMA

This job (corrections) has WAY too much drama for the level of pay.

This past cycle (4 days of work) I had to write a bunch of cases (offense reports, think tickets/citations for offenders) which I don't normally do. It's not that I don't write cases, I simply prefer to resolve minor issues informally. That said, these were security issues, and needed paperwork. I won't bore you with the details, but I caught two offenders in the wrong cells, as well as lying to me, and going out for recreation when they were on restriction.
Hmm...I didn't actually spare you too many details, did I?
Anyway.
When I realized they were up to no good (shocking the think that felons in a max security prison might have difficulties following rules) I plopped them each in a holding area, I then enlisted the help of a coworker and went to search/shake-down the cells in question.

We turned up a veritable grocery list of offender contraband: tattooing kits, homemade speakers and multi-plug outlet adapters (yes, some of these guys are quite resourceful), altered clock/radios, etc. We also found unmarked stamps. Now, the offenders are supposed to write their TDCJ number on each stamp, to prevent the stamps from being used as money/trade/extortion fodder. As it was, the stamps were confiscated and I wrote a confiscation sheet for them.

The owner of the stamps went ballistic when he noticed them missing and made a threat against me while being returned to his cell.

Now that's a serious issue.

All of the other offenses were medium and minor level, but threatening an officer? That's a level one offense, right up there with escape attempts and armed assaults.

So now, over 3 stamps, this offender is facing a charge that will potentially change his security status, line status (time earning quality that helps them get out sooner), even extra time.

Over 3 stamps.

3 stamps.

3.

stamps.

(sigh)
I really need a new job.

I have some other anecdotes, but the kidlet and I need to get on with our day.


B.

Back on-shift tomorrow

Hurray!
A happy return to dangerous felons and curious (at best) backwoods folk.

I'd say that I'll keep everyone apprised of my goings-on at the prison, but given my track record for regular posts, that might seem disingenuous.

So instead allow me to regale you with a few recent tidbits.

Two shifts ago I/we found 2 tattoo guns (cleverly disguised within electric shavers I don't feel they need) along with 13 cigarettes rolled in Free World papers and using fresh, Free World tobacco. This was my 5th find of tattoo paraphernalia.

I get harassed by offenders because I actually do my cell searches. On the other hand, I get called "offender friendly" by some of my co-workers because I rarely yell at the offenders.

Prison food: one of many reasons to keep one's nose clean in Texas.

And finally, a handful of shifts past (yes, we already know I'm a slacker with Blog entries) I spent the better part of my 12 hour shift listening to a pair of co-workers earnestly debate which public world figure would reveal himself to be the antichrist.

Contain your envy.

v/r,
B.

Under Pressure

Hello again my devoted readership...all 4 of you.

Life has been just a series of pratfalls, minor misfortunes and major set-backs of late.

But that's just part of the game, right?

Anyway, I'm still searching for reasonable work in San Antonio. I'm looking to change up my job at the prison as a stopgap measure, but ultimately I really need to find something more local, and modestly more lucrative, if we are going to continue paying our bills.

I'd regale you all with job-hunting tales but they would be far to somber.
Instead, here's a picture of the fruit salad my daughter whipped up for me a few days ago.
There, much more uplifting. Not to mention tasty.

B.