yay! page 3! 
There’s this very woofy burly man checking out the HVAC in the building right now. He keeps coming in to ask questions, which believe it or not, I know the answers to. Would it be rude of me to drool on him?
Anybody miss me??? Hmmm?? Faaaaaaaaaaaaabulous OP, swampster! As good as anything ole whassisname used to do. What was it??? Lou or summit?
How appropriate! That’s exactly what I have been for the last two days. We’re talking “room is spinning, I’m gonna hurl” dizzy. And I didn’t do nuttin fun to get that way. So today I went to see the doc and it turns out I have “floaters” in my inner ear causing vertigo. I got a scrip, thank God, and have to do “Brandt-Daroff exercises” to get rid of the buggers. 
taxi, just so you know, POLC (poor old lady cat) has been languishing from kidney failure for…oh…at least two years. She’s on the kidney kibble, too, and although she’s also skinny, she’s in reasonably good health…well, except for the occasional constipation.
Appropriate “oos, ahhs, awws, sorries, greats, howdies, etc.” to all. I gotta go google them exercises before I take a nap. Ciao!
Tupug
Puggy sorry you got the dizzies. My mother has to do those exercises every couple years. She has recurring vertigo. It’s the only health problem she experiences, which is good, considering she’s almost 78 years old. Hope you’re all better soon.
I don’t understand why my posts are always the last one on the page!
Mr. SCl bought linoleum to replace the carpet in half the cat suite. (Half already has lino.) Carpet is just a pain in the butt to keep clean and the vacumn cleaner scares the cats. So out goes the carpet. I am hoping we don’t glue any cats to the floor. I may take them and lock them in the bedroom for the duration. I think we’ll start Sunday.
I still haven’t gone to PetsMart.
that calls for a **dogbutler ** cartoon
As one who has been under NSPS for half the year, I feel obligated to toss in my opinion, knowing what that’s worth.
First off, the raise for going from one payband to another *could be * as high as 20%, or a little as (I believe) 6% - it depends on the job.
Secondly, while I’ve been hearing the same speculation about no raises, ya gotta apply some logic here. Yeah, I know, gov’t and logic are often mutually exclusive. Still, as it is pay for performance, the powers that be know that the only way they’re going to keep their performers is to reward them monetarily. Most folks who aren’t happy with their pay will look elsewhere, and no business, including the gov’t, can afford to lose their good performers, especially over money.
As an example, I’ve got many years of experience and a very desirable security clearance. There are companies all around this area who are paying premiums for engineers who hold the clearances I do, so if I was a little less close to retirement and my command decided to go cheap, I’d be whoring myself to the contractor with the best premium.
On the other hand, the no-loads by rights don’t deserve an annual raise just because they still have a pulse - NSPS in theory will cull them out.
I’m not so naive as to think that there won’t be abuses, but I know my command seems to be taking it very seriously. We’ll see next month when the first pay pool payouts are done. But I’ve been working very hard on a suddenly high-profile project and I’m confident that my efforts will be rewarded.
Not that it matters - I can retire in just over 3 years, so I’ll stay no matter what. Maybe that has a little to do with my attitude. Still, management types have to know that if they jerk folks around by the paycheck, they’ll lose their best and be stuck with folks like me who are counting the days till retirement or are too lazy to care anyway.
Just my point of view.
I only got started reading this AM so have not quite read it all yet.
However I wanted to share that I had an awesome home made brownie for lunch that the dispatchers had made for me because they are worried about me and wanted to see me smile.
I love the people I work with and yet still hate my job
For those keeping track of my dinner plans, I have a turkey tit in the rotisserie. Not sure what the sides will be, but I’m pretty sure I can find some vegetable matter in the freezer. And maybe some rice??
how about butternut squash? my mom used to cut it into chunks, boil it to mashable consistancy, mash in, put it in a baking dish, sprinkle sharp cheddar on top, and bake til G, B, & D. That’d be yumful with roast birdtit
Yum! I make a squash casserole with beaten egg, cooked squash, milk, cheese and Ritz cracker crumbs on top. We’re having pepper steak and rice for supper.
I felt soooo much better today. I have been hanging around the recliner, whining, for the last three days. So I got all gussied up (ha! I put on deodorant and combed my hair) and took the aminals to the dog park. What a beautiful day! Everybody and their mama was there. Dad and I had a good time, and so did the puppies. They are currently sleeping it off.
I watched Million Dollar Baby this afternoon. A six-kleenex movie! If you haven’t seen it, you should.
I’m looking for my friend TwinStorms to show up in this thread. He found last week’s MMP. Say hi if y’all see him!
No squash in the house. But I did find a box of generic instant dressing - meh - and I’m thinking white corn and broccoli.
Too bad there’s no ice cream in the freezer.
Turkey boob ala mode! YUM!
Thanks for letting me know that. I want to be realistic about the whole thing and I know she may not live that long, but it is good to have some hope that she’s not going to keel over tomorrow. Thanks.
I just et a bowl of beef stew with some corn bread. YUM! Oh and I have ice cream. I didn’t eat it on the stew though. Beef stew ala mode somehow just does not sound right. The ice cream’s for later. Plus it’s spend the night night so I’m a happy bear!
I should make carrot ginger soup. I think. I think I need to bake tomorrow and cook some ground beef and a turkey breast.
Why do I have a Cuban five cent piece?
The turkey was yummerrific! And **FCD ** even liked the generic store-bought dressing (I don’t like any kind of dressing…) He’s doing dishes now, and in a little bit, I gotta pack for my trip.
So don’t worry if you don’t see me till Friday - I’ll be in Miami. On business. Woo and hoo.
I have no idea what we’re having for dinner tonight. It’s three days 'til payday and my wallet is dispensing tumbleweeds and arid breezes. I might have to get creative with unconventional ingredients. Yesterday we had something the wife introduced me to: Baked potatoes, butter, and a side of tuna salad, sans bread. (The potato skins are loaded with scoops of tuna instead.) It’s one of those things you consider odd until you’ve tried it. It’s quite nice, and cheap, too.
Have a good trip FCM. I’d say slurp down a few shots of Cuban coffee for me while you’re in Miamuh but I know you don’t do coffee. So, eat a Cuban sammich instead with a side of plantains. That’s goooooooooood eats!
Well, I made it to PetsMart, and on the way I hit Big Lots to the tune of $25 of stuff for road bags for Connor. Poptarts, breakfast bars, nuts, cheese & crackers, gummy bears - stuff for growing boys! 
While I was at PetsMart I ran into a lady I used to work with in feral cat rescue. She and her husband had spent $1200 and driven to North Carolina to buy a Cornish Rex kitten for their granddaughter. After six months, granddaughter’s mom decided the cat talked too much and threw it outside. 
The lady went and got the cat back, but it is a neutered male and her female cats will not tolerate a male cat. She asked me if I would take him. His name is Black Magic. He’s about a year and a half old. I came home and gingerly brought up the subject with Mr. SCL, expecting an immediate and firm “no”. I didn’t get a no. I got a “I’ll think about it”. So I may be a proud new mama! I’m so excited!
I just finished pulling the carpet out of the cat suite and am now about to clean the floor. After it dries overnight I’ll scrape the remaining adhesive off the floor and put down the linoleum. So I’ll have a shiny new floor in here tomorrow.
Pot roast for dinner - damnit I’m out of carrots and I’m too sweaty to go to the store. Anyone got any spare carrots? Just slip 'em through the hard drive.