Tuna half miles today. 2.82 mph. I hope I’ll be back up to distance and speed soon.
I’ve heard of “sleeping with the fishes” but I didn’t know walking with them was an option as well.
Hello. It was a very friendly day. Today was shot day. My knee kept buckling, but I got about four miles of walking in. I had a great time with a two-year-old on the bus who kept saying “Hi!” For some reason, every dog I came within 20 feet of strained at the leash toward me. Rubbing bacon behind my ears is really paying off! Watch for my new perfume, La Bacone D’Amour. Our spokesperson is Jon Hamm.
I went to the grocery store . There was a cop at the door with flashing lights on his shirt. Has anyone else seen this? I asked if I could come in, and the cop said yes. They were talking with a young woman, but they seemed like they were helping help her, not arresting her. After I checked out and was heading for the door, a voice behind me said, “You have a good day, ma’am.” It was the same cop. Huh.
At the deli counter, the worker asked the women in front of me, “You wanted the anti-pasta salad?” Right next to that bin was the "Deviled Egg Potato Salad." That clinches it: these are the end of days.
I like to tell people, “The New York Times called me a genius!” 
Oh, good! Now you don’t have to drive so far to get the good stuff!
Cookie, I’m with you on DFW, but I think my opinion is swayed by my 7-year-old self’s antipathy toward Dallas because JFK was shot there. When I was at SeaTac last December, I kept looking for grubbiness because I remembered your post about it. I didn’t see any. I was, however, unimpressed with the number of broken stalls in the restroom.
That makes more sense. Thanks! @swampbear, you can still be marauding pepperoni administrator, although I think in your case we should make that “ambassador.”
This is why I got a purple bag. Then other people had the same idea, so I had to tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old handle.
That’s a good description of my daughter when you she was a college freshman and I picked her up for Thanksgiving break. I drove her straight to urgent care. She had mono. I hope overlygirl doesn’t.
This would make a great first line for a novel.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave. Which departments will TVCTPMO target today? Tune in later today!
Up, uncaffeinated and disheveled. Stress dream. Second time this week. I’m not sure why - I’m not stressed in general. Maybe it’s a pendulum swing from not being stressed in real life? Or maybe I’m fooling myself? The worst part about it is that I can only remember bits and piece from the dream. Not what it was about, but a flash of someone I’m angry at that I shouldn’t be. I hate that.
Morning, mumpers! It’s currently 3c/37f with a predicted high of 4c/40f, and scattered showers. Weather app says “Do you know what’s worse than cold fucking rain? Chewing tin foil.”
I’ve had a very busy couple of days, and spent yesterday afternoon in back-to-back meetings plus dealing with a crisis from a friend who works here (does my job but in a different School and with different challenges) and had a massive argument with an academic. She ended up having to go home and work the rest of the day from there. Never anything but drama with that one…
Taters I’m sorry your work phone wouldn’t leave you alone - I don’t have a work phone and refuse to put anything work-related on my personal phone although I know other team members do that. I have an out-of-office message on my personal email and once I’m off, I’m off!
Moooom glad to hear you made it back to your own bed safely, I am not sure I’d have the patience with all those crowds and horrible airport stuff. I dislike crowds, and ignorant airline passengers really irritate me.
I have a light purple hardshell suitcase, mine’s easy to spot because it’s got loads of stickers on it. 'im indoors put a couple of stickers on his black Tripp case but sometimes it’s hard to spot them because the most obvious one (a Saltaire) is on the top and it’s often the wrong way round on the luggage carousel.
After yesterday’s busy day, I have a slightly quieter one today. I’ve got a meeting with one of my minions this morning, and I have a meeting with my boss this afternoon. Got yesterday’s dept meeting minutes to write up but I think I’ll save that for tomorrow. The joy…
We’ve been in this place, as I said, nearly 20 years, and there are a few boxes downstairs that still haven’t been unpacked. They’re woodworking magazines that FIL had collected and FCD took after one of their moves. He’s never looked at them. He refuses to let me recycle them… There are also a couple with framed photos that we have no room to hang and, honestly, I don’t even remember what they are. So I guess the answer would be no. 
It’s 5:10 am. I’ve been up since the alarm woke me at 4. FCD and Daughter are on their way. While they were gathering their stuff and loading the car, I cleaned my fridge - at least I cleaned the shelves and the drawers, taking them out one at a time. It’s an easy chore when the fridge is almost empty!! Needless to say, I need to grocery shop today. Then I need to meet Roxy at her bus at 4, go pick up Tobias, feed them, get them in bed, and turn them over to their father when he gets off work. Long day ahead.
While we were gone, SiriusXM changed their contract rules and I just got a bill from them that’s 3X what we were paying. When I’m more awake, I’ll be contacting them to work this idiocy out. No way it’s worth $35/month. FCD listens to maybe 8 or 9 stations and I don’t listen at all. He streams in his shop and his car. I had been paying around $10. I’ll do that, or I’ll cancel. (Yeah, like spousal unit will agree to that.) I would cancel completely if I could. But he really likes it, even if they play the same damned songs over and over again.
< deep cleansing breath >
OK, I’m good.
Happy Thursday!@
!
Up and happy I got Wordle in 2. Small victories.
To someday wake and not have drooled! Need to get a sheet made out of paper towels.
Supposed to reach 60 today.
It doesn’t take much to make me happy.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 36 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 66 and mostly N.O.S. for the day. I’ve been seein’ signs of the annual pine tree orgy for the past two days. Guess that will be in full swing soon. We shall head over to the church house wherein I will take care of various duties and then we shall be bears who brunch at Newk’s. No chance of OYKW havin’ to endure a verger yakyak session as the other verger won’t be there today. Beyond that the usual sloth, general overall uselessness, nappage, and day drinkin’ shall occur.
Pilot glad you didn’t need a second scrape.
Ummm… I know there’s other stuff to respond too, but the caffeine has yet to kick in.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, I suppose I must purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. Woe and bother!
Happy Thursday Y’all!
Mawnin’, mawnin’ everyone.
It’s 41 degrees Fahrenheit, dark and cloudy outside. Our expected high temperature is around 47 degrees Fahrenheit, with cloudy skies and occasional rain showers.
Work kept me extremely busy yesterday with many tasks, meetings, and communications. It felt like the day went on forever. I was so busy I didn’t even stop for a bio break. I did have to run down a couple of times for puppy distress; once, Maisie somehow got her back paw and “ankle” caught in the kennel door. I had to extricate her from that disaster (she was fine, albeit a bit shaken up), and of course, bio breaks for the pups.
Today, I have even more meetings and some training going on. Additionally, I must get up the hill to Bonney Lake to pick up some freshly roasted coffee beans. I was contemplating doing it this morning (it’s a half-hour drive), but the optimal time is right around the time I feed the pups and let them potty before I start work for the day. It’s a conundrum. If my husband was out of bed, I could easily do it.
Someone upthread asked what I do for a living. I am an Administrative Program Director. My title used to be Associate Executive Director, but we had a reorg and titles changed, although the duties didn’t change, except for growing in number. I manage everything administrative and operational, so I handle budget, planning, HR, fleet, leasing, procurement, policy, travel, training, etc. I have a matrix that lists well over 100 duties. Six people used to complete the work that the MPA and I currently perform. For two years, I was handling those duties alone. Fun times!
I miss pulling data, looking for trends, and developing process improvements. I don’t have enough time in the day to do that, nor do I have access to data that would allow me to do that. I used to create multi-year business plans for a multi-million dollar government hospital. It was taxing, and I wouldn’t say I liked the work atmosphere there, but I liked the work itself. The people, mistreatment, and misogyny are what caused me to find my current organization. I like the people here (mostly), but the processes are very jacked up, and so much more could be done more efficiently if they would invest in tools that allow me to perform my job the 21st-century way and not the hard way.
pilot, I’m glad you didn’t need a second scratch.
nellie, dogs know good people!
FCM, I too, have Sirius and need to cancel it. They are such assholes when you try to cancel, though. I haven’t used it in two years.
Okay, I need to get on with my day. You all take care!
Mornin’ all. About 90 minutes after sunrise. Partly cloudy and 63/17 on the way to mostly sunny and 75/24.
I’ve been up, showered but dressed in my sweats, not clothes, since well before sunrise. Got the last of the stuff in cardboard boxes stowed in the various drawers in my room. Will take the flattened boxes back to the storage unit when I’m out later today. That ought to be the very last of the schlepping other than maybe swapping in or out some clothing as I settle on what I want of what I own.
Currently enjoying my first cups of coffee at “home”. Mike as a Nespresso machine which I’d never encountered before. Seems OK. He’s a bit of a night owl, but also a sound sleeper. And his house is large enough that I can putter around in the kitchen with no more than ordinary attention to avoiding gratuitous slamming noises. So no stress. How refreshing.
Breakfast is next. I bought my breakfast fixin’s a couple days ago and want to eat at least some of them before I go on the cruise and the fruit becomes trash while I’m gone. Everything else lives in the fridge more or less indefinitely.
As to moving …
Between starting college and leaving USAF 12 years later I moved a crap-ton between semesters, summers and then in USAF all the temporary spots for just a couple months for this training or that. Plus my two actual duty stations when I wasn’t in training.
I was approaching the end of my USAF time when I married my late wife. After which she joined me in my house that I’d already owned for 3 years and we had 6 more years there. Then we had 7, 13, 1, and 7 years together in various residences. Then HL joined me at that last residence for another year, then ~18 months in our joint apartment and now I’m here for a few months before ??? happens next.
Starting from when I got married it was house, condo, house, rented house, condo, apartment, and now rented room. Quite the trajectory.
Good bet that 13 years in the lakefront McMansion will be my high water mark for both house size and duration. Even If settled in a new “permanent” place here tomorrow, 13 years from now I’ll be 78; good bet I’ll want to (or be forced to) move again sometime before then.
An hour later …
Got interrupted as Mike & his part-time stayover GF awoke and we yakked a bunch. How pleasant to just yak about mostly nothing with no uncomprehending irritation.
So gotta run now to make dentist appt. I’ll provide that oh so important feedback on everyone’s exciting days a bit later.
Cheers all. Happy Thorsday. Hammer forth!!
Morning all. Up and meditatin’. Took my walk without podcasts today, just me and my blessed earworm (a twofer! Lorde’s “Royals” and Weird Al’s Parody, “Foil.”) I alternated some light jogging with my walking. I felt kind of ridiculous jogging in my Holden Caulfield hat and sweatshirt coat, but ah well. It’s not exactly warm outside, but it’s heating up in a way that’s freaky for February. 38F today, 61F on Friday!!! Loving the weather, hating the implications. This used to be blizzard season.
As we speak I am skipping a 2.5 hour webinar I registered for six months ago. Hopefully it’s not too big a deal. I just am so tired of webinars.
Since I know I’m going to crash this afternoon, I want to plan an activity ahead of time to do with my son, so he doesn’t just default to exponents. He wants to use my calculator app more than any of this calculators because it has a higher capacity for displaying numbers. I would prefer for him to do something more engaging. Last night I busted out the tape measure but I had to take it away because he was trying to yank it out further than it extends, so meltdown ensued. I just want to find something positive we can do, that doesn’t involve screens.
I am trying so hard to remake my life with less screen time. It’s crazy how ubiquitous technology actually is. It’s hard to get away from it.
Can relate. Moved once or twice a year until I was ten, a few times in college, and then three or four times in graduate school. I’ve lived in Michigan, New Jersey, Florida and Illinois (and back to Michigan.) We got this manufactured home in 2015. Probably the longest I’ve lived anywhere. Probably the upshot particularly of having so many things change throughout my childhood (including bouncing from new family to new family with my Mom) is I’m extremely adaptable. I guess I’m like my son in this way: extremely freaked out when you change my immediate plans, but fine if you change my whole life.
OK, that sounds very frustrating. I’m a Grants Manager which includes federal grants administration, but I do have time to improve my processes. Your job sounds like it would be fun if you had more time.
Ugh. Another rough night. Felt fine when I went to bed; woke up a scant two hours later and it was … bad. Details are unnecessary.
I’m better now but feel like a wrung-out dishrag. Am holding down water and cautiously sipping a hot cuppa tea & nibbling dry Cheerios. Letting Monkey burn off a bit of energy outside before heading back to bed - I gotta close tonight and I need more rest
… aaaaand I just got a not-good notice about my bank account balance. The hell? I have a few things on auto-pay (which I hate doing) so must’ve forgotten a particular wolf at my door.
Dammit. Always sumpin’.
OMG Monkey lost his jingle-bell collar again! This is easily the sixth one he’s managed to get out of.
Somewhere (probably the neighbor’s yard) amongst all the scrub and brush there’s a growing collection of variously colored cat collars. Hmph.
ETA: now he’s sitting in front of me expecting a treat for being such a Good Boy!
Morning all. Another day getting to 60F and no rain, but a 60% chance of wet stuff tonight and tomorrow. Need to do a little shopping today at Wal-Mart, will probably go soon after typing this and be done with it. Gym is also on the agenda, and might do a task or two around the house.
I moved to Indiana in 1981 and went from furnished studio to one-bedroom to two bedroom apartments, then on to St. Louis where it was pretty much the same routine. Then moved to N. Ali-bama (the US Government paid for that one) in 1997 and am still in the same house. A few years down the road I’ll be looking for a place like Cookie’s or at least an apartment setting. That’s the plan for now.
doggio, heave and dream well. Until last year I had no idea what ‘yeeted’ meant,learned it from here, so I iz a little wiser these days.
shoe, I have a case of the donwannas when it comes to vacuuming; don’t know why, just don’t like to do it.
Pilot, glad the housing situation has worked out well for the time being.
Sari, lists are like that; self-perpetuating. Hope the recycles get picked up soon. And glad you finally got out of that Catch-22 situation with the swindler and your company.
Flyboy, that’s a pretty good walk.
nellie, dogs instinctively know friendly people…but I still grinned on reading about the Bacon perfume…
Feel better soon,shoe. And hope the finances are OK. And I predict Monkey will get his treat anyway…
Because as an old science fiction writer once said: “There are only two types of people in the world; basically decent ones and SOB’s”.
Stay well and warm and hope the TC class gets held. And the friendly cop obeys the rule I posted above…glad he was a good one.
FCM, you might not get a 1099-INT if the account earned less than $10 in a year; I have that with my one Savings account. And need to check on my Sirius XM contract, they’ve been sneaky about price increases and I may have to call them on that.
boo fae, sounds like a stressful day; any music to calm yourself this weekend?
Coppertone, if I can solve a Thursday/Friday NY Times crossword I am a happy camper, so I know what you mean. Enjoy the day.
Taters, sounds like you do more Working than Directing, but it is better than the toxic nightmare you were at before.
OK, that was a lot. Need to dress for being out among the masses and do a little shopping before breaking my fast. Take care all.
I have found that it’s pretty easy using the chat function. And if you’re just going to cancel, you tell them you’re selling the car and buying a Schwinn!! 
You may even be able to cancel outright on the website. But do it soon - I got an email saying they’ve got some new rules going into effect on Mar 15 - I just skimmed, but it’s aimed at getting more of our money.
Is it possible to get a harness-type that he can’t slip so easily? Or maybe pierce his ear and get him a jingly earring??
OK, back from erranding. I got various and sundry stuffs at WalMart totaling $99.99!! I couldn’t have done that if I’d tried!! Then to Aldi where the total wasn’t nearly as interesting, but I’ve now got fruit and veggies and some other stuff. Gonna chill a bit before hemming a couple of tablecloths for MIL. And I set an alarm to remind me to fetch Roxy and Tobias.
I got some bright variegated yarn to make a baby blanket for one of my daughter’s high school friends. Megan is expecting her second - a daughter - in April I think. I made one for her son who is just older than Roxy, so now the girl will need one. I found a really cute pattern. So I’ll get started on that tonight.
Just talked to FCD and Daughter - they’re stuck in traffic just west of Washington, PA. An accident is blocking part of I-70 West. With luck, they’ll get past it soon, and they plan to stop before too long to get lunch. They both sounded awake, which is a good sign. I, on the other hand, am dragging. I hope SIL gets off work early tonight. < yawn >
Air travel in Africa is always iffy. Sometimes you just hope that the maintenance is current. When we left Mali we got hit up for $30 (cash only) before they’d let us board (because we were rich Americans, I’m sure). Lots of pushing and shoving and throwing of elbows. I had a friend who told me that when he was traveling in West Africa, the pilot walked through the cabin hitting people up for money to buy fuel; hard to refuse.
This rainy morning’s fare was my sooper dooper French toast and bacon. Gotta make another grocery run. We seem to bring in a lot of food for some reason. I don’t seem to do all that much cooking, and we usually only have two meals per day. It’s probably that we run low on different things at differing intervals.
I’ve been put on work release by the wife, who has volunteered me to reshelf books in the in-house library. I reluctantly agreed, but I don’t have any excuse not to do it since I don’t do much else. How onerous can it be (he asked foolishly)?
Good thing that they’ve cleaned it up, then. As for DFW, I hate Texas in general, so it may have colored my judgement of the airport. I resented having to travel to San Antonio on business periodically, and once to El Paso to look at a job. Cripes, what a wasteland.
FCD was shutting down a factory in El Paso some eons back - he was there for a couple of months, and I flew out to see him over a long weekend. Wasteland is a kind description. The only thing worth seeing that trip was Carlsbad Caverns. We even walked into Cuided Juarez one afternoon. Holy crap!!!
Back from the vet. VBC has something growing in her nasal passages. We have nose drops (oh joy) for her and a sedated exam scheduled in a couple of weeks. She will get a dental at the same time, and she got her pre-op bloodwork done today.
I am NOT looking forward to GG’s reaction when VBC is gone for the day, he’s annoying enough when she’s gone for a couple of hours.
awww, poor vbc.