The place I work closes at the end of business tomorrow for the Christmas break and we don’t re-open until January. One of the perks of working in higher education is that once the students have gone home for the holiday, the entire place shuts down because it’s not worth bringing in the cleaners, security staff and whatnot for the people who might want to come in over the break. Much simpler to just shut down and give us all the time off.
The reality is that the students left on 11th December and a good number of academic staff followed very soon afterwards. A lot of our staff are from France, Spain, Portugual and Germany so they take the chance to go home for a long break with their families and friends. That leaves us now with four people in the office instead of the usual twelve. It’s very quiet, there’s very little for us to do so I’m having a quiet couple of days getting paid to sit here, read the Dope, drink tea and polish up my expression of interest statement for an assistant team manager secondment. Happy days!
What’s it like where you are? Frantic rush to Christmas or a lazy amble towards Turkey Day?
Things are crazy at FairyChatEstates, but only because we leave for Florida tomorrow and stuff needs to get done. The last of the crazy should wrap up fairly easily today - we need to put the mulcher/vac back in the shed, haul the garbage and recycling to the convenience center, and pack. I’ve got to clean the smoker, tape a check for the cat-sitter to the pantry door out of reach of Taz (he eats paper sometimes), make sure the plants are watered, and ensure there’s kitteh kibbles a’plenty, fresh kitteh water, and maybe I’ll leave out the container of kitteh treats so Gail can spoil the little brats.
If we’d been staying in town, there would have been much less crazy - in fact, I’d have gone to work today. But considering what a pain it is getting my boss to give me things to do, plus the fact that he’s off this week, taking off was the smart option. And next week will be a short and quiet week in the office - only 3 days, and most of the govvies will be on leave. So apart from the gawd-awful drive from here to Ocala and back (just over 800 miles one way) it should be a pleasant couple of weeks. OK, except for having to see asshole BIL, but I can mostly avoid him, so fa-la-la-la-la!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 53 Amurrkin out with a predicted high of 70 and cloudy for the day. Tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be rainy but warm as will be the rest of the week. I am irkin’ today and tomorrow from da cave. No real reason to be in the orifice and I can [del]play solitaire and free cell[/del] listen in on a conference call just as easy from da cave. Plus, I shall catch up some case notes, monitor employment plans and do yet more on-line trainin’. After tomorrow, no irk until January 4th! YAY!
Tonight is men’s night over to the church house, thus steaks are marinatin’ and beer is chillin’. Always a good time.
OYKW will head over to the wilds of West Alabammy tomorrow to see family. I shall head up to Ye Olde Home Towne on Thursday. We shall both be back on Sattidy. He will irk Monday and Tuesday next week and then take the rest of the week off. That’s the thing I’m lookin’ forward to the most.
OK, that’s all I got. I need more caffeine and rumbly tummy wants to be fed. I suppose I should purtify somewhat. One should at least be presentable even if one has no intentions of goin’ about the public the whole day.
I’m up too early, dog was barking at something. It’s cold out, 37 degrees but supposed to warm up and be fairly warm all week.
Not hectic for me, all I have left to do is wrap a few more gifts. Since I don’t decorate, or cook, or bake- not much to do. The house is a bit of a mess still. Once all the wrapping is done and everything put away it’ll look a lot better around here.
It’s stressful, but only because I have to deal with family. I also feel pressured to go see friends while I am down that way - I really should go see the one in Overlea, she’s only 20 minutes or so away from my mother. Probably not the one in Edgewood, that’s a good 45 minute drive from there. I should go see her and her new grandbaby but I don’t know how I’d fit everything in.
Then again, my friends could always drive up here. Open invitation to come whenever they want and I’ll even make keys for them. They have to bring their own coffee though.
It’s school break for Sah-son so no proofreading.
Irk is irksome - but I think that is more my mood.
I leave in about 4 hours for a plane trip to Dayton, Ohio, stay one night and have meetings on Tuesday, then return on a late flight Tuesday night, getting in about 10:00 pm, then go into work Wednesday for 4 hours, then drive 250 miles to the charming metropolis of Eddysville, Kentucky, where I’ll stay the night and then drive up to my brother’s on Thorsday. I do get to rest Firday and Saturnday, but then have to drive the entire 420 miles back home on Sunday so I can be at work on Monday moaning.
Oh joy.
Still, could be worse, could be raining all week…oh wait, it is…
However, temperatures will be in the 60’s and even 70 this week down here in Ali-bama…if I was going to be here…
amyrose, can I borrow one of your Extra-Large BLURFS?
It’s a short irk week this week, so not much is going to be done. People are passing out chocolate and bringing in treats, so my family will be the beneficiaries of same.
The newest incarnation of the Robinmobile is going to be picked up this afternoon. I have the title to the old car, insurance paperwork, and most importantly, my checkbook. I have to ask if I need to renew my registration or not. SQUEE!
As for Christmas, we’ll just go with Airman’s family. No travel more than about 45 minutes, no shopping, and no stress.
Up, caffeinated, closing again. it’s 40 and cloudy.
As far as holiday stress, I already have the Festivus Pole up, so all I have to do is air my grievances, and pick which pet gets to challenge me in the Feats of Strength.
It’s a little busier at work, with people doing their last minute Christmas shopping for Newports, lottery tickets, and tallboys of malt liquor.:dubious: I have to work a short shift Christmas Day,
Both at the same time actually. We had hundreds of temps for what we call “peak” (Black Friday to New Years) and now that Christmas is getting closer, we aren’t replacing those who leave. And that can be 1/3 of them a week. That means more hours and pressure for those of us who are company hires and some uncertainty what days we’re working. The plan all year was that we would be closed Christmas Day and probably Eve as well - now it looks like we could be working both. And we may not know for sure until the day before which makes it impossible to really plan anything. We aren’t getting the 250-300k packages a day we thought could come our way but we are getting a reliable 175-200k a day.
That’s the rush part of it. The amble is that the people left in the building are basically professionals and know the jobs. So while the pace is fast, its almost automatic. And having the people who were just in it for the holidays and long hours out of our way is giving us a clear field of fire and making the work easier. So all in all its not as bad as we thought it would be.
It’s 45 and raining in no. Illinois so I am NOT in the Christmas mood. Plus my sister (my only family) won’t be in town on Christmas Day so I haz a sad about that. We had our holiday yesterday, and Christmas Eve I’m having dinner with my friends (her husband is making roast beef), and Christmas Day I’m having dinner at a restaurant with my Jewish friend whose husband will be in Florida visiting his father who is having a “he’s past mid-life” crisis. So I have plans, but I feel a bit blue.
So no rush for me this week. I work through Wednesday and took Christmas Eve off, so a 4 day weekend. BFD. And I’ve completely OD’ed on Christmas candy and other junk. BLECH.
The trash and recycling is enroute to the convenience center, the dishwasher is done washing dishes, the cat’s water and kibble are full. I’m thinking the smoker can wait till I get back, mostly because I just don’t want to do it today.
The gifts have been bagged and put in the car, along with the cookies. I just finished washing the cooler - it was kinda gross, but now it’s clean!! I’ll put it in the garage to keep it cool overnight, then load it with foods in the morning. I can pack most of the dog’s stuff, but no need to do our clothes just yet. So we’re pretty much done. Yay! Unless I forgot to put something on my list…
Skeet/target shooting perchance? I’m thinking we’ve got a catapult large enough to launch a shark; shouldn’t take much to retrofit it to launch a person.
He doesn’t think so, but please reply to this post with your address so he can confirm.
Lazy amble towards the end of week for me. Have to go to the Post Office at lunch to mail a gift to a friend I won’t see. Got her a limited edition calendar autographed by one of the photographers (me!).
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Just got an email from work; please take this survey about your experience calling the help desk…on Dec 1st.
Sure, I’d love to; can you remind me what the call **three weeks ago ** was about? :smack:
At irk of course. My clock stopped and I overslept so was late getting in. We are having our Christmas Pot Luck today so I have to run out to get sodas and ice. We are not eating until 3 pm which is when the other office closes.
While I am out getting the soda I plan to pick up the Cornish Hens I am cooking on Friday so they can thaw and the other stuff I need so that will be done.
I’m working today and tomorrow. It’s a bit of a hurry up and wait situation though. Sis gets here tomorrow evening and we’ll take care of the vehicle swap title and insurance wise before heading to the wilds of northern Indiana. We’ll have a pretty low key holiday there before coming back Saturday or Sunday.
Bookmarked that.