4 posts tagged “work”

I'm up with a sore throat. Ugh. I am not getting sick, I am not getting sick, I am not getting sick!

My throat is kinda' killing me.

When I swallow I feel it up into my stuffy ears. I don't know what happened...six hours ago I was fine, then all of a sudden a small tickle in my throat, a little congestion, and whammo...please just let it be a cold and not the flu again.

Oh well, nothing to do about it now. So now to recap...

Despite a breakdown on its lone rainy day, this has been an extremely productive and positive week for me.

Work wise I've crossed a number of tasks off my list and I feel like I'm hitting my stride with a few of my business sponsors and with this beast of a product database that is involved in most of my projects, thank goodness.

On the home front, I've been purging the house of old papers and assorted junk, recycling what I can, and finally have ditched all the old clothes that are, thankfully, now several sizes too big for me. They're in bags in the car waiting to be taken to Goodwill tomorrow on the way to San Antonio. I also sent all my Easter cards out on time and planned ahead to have a little basket to give to my grandma when I see her tomorrow.

In cleaning up and organizing I've also started to turn my eye toward decorating too. I replaced the garnet colored candles on the living room mantle with saffron-colored tapers, and I'm on the lookout for just the right shade of bright, filmy gold curtains for the windows. I'm tackling one room at a time in an attempt to both simplify and beautify the 'feel' of each. 

Lastly, in a calm and reflective manner I sorted through and organized the photos and mementos that have been haunting my home since I stuffed them away almost a year ago. Not everything went into boxes, though--there are a number of things I've chosen to keep as part of my decor, mostly gifts of one sort or another...like the little crystal turtles he gave me on our wedding day and first anniversary, and the carved quartz cat we bought in Monterrey. The most important thing that went into boxes were the few special dresses I saved over the years---what I wore the night he proposed, the night of our wedding shower at his parents' house, and his favorite dress--the one I wore so many times on special occassions and on our honeymoon too. No tears at all, just the occassional distant flash of anger and lots of head shaking. I still, after all this time, cannot quite believe it.

There's another dress I kept...a dress I've never worn and have been keeping at the back of my closet. I bought it in October at a little boutique in Nashville. It's a summery, blousy ivory number, short but not too short, with little flower appliques and cutouts at the neck, nape, and hemline. It's lovely and simple and I bought it because I loved it and because I wanted to do something tangible to express my faith. You see, as soon as I saw it I knew it should be a wedding dress, the dress I would wear when we renewed our vows, when we found our way back together. I don't know if I'll ever wear that dress, but I'm not throwing it out. It's too lovely. Perhaps I'll save it for some other special day. I'm not sorry I bought it. I'm glad I believed so strongly that I felt in my heart I would have the opportunity to wear it.

It's much later now and exhaustion is finally winning out over the sore throat. I'm off to bed. G'night.

A day of working from home is almost over. I quieted my hunger (a little) with a yummy bowl of oatmeal. The weather is springy today and should be summery tomorrow--breezy, warm, and perfect for going out on the town. I should be very cheery, but I'm feeling a bit blue...or maybe just tired...but the feeling drove me to sit down and scribble a bit of a journal out and so here I am.

I had planned to try to finish this other project for my consulting gig in the next few hours so I could try to get into Austin by about 9, but right now I'd rather put my pjs on and just relax for a bit before starting to work again, only that will put me behind on finishing the project. What to do, what to do...

PJs are totally winning out. I'd have to be home early anyway. Plus, I did want to try running again tonight, but...ugh, I'm so tired. Of course, tomorrow I'm taking a half day from work to watch a co-worker's band and then intend to stay downtown anyway, and there's no way in hell I'm going to work a run in then, so I suppose it all works out. PJs now, work, run tonight, sleep.

I would also like to get a pizza from Papa Murphy's and eat the entire thing tonight, but I think that is a bad idea from a nutritional perspective. In this lead up to the Cap 10k, and other events I still haven't decided on, I'm trying especially hard to eat really well. I wouldn't call it a diet, but I am definitely wearing a nutritionist hat lately and eyeing everything through a pie chart of fats, carbs, and proteins. The other issue is that I am trying to stay hydrated, so I'm drinking water like it's my job and hitting the ladies room with corresponding frequency.

My apologies for the inane details. I actually do have topics of substance to write about, but I'm just not up to the task right now. Maybe I'll tackle those things on Monday in a sort of weekend-in-review post. 

One new development I'm not too tired to mention...I have started doing yoga in the morning first thing when I wake up. It may sound a little strange, but I like to do it in my master bathroom (which I keep very clean and is of a decent size) where the window faces east and the light increases with the sunrise. I don't put my contacts in or wear my glasses, but instead just run through my routine in semi-blindess. This sensory deprivation seems to make it easier for me to focus and to relax at the same time. It's very curious, but it works wonders for me. So far this week, the thought that I can do some yoga if I can get up in time is what has actually moved me out of my bed on time. Yes, I'm actually getting comfortable with yoga and not feeling like I want to cry when I do it. Of course, my morning routine is very simple and the poses are very modified, but I am looking forward to learning more as soon as I can. Thank you again to electric firefly and shush now for their encouragement a while back.

Ok, well that's all for now. SXSW will have to wait for tomorrow. And since I don't want to cook, I think Papa Murphy's is going to get some of my money in just a little while. I'm not actually going to eat the whole thing tonight though--if I did, I'd miss out on my other favorite way to start the day...cold pizza right out of the 'fridge!

First, I pilfered this from dreamsrundeep over at livejournal: vote yes for trees--quick before it's too late!

Grrrr...I've been too swamped with work from my second job (the consulting gig) to get to even a single SXSW event (the free ones). Still, with all the hullabaloo about the Mark Zuckerberg interview being covered via the net, I don't feel like I'm missing much yet. [For the record, I feel sorta bad for the Lacy, but I'm also pretty damn embarrassed. Yes, the audience sounds like they turned mob-jackass-mentality on her, but...I couldn't get through watching the YouTube video--I was cringing from the get-go listening to her banter. (I hate that kind of small-talk in real life anyway.) Ultimately, she did what many have done before her--she lost control of the audience. Any politician, comedian, high-school teacher, etc. knows that you can't just ignore a heckler.]

Back to the grindstone now--working on budgets for a grant proposal and still trying to get some miles in on the treadmill before bed. My mom says I'm burning the candle at both ends. I say, pardon my French...fuck the candle. I'm aiming for a bonfire. April 7 looms large mere weeks away...and still a part of me comes home hoping to see a truck in the driveway. Either I'm insane or I really loved/love that man. Sheesh.

day 2 at new job is over and all is well so far. i'm learning the ropes and feeling out the characters in this little 'office space' universe i am joining. (seriously office space like--it's hilarious to me! more on this later.) unfortunately, i still lack both a notebook and login (there's a backlog in security) so i can only shadow the two women from whom i'll be taking over a number of responsibilities. (one is leaving the company, the other is moving into another position.) this means that nothing is expected of me for the moment except to act like a sponge and suck it all up.

not a bad gig, but i've been a little off since nashville and i've only had a couple of hours sleep the last couple of nights. hence, my embarrasingly glassy-eyed, dazed look when the last meeting came to an end at 5:30. i gladly begged out when my shadow-ee said i could take off. training may not be a very active process, but it is like drinking from a firehose of corporate jargon and systems and culture, oh my!

but so it goes. on the upside, i have been busily making mental notes about the environment, the people, etc. for writing references, and i have a number of observations i'd like to share.

1) the nerd spectrum is broader and more diverse than i previously realized. i'm somewhere in the middle. for now.

2) social skills appear to be more of an issue for boy nerds than for girl nerds. again, i'm somewhere in the middle.

3) cubicles, er, 'cubes' are surprisingly like dorm rooms. a dreary blank slate that people then clutter up with photos and all kinds of kitschy crap to advertise their history, personality, values, etc. i'm aware that cube snooping is considered very poor manners, but i sure am tempted. nerdy or otherwise, even the mundane in people's lives can be fascinating...or appalling...or friggin' hilarious.

4) in a post-lunch powerpoint driven meeting of 30 people, at least half a dozen will shamelessly and helplessly nod off. several others will fight it with all their might, jerking with a start when their chin drops to their chest. one will fake a coughing fit to leave the room and get some tea and peppermint oil to wake the hell up so as not to be fired on her second day. (hey, at least i didn't completely fall asleep.)

5) though i'm sorry to say it (and though some of my new co-workers would likely disagree), the seeming productivity level of the employees i've observed in the last 2 days is well above what i experienced in the non-profit world. from EDs to Presidents to yours truly, i've never seen a day so packed with actual work and so little non-work bs'ing.

i expect to post numerous bits about "innerchode" in future, so stay tuned.