Well, I feel like my brain is about to dribble out my ears. I don't think I've worked so hard, on so few things, in a very long time. Strange as I am, I pretty much enjoyed it! Today was one of the first days that I truly felt productive at work. I was able to get to some of the oldest things assigned to me. I put in a good 4 or 5 hours on the project, with another hour or two more that I need to put in on it as well. It took a lot of brain power, and I'm exhausted.
I also got to another one that's been hanging around for a few and that someone who recently left the department ignored/messed up royally and I get to fix. That one should just about be done. I'll just need to confirm with the guy on Monday that he accepts my explanations and things are working to his satisfaction.
I might not have closed any tickets today, but I put in a solid almost 9 hours and it was all doing something and it feels good. Days like this is why I had a love/hate relationship with my last tenure in the service group.
This weekend is looking to be a good one. Tonight my landlady and her husband are coming up to start painting Boo's room. I can't wait to see it! I'd offer to help, but three people in that room is pretty crowded when trying to paint. That and I'm not sure if I'm really supposed to be too close to paint fumes right now. Not like I'll be able to escape them with the way the apartment is set up. It's good that it is warm enough that we'll have the windows wide open. I just hope it doesn't rain before the morning.
Michelle is also coming up. She'll get up here around 4 or 5 tomorrow afternoon. She's got to work a bit in the morning and then head up. I'm so looking forward to seeing her. We haven't had the chance to get together since New Year's. That reminds me, I've got to wrap her birthday present this evening. Gak found something that I'm sure she's going to love. We'll work on furniture tomorrow evening or Sunday, whichever. All I know is that there will be a large reward of chocolate when we're done. Maybe chocolate ice cream. (We really should just treat ourselves with Rita's, but that's almost healthy!)
Well, I'm going to wrap this up so I can do some more documentation and head out the door soon. My brain is about to melt, but it feels good.
Peace to all and may you have good, productive days and fun filled weekends.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Interesting Week
First I want to say EEEEK!!! 50 days!!!
Ok. I'm better now. (Well, I would be if Boo would lay off the ribs... or more specifically my right hand ribs. He doesn't seem to like the left at all....)
It's been an interesting news week. Well, more like interesting news days.
Yesterday we got two interesting bits of news. The current rumor at Gak's old job is that his former boss, even though demoted and moved to another store, may just end up getting fired. The reason, not doing his job. According to a former coworker, he knows what he's supposed to do, but he just doesn't do it. This is nothing new really, since that's more or less the bigger story that drove Gak out of there.
The second bit of news is that the upstairs neighbor has been kicked out. This is good news in my opinion. I mean, I do feel at least a little bad for the landlady. She's got to go through the work and expense of finding a new tenant. I hope we get nice neighbors like we had before this last one. Even with the 3-year-old and the baby, they didn't cause much fuss, didn't cause much noise and were nice when I would run into them. They left because of a job offer in another state. Can't blame them there.
Hopefully our landlady will be able to get the full year's rent from this last girl. She told Gak her lawyer said she could due to breach of contract. Here's hoping.
I also feel a bit sorry for the tenant that got kicked out. More like pity really. She just doesn't get it. She's 20 and has screwed up her life this badly. Even I haven't made that big of a mess of things. I mean, in some cases I got pretty lucky, but I learned quick and always realized, even in the middle of things, that I was messing up. I somehow doubt this girl ever will. And an eviction won't get her a place on her own any time soon. I really feel for the girls mother. She's got to be torn between helping her daughter and making her clean up her own mess. At least I would be. I also worry for the kids. I'm not as worried about the 3-year-old since he mostly stays with his grandmother. I worry more about the baby. I do worry about the girl too, it doesn't sound like the boy who was over all the time was exactly nice and respectful. (Gak's heard a rumor that he's been in and out of corrections.....)
Oh, yeah, I also finally got my new work computer yesterday. I spent most of the day getting it set up and then again today. I still have a little bit left to do, but it can wait until tomorrow. (It's got to be done by Monday at the latest though... since I need it for the training I'm doing Tuesday.) It's a beast. 3 GIG of RAM. Yes, that's right, 3 gig. It's sweet, but heavy! I won't be lugging this puppy back and forth much.
So that was yesterday.
Today when Gak was leaving to walk to work, he saw something taped to the outside door. It's a court summons for the upstairs neighbors. (He checked to make sure it wasn't something odd for us...) We'll see how that all turns out. Like I said, I hope the landlady doesn't get burned too badly on this. She's a nice person and does the best she can.
Well, I'm starting to ramble and I've got to wrap this up and head out...
Peace to all and may the world be on your side some days.
Ok. I'm better now. (Well, I would be if Boo would lay off the ribs... or more specifically my right hand ribs. He doesn't seem to like the left at all....)
It's been an interesting news week. Well, more like interesting news days.
Yesterday we got two interesting bits of news. The current rumor at Gak's old job is that his former boss, even though demoted and moved to another store, may just end up getting fired. The reason, not doing his job. According to a former coworker, he knows what he's supposed to do, but he just doesn't do it. This is nothing new really, since that's more or less the bigger story that drove Gak out of there.
The second bit of news is that the upstairs neighbor has been kicked out. This is good news in my opinion. I mean, I do feel at least a little bad for the landlady. She's got to go through the work and expense of finding a new tenant. I hope we get nice neighbors like we had before this last one. Even with the 3-year-old and the baby, they didn't cause much fuss, didn't cause much noise and were nice when I would run into them. They left because of a job offer in another state. Can't blame them there.
Hopefully our landlady will be able to get the full year's rent from this last girl. She told Gak her lawyer said she could due to breach of contract. Here's hoping.
I also feel a bit sorry for the tenant that got kicked out. More like pity really. She just doesn't get it. She's 20 and has screwed up her life this badly. Even I haven't made that big of a mess of things. I mean, in some cases I got pretty lucky, but I learned quick and always realized, even in the middle of things, that I was messing up. I somehow doubt this girl ever will. And an eviction won't get her a place on her own any time soon. I really feel for the girls mother. She's got to be torn between helping her daughter and making her clean up her own mess. At least I would be. I also worry for the kids. I'm not as worried about the 3-year-old since he mostly stays with his grandmother. I worry more about the baby. I do worry about the girl too, it doesn't sound like the boy who was over all the time was exactly nice and respectful. (Gak's heard a rumor that he's been in and out of corrections.....)
Oh, yeah, I also finally got my new work computer yesterday. I spent most of the day getting it set up and then again today. I still have a little bit left to do, but it can wait until tomorrow. (It's got to be done by Monday at the latest though... since I need it for the training I'm doing Tuesday.) It's a beast. 3 GIG of RAM. Yes, that's right, 3 gig. It's sweet, but heavy! I won't be lugging this puppy back and forth much.
So that was yesterday.
Today when Gak was leaving to walk to work, he saw something taped to the outside door. It's a court summons for the upstairs neighbors. (He checked to make sure it wasn't something odd for us...) We'll see how that all turns out. Like I said, I hope the landlady doesn't get burned too badly on this. She's a nice person and does the best she can.
Well, I'm starting to ramble and I've got to wrap this up and head out...
Peace to all and may the world be on your side some days.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Holding My Tongue
Be proud of me.
I know I am...
Despite being overly tired and cranky when I got home, I didn't go "super bitch" on the upstairs neighbor.
I could have. It would have been so easy. She got home the same time I did. She had the baby with her, so I guess that helped me hold my tongue better.
What made it hard was the fact that I was in a very tired and cranky mood. I had to park down the street because the street in front of the building was full again. I was hauling four bags of groceries and as soon as I opened the door, all I could smell was cigarette smoke. And it wasn't my fault. And the person who's fault, directly or not, it was was walking up the stairs behind me.
I should have opened my mouth. I could have just said something like "man it's smokey in here today, it shouldn't be". Or something like that. Some observant comment without blaming. It wouldn't have worked. She wouldn't have gotten the point and I wouldn't have stopped there but let fly.
It would have been ugly.
The landlady would have been on my side though, but I don't want to put her in that position.
Well, the painting that was supposed to start tonight, isn't. The landlady's husband has a conflict, so it's being pushed back. That's OK. Everything is out of the way at any rate. I can't wait for it to be done, but I'm just going to have to be patient.
Work is going. I'm still spinning my wheels a bit, but it's more lack of focus and sleep than anything. I'll get there. I'll figure out this balance and all the new tricks that have come up in the last three years.
Of course, right when I do, I'll go out on leave. But that's life.
Well, on that note, it's back to the grindstone. I've got more things to poke and prod at if I can figure out the priority and time it'll take to do them. (Provided I can actually connect to some of these sites...) The rest of the week is a little up in the air, as either this afternoon or tomorrow I'll be getting my new laptop finally. (I only put the request in back in January...)
Peace to all and may the little override switch in your brains work from time to time...
I know I am...
Despite being overly tired and cranky when I got home, I didn't go "super bitch" on the upstairs neighbor.
I could have. It would have been so easy. She got home the same time I did. She had the baby with her, so I guess that helped me hold my tongue better.
What made it hard was the fact that I was in a very tired and cranky mood. I had to park down the street because the street in front of the building was full again. I was hauling four bags of groceries and as soon as I opened the door, all I could smell was cigarette smoke. And it wasn't my fault. And the person who's fault, directly or not, it was was walking up the stairs behind me.
I should have opened my mouth. I could have just said something like "man it's smokey in here today, it shouldn't be". Or something like that. Some observant comment without blaming. It wouldn't have worked. She wouldn't have gotten the point and I wouldn't have stopped there but let fly.
It would have been ugly.
The landlady would have been on my side though, but I don't want to put her in that position.
Well, the painting that was supposed to start tonight, isn't. The landlady's husband has a conflict, so it's being pushed back. That's OK. Everything is out of the way at any rate. I can't wait for it to be done, but I'm just going to have to be patient.
Work is going. I'm still spinning my wheels a bit, but it's more lack of focus and sleep than anything. I'll get there. I'll figure out this balance and all the new tricks that have come up in the last three years.
Of course, right when I do, I'll go out on leave. But that's life.
Well, on that note, it's back to the grindstone. I've got more things to poke and prod at if I can figure out the priority and time it'll take to do them. (Provided I can actually connect to some of these sites...) The rest of the week is a little up in the air, as either this afternoon or tomorrow I'll be getting my new laptop finally. (I only put the request in back in January...)
Peace to all and may the little override switch in your brains work from time to time...
Monday, April 07, 2008
So Close...
Close but not quite....
That's a good phrase for yesterday.
The drive out to Elizabethtown was uneventful and nice. Gak actually stayed awake the whole time. This is a first aI do believe. What can I say, the car ride just puts him right out... and it was even gray! Here's hoping Boo does as well on log car rides, especially if we go down to visit Aunt Michelle in VA or up to Aunt Abi in RI. Those are long trips and will be much, much easier if he'll nap most of the way.
Ok, back on topic...
We picked up the dishwasher with limited issues. I tried not to panic when I saw the thing though, it looked a lot taller than I thought it was.
Our route down and back took us right past Redding, so Gak and I stopped at the VF Factory Outlets on the way back. Gak managed to find two pair of jeans and a new pair of sneakers, all for $70! Normally, it could have cost $70 just to get him either the sneakers or the pants. That made the gas usage worth it. We also picked up some books that were majorly on sale. Yes, we need to use the library more, but getting 4 books for $14 (three of which were hard bound...) is a steal we couldn't resist. Unfortunately, everything I tried on was close, but not quite. Most things had some kind of issue with the sleeves/shoulder area. Others might have been cute if I wasn't so pregnant. One looked great but was made of something that made me itch like crazy. Aargh.
Well, we finally make it home and get the dishwasher up to the apartment.
It doesn't fit.
I knew it was too tall.
I'd mis-read the dimensions. The others we'd been bidding on were all 21" square by 17" high. Well, this one is 18" by 20" and about 22 or 23" high. This would easily clear normal cabinets. Remember, I live in an old, funky apartment. We have 17.5" clearance between the bottom of the cabinets and the counter. And no extra clearance beside the sink.
Even though I was exhausted, we promptly headed back out to try and find a microwave cart or something to put it on. Unfortunately, this means we'll have to keep it right outside the kitchen door in the dinning room and move it back and forth to use it. Well, we couldn't find anything that had the right dimensions for the top of the cart.
I have no idea what we're going to do about this.
I (and especially Gak, the current dishwasher) were sooo looking forward to having the dishwasher. Well, technically we have it, but can't use it. To top it off, the seller from eBay is having problems with her account. I still have her email, but we'd have to drive it all the way back out. Or ship it, which would probably cost more than the gas.
I could turn around and sell it myself, but the likely hood of finding one of the others we were looking at for less than $200 is between slim and none. (They list at $200, but often the bidding will go quite a bit higher... silly people....)
Our landlady is coming by tomorrow evening to start painting Boo's room. Maybe I'll talk with her then about possibly removing the shelves at the side of the one cabinet. If we did that, then we could fit the dishwasher there with only minor overlap of the sink itself. (Yes, all four feet of the dishwasher would firmly be resting on something...)
Oh well. I'm trying not to be too down about this.
I'm also spinning my wheels going in circles at work. I think part of it is I'm fighting the "new" system of service calls. Partially because I don't want to like it. Partially because it's just too hard to do certain things. In the old system if I had a couple of things for the same person, I could easily print out all the tickets and see them all side by side. I haven't figured out how, or even if, I can do that with the new system. Of course, four of my oldest tickets are for the same customer and looking at them, there seems to be some overlap, but I'm not sure. I can't read them all side by side or even print them out.
Like I said, I'm spinning my wheels, trying to figure out how in the world to be productive in the first place and not getting anywhere.
No, it doesn't help that it is gray again today. Saturday afternoon was beautiful. There were moments yesterday that were bright and clear. But, for the most part it's been gray since Thursday or Friday. Bah.
Oh well, back to the grindstone.
Peace to all and may everything actually fall into place.
That's a good phrase for yesterday.
The drive out to Elizabethtown was uneventful and nice. Gak actually stayed awake the whole time. This is a first aI do believe. What can I say, the car ride just puts him right out... and it was even gray! Here's hoping Boo does as well on log car rides, especially if we go down to visit Aunt Michelle in VA or up to Aunt Abi in RI. Those are long trips and will be much, much easier if he'll nap most of the way.
Ok, back on topic...
We picked up the dishwasher with limited issues. I tried not to panic when I saw the thing though, it looked a lot taller than I thought it was.
Our route down and back took us right past Redding, so Gak and I stopped at the VF Factory Outlets on the way back. Gak managed to find two pair of jeans and a new pair of sneakers, all for $70! Normally, it could have cost $70 just to get him either the sneakers or the pants. That made the gas usage worth it. We also picked up some books that were majorly on sale. Yes, we need to use the library more, but getting 4 books for $14 (three of which were hard bound...) is a steal we couldn't resist. Unfortunately, everything I tried on was close, but not quite. Most things had some kind of issue with the sleeves/shoulder area. Others might have been cute if I wasn't so pregnant. One looked great but was made of something that made me itch like crazy. Aargh.
Well, we finally make it home and get the dishwasher up to the apartment.
It doesn't fit.
I knew it was too tall.
I'd mis-read the dimensions. The others we'd been bidding on were all 21" square by 17" high. Well, this one is 18" by 20" and about 22 or 23" high. This would easily clear normal cabinets. Remember, I live in an old, funky apartment. We have 17.5" clearance between the bottom of the cabinets and the counter. And no extra clearance beside the sink.
Even though I was exhausted, we promptly headed back out to try and find a microwave cart or something to put it on. Unfortunately, this means we'll have to keep it right outside the kitchen door in the dinning room and move it back and forth to use it. Well, we couldn't find anything that had the right dimensions for the top of the cart.
I have no idea what we're going to do about this.
I (and especially Gak, the current dishwasher) were sooo looking forward to having the dishwasher. Well, technically we have it, but can't use it. To top it off, the seller from eBay is having problems with her account. I still have her email, but we'd have to drive it all the way back out. Or ship it, which would probably cost more than the gas.
I could turn around and sell it myself, but the likely hood of finding one of the others we were looking at for less than $200 is between slim and none. (They list at $200, but often the bidding will go quite a bit higher... silly people....)
Our landlady is coming by tomorrow evening to start painting Boo's room. Maybe I'll talk with her then about possibly removing the shelves at the side of the one cabinet. If we did that, then we could fit the dishwasher there with only minor overlap of the sink itself. (Yes, all four feet of the dishwasher would firmly be resting on something...)
Oh well. I'm trying not to be too down about this.
I'm also spinning my wheels going in circles at work. I think part of it is I'm fighting the "new" system of service calls. Partially because I don't want to like it. Partially because it's just too hard to do certain things. In the old system if I had a couple of things for the same person, I could easily print out all the tickets and see them all side by side. I haven't figured out how, or even if, I can do that with the new system. Of course, four of my oldest tickets are for the same customer and looking at them, there seems to be some overlap, but I'm not sure. I can't read them all side by side or even print them out.
Like I said, I'm spinning my wheels, trying to figure out how in the world to be productive in the first place and not getting anywhere.
No, it doesn't help that it is gray again today. Saturday afternoon was beautiful. There were moments yesterday that were bright and clear. But, for the most part it's been gray since Thursday or Friday. Bah.
Oh well, back to the grindstone.
Peace to all and may everything actually fall into place.
Friday, April 04, 2008
In the Works
I'm so glad that today is Friday. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I forgot how hectic this service gig could really be. Not to mention frustrating. Of course, I don't feel like I've been giving it my all and am still chasing myself in circles a bit, but that's more to do with the overlapping responsibilities and stuff like that. Hopefully it'll all get sorted out soon.
Anyhow... there's a few things that I just haven't posted about because they're in the works. I was going to wait and post about them when they were completed, but I thought I might as well put them out there now.
First off, we've got a dishwasher! Actually, we've paid for a dishwasher, but have to go out to Elizabethtown on Sunday to pick it up. Even if we spend $100 in gas, it'll still be cheaper than ordering it new. I'm so excited. Gak and I both hate doing dishes. I really want one for things like bottles and the like. (Yes, I know, according to the nurse who ran our baby class soap and hot water is just fine... but the dishwasher is so much more through...) Even though we'll still be doing pots and pans by hand it'll be a HUGE time and money saver. I mean, the thing does a 4-place setting load with only 3 gallons of hot water. I use more than that just doing a few glasses! This is one "luxury" item that we've been doing without and really, really want. I mean, having a washer and dryer in the apartment would be great too, but I'll take what I can get.
The other thing that's in the works is more daycare options. George at work heard me talking with Don about how much Goddard was going to cost and I had no idea how we were going to afford it. I mean, there are other options in the area, but that was our starting point. Well, George pipes up that his two go to a really great, small, inexpensive place about 5 minutes from work. They take infants for partial days even. It's a Montessori pre-school just like Goddard is when they get older. The kicker is, instead of $1150 or so a month, if we go partial days, it'll only be $400. Yes, that's right, 1/3 the cost. For just the amount of time we want to put him in there. Hopefully Gak and I are going to stop by Monday to check the place out. He called for a little more info and they do have infant openings in August. I hope this place works out. I really need to check out another couple around the house too.
So, it looks like it'll be an interesting few days. I'm dreading going home and writing the tax check though. I can't put it off any longer, as this is the last pay day before tax day. At least I've got a few good things coming up.
Well, I'd best get back to work before I get yelled at for wasting time.
Peace to all and may good things be on your horizon.
Anyhow... there's a few things that I just haven't posted about because they're in the works. I was going to wait and post about them when they were completed, but I thought I might as well put them out there now.
First off, we've got a dishwasher! Actually, we've paid for a dishwasher, but have to go out to Elizabethtown on Sunday to pick it up. Even if we spend $100 in gas, it'll still be cheaper than ordering it new. I'm so excited. Gak and I both hate doing dishes. I really want one for things like bottles and the like. (Yes, I know, according to the nurse who ran our baby class soap and hot water is just fine... but the dishwasher is so much more through...) Even though we'll still be doing pots and pans by hand it'll be a HUGE time and money saver. I mean, the thing does a 4-place setting load with only 3 gallons of hot water. I use more than that just doing a few glasses! This is one "luxury" item that we've been doing without and really, really want. I mean, having a washer and dryer in the apartment would be great too, but I'll take what I can get.
The other thing that's in the works is more daycare options. George at work heard me talking with Don about how much Goddard was going to cost and I had no idea how we were going to afford it. I mean, there are other options in the area, but that was our starting point. Well, George pipes up that his two go to a really great, small, inexpensive place about 5 minutes from work. They take infants for partial days even. It's a Montessori pre-school just like Goddard is when they get older. The kicker is, instead of $1150 or so a month, if we go partial days, it'll only be $400. Yes, that's right, 1/3 the cost. For just the amount of time we want to put him in there. Hopefully Gak and I are going to stop by Monday to check the place out. He called for a little more info and they do have infant openings in August. I hope this place works out. I really need to check out another couple around the house too.
So, it looks like it'll be an interesting few days. I'm dreading going home and writing the tax check though. I can't put it off any longer, as this is the last pay day before tax day. At least I've got a few good things coming up.
Well, I'd best get back to work before I get yelled at for wasting time.
Peace to all and may good things be on your horizon.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dorm Life?
I thought I was done with dorm living. I mean, I know we live in a fairly old building with little to no insulation between floors, but come on.
Like I've said before, we have a new neighbor upstairs. I'm used to hearing her 3-year-old run across the floor when he's there. I understand about being able to hear the baby cry. I know that when she walks across the floor in a hurry I'll be able to follow her footsteps. I even accept that I'll be able to hear the base line and possibly the music or TV itself some days.
Last night, on the other hand, was just plain wrong.
I don't think I even had this much noise when I was living in a dorm for 4 years.
It had started before we got home actually.
What am I talking about?
I'm talking about loud thumps and crashes that sounded like the people in the apartment upstairs were going to come through their floor into my ceiling. It sounded was enough to rattle the dishes in the cabinets and the hanging light in the dinning room. And the thumps were at the other end of the apartment.
Mind you, I'm all for having friends over and having a good time, but you have to draw the line somewhere. There have been a few times when we've had everyone over, including the kids, and it got a bit rough. But we always made sure the kids settled down by about 9 or so, even though there's only a business (closed at night) below us and neighbors above us. Noise doesn't travel so well up, but it does down, since it is a shared plane.
This noise continued on until almost midnight.
Gak knocked on their door (I'd asked if he minded playing Brute Squad) around 10:30. He pounded on the door and heard them yell that someone was at the door, but to ignore it. About an hour later, I heard him go out again. (Yes, this is well past the time that I should be asleep, especially since I actually have to be in the office by 8 these days...) They did quiet down a bit after that one. We still locked the deadbolt as well as the door handle. We've never done this in the almost 2 years that we've lived there.
Gak did talk to the landlady this morning. He's going to talk to her again tomorrow. (She wasn't in her office, which is the downstairs business, today, but will be tomorrow.) Part of tomorrow is to take her the paint color we decided on. It's a nice pretty yellow. Hopefully in the next week or two, they'll be painting. I'm impressed that she actually let us have a color other than white!
The funny part is, Gak did get an apology from the upstairs neighbor this morning. Apologies are all well and good, but useless if it happens again. I'm trying not to be too judgemental against her, but I have a hard time. She hasn't done anything to prove to me that she's responsible, and she's done a few things that have shown otherwise. (Yes, I'm referring to two kids by the time she's 20... and no stable relationship... I know, there are exceptions to the rule but.... I'm not holding my breath here...)
Anyhow, I hope she either realizes that she needs to be a little more considerate of her downstairs neighbors, wherever she lives, or she moves on. I don't really care whitch.
In other news, it looks like Michelle will be coming up the weekend of the 12th! (I got a message from her saying she's available to come up that weekend and to let her know...) I can't wait to see her, I haven't seen her since New Year's. Eep! That reminds me, her birthday is this week! I'd best get a card out....
Just took a break to rant a bit while I ate my lunch. It's back to work for me... maybe I'll get something productive done this afternoon. (haha, yeah, right...)
Peace to all and may you have considerate neighbors.
Like I've said before, we have a new neighbor upstairs. I'm used to hearing her 3-year-old run across the floor when he's there. I understand about being able to hear the baby cry. I know that when she walks across the floor in a hurry I'll be able to follow her footsteps. I even accept that I'll be able to hear the base line and possibly the music or TV itself some days.
Last night, on the other hand, was just plain wrong.
I don't think I even had this much noise when I was living in a dorm for 4 years.
It had started before we got home actually.
What am I talking about?
I'm talking about loud thumps and crashes that sounded like the people in the apartment upstairs were going to come through their floor into my ceiling. It sounded was enough to rattle the dishes in the cabinets and the hanging light in the dinning room. And the thumps were at the other end of the apartment.
Mind you, I'm all for having friends over and having a good time, but you have to draw the line somewhere. There have been a few times when we've had everyone over, including the kids, and it got a bit rough. But we always made sure the kids settled down by about 9 or so, even though there's only a business (closed at night) below us and neighbors above us. Noise doesn't travel so well up, but it does down, since it is a shared plane.
This noise continued on until almost midnight.
Gak knocked on their door (I'd asked if he minded playing Brute Squad) around 10:30. He pounded on the door and heard them yell that someone was at the door, but to ignore it. About an hour later, I heard him go out again. (Yes, this is well past the time that I should be asleep, especially since I actually have to be in the office by 8 these days...) They did quiet down a bit after that one. We still locked the deadbolt as well as the door handle. We've never done this in the almost 2 years that we've lived there.
Gak did talk to the landlady this morning. He's going to talk to her again tomorrow. (She wasn't in her office, which is the downstairs business, today, but will be tomorrow.) Part of tomorrow is to take her the paint color we decided on. It's a nice pretty yellow. Hopefully in the next week or two, they'll be painting. I'm impressed that she actually let us have a color other than white!
The funny part is, Gak did get an apology from the upstairs neighbor this morning. Apologies are all well and good, but useless if it happens again. I'm trying not to be too judgemental against her, but I have a hard time. She hasn't done anything to prove to me that she's responsible, and she's done a few things that have shown otherwise. (Yes, I'm referring to two kids by the time she's 20... and no stable relationship... I know, there are exceptions to the rule but.... I'm not holding my breath here...)
Anyhow, I hope she either realizes that she needs to be a little more considerate of her downstairs neighbors, wherever she lives, or she moves on. I don't really care whitch.
In other news, it looks like Michelle will be coming up the weekend of the 12th! (I got a message from her saying she's available to come up that weekend and to let her know...) I can't wait to see her, I haven't seen her since New Year's. Eep! That reminds me, her birthday is this week! I'd best get a card out....
Just took a break to rant a bit while I ate my lunch. It's back to work for me... maybe I'll get something productive done this afternoon. (haha, yeah, right...)
Peace to all and may you have considerate neighbors.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Getting There...
Well, we're getting there. All the appointments this morning went well.
Our doc gave Gak a prescription for some anti-inflamitories and is going to get a referral for an MRI. There's some swelling there and she thinks an MRI will give her a much better picture of what's going on. She's also referring us to a specialist. Hopefuly we'll get some relief. I know he says it doesn't bother him much, but he shouldn't have to live with constant knee pain and the fear of it going out on him.
Since I was there as well, she went ahead and did my appointment as well, so I don't have to go back in on Thursday. That's nice. She told me to take the cingulair if I need it and to call if I'm having any asthma symptoms. We talked a little bit about the pregnancy and she's happy things are going well. She also suggested a couple of pediatrician groups in the area she knows by reputation (hers doesn't work out of the hospital I'll be delivering at...) Overall, it was a productive bit of time.
We went to the one daycare center today. It's the same place Zoe went to, a Goddard School. I really like them, since there is additional oversight above and beyond just the annual state inspection. That makes me feel better. Infants are full-day only. We don't really need full day, since we can have someone at home until about noon each day. I know it's not too much longer, but it is to me. Also, if we can find somewhere that does only half days for infants, it should cost a good bit less. Goddard is about $1150 a month. That's more than our rent, and almost more than our rent and groceries put together. I have no idea where I'm going to come up with that kind of money in the budget each month. (If I'd been able to put that much away each month, I so wouldn't be worried about any bills and wouldn't be in the credit card mess that I am...) Also, they're looking full for August/September, but we'd probably be first on the waiting list. Gak is hopefully going to remember to call the other place we're looking at back and schedule a meeting there. I'm hoping they'll do half days. Or will cost less. Or some other miracle will happen. I really don't want to impose on friends and family any more than we have to.
I truly wish I knew of some way to not have to do daycare. I wish there was a way we could survive on just my income. Unfortunately, even though I've been at this job, and a good job it is, 7.5 years I still make below average for annual household income for the area. Gak and I together just barely make average. This is a tough area to live in. Anyhow, wishing won't solve anything.
Work went well for the most part today. I had some clear priorities in what needed to get done. I think the problem is the fact that most of the work assigned to me is so old, I just don't know where to start or what's been done. I can't even ask anyone really, because I think the person who had been assigned these things is one of the ones no longer here... and I don't mean Al. We'll be cleaning up her messes for ages.
Here's hoping I can keep this up tomorrow as well. I've got a list of things I want to get to, and hopefully there won't be any emergencies causing too many problems.
Yes, it's reporting month....
Hey, I can hope....
Well, I've got to document a few things and then I'm out of here.
Peace to all and may life be productive.
Our doc gave Gak a prescription for some anti-inflamitories and is going to get a referral for an MRI. There's some swelling there and she thinks an MRI will give her a much better picture of what's going on. She's also referring us to a specialist. Hopefuly we'll get some relief. I know he says it doesn't bother him much, but he shouldn't have to live with constant knee pain and the fear of it going out on him.
Since I was there as well, she went ahead and did my appointment as well, so I don't have to go back in on Thursday. That's nice. She told me to take the cingulair if I need it and to call if I'm having any asthma symptoms. We talked a little bit about the pregnancy and she's happy things are going well. She also suggested a couple of pediatrician groups in the area she knows by reputation (hers doesn't work out of the hospital I'll be delivering at...) Overall, it was a productive bit of time.
We went to the one daycare center today. It's the same place Zoe went to, a Goddard School. I really like them, since there is additional oversight above and beyond just the annual state inspection. That makes me feel better. Infants are full-day only. We don't really need full day, since we can have someone at home until about noon each day. I know it's not too much longer, but it is to me. Also, if we can find somewhere that does only half days for infants, it should cost a good bit less. Goddard is about $1150 a month. That's more than our rent, and almost more than our rent and groceries put together. I have no idea where I'm going to come up with that kind of money in the budget each month. (If I'd been able to put that much away each month, I so wouldn't be worried about any bills and wouldn't be in the credit card mess that I am...) Also, they're looking full for August/September, but we'd probably be first on the waiting list. Gak is hopefully going to remember to call the other place we're looking at back and schedule a meeting there. I'm hoping they'll do half days. Or will cost less. Or some other miracle will happen. I really don't want to impose on friends and family any more than we have to.
I truly wish I knew of some way to not have to do daycare. I wish there was a way we could survive on just my income. Unfortunately, even though I've been at this job, and a good job it is, 7.5 years I still make below average for annual household income for the area. Gak and I together just barely make average. This is a tough area to live in. Anyhow, wishing won't solve anything.
Work went well for the most part today. I had some clear priorities in what needed to get done. I think the problem is the fact that most of the work assigned to me is so old, I just don't know where to start or what's been done. I can't even ask anyone really, because I think the person who had been assigned these things is one of the ones no longer here... and I don't mean Al. We'll be cleaning up her messes for ages.
Here's hoping I can keep this up tomorrow as well. I've got a list of things I want to get to, and hopefully there won't be any emergencies causing too many problems.
Yes, it's reporting month....
Hey, I can hope....
Well, I've got to document a few things and then I'm out of here.
Peace to all and may life be productive.
Monday, March 31, 2008
I Understand!
(Yes, I know, 2 posts in one day... but I just had to....)
I finally understand how to put the crib together!!!
The pictures the lady we bought the crib off of sent me aren't the most helpful at first glance. They do show the right order of operations, but not which hardware goes where too well. I finally figured out where all the pieces go and how they should be put together!
The only problem is... I can't do it by myself. I need another pair of hands to hold things.
Oh well, at least I know it can be done and that it is possible. Now to recruit someone to be my extra set of hands. If I'm in the right mood, Gak can help. If not... well.... it's best not to even think about how snippy I'd end up getting with him. It's not his fault, honest. It's all mine. I inherited Dad's temper for working with people on certian things. (But Mom's skill at handy work... not that Dad's not skilled, it's just that Mom will actually get to it and get it done with a minimum of fuss and frustration...) If you want to see something really scarry, you should have seen the night Dad tried (sucesfully eventually!) to tutor me in electronics the night before a physics exam in high school. Mom was smart and hid. Jon wasn't home. It did work... I got a 98% on the exam I think.
Anyhow, just needed to exclaim that I finally figured it out.
Peace to all and may you have many "lightbulb" moments!
I finally understand how to put the crib together!!!
The pictures the lady we bought the crib off of sent me aren't the most helpful at first glance. They do show the right order of operations, but not which hardware goes where too well. I finally figured out where all the pieces go and how they should be put together!
The only problem is... I can't do it by myself. I need another pair of hands to hold things.
Oh well, at least I know it can be done and that it is possible. Now to recruit someone to be my extra set of hands. If I'm in the right mood, Gak can help. If not... well.... it's best not to even think about how snippy I'd end up getting with him. It's not his fault, honest. It's all mine. I inherited Dad's temper for working with people on certian things. (But Mom's skill at handy work... not that Dad's not skilled, it's just that Mom will actually get to it and get it done with a minimum of fuss and frustration...) If you want to see something really scarry, you should have seen the night Dad tried (sucesfully eventually!) to tutor me in electronics the night before a physics exam in high school. Mom was smart and hid. Jon wasn't home. It did work... I got a 98% on the exam I think.
Anyhow, just needed to exclaim that I finally figured it out.
Peace to all and may you have many "lightbulb" moments!
Bits and Bobs
Sory about the 4-day absence. I just didn't have time on Friday and the weekend just disappeared.
Friday was Gak's last day at Game Stop. Saturday he started back at the UPS store. This meant he was home by 3:30. It was a great change. Friday night and most of Saturday I was in an unsettled, grumpy, tired, just not good mood. I tried not to take it out on Gak, but I failed. Miserably actually. I wish I could be better at not doing that. I'm sure he's tired of me apologizing for my bad behavior, and I really, truly do know better. I just can't seem to do what needs to be done. I could blame the hormones, and to a point that's true... but it's not the whole story. Oh well. I just have to work harder in the future. He deserves better than a cranky wife.
Sunday we had people over. Well, we thought we were going to have several people over at around 2. Well, Stuart showed up around 2:30 or 3 and Scott showed up around 4-ish. I felt bad because I was so tired, I just kinda hid in the bedroom most of the afternoon. It was OK though. Gak was walking Stu through Vampire creation. I wasn't sure I'd draw one up, but I did. We got to get about 10 minutes of play time in. We'll try and pick it up again in two weeks.
I was hoping to have enough people over to get the furniture put together, but that didn't happen either. The crib looks easy enough to put together, I just can't do it by myself and this is something Gak and I just shouldn't do together. We can do lots of things together, but putting together furniture and cooking are two things that we shouldn't attempt. Mostly thanks to my temper and Gak's "style", for lack of a better word, of doing things. It can, and does, get ugly fast. Therefore, we tend to avoid the situation if at all possible. I know the wardrobe will be easy enough to put together, it's from IKEA.
In other news, I still feel like I'm floundering at work. I can't seem to prioritize anything or get anything meaningful accomplished. I just feel like I'm chasing my tail in circles and I'm getting dizzy. And cute as a dizzy ratling may be, it's not very fun.
I had another doctor's appointment this morning. It went well. I actually lost 3 lbs, but there's no need to worry. Everything else is going well. I guess I'm having more better than worse days when it comes to eating.
Gak's knee on the other hand is getting worse. (I think the weather today had a bit to do with it though...) Since he didn't have to be in until 1-ish, he went with me to the appointment. (I'm glad he did. I know how much he loves to hear the heartbeat. I really do want him involved, this is his baby too!) While waiting for the doctor, his knee popped or went out about every third step he took. He said, yet again, that he was going to call the doctor when we got home. Well, I've heard that story before, so I took matters into my own hands. I called for him. He's got an appointment in the morning. I'm not sure what our family doc can do for him, but she can at least suggest a specialist if needs be or something to try in the mean time. We really don't need his knee to go out while he's walking around with Boo.
I have an asthma appointment on Thursday myself. It's been good so far, but I think we're heading into allergy season again. I'm over the cold, but I'm still way more congested than usual. It's all clear, thick viscous ick.
We also have an appointment at one of the daycare places we're looking at tomorrow morning as well. I'd like to get a couple of options from a couple of different places, so we can make a real decision. I've got to talk with my boss(es) and see if I can't work something out. With Gak's normal schedule, if I play my cards right and am able to take a slightly longer lunch, we could possibly only do 4 half-days of daycare. Gak will be able to watch Boo all morning, and then I'd be able to run home and drop them off where they need to be by the time Gak needs to go to work. We wouldn't even need a second car. The only times this could cause a problem is when Gak would have to work open to close when Mike's on vacation. This will be at least 3 weeks out of the year. I do have some volunteers to watch him, but I'd like to use them on an emergency or occasional basis. I'm sure this wouldn't cause problems and if I play my cards right, I may even be able to work half-days from home those days. Who knows. (Can you tell I'm really trying to figure out how to reduce the amount of time we have to have Boo in daycare? I know it's not a bad thing, but... they're not family and they're not me... I'm selfish and want my boy to myself!) I do know that by the time he's 2 or 3 we'll possibly end up with him in a full-day preschool situation. I saw how much good it did Zoe. She was so much more ready for school by the time she went to Kindergarten. I don't just mean the reading and writing thing, but in the social aspects. She was used to listening to other adults and knew how to play well with other kids who weren't family. That knowledge in and of itself is priceless. The being able to read and write well is a bonus. (Although, I hope Boo takes after me, I was reading quite well by the time I started Kindergarten, and within the first few months is when I started reading Nancy Drew books... handwriting on the other hand... is not the strong suit of either Gak or myself...)
Anyhow, I've got to wrap this up because I've got another meeting soon and I really need to try and figure out what's going on with a few of these requests before then.
Peace to all and may the pieces fall into place and the bad moods not last too long.
Friday was Gak's last day at Game Stop. Saturday he started back at the UPS store. This meant he was home by 3:30. It was a great change. Friday night and most of Saturday I was in an unsettled, grumpy, tired, just not good mood. I tried not to take it out on Gak, but I failed. Miserably actually. I wish I could be better at not doing that. I'm sure he's tired of me apologizing for my bad behavior, and I really, truly do know better. I just can't seem to do what needs to be done. I could blame the hormones, and to a point that's true... but it's not the whole story. Oh well. I just have to work harder in the future. He deserves better than a cranky wife.
Sunday we had people over. Well, we thought we were going to have several people over at around 2. Well, Stuart showed up around 2:30 or 3 and Scott showed up around 4-ish. I felt bad because I was so tired, I just kinda hid in the bedroom most of the afternoon. It was OK though. Gak was walking Stu through Vampire creation. I wasn't sure I'd draw one up, but I did. We got to get about 10 minutes of play time in. We'll try and pick it up again in two weeks.
I was hoping to have enough people over to get the furniture put together, but that didn't happen either. The crib looks easy enough to put together, I just can't do it by myself and this is something Gak and I just shouldn't do together. We can do lots of things together, but putting together furniture and cooking are two things that we shouldn't attempt. Mostly thanks to my temper and Gak's "style", for lack of a better word, of doing things. It can, and does, get ugly fast. Therefore, we tend to avoid the situation if at all possible. I know the wardrobe will be easy enough to put together, it's from IKEA.
In other news, I still feel like I'm floundering at work. I can't seem to prioritize anything or get anything meaningful accomplished. I just feel like I'm chasing my tail in circles and I'm getting dizzy. And cute as a dizzy ratling may be, it's not very fun.
I had another doctor's appointment this morning. It went well. I actually lost 3 lbs, but there's no need to worry. Everything else is going well. I guess I'm having more better than worse days when it comes to eating.
Gak's knee on the other hand is getting worse. (I think the weather today had a bit to do with it though...) Since he didn't have to be in until 1-ish, he went with me to the appointment. (I'm glad he did. I know how much he loves to hear the heartbeat. I really do want him involved, this is his baby too!) While waiting for the doctor, his knee popped or went out about every third step he took. He said, yet again, that he was going to call the doctor when we got home. Well, I've heard that story before, so I took matters into my own hands. I called for him. He's got an appointment in the morning. I'm not sure what our family doc can do for him, but she can at least suggest a specialist if needs be or something to try in the mean time. We really don't need his knee to go out while he's walking around with Boo.
I have an asthma appointment on Thursday myself. It's been good so far, but I think we're heading into allergy season again. I'm over the cold, but I'm still way more congested than usual. It's all clear, thick viscous ick.
We also have an appointment at one of the daycare places we're looking at tomorrow morning as well. I'd like to get a couple of options from a couple of different places, so we can make a real decision. I've got to talk with my boss(es) and see if I can't work something out. With Gak's normal schedule, if I play my cards right and am able to take a slightly longer lunch, we could possibly only do 4 half-days of daycare. Gak will be able to watch Boo all morning, and then I'd be able to run home and drop them off where they need to be by the time Gak needs to go to work. We wouldn't even need a second car. The only times this could cause a problem is when Gak would have to work open to close when Mike's on vacation. This will be at least 3 weeks out of the year. I do have some volunteers to watch him, but I'd like to use them on an emergency or occasional basis. I'm sure this wouldn't cause problems and if I play my cards right, I may even be able to work half-days from home those days. Who knows. (Can you tell I'm really trying to figure out how to reduce the amount of time we have to have Boo in daycare? I know it's not a bad thing, but... they're not family and they're not me... I'm selfish and want my boy to myself!) I do know that by the time he's 2 or 3 we'll possibly end up with him in a full-day preschool situation. I saw how much good it did Zoe. She was so much more ready for school by the time she went to Kindergarten. I don't just mean the reading and writing thing, but in the social aspects. She was used to listening to other adults and knew how to play well with other kids who weren't family. That knowledge in and of itself is priceless. The being able to read and write well is a bonus. (Although, I hope Boo takes after me, I was reading quite well by the time I started Kindergarten, and within the first few months is when I started reading Nancy Drew books... handwriting on the other hand... is not the strong suit of either Gak or myself...)
Anyhow, I've got to wrap this up because I've got another meeting soon and I really need to try and figure out what's going on with a few of these requests before then.
Peace to all and may the pieces fall into place and the bad moods not last too long.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tolerance
Ok. I've got something that's been bugging me for almost a day now.
I need to give a little background that I haven't shared, because it was work related and not really much of my business. Other than the fact that it affected one of my friends here at the office. It's the reason that Al was "forced" into retiring a year or so earlier than he planned. There was a woman working in the department after I moved to training. Well, apparently she took Al's personality personally and was claiming harassment. Anyone who actually knows Al, knows he's harmless. He loves life and is a happy-go-lucky kind of person.
Anyhow, this person recently left the company, and I'm back in my old cube because she's no longer here. Someone at lunch yesterday asked me if I knew anything about the why's and how's of her leaving. I have no clue. I was sitting upstairs at the time and unless someone actually tells me, I have no idea what goes on in other parts of the building. I made the comment to the two ladies who were sitting in the lunchroom that I didn't know what happened to the other person and that my first response upon knowing she'd left was wanting Al back.
Well, the one who didn't ask me if I knew what had happened started going off about how inappropriate he is and how obnoxious he is.
I just stood there and shook my head for a moment and then extricated myself from the room. Like I said, Al has been known to say some things that aren't exactly "sensitive" and could would say things just to get a reaction out of certain people in the building, but only in fun. He never meant any harm by it, was never that "scary old guy". Occasionally he fell into that category of harmless "dirty old man", but never anything harmful. My reaction to her was; but he's a very good worker. And it's true. He's never treated the customers anything other than well. If he's made a mistake, he'll fix it. He gets his job done, and usually done right. He's friendly and willing to help just about anyone. So what if he occasionally makes an obnoxious statement? If you knew him, you knew he didn't really believe a lot of it. A lot of it came from being in the Army or a cop for many, many years. (And besides, he is an equal opportunity offender, he'll pick on just about any group out there...)
Her reaction still bothers me. What in the world ever happened to tolerance? What ever happened to being able to enjoy people for who they are? I guess I should have expected that kind of reaction from her, she's a bit of a sour person to begin with and a lawyer type to boot. As you've seen, I try and stay out of politics and social commentary. I just had to get this off my chest though. I mean, I don't want to get rid of people just because they're cranky all the time, or they don't agree with my political/religious/social views. I try and see their side and only feel the need to "do something" about it if they're a potential danger to myself, themselves or others. If that makes me a tree-hugging, hippy, peace loving liberal, than so be it. (I've been called worse.) I try and keep a fairly moderate and somewhat realistic view on the world, but I really am an optimist at heart.
Anyhow, I'd best get back to work. I just needed to get that gripe off my chest. I still wish that Al was back. He brought a lot of life to this office and did a lot of work.
Peace to all and may we accept people for who they are, as they are and remember that life is too serious to take seriously.
p.s. Sorry if this rambled a bit, but that's how it sat in my brain...
I need to give a little background that I haven't shared, because it was work related and not really much of my business. Other than the fact that it affected one of my friends here at the office. It's the reason that Al was "forced" into retiring a year or so earlier than he planned. There was a woman working in the department after I moved to training. Well, apparently she took Al's personality personally and was claiming harassment. Anyone who actually knows Al, knows he's harmless. He loves life and is a happy-go-lucky kind of person.
Anyhow, this person recently left the company, and I'm back in my old cube because she's no longer here. Someone at lunch yesterday asked me if I knew anything about the why's and how's of her leaving. I have no clue. I was sitting upstairs at the time and unless someone actually tells me, I have no idea what goes on in other parts of the building. I made the comment to the two ladies who were sitting in the lunchroom that I didn't know what happened to the other person and that my first response upon knowing she'd left was wanting Al back.
Well, the one who didn't ask me if I knew what had happened started going off about how inappropriate he is and how obnoxious he is.
I just stood there and shook my head for a moment and then extricated myself from the room. Like I said, Al has been known to say some things that aren't exactly "sensitive" and could would say things just to get a reaction out of certain people in the building, but only in fun. He never meant any harm by it, was never that "scary old guy". Occasionally he fell into that category of harmless "dirty old man", but never anything harmful. My reaction to her was; but he's a very good worker. And it's true. He's never treated the customers anything other than well. If he's made a mistake, he'll fix it. He gets his job done, and usually done right. He's friendly and willing to help just about anyone. So what if he occasionally makes an obnoxious statement? If you knew him, you knew he didn't really believe a lot of it. A lot of it came from being in the Army or a cop for many, many years. (And besides, he is an equal opportunity offender, he'll pick on just about any group out there...)
Her reaction still bothers me. What in the world ever happened to tolerance? What ever happened to being able to enjoy people for who they are? I guess I should have expected that kind of reaction from her, she's a bit of a sour person to begin with and a lawyer type to boot. As you've seen, I try and stay out of politics and social commentary. I just had to get this off my chest though. I mean, I don't want to get rid of people just because they're cranky all the time, or they don't agree with my political/religious/social views. I try and see their side and only feel the need to "do something" about it if they're a potential danger to myself, themselves or others. If that makes me a tree-hugging, hippy, peace loving liberal, than so be it. (I've been called worse.) I try and keep a fairly moderate and somewhat realistic view on the world, but I really am an optimist at heart.
Anyhow, I'd best get back to work. I just needed to get that gripe off my chest. I still wish that Al was back. He brought a lot of life to this office and did a lot of work.
Peace to all and may we accept people for who they are, as they are and remember that life is too serious to take seriously.
p.s. Sorry if this rambled a bit, but that's how it sat in my brain...
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