Hope you have an absolutely happy and safe New Year!

We're three hours away from 2018 here.  Brenda has left after much mayhem, first by playing the Harry Dresden Cooperative Card Game that she got for Christmas, and then in the Call of Cthulhu game, where we are back in about 1080 CE trying to prevent the King in Yellow from bringing He Who Shall Not Be Named (no, not Voldemort) from arriving from Carcosa.  I'm afraid we're probably going to lose characters before this is all over, and the timeline may be changed for the worse.

YKWIA is either playing or listening to a game on the computer, I suspect Mah Jongg, given the Asian tones playing, and I've lit a candle and am in my room on the computer, using my phone hotspot. The lavender scent is lovely.  I'm considering breaking out some blackberry mead I have in the refrigerator for the New Year, although I rarely drink.  But I had quite a bit of fruit at the game and some herb bread I made for us earlier today, and that might not be the best way to finish off a high-carbohydrate day when you have diabetes.  So we'll see.

Anyway, I hope you have a lovely New Year's Eve, and I hope to be writing more in 2018.  I think I'm going to listen to some music now and relax.  I've cleaned, made bread, played the game (although I didn't actually do anything except have a foreboding feeling--Brenda's character is male, so he's out dealing with cannibalistic cultists and my characters are in the kitchen and trying to embroider.  But I'd say there will be time very soon when I'll be slinging a sword and trying to prevent the end of the game world, too.   But I'm a little tired, I must admit.  Good night.

Reflections on 2017

2017 was an incredibly difficult, terrible, horrible, no-good year.  I say, good riddance.  In 2017 I:

• Lost my mother to end-stage liver disease.
• Lost a job I'd been at for twenty years, that I loved.
• Was unemployed for several weeks, with all the uncertainty that brings.
• Had a lot of general anxiety.
• Spent an inordinate amount of money on keeping my health insurance going through COBRA.
• Watched the country and the world go down the tubes in terms of politics [in my opinion].
• Dredged up childhood fears of nuclear Armageddon thanks to the insane, narcissistic morons in charge of two major countries with weapons of mass destruction.
• Watch what I thought was a great relationship (not mine) unravel due to addiction on the part of one spouse, despite all efforts of the other.

Some good things did work out for me in 2017:

• I managed to ave for the new building or donate most of the professional medical library I worked in to India, including the journals. 
• I was only unemployed for seven weeks, having been requested back at my old employer in a different capacity due to higher volumes to do contract work--no benefits, but it kept the lights on.
• I moved in with a friend to share expenses, someone who I've known for 30 years, whom people have always said we should live together, which we've always resisted, and it's working out really well.
• Moving forced me to put my therapy into practice and completely de-hoard my belongings.  Some are in storage.  Many were donated or discarded.  I wish I could have gotten everything to charities, but still, I donated a lot. I'm now basically living in a room with a bookcase bed with drawers, two nightstands, and the use of a cedar chest and closet, and I'm much happier to not be crushed under mounds of stuff accumulated over my (mostly) adult life.
• I recently was hired by my old employer as a regular worker.  While it's for quite a bit less money than I had been making as a librarian, I have full-time work with benefits and was able to go back to regular health insurance, etc.  I like the people I work with, I'm still very invested in the work the non-profit does in caring for children with disabilities and musculoskeletal issues, and it's nice to still be around people I care about.  If the right library job came along, I'd certainly apply.  But right now, at least I'm working and doing okay.
• Thanks to living with a great cook who makes healthy vegetarian food (as opposed to just bread and cheese, my mainstays), I've lost weight.

Things I hope will work out in 2018:

• I'm learning to de-stress with my work responsibilities and handle the volumes and duties necessary.  I want to continue improving so that I don' t really feel overwhelmed like I did in the first few months I worked.  I'd like to get to a point where I don't just come home exhausted on big-volume days wondering why I am doing what I'm doing.  I want to do what I'm doing and loving it, or barring that, find a job that I love being there for.  That's one reason for the lack of blogging; I simply am too tired most nights, because I've given my all at work.  I think that's getting better, though.
• I hope I can make changes to improve my health.  Watching my mother die of liver disease was very disturbing.  She smoked and had an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise for most of her adult life, had the misfortune to have diabetes (our entire family on my maternal side is pretty much diabetic, pre-diabetic, or at risk for it) and COPD (much of that was from smoking, but her father and I both also had/have asthma and breathing issues, so there was already an underlying propensity).  When the only thing that could have saved her was a liver transplant, she was still smoking (or at  least vaping), wasn't exactly compliant with her choices, and pretty much ran out of time between those and her age, although she was only 69, which these days is fairly young to die, especially when your mother lived with diabetes into her nineties.  What I realised was that with the exception of smoking (which I have never done), a lot of her food issues and genetics were passed down to me.  We were both overweight, although she dieted regularly when I was young, and that scarred me a little, and I've resisted it partly for that reason.  But I could eat much more healthily and not emotionally.  The diabetes gene is there, but I could improve my illness through lifestyle changes such as eating well and moving more.  Her fatty liver and eventual non-alcoholic cirrhosis may have had a genetic component but is common in diabetics, but it too can be helped through wellness changes.  When she was my age, her main indicator of what would eventually kill her was a few liver enzyme lab results that were slightly off and had been for some time.  I've had that same issue for awhile.  You know what happens when you go into this syndrome?  For one, you're more likely to get liver cancer.  My mom did, and they did an ablation and the tumour got better, but her bloodflow through the liver was impeded, so then when that happens, your ammonia builds up (as well as other toxins) to the point where you get very confused (she once put a Bic lighter in the microwave thinking it was soup, and my stepfather managed to catch her before she hit it on), and you have pints of fluid on you that have to be drained by parencentis (think of a big needle drawing fluid out of your abdomen).  You have to take LOTS of a liquid laxative that is awful and deal with the inevitable consequences to keep the ammonia and fluid from building up.  It's horrible.  She was in and out of the hospital for weeks on end in the months before she died, often unable to speak or be understood, and when she was finally put into hospice, my step-father said it was a terrible way to go, that she was in a lot of pain.  So it was a blessing when it was over.  I am so glad my step-father was there every step of the way.  Whatever anyone can ever say about him, he was a very good husband, and I wish him all the best.  He dealt with my mom's illness, her death, the death of their dog, his mom's infirmities (the lady's in her 90s), and a whole bunch of drama related to his sons' addiction issues.  I so wish him a much better 2018, too.

Okay, I guess I'd better start working on those notes.  But first I'm going to have dinner.  Good night.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Blog more.
2. Read more.
3. Make healthier choices.

That's it.  I'll work on the specific means to do those goals, but those are the over-arching, general ones.

How about you?

My day

I had $1.50 in fines on my library card (hey, don't judge, I'm a librarian, but we like to keep books, sometimes a little long). Fortunately, the Lexington Public Library is doing a 'read off your fines' promotion, so for 15 minutes of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time (my choice, which happens to be my current read, or re-read in this case), my fines were wiped. You still have one more day to do so--they're open from 1-5 pm tomorrow, Sunday, the 31st of December. It works for children or adults. I think you can erase $8 per hour read.

While I was there, the reference librarian was assisting someone on a call who obviously was interested in reading Sue Grafton's alphabet mystery series, and was putting the first one on hold for the caller. Mystery writing has lost one of its best-loved authors, and I think it's very sad that she got as far as Y, and didn't finish the whole alphabet. Perhaps there will a posthumous Z. [Hey, I didn't expect Elizabeth Peters' book The Painted Queen to come out, and it was an unfinished novel posthumously published with another writer who knew her finishing it up based on Peters' notes. So we could get a Z, who knows.] It does make me want to start the series, as I've never read it. In her obituary it was stated that as far as her family is concerned, the alphabet runs to Y, but who knows? Anyway, my condolences to them and to her fans out there.

Hope you are having a pleasant weekend. I have gone on a fruitless search for garlic at two Krogers, and so I came home a little frustrated, but I'm relaxing at home now with the dogs nearby and that makes everything better.

Which is good, as I need to work on the rest of the game notes. I'm about one-third of the way through the recording.

Have a great weekend.

Christmas feast

Eggplant with tofu in garlic sauce with vegetable spring rolls! Yummy!  Thank you, Jin-Jin!

My phone was giving me some trouble

Suddenly, when plugged up with my normal, factory-provided charger, it was saying that there was moisture detected. I'd turned off the phone and restarted it, but it still kept popping up. I've only had that happen when trying to use a standard USB charger that isn't adaptive fast charging for the Samsung Galaxy S7.

So, I looked at some troubleshooting and decided to take a cotton swab and gently swabbed the port with dry cotton, and it's working now.  So it must actually have somehow detected some humidity.  It's snowing outside, so I'm assuming the air isn't the normal winter 'dry'.  I've had the phone for a year or more now, though, and it's never done that, at least with the charger that came with it.

I pulled out my box (with the quick start guides and the SIM-card drawer key) and the only other thing that came with the phone, a caddy with earbuds (which I don't use; I use my old S5 ones because I don't like the S7 shape of the buds, so I use them as a backup, only.  Inside is one other thing, a  USB to micro USB connector that, for the life of me, I have no idea as to why it was included with the phone when it came with a transfer USB to micro USB cable as part of the charger, and those sorts of cables are ubiquitous.  I just never got it.  I typed 'what is the purpose of the USB micro USB connector that comes with the galaxy s7' into Google and it's for Smart Switch, the Samsung method of transferring files from one phone to another device.  Still, I found it kind of weird. They did mine in-store using their Wi-Fi, except for the applications, as I had about 500 of those (I had 750 the other day, and I thought perhaps I should delete some I don't use.  But that's the number that comes up on the scans, and probably included pre-loaded ones). So since I was trying out the charger and cables anyway, I'm backing up my photos and music (that are already on a microSD card) further, by putting them on to my laptop.  It's about a third of the way through the music.  The pictures didn't take that much time; the estimated time for the music is one hour and 15 minutes.  I don't think it's going to take that long, though.

YKWIA and I have had our custard and nog.  The animals, who were fed late, are fed and the dogs are out for a bit in the snow. It's not really accumulating, really, just tiny amounts.  The laundry, which I've done in a leisurely manner, is almost finished.  I did the dog blankets and YKWIA's bedding, too.  [He accidentally fell asleep with a cup of tea in his hand last night, and spilt the whole thing, practically].  Tomorrow I plan on doing my bedding and clothes.

I had planned to listen to some music, stretching out on the bed, when the charging thing happened.  I went from 60% to less than 40% in very short order trying to figure it all out.  But it's charging now, albeit not as quickly as when plugged into the wall, given that it's plugged into the laptop.  We're  over halfway to the music backup being finished, so yeah, it's going pretty quickly.

Okay, that's all for now.  May your Christmas Eve be pleasant and warm.

So, it's Christmas Eve...

We're in the library at the house.  YKWIA has been watching 'Will & Grace' but has moved on to the original season of 'Blackadder'.  Both have been quite amusing.  I did some bills earlier and got gasoline, since Kroger will be closing early this evening.  It's been a quiet Sunday.  We're not gaming due to the holiday, either this week or New Year's Eve.  I've started some laundry. It occurs to me that it would be good to go back to Kroger, as I'm low on laundry supplies. It's dreary and rainy outside, although we might have some snow for Christmas.  Last night we worked four hours on fixing food to last days, and I baked bread, so we're set for a bit.  We didn't actually eat any, which surprised me--he just put it all up.  He doesn't eat much and sometimes forgets, hey, I eat three meals a day, unlike him, but then I had some cereal and was fine, and we talked, so he realised later that maybe it was a little weird to not have dinner last night, especially after all that cooking.

I find that I'm missing my mom this holiday season.  Last year she was in and out of the hospital, but I was able to visit her some.  Not so this year.  I know the last couple of years were awkward, and our relationship was not what it once was, but I did love her, and I feel the loss.  I think I'll contact my stepfather tonight; it's probably hard on him this year without her.

The only thing we have planned for tomorrow is eating at Jin Jin and running some paperwork by to someone.  That's it.  And I'll probably do more laundry.  My holiday was Thursday, Yule (Solstice), but I worked and didn't really do anything for it.  I suck at the holidays this year. Well, I did pretty well for Chanukah, anyway.

I'm off on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (well, work doesn't recognise it as such--it just so happened they made a mistake and gave us off the day after Christmas rather than Christmas Eve (which due to the weekend would have made it Friday this year).  But considering we had a half-day of work Friday followed by a Christmas get together where we could stay or go as early as we'd like after 1 pm, we sort of had two and a half days off, so I'm not complaining.\

During this post, I've gone to the store and I'm back with laundry supplies, some flour and oats, and some boiled custard for him. I prefer eggnog, and I got some earlier, so we now have both in the house. We're set for Christmas, I think.

Anyway, if you're celebrating tonight, I wish you well,  and may you have a very Merry Christmas.  For those of you who've already had your holidays, or they fall afterwards, hope they were or will be wonderful.  And for the rest of you, may the New Year be full of love, laughter and light--2017 has been a very difficult one for me personally, for those I love, and for pretty much most of the world, I think.  Here's to 2018.

Happy final night of Chanukah!

Chanukah has been rather nice so far...

On the first night of Chanukah, my friend lit the candles and I made three types of latkes. It took me an hour and a half from start to finish, long after the last candle burnt out. :)

In process

The final result: cheese, zucchini, and potato latkes with sour cream, applesauce, and homemade tzatziki as condiments.

Now we're on night six. He gave me a nice periwinkle fleece hooded scarf; I gave him a nice set of 100% linen napkins.  It was a small celebration, but it was nice.  My holiday is the 21st, Yule.  It's on a Thursday.  I'm not sure if I'll do anything for it.  My one thing I did was buy a live rosemary bush in the shape of a fir tree, but it's not going to make it, I  don't think.  I'd taken it to work, as there's more light there, but alas, it's drying up despite a not-too-much amount of water and as much light as I could give it.  I've only ever been able to keep them alive outside.  I'm a little sad about it.  I cut back some of the dead growth and watered it before I left for the weekend.  We'll see if it's alive come Monday.

Today we played the game.  Our characters are in Norman England, and not only do we need to prevent the King in Yellow's coming, but there are two ancestors of the non-player character who brought us here to keep alive, and oh, by the way, that means they're ancestors to several other characters, including player ones.  So we have incentives to both save the world, the future, and the lineage. Ah, fun.  We won't be playing the next two weeks due to Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (YKWIA and I aren't Christian,  but Brenda is and no doubt wants to be with her family for Christmas, and we certainly don't want her out on New Year's Eve with the drunks).

My only New Year's resolution this year is to try to write more regularly.  It amazes me how my blogging has fallen off. It's not from disinterest.  It's just sometimes I'm so tired.  On latke night, for example, we'd had a busy day, I'd worked all day, and after preparing and cooking the latkes, I was so tired I almost didn't have the strength to eat them.  On Wednesday, we had 200 people on the schedule.  Thankfully there are two of us at checkout now, and that's helping me immensely, and allowing us to do better at answering the live calls and voicemails. I left Friday having actually caught up with my e-mails with care managers and having scheduled everything I should have.  It felt good to finally get those things done that needed to be.

The Sunday before last I applied for a job, and I was called on Tuesday. I'd mentioned that I couldn't have my phone with me during work when I'd sent the application.  It was for an outreach position in a neighbouring county, delivering media and services to seniors and other homebound patrons.  I e-mailed her that afternoon, trying to set up a time for the interview.  I never heard back.  Thursday I sent an enquiry asking for feedback, again, by e-mail.  Nothing on that one, either.  I had gotten back in a timely manner, albeit not by phone.  All the application had been through e-mail, with  'no phone calls please'.   I know I probably should have called, but I only get a short lunch break that basically allows me to eat and not much else, am lucky to get a pee break twice a day, and I didn't want to speak to a prospective employer while in our break room, so I'd e-mailed back instead, but the lady never replied.

I'm disappointed, of course.  They were so quick to ask me for an interview, and then just nothing.  But it didn't require a master's degree, so I'm not sure it would have paid enough to be worth the drive, and I'm going to go with this just wasn't the one for me.  But yes, I'm still disappointed.

Preparing for tomorrow

Tomorrow it's supposed to have snowfall at the morning commute, be frigid tomorrow night, and oh, yes, it's the first night of Chanukah. So tonight has been all about preparing for all that. I already had most of a tank of gas, but the first thing I did upon returning home was to make a grocery list of things YKWIA needed for cooking, things I needed for the latkes, and general things we needed. I then proceeded to go to the Tates Creek Kroger, got almost everything I needed (although I had to get them to stock the half and half from the back and wandered a bit until I found applesauce in the fruit snack aisle). The one thing I needed to go to Fresh Market for was a Belgian endive. On entering the Landsdowne Shoppes, I had an old man who was in the right-turn lane who suddenly he decided to go into the left-turn lane (my lane) while I was occupying it. I laid on the horn, something that has taken me years to really do--I usually tap it ineffectively, and had the satisfaction of not only having him return to his lane, but he startled and I suspect I nearly scared him half to death, which is fine, given how inattentively he was driving. It is so easy to startle Southerners, who cannot fathom why anyone would be rude enough to honk their horn at the person trying to hit them. We as a lot tend to be overly polite, never stick up for ourselves, and do everything in a roundabout way so as to not offend or confront. YKWIA was raised in an aristocratic Southern family, but his Yankee roots are also quite evident. He does very well in places like New York, which would eat me alive. Southerners frustrate him, however.

Anyway, I got the endive, returned, put everything away, and then we ate leeks au gratin, which was wonderful, with a little bread, too. I cleaned up while he made a phone call to a friend, and I proceeded to go through one of my nightstands and consolidate some medications and fill up my pill reminder box since I brought my medicine with me today but didn't take it because I didn't have it pre-sorted. The bag it was in was at least useful; I gave that to a family who needed something to prevent the glitter glue from a cast (hey, we are a children's medical centre) from getting all over a car seat.

The plan tomorrow is to make classic potato latkes with applesauce and sour cream, latkes made from strained cottage cheese (sweet latkes that are very yummy with the applesauce, as I prefer the sour cream with the potato ones) and some zucchini latkes with tzatziki. I've made all three recipes before, but not in the same year, I don't think. I've been making latkes for Chanukah for YKWIA for years as a treat. This year I gave him a nice linen napkin set because his old napkins were in sad shape. He gave me a lovely hooded periwinkle scarf that is fleece and very warm, which will come in handy tomorrow. I did discover that I cannot back into our driveway to save my life. I thought it would be better to be heading out towards the street if we got any real snow, as I have front-wheel drive, but I ran into a branch that was over to the side and I'm sitting mostly in our side yard, but I'm definitely off the driveway with the back of the car a little crooked, on the grass. I think it's a shame that my car, a 2001 Taurus, is just too old to have been outfitted with a backup camera. That is one thing I miss about that Hyundai Veloster I rented. Well, that and Bluetooth. :)

Okay, I'm at a strange angle on my bed, typing, and my neck is starting to hurt. I'm going to sign off and head on to bed. I must get up a little early just in case I need to scrape the windwhield or otherwise deal with precipitation. Hope you're having a good week so far. Good night.

Sigh

Today was busy. After work, I went and got some medicine for a friend and a couple of things I forgot at the store, mailed X-Men: Apocalypse back to Netflix, and came on home. So I feeling productive but a bit drained. Still, I was doing fine until I opened my mail, found something that upset me, and then everything unravelled, and I had a series of minor yet unfortunate events, things like going to the bathroom and discovering that YKWIA had forgotten to replace the toilet paper (it's something he does--I hate to make generalisations, but I'm convinced it has something to do with that Y chromosome). The last straw was taking out my contacts and one of the lids to the case fell behind the pedestal sink and I had to go digging for it. I just started crying. YKWIA and I talked about what was bothering me, really, and then I fed the animals and decided to soothe my mood with some music for about 20 minutes. I ate dinner (Morningstar veggie 'ribs' in hickory barbeque sauce, acorn squash soup, and bread). Then I went into the other room, found a mouse, put that on the desktop in the library because the wireless mouse's wheel has stopped working, cleaned up a bit in there, and then sat down and read, finishing the book I mentioned the other day. It really is enlightening, and it helped put my reaction into perspective, as I was responding as a Good Girl, and that's never good, with all sort of embarrassment, guilt, and the sense that people wouldn't like me because I failed to do something.

I really need to get rid of that Good Girl inside me and grow up completely and be a strong, independent woman.

Yesterday I applied for an outreach librarian at Frankfort's Paul Sawyier Public Library, which delivers materials to seniors and others who find it hard to get to the library itself. It doesn't require a master's degree, but I was interested in doing that, so I went to apply. I haven't given up the idea of being a librarian, after all.

Every morning the cat comes into the bathroom with me after I wake up, no matter where he might be in the house. He usually sits on the ledge that the shower enclosure is built into, but will move to the heat register if the furnace comes on. But he stays while I shower, in the hopes that I will feed him, which isn't going to happen. I don't feed them in the morning because that would encourage barking and the cat acting out. Instead, YKWIA feeds them in the morning, and I usually feed them in the evening. Anyway, he was in the bathroom and I went and got my hair dryer, something I rarely use, but I'd decided to use it today, and apparently, he had not been in the bathroom whilst I used it before. Needless to say, he freaked a bit. Poor kitty. But my hair looked nice today. :)

I'm getting sleepy. YKWIA is on the phone with a friend from Cicero, Illinois. I'm in the living room (my bedroom) using the hotspot on my phone. I've been listening to Pandora, specifically the Imagine Dragons station. I think I"m going to head on to bed soon. I need to get up early to make sure I don't have a flat tyre; I was at the store earlier, and someone came in pretty much on my side of the drive, leaving me just a little room to exit, and I wound up running roughly over a kerb. So, there's always that chance. I backed into the driveway so I can easily see the passenger rear tyre. Of course, I'll need to get up early, about 6 am, so if I need to, I can take the bus. Here's hoping that it's fine, as I don't really have any more repair money just now.

Good night. Hope your Monday has gonne well.

Between

the move from contract to regular employment and spending over $1,250 to get the car back on its feet after the coolant system issue, plus Thanksgiving groceries, my bank account has just enough money for a couple of bills. So it was really great that on Friday my boss and the administrator of the hospital, who thanked me for my dedication to the company despite a labour reduction, and they presented me with a pre-paid VISA card for my twenty years' of service that will definitely help immensely. I spent part of it on groceries today, as well as some new headphones, as mine broke last night. These are similar, but blue, so no more Princess Leia jokes from YKWIA about my white headphones that look a bit like the ear-buns from Star Wars.

After the grocery run, YKWIA and I ate lunch and then watched X-Men: Apocalypse, the DVD I have out from Netflix (yes, we still do that). Then we each took a nap until the cat completely woke us up by jumping on the paper grocery bag we'd left for him. When I'd gone to the store, I'd bought 15 leeks and the bagger, challenged by all these long green and white things he'd never really seen before, put them into paper bags, as they fit better. I also had to tell the cashier what my pomelo was (happy is the home with a pomelo) and helped him find it on the PLU list (it was classified with grapefruit).

So I fed the animals, put YKWIA's robe in the dryer, unloaded the dishwasher and put away dishes, loaded it again, and did the plastics. I've been on the computer and am listening to an Imagine Dragons playlist. Now I'm considering reading more of the book. Last night I read the rest of part one, about three chapters, and I sort of shut down completely and went to sleep afterwards. It's a difficult book to read emotionally, as so much of my psyche is subsumed under the need to be a people pleaser and Good Girl, and it's hard to see examples and realise that they are reflected in my own life. I'm definitely only reading one chapter tonight. :)

Reading

The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence

YKWIA got this at the library the other day with me in mind and asked me to read it carefully. He thought it would give me some insight into my own psychology and experiences. He is so right. I've only read three chapters and the introduction so far, but it definitely applies to me. Being a Good Girl is not a good thing, let me tell you. It causes all sorts of anxiety and depression that rule your life, and the pressure to stay a Good Girl and not offend anyone or have an opinion, or heaven forfend, not please everyone is immense. I would really recommend this, especially if you're raising girls now, but I think it's useful for anyone cursed with Good Girl syndrome to see how to combat the habits that sprung from this 'curse'.

I also had an epiphany the other day that the things I used to be passionate about--reading, gardening, drawing, etc., I just don't do much of anymore. I have become Lisa No Fun. Instead, I've filled my life with anxiety and stress. I need to find things I love and pursue them at least a bit every day. Maybe reading this book will at least help me get back into reading, which has been a lifelong comfort and joy, until about five years or so ago. I used to just say I didn't have time to read. Now I realise it has died away--and indeed, I guess I've done the same with blogging to some degree. Sorry about that. I don't want to go through life without passion. So I'm resolved to change that, including here.

I'm kind of in a holiday mood now that Thanksgiving is over

Of course, the holidays will be fairly quiet at home. YKWIA is Jewish, and I think Chanukah starts December 8th, but one, it is actually quite a minor holiday in Judaism, and two, I've already ordered and given him his gift, a nice set of linen napkins, since we were very pressed for any, as most of his had worn out.

As far as me, I'm not Christian. I have put up a tree a couple years running, after years of using Norfolk Virginia pines as my Yule trees (evergreens being a pagan borrowing for Christmas, after all). But my tree and ornaments are in the storage unit, and there's really no room for a tree in the house; when A was living here, it was in the living room. Now I live in the living room, you see, so my bed takes up much of the room, and the nightstands take up the corners that the tree used to go in.

Now the other day, I did buy a lovely rosemary bush topiary that had been shaped like a little cone-like shape, on a whim, even though I've never been able to keep a rosemary bush alive, ever. I decided, though, that there was no really great place for it; the best window for light is above his window seat in his bedroom, and while several plants are there and thriving, I wouldn't really see it much. The cedar chest is right out; the water could damage it. So I decided my little bay at the medical centre was pretty bright with the lights and the sunlight coming in through the windows across the lobby, so I put it on my desk, the one thing I've actually done to personalise the place rather than my little fan and the beaded wrist and hand wrests. It looks rather festive in its little red pot. They also decorated today, putting small, narrow trees all along the lobby windows with bows on them and little tree skirts, with white lights, but the actual ornaments are coloured and hung by the patients. That went much smoother than the folks and my endocrinologist's office, who seemed quite challenged by their tree and were providing a great deal of merriment to those waiting in their attempts to fluff and string working lights. When I came out, it still looked the same. They'd apparently given up for a bit. Trees can be quite challenging to decorate, of course. I'm glad I'm not stringing one with lights and doing the whole tinsel and ornament thing this year.

I came home from my appointment thinking that it had been a good day (much less stressful than yesterday, when I was exhausted), but YKWIA rightly realised I was aching, cranky, and obviously not at my best, so he sent me to take some ibuprofen and then nap while he took a shower and cooked some broccoli with garlic sauce. We had that, chickpea soup, carrot salad, and some French bread. I feel a little better. I came back to my room after cleaning up and starting the dishwasher, only to find the cat happily grooming himself on my soft blanket that was on my bed. He's curled up next to me as I type. :) He's been a challenge to feed lately--he seems to be allergic to most foods, so we've got him on a seafood grain-free food, as anything with chicken or grain makes his stomach upset and/or his eyes water. But the new food does seem to be working, I just don't think he likes it that much. It's probably pretty bland. The little dog left her food in her bowl tonight (she does that on occasion), and the cat was trying to crunch down on her food till we put it up so he wouldn't react to it.

Okay, I guess that's all for now. I considered posting about the weird run of sexual harassment stories lately (don't get me wrong, I believe most of the women, but it seems the climate is such that a witch hunt could ensue, and lives and careers can be permanently damaged by claims that may not be substantiated before the consequences happen, as some have seemed very abrupt.) On the other hand, I think it's very good that the men who have been pigs and abusive over the years are finally having their comeuppance. It's a tricky thing. I've known someone who claimed to have been raped, but never prosecuted and apparently just left town at the time. On the one hand, I'd like to believe her because I don't want to dismiss someone's experience or trivialise her claim. On the other hand, given her other behaviours, we seriously doubted such a thing had ever happened, because she was very attention-seeking (she also attempted to present evidence that she made up herself that a death cult from Taos was out to get her). What can I say, I've known a lot of weird and sometimes quite troubled people, most of them women, unfortunately. But she could have been telling the truth; mental health issues do not mean you haven't been victimised--in fact that probably increases your chances. But it is so hard to tell what happened between two people that were not witnessed by anyone. Others coming forward might increase the chances that it's a pervasive thing and that the guy (or woman, depending on the harasser's gender, as it could be either) is really guilty. But as we know from cases where people come out of the woodwork to accuse others, such as the Salem witch trials and other hysterias, it can be an iffy thing. I hope those who are guilty are brought to justice. I hope those who aren't are eventually exonerated. But the court of public opinion can be a vicious thing, and there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty outside of the courtroom.

Well, I guess I wrote about that after all. Good night.

Microsoft is thwarting me

So a week or so ago my computer received the Fall Creators' Update, and it broke the ability of my computer to dismiss the lock screen after facial recognition or PIN entry. In other words, it recognises my face, or PIN, but has to have the PIN put in again before it will unlock. My settings are set to 'dismiss lock screen' in the settings for facial recognition. Unfortunately, in this case, I know the solution (after doing a little digging), but my computer is incapable of doing what is needed. That's because you have to edit the group policy on the computer so that it doesn't have the spoofing enabled (and in fact, it must be turned off), but unfortunately, I have Windows Home on my laptop and it doesn't have the group policy editor activated like in Windows Pro and Server. I've found a couple of sites that purport to be able to activate it, giving instructions and even .bat files, but they don't work on my 64-bit machine, even with the 'fix' for 64-bit machines. I worked for two days to get the stupid thing to work, and now have given up, hoping that Microsoft will fix the glitch at some point. On the other hand, I've lived with other Microsoft 'glitches' for years (don't even get me started on one at work that I've dealt with). So, I'm not holding my breath. It's just so annoying because supposedly I have the 'fix'; I just can't do it with my machine. The one thing I haven't tried is running the group policy editor on my other machine on a network, in the hopes of editing the group policy of the offending one, because my desktop was upgraded to Windows Pro at some point, and so all subsequent updates have been for Windows Pro, so it should have the group policy editor. Or I could upgrade to Pro on the laptop, but I really don't want to spend that much (roughly $100) to fix a problem generated by Microsoft's issue, and only that problem, as most of the other advantages of Windows Pro are not particularly useful to me on my laptop.

But if you are having trouble getting the lock screen to dismiss after facial recognition or PIN, and have Windows Pro, you can do a quick search to find out how to run the group policy editor and what to change. I hope this helps someone. Or if you have Home, maybe the 'fix' (easily searchable for both the code and handy-dandy .bat fixes) can help you. But it didn't help me. :( In the meantime, I've still got it set to facial recognition because I'd rather have to put the PIN in after that than put the PIN in twice. I assume it will do this if you put the %^W** password in, too, forcing you to put it in twice, or the PIN, but I haven't verified that. Good luck.

UPDATE: I was able to fix this by rolling back my driver to the one on the manufacturer's website. So apparently it was a driver issue, after all. Here is the site that contained steps for working on this issue: How to Fix Lock Screen Asks for Password Twice in Windows 10. Yay!

Yay!

The car is fixed. I called my insurance's roadside assistance this morning, the guy came, and he was great. My battery was most sincerely dead--it didn't work with a jump box, so we had to back my car down the driveway in neutral. Then he showed me how exactly to hook up the batteries (I could never keep which order was which, now I think I have it). It took awhile. First, he charged for a while, then he was still not getting enough juice, so he had to rev his engine while I started the car. It finally started. I thanked the guy, who was absolutely great, let me reiterate that. Very thorough, personable, and took his time to do it right and get me on the road. I took it directly to Tire Discounters, where I got the battery a couple of years ago. Since it had a 30-month warranty, and I was at 23 months, I was definitely taking it back. So they checked it, and yes, it was bad, and they were going to replace it charging for just the labour for putting it in, but actually, they charged me nothing. Free, gratis. Which is what it should have been. I called the roadside assistance at about 9, so it took about 25 minutes for him to get there, another half hour to jump the car, given it was so slow to charge, and about 45 minutes to get the battery changed. So I was back on the road by 11. I came back home and ate some leftovers. So, for the rest of the day, I need to:

1. Take the book to the library, the one that was due the day the car went down.
2. Take YKWIA to pay a bill.
3. Go hunt down some grain-free, fish-based (no chicken) cat food for the cat who is allergic to all food we've tried.
4. Stop by the store for stuff for the game tomorrow.
5. Work on the game notes.

So, I guess I should get going. Have a great day. I'm staying away from the insanity of Black Friday. Hope yours is a safe and productive one!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We scaled Thanksgiving back this year since it was just the two of us, but it was absolutely tasty and wonderful. I did prep work, he cooked, I cleaned up. Now he's napping and I am soon to follow. We had Quorn roasts (vegetarian turkey made from mycoprotein); pumpkin soup; Gruyere gougères; green beans with lemon, roasted hazelnuts, and shallots; mashed potatoes; roasted butternut squash with Asiago and Gruyere cheese; apple clafoutis; and pumpkin pie. Yum! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and special thanks to Brenda for helping him get the groceries since my car is down (again) so that we could have one. Tomorrow's goal is to get the car fixed. Wish me luck!

And the saga continues...

Today my car would not start. I took the bus to and from work. It appears to be the battery, which is less than 2 years old and under warranty. The problem is getting it to the place that sold it to me around my work schedule (8:30-5) and their open hours (8-7) , while riding the bus and, possibly having the car jumped, before Thanksgiving so I'm not bringing a bunch of pumpkins and other ingredients home on the bus. #ModernProblems

So I'm trying to caffeinate

So I can do various things around the house, but having just returned from the cold, gloomy outside I just want to crawl into bed and sleep--and I've only been up for three hours. YKWIA has been watching 'The Vampire Diaries' (he's codifying the various people into charts, it's what he does, he's a Virgo, and for all I know it will somehow make it into the game). But now he's off in his bedroom either reading or considering a nap as well. I'm betting on reading, although I just heard a big yawn. I'm in the library, trying to wake up fully. Things I should (not need, but should) do today:

1. Water the plants.
2. Do laundry, mainly bed linens, dog blankets, and a small load of my clothes.
3. Clean the toilet and bathroom.
4. Do the cat boxes.
5. Sweep.
6. Take the recyclables out.
7. Clean plastic bottles out of the car, recycle them, and put the lids in a bag to take to a co-worker who is collecting them for charity.
8. Take a book back to the library.

It's not onerous, or awful, I just don't feel like doing any of it at the moment. Must. Wake. Up. (Drinks more caffeine.)

It is a dark and stormy night

The wind is hypnotic. I'm certainly not going to see any meteors tonight (the Leonid shower peaks, and it's dark of the moon, which means normally it would be great viewing). It's been quiet and restful today. We did a few errands this morning but I napped for a bit this afternoon. Tomorrow we're not having the game, as Brenda is under the weather with some sort of crud, so I'm going to put off the notes. But tomorrow I plan to be active, doing some laundry and other things around here. I'm looking forward to a busy but short week ahead. And then there's Thanksgiving and getting Friday off as well. Yay!

I haven't been on the computer much at all lately, so I need to at least blog on my phone. Or get on the laptop and actually write rather than just going on Facebook. It's so easy to share things there, I don't have to even write about it, and that's a pitfall. I want to write. I should write. I will write.

I've been having some trouble with my hip lately. It's very painful to get up from a sitting position, probably because I'm sitting too much at work. It seems to be muscular, as it improves with walking and stretching. I'm hoping I can stretch enough to get it to settle down, as I feel like a little old lady. Hell, worse than a little old lady.

It's just 9 pm. I'm resisting going to be early. Maybe I should read. If I listen to music I'll most likely just fall asleep. Besides, there is a black cat perched up on top of two pillows and two blankets on my bed right now who will be most wroth with me should I disturb him. :) The dogs are in the kitchen, having been out in the driving rain briefly after being fed. The kitchen floor is very muddy as a result.

I think I'm going to do some job searching. I like my job, and my workplace, but I'm not giving up being a librarian, either. UK has a government docs position open, and there may be some others. Good night.

*sigh*

So the other day my friend's phone (landline) went out and despite being only vaguely ept at tech, he unplugged and plugged in many things, including the Ethernet cable I use to plug my laptop in with for internet access. Of course, that cable was already plugged into the modem, so he made it so both ends of the same cable were plugged into ports going out of the modem. This apparently shorted out the cable completely. I'm surprised that the modem still works. I have another, somewhat shorter spare cable I'm using now. He is under strict orders not to mess with the yellow cable. And before you ask why I don't just use Wifi, let me just stop you there. He won't have Wifi in the house, or even run the signal over the house wiring. I have to use my phone's Hotspot to connect if I want to use the laptop in another room. He's not a Luddite, really, but there are times....

:)

So this morning I weighed myself not once but three times just to make sure it was right. I've lost  20 lbs since the move (at the end of August).

So, the car

is still in the shop but I have an estimate $600 less than the first place to thoroughly fix what's wrong. The 'safety issues' were bollocks, of course. May have it tomorrow,  Thursday at the latest,  as we played phone tag a lot today. Today's gaffe regarding the rental was that I accidentally knocked the wipers to intermittent,  and while it was damp today,  it took me awhile to figure out how to get them back to 'off'.

Sigh, again

The car saga continues.  Suffice to say the car is now being towed to my regular mechanic's garage. He'll look at it tomorrow and see if it really requires all the work the other place insisted had to be done per policy before fixing what I asked them to, with an estimated price tag of $1700. Not happy with them at all.  At least Enterprise was great about extending the rental over the phone.

This morning

YKWIA came into my room (which is actually the living room, so you need to if you're going to come into the house or go to the kitchen to let the dogs out, which is what he was doing). He came over, noticed my always on display on my phone, and commented on it. I asked him what time it is. Eight, he said.

Now, my always on display is set to be on from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, and it was still on. I look at my phone. It's seven. We only have one clock, not counting my thermometer/humidity gauge and my glucometer, that doesn't automatically set from Daylight Savings to Standard Time, and that's the stove. I told him it was seven. The stove says eight, he says. I explain that it has not been set back yet. But, he said, you said we gained an hour, and so it should be 9, right? I just shook my head. The concept of time, beyond light and dark and seasons, eludes him. He never knows what time it is, unless he has a digital clock somewhere that says it. Analogue clocks are difficult. I think it's part of his dyslexia. Anyway, I explained that it was really early and that yesterday it would have been 8, but now it's 7. I don't think it made much of a difference to him, and by that time, I figured I might as well get up.

I had a leisurely breakfast, took a nice shower, got dressed, read for a bit, visited with him for awhile, and I have:

1. Gotten my stuff off the kitchen table.
2. Cleaned the cat box.
3. Taken out the trash from all cans.
4. Run my summer clothes to the storage unit.
5. Gotten some bananas at Kroger.
6. Cleaned the toilet.

Now I need to water the plants, and since I did the notes last night, I'm pretty much ready for the game. I've caffeinated and taken my meds. I do need to do some laundry; he's in the shower right now, so I'll start after that. I think it'll be a difficult game. We're in ancient Rome with slightly under 24 hours to dismantle a cult of He Who Shall Not Be Named (not Voldemort, rather, Hastur) before the gates open up and all sorts of alien Cthulhoid entities cross over to the world and subjugate mankind. Wish us luck. Brenda has two characters, I have two characters, and YKWIA has two NPCs (non-player characters) on this one.

So on Thursday night

I went to the grocery, dropped off a book at the library, and noticed halfway home that my temperature gauge was on 'H', all the way. So I got home, and I took the bus Friday, barely getting to work on time even though I built in a 30-minute cushion because the Nicholasville Road bus had been in a small accident and was running behind. The Tates Creek bus was also running behind in the evening, and the bus driver wouldn't let us board before he took his break.

I called my mechanic on Friday, but he couldn't see it that day and is closed on weekends. He thought it sounded like a coolant leak. With the new job, I really can't take off during the day (although I probably could have Friday, as it was a low census day, with our semi-annual lecture keeping clinic numbers down to almost nothing--I checked one person out the whole day, and didn't have to do the whole process at that. Anyway, back to the car. I put water in it and took it to another place that is open and got there bright and early at 8 am.. It has good ratings and isn't a chain, but they couldn't work me in today due to two guys being out with new babies and a guy who bounced off a truck and tools with his back the day before. Still, they were willing to do it Monday, and are reasonably close to work that I could get there before they closed, by car. I didn't want to drive to another shop to try to get it fixed today. One of them also got me a soda before taking me to rent a car for the meantime. I have never rented a car before. He took me back to get my insurance card, then back the rental shop. I'm now driving a 2016 Hyundai Veloster which totally freaked me out because the radio stays on once the car ignition is off. I tried to figure it out, it finally went off. Turns out it goes off when you open the door. So I read the owner's manual to get up to speed on the car before going out again. Keep in mind, I drive a 2001 Taurus, so I'm not used to the new-fangled things. And I keep hitting the wipers instead of shifting because my gear shift is on the steering wheel. :)

Sigh

So,  tomorrow's adventure is taking the bus to and from work. My car heater is blowing cold air, but the engine is running all the way hot. Noticed the latter on the way home from the grocery store tonight,  and prayed I'd get through the half-mile or so. I'm not 100%, but I think that might mean getting a new thermostat. I have a regular mechanic I trust,  but they're only open weekdays. Any recommendations for a good weekend mechanic?  I think I may call mine (Kenny at Mitch's Auto, excellent folks) to see if he knows anyone. With the new job,  I accrue vacation and holiday time,  but can only use it for holidays at first. So weekends would be preferable.

The full effect

I had a blast for Halloween at work. Thanks to Morgan Hall, who took the picture. The costume was a hit, not only with staff,  but with kids and parents. It was great being able to celebrate Halloween at Shriners again. There is,  however,  glitter everywhere. :)

Costume!!!

I got up early, ready to put the makeup on, etc., and still managed to be ready two and a half hours early. So I went to McDonald's and spread glitter there, drove into work, rode the shuttle (and was a great hit!) and showed up an hour early, touched up the makeup, and now I'm waiting to clock in. Happy Halloween!

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet

but I never seem to make time for writing lately, something I'm going to try to do more towards correcting. Weekends are better than weekdays, of course, as I'm working and often having hectic 8-hour days of staring at a computer screen and hitting drop-down menus and dragging things into coloured boxes. Today was no exception, but even though it was busy, at times five to eight charts deep (and continuously for over two hours that way), lately I've been better at taking things like that which would usually feel me with lots of anxiety and just breaking it down, taking it one step at a time, and going forward. It's all you can really do, really, and keep your sanity. And if you just keep up your spirit and interact with each person in a friendly, yet business-like manner, it seems that most people are pretty understanding when you're piled deep in charts, trying to check people out as quickly as you can humanly do.

After I finally caught up and everyone had gone home, I called one last person about an appointment first thing in the morning to reschedule, as requested by my boss before she left, then closed up shop. I earned my own key to the bay doors today. This is my second week as a regular employee. I also got my last cheque as a contract worker today, and I put it into savings before coming home. My roommate was out meeting someone for dinner, and so I ate (fish cakes, an avocado-cucumber salad, and escarole soup, all cooked by him, and very tasty), fed the animals, and laid down and listened to some music on the speaker rather than my headphones, but I didn't really relax until he came home, tired and needing some alone time. He's in his room reading and drinking tea. I'm in the library with Pandora playing on the computer in my headphones, catching up on some things. I have barely seen any news or for that matter, done much with social media over the last few days. I have been working around the house after work and on the weekends, doing errands, etc. This weekend, on Saturday, I made a special trip to my storage unit to retrieve most of my winter clothes. I then spent Sunday (Brenda was ill, so we didn't play, much to the game master's dismay, as he has a really evil adventure to run next time) taking the old clothes out of the closet, bed drawers, and cedar chest and switching out for warmer ones, while keeping shorts, capris, and tank tops out to sleep in. But the light blouses, skirts, and the like all went back into the two totes I'd pulled out, along with some other things that made it here but should be in storage. Not only was it cold yesterday, YKWIA actually saw some snow and sleet, although of course, it didn't stick. But it's definitely time to break out the winter clothes.

I also opened up my Halloween costume and tried it on (well, I didn't pull the tights on, as I was afraid they'd run, but I checked the sizing, anyway, because I was afraid they'd pair a 4X costume with regular-size tights. It's a dress that has a full puffy black skirt, but it is otherwise covered with bones, with bones across the chest as a sternum/rib cage, and bones down the sleeves. There are gloves with the hand (but not on the thumb, which is a bit disturbing), and then the tights have all the leg and foot bones. I'm going to wear my Mary Janes so that the top of the foot bones show through. I am going to use makeup that I've bought for a skull face and neck, too. I considered spraying my hair white or silver, but the bottle specifically says not to do it on very fine hair, so instead, I found a witch's hat at Kroger that has the same sort of crinoline as the skirt but is tattered on the cone like it's been in the grave. So I'm going to be a skeletal, undead witch. There were only two issues. One, if you look at the picture on the package, the skirt on the model (who is in high heels) goes to mid-calf, whereas for me, it goes to my ankles, but that's a common thing I have with skirts, as I am only 5'4". Also, while the costume itself has lots of silver thread throughout it, rather than glitter, whoever packaged the thing threw approximately a handful of very fine glitter inside for fun, so when I took it out, there was glitter on the inner lining of the skirt. My roommate, who recognises that glitter never truly is removed from the house once it finds its way in, specifically said, there'd better not be glitter. Of course, there was, and without thinking, I twirled in the skirt, and well, glitter went everywhere. I swept up most of it (thank goodness there are no carpets in this house), and I took up the dog blanket that was at the foot of my bed because it was covered before the dogs could roll on it. I then shook the costume outdoors, but there's still LOTS of glitter. Which means I'm going to leave a trail in the car, on the UK shuttles, and all over work, much to the consternation of housekeeping. But hey, it's all in Halloween fun, right?

So the plan is to wake up early, shower, create the skull face and neck with the makeup, put on the tights and dress, then the gloves and shoes, and go to work dressed that way. I'm really excited about Halloween, and I'm glad we're still dressing up and having the kids at work trick-or-treat. To that end, though, I should go to bed pretty soon. I normally get up about 6:15 am to get to work by 8:30. I think I'll have to try for 5 or 5:30 am just to be sure. Hope your Halloween is wonderful and safe.

Place the vessel on the mat...

Went twice today to get my address on my drivers' licence changed (got there and you had to have a piece of mail in its original envelope with your address on it to prove residence, so I had to go back for one, and I was lucky, as I had one with an envelope I'd not discarded, so that worked, when I went back). We don't have a centralised DMV per se in Kentucky (I think that's one reason we still don't comply with the RealID law), but it is still a bureaucracy. Still, they were nice about it and weren't too far away. I also appreciate that the satellite office on Keithshire Way is open in the morning on the third Saturday of the month, as I work till 5 on weekdays and cannot easily get away for something like this.

By the way, 50 points to anyone who got the reference in the title. It's from the show 'Reaper'.

I've been doing laundry and chores

to get ready for the Cthulhu game. We didn't play last week, and I'd already finished the notes, so I've had time to relax this weekend. YKWIA is making a soup that smells divine; it should be ready in less than an hour, and we have those little soup bowl loaves given to us by someone. I am properly caffeinated and have been up and moving quite a bit. I just cleaned the car out and corralled the little drink lids one of my co-workers is collecting for school into a gallon bag, ready to go. I've also put away the folded laundry (my laundry). Right now I'm drying the dog blankets and doing a load of YKWIA's (it's a long story, but he isn't allowed to use his own washer and dryer due to an agreement with someone who helped get them the washer and dryer quite a while ago. That person is now dead several years, but he keeps his word.)

Yesterday we went out and celebrated my having officially been hired, as I start on payroll Wednesday. I'm excited. I'm basically still going to work at checkout, but with some added responsibilities, probably, and a different schedule, as I've been working 8.5-9 hours a day on most days, and now overtime will enter in if I continued to do that. We'd discussed changing my schedule from 8-5:30 to 9-5:30, which would mean having someone to check out the people getting out of clinic late AND it would be nice for me because I wouldn't have to get up at 6 am anymore. And at 9 there's still ample parking--if my trips in from the doctor in the morning have been any indication. Meanwhile, they've hired a PRN person who will be assisting with check out (I've been the only one in there for weeks) and with the phones (hallelujah!) I really like her, and I'm hoping we'll make a good team. She is catching on very quickly. This week we've both got hiring-related things on Wednesday--I have to do my paperwork, and I think she's in the official orientation. I'm not sure if I am. I got an abbreviated orientation when I started as a contract worker, but they may need to let me know of other things that have changed with the move. So only two more days of the higher rate, and seven days' total pay coming at that rate, but on the other hand, my health insurance kicks in from day one. That's amazing. It used to be a wait of a month or so. I have to call UnitedHealthcare and see if there are any considerations regarding moving from COBRA back to the same plan (like are my out-of-pocket expenses still maxed out) and also if there's any chance of a partial refund of this month. I'm not banking on it, but if you don't ask, you don't get, right?

Yay!

So on Wednesday the 11th, I discovered that the only thing holding up my background check/drug test/final hurdle to get a hire date and start the new job was the fact that they couldn't verify my high school graduation (as the job requires a high school diploma or equivalent). Apparently, Danville High School is on autumn break this week. So, I had two choices: wait until Monday for them to get my voicemail requesting a copy of my diploma or a note on letterhead attesting my graduation, or find my diploma.

Now, when I was packing, I remember debating about the diploma. Should I keep it out or pack it up? I ultimately decided to keep my diplomas from my undergraduate (BA) and graduate (MSLS) out, as that might be required by a job, but since my diploma is in a puffy case that I wasn't sure that it would fit into my important papers box, I packed it away with the photo albums. I remember that distinctly. Of course, I also remember labelling the box 'diploma' (more on that below). So I knew the box, but not where it was in the storage unit.

So I went over that evening, after dark, and dug through roughly a third of the storage unit before finding what I thought was the box, but couldn't get that last box off of it easily. Then the lights went out (they're on a timer that only goes up to 30 minutes). Unfortunately, I'd burrowed in with things behind me, so I couldn't back up easily and go back down the hall to set the timer again. So I pulled out my cell phone, taking care not to drop it amongst the boxes, and put it in flashlight mode. Then I was able to read the box (which was not labelled 'diploma'), but nevertheless, had 'photo albums', and opened it to find the dratted diploma. It had taken about an hour since I'd left the house to achieve my goal.

So, this was what I encountered when I opened up the unit (I pulled out things, so I rearranged them, especially the boxes that had leaned against the paintings. My helper on the last day apparently did not realise one should pack heaviest on the bottom and get progressively lighter as you go up.)



Then, Eureka! Success! Or as my cousin wrote on Facebook, 'Behold! Glory!'



Then I put things back as best I could, and streaming sweat and feeling very overheated, made my way back home with the diploma. This is what I looked like. I think I aged 10 years, at least temporarily:



So Thursday I brought my diploma (and, for good measure, my name change court order, as I graduated under my former (birth) name). They made copies of those and now I am official, starting with Wednesday, October 18th as a hire date. Yay!!!

It's a rainy Sunday with no game...

Brenda called earlier to say she had some sort of crud that may just be sinus issues but since both the gamemaster and I can't really afford to be sick, she's going to stay away in case it's something worse. We try not to play when any of us has a plague.

I haven't done anything today beyond running a load of dishes through the dishwasher and playing around, while actually learning some real, verifiable facts (yes, I verified them, hey, I'm a librarian) on Facebook. I may do some reading. I laundered my clothes on Thursday night, but the bed linens, both mine and my friend's, need to be done, so I've started a load of those. Yesterday there were errands to run, an umbrella plant to pot up in a bigger pot, and some chores to do, plus the game notes, of course, all of which have been done. Today I should go get some creamer (read: Land o Lakes half-and-half) for my friend, as it is an essential commodity, along with coffee, for his good disposition. Other than that, there's not much to do. I have a fun audiobook out from the library, a historical mystery called Maisie Dobbs, which introduces a series. And I've got plenty of books to read and a charged Kindle. But I decided to write first, and pay some bills that are due, because I haven't been on the computer much at all lately, except to finish a book review and the gaming notes.

No word yet on the background check and the drug test. The whole process can take something like two weeks. So I don't have an official hire date yet. Our PRN person, who did hers the same day, already has a start date of Wednesday, which will help immensely at work. I just wish I had one already.

Friday was a weird day at work. We had fewer patients, but a lot of odd stuff happened. For example, I had a doctor's appointment at 8 am and got in just after 9 am, and my boss and one of the women from downstairs who is usually doing pre-authorizations for surgeries were instead checking in people, due to two people unexpectedly being out, and there were a few glitches to be taken care of since they weren't used to doing it every day. Meanwhile, there was confusion on the part of the clinic regarding my absence, and so some things had to be ironed out, even though I'd gotten in before anyone normally would have checked out. (Isn't that always the case--I think five people were in and out before I got there that morning). After that all got straightened out, check-out was fine, I scheduled the appointments for those who'd already left, fielded phone calls as I could, returned voicemails, and scheduled surgery patients since the OR scheduler was out. My boss sat in for me for lunch so I could get a break. I was going to actually sit in at check-in yesterday and get some training on that, but of course, with the shortage of staff, that wasn't possible. Maybe next week. I'm more comfortable doing things than I used to be. I'm handling things pretty well nowadays. When I first started I had anxiety dreams where I was scheduling in my sleep. That doesn't happen anymore. I'm interested in learning to go beyond my current skillset. I'd still like to work in a library, but having a full-time job with benefits is my primary goal at the moment, and while I'm still watching the Kentucky job list, there's nothing out there I'd like to apply for right now.

I said I might have good news, and I do

So a couple of months ago, I was offered a PRN position with the scheduling department with which I'm currently working under contract. Unfortunately, it was determined that since I had been laid off from the company and received a severance, they could not hire me. Fast forward a couple of months. One of my co-workers left, and another took her position, leaving a full-time position open. I asked my supervisor if the prohibition had been for the PRN position only, or for any position, as I was interested in the open one. My boss said they'd been round and round on this, and that I should communicate my interest via e-mail. An appeal was made, based on 1) the fact that the position was in no way related to my former ones, being in a different department entirely with different duties, 2) the volume of work had increased exponentially since the move, so they didn't expect to need my help before moving, and 3) I've been doing the job anyway under contract for the entire summer and more. The appeal did work, yay, so we proceeded and I have been offered a full-time position with benefits, which I have accepted. Monday I sign some paperwork and do my drug test. So pending my drug test results and background check, I have a new job! Considering most of my severance has gone to paying for my health insurance (continued under COBRA) at $755 a month, this is great news. Also, I haven't been gone so long that my PTO will accrue at the same rate, giving me four weeks' time off a year. I'll learn about any other things on Monday. But I am very happy. In fact, Friday was a great day, due to that news and the fact that I did get paid, and could pay said health insurance, as I think I would have been down to about $10 after that otherwise.

So that's my news. I don't expect any kinks, but I can't say I'm officially hired until I go through those two things, and that may take a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, I'll still be doing my job every day under contract. :)

So, I've obviously been amiss at writing/blogging

I've been pretty much coming home, having a great meal, and relaxing a bit before bed, maybe listening to music, rather than getting on the computer. Sorry about that. But I've had to recharge well because we've had a lot (and I mean a lot) of patients come in this week, and it's been very, very busy. Today, though, I had an appointment and so I left at 1:30 pm. After the appointment, I made a couple of stops, came home, spent quite some time talking with a neighbour who is a co-worker's cousin and trying to organise a neighbourhood watch, and she told me about a meeting they're having on Monday nearby. Then I went in, ate a little something, and by 5 pm I was headed out to an appointment with my insurance agent, who likes his representatives to see clients at least once a year. That went well, I got a little refrigerator magnet out of it :), and then I stopped by the library to pick up a book I put on hold for YKWIA along with a couple for me.

Last night while looking up the said book on the library website, it reminded me to try using an application on my phone that they have partnered with, Libby, by Overdrive, which is a sort of one-stop shop for library e-Books and audiobooks. It was then that I discovered that there was one more, last, instalment of my beloved Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters, called The Painted Queen. It had been finished by another writer, I presume, as the credits are for both Peters and her. So I borrowed it in Kindle format. Here's hoping I have some time over the next two weeks to read it. Of course, I have all the others, mostly in paperback but the later ones are in hardback. So eventually I'll buy one.

Okay, I know it hasn't been exciting, but I really should turn in for bed. However, I may have some good news to share in the next few days, so be sure to stay tuned. Good night!

So the roommate thing is working out pretty well

But since this is someone I have known for almost thirty years who is like a brother, it has its moments. Such as last night, when he was finished with what he was doing, I was heading for bed, and he had a rare moment of boredom. So he came and tried to get me to get up and do something with him, and he was teasing me, and found some of my lotion on the nightstand and put it on my hair. I managed to get it at least dry so that I could go on to bed without getting it on the pillow. In all fairness, he told me he was going to do it. A bored YKWIA is never good. Today, I'd gotten a shower, gotten the lotion out of my hair, gotten dressed, and was on the way to take my dirty clothes to the closet when I passed the hall closet which has the cat litter boxes inside, and an arm grabbed me from inside with a roar coming from within. Fortunately, while my heart skipped a beat and it did startle me, I didn't really get scared. The same person, years ago, when we were living in separate apartments with a connecting door that I unwisely, in retrospect, kept unlocked, had stood in my shower for a good 45 minutes one day, waiting for me to come home. At the time, I had a shower curtain that was all aquatic animals in the blue water. I came in from school (I was in college then), put my stuff down, went to the bathroom, peed, and then when I was finished, he jumped out of the shower at me.

On that occasion, I startled, bounced into a wall, bounced into another wall, pinged to the sink, and settled in a corner of the bathroom completely gibbering with screaming that lasted for quite some time. I screamed over and over and over for quite a while. He thought he'd broken me. To this day, when I live in my own home, I have a clear shower curtain. Fortunately, we have a clear glass shower door here. Now, of course, I remember it with amusement. I'm much better with these things now, which is good, as we live together. Ah. Have I mentioned that he is more than a little cat like?

It's been a relaxing weekend so far

Yesterday YKWIA and I did our own things, for the most part. He watched 'The Flash' and 'Arrow' on Netflix, and then listened to BBC radio plays with Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. He also took care of the empty boxed we'd saved from the move he needed for something and did some other things about the house. I got some medicine at the pharmacy, did a grocery run, did most of the laundry and some dishes, re-potted two African violets, gardened some outside, and then relaxed, listened to music, and did some reading. I am re-reading Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson on the Kindle. I haven't read the third (and last) trilogy, so I thought I'd re-read the first two trilogies and then go forward with those. I'd already finished the game notes Friday night, so I had plenty of time on Saturday to do whatever I liked.

Today I got up early, took a shower (something I never got around to yesterday, which is rare), washed my bedding and then made the bed. I also took my medicine, ate, etc. I was cleaning the cat box when YKWIA got up (he'd gone to bed later than I did). He fed the animals and let the dogs out (we agreed that if I do it in the morning, it'll set a precedent where they'll bark, etc., and since I get up around 5:30 or 6 am on weekdays, that's too early for that. So far it's worked well. I find they'll come out, hopeful, but if I just ignore or maybe just pet them, they'll go back to bed. Well, the cat will stay and get loved on and follow me about, but he's mostly quieter and doesn't keep begging for food much.

We did get some very bad news last night. An acquaintance I hadn't seen in about 20 years tracked me down via Messenger and let me know that a mutual friend (the owner of the comic shop I'd worked for) now has stage IV colon and liver cancer. We'd fallen out of touch over the years. I told YKWIA (he'd known him better and for far longer) and got the address of someone who can let me know if we can help him in any way or see him, as this person is not on Facebook.

Brenda called today to cancel the game due to either a stomach bug or bad barbeque from yesterday. So we're not playing, and I have pretty much the rest of my day to do anything I want. She knows the person with cancer as well, so YKWIA told her what was going on and she was going to tell her husband, who also knows him. A little later, YKWIA called me into the other room. His Internet and phone were both out. I put the modem through a cycle, and it worked for a moment, then lost the connexion again. I called Spectrum and apparently, there is an outage in our area. Fortunately I can get on through the hotspot on my phone, but it's not good for videos, etc., due to a monthly cap of 5 GB.

There are only a couple of things I have to do today. One is to go get pen needles from the Kroger pharmacy, as I forgot to ask at mine yesterday, where I have the prescription. I also told YKWIA I would wash his popcorn bowl (and by that, I mean the top of a plastic cake safe, so it's pretty big). I'll do the few dishes that are left after I put away the ones I did yesterday.

I have to admit, I feel more relaxed here. I always used to feel rushed on the weekends, and when I was home, with all the stuff I hoarded, my apartment seemed oppressive. My room is cosy. My friend and I are getting along well, giving each other space, and have had no major problems as of yet. It's actually been pretty companionable. I really do feel like I'm home now.

Okay, I should go and do something. I think I'll do a little reading. I'm going to go to Kroger after the church rush. Hope you are having a pleasant weekend.

It was a pretty decent day

I was back at check-out at work because the woman who had been in that position is no longer employed there. So I'm doing the phones and check-out, in a very busy week, and I did pretty well. I handled check-out fine, even when it was really busy, although I got behind with the voicemails and barely answered any calls. But I did ask for help, and got it, instead of trying to do everything by myself and getting stressed out. So I consider that a win. My OCD sometimes interferes with my work in the fact that I have to get everything checked off my current list before I do things like take a break or leave. I'm learning to let that slide a bit.

When I got home, YKWIA was making a salad, cream of corn soup, and a lovely baked carrot dish. I'm going to be very spoilt soon with the home cooking. Additionally, my blood sugar has been running extremely normal of late, after I got over the actual move when it was running high because I was nowhere near a routine on my medicine and eating.

Now I'm sitting on the bed with the fans on, considering going to bed, even though it's pretty early. I have to get up rather early (about 6 am) to get to work on time. I just got off the phone with my friend whose lost dog I shared awhile back. It's been 9 weeks since Elvis disappeared, and she's having a hard time. I just wish she could find him, but it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. In this case, I wish he'd just come trotting home unharmed.

So I just wanted to update. I noticed my name is inside the mailbox courtesy of the US Postal Service, written in red. I guess this really is home, now. I'm comfortable, was fed a very nice meal, and have some companionship beyond what I had before. Life is pretty okay right now, at least for today.

Surprise, surprise!

We found a way to save both my character and Brenda's in the Call of Cthulhu game from a nasty engineered virus that was going to kill them dead, dead, dead. My character will basically be an indentured servant of a bunch of Mages, but at least she and the other person will live, so well, okay. Of course, the true horror has arrived because her mother, who has never appeared in the game before has shown up and is having none of her 'paranormal investigating' as a...horrors...job. Celeste comes from a very aristocratic family and her mother is an opera singer, who in her very carrying voice, attended by several minions, made it very clear in the hospital that she would no longer be associating with our group and was coming home to be married off to someone of quality. I think she'll find that Celeste (when she is better; her heart was damaged by a cultist's spell) will not go so gently into that good night, and the Mages have a claim over her, anyway. But it's been a good run as an investigator. Her most memorable line was when she discovered footprints and declared them to be giant floppy clown shoes. Hey, she knows her shoes. And she was right, as the adventure, if I remember right, was called 'Killer Cannibal Clowns'.

Anyway, it was a good game. It's so weird to not be going home after it ended. I'm not used to the fact that I'm home already. I started doing a computer backup but a friend of YKWIA's called, so I put the last of the laundry away, took my things to my room, put the fans on, turned on some music, plumped up the pillows, burned a lavender soy candle for awhile, and went through some random shells and stones that I put out around the room, although there is an entire bag left. But I found a space for that, too. I've gotten ready for bed and set my alarm. I'm working from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm tomorrow and Wednesday, our busiest days, but the whole week is supposed to be busy, I think. I didn't see the numbers, as they hadn't come out yet and I was off on Friday. That extra day really helped. I'm much more rested, feel better, and my knee and ankles are doing much better. I really was hobbling around on my right knee. But I should go to bed soon; I have to get up about 5:45 or 6:00 am to get to work with time for the traffic and the shuttle. Good night.

So I

finally got everything put away and it turned out to be very cosy. And I think I've finally gotten rest and my ankles are not swollen to the size of softballs. :) It is a bit of a cross between a little girl's room and an old lady's, I think, but I'm sort of in the middle, so I guess that works out.

Checking in

I know it's been awhile. I finally have recovered from the move. Everything is either in storage or put away in my new place, or at least the stuff I was able to get out of the apartment. I called to apologise again, and to see how much I owed them. The final bill hasn't been tallied, but it looks like they are going to charge me a lot for the stuff they had to carry out, which I didn't really consider when I left it, I was so tired, and really, there was no way to get it out in time. So it is what it is. She's thinking it may be upwards of $2000, which I'm still shocked at, but I don't think I have a defence as to why I shouldn't pay it. I didn't think there was quite that much left. So this has been a pretty expensive move.

But at least it's over. I took a few last things to storage today. YKWIA and I finally had our lunch buffet at Masala for his birthday. We've been working on finding places for the food and other items I brought with me. I found a place for my wine and accessories for libations (in a cubby hole in my bed) rather than out in his very Jewish home. We've been getting used to living with someone else, and it's gone pretty well. And I finally got some rest. My boss let me off on Friday due to a low census (although the coming week will be high numbers), and I got a lot done yesterday and today.

I finally finished the notes, just now, for the Call of Cthulhu game. We're going to play tomorrow. I'm doing a little laundry. I just have to put my clothes away and I think I'm done for the night. Hope you're having a pleasant weekend. Sorry I haven't blogged.

I really tried, but

I give up. There is still too much to do and not enough time to finish it. It is almost 1 am. I have to be at work in 7 hours. It was a valiant effort, and today I had some help. But it's not enough. I have all the stuff I wanted to keep. But there are things I'd wanted to take out and things I wanted to donate, and they're still there. I'll turn the keys in early tomorrow before they open with a note of apology. It was just too much, and even though I've been working on this for what seems like forever, that couldn't be changed. But I downsized a lot. I feel like I purged a lot of stuff. I'm just sorry I couldn't present the apartment in the condition I wanted. It means I won't get my deposit back, but really, at this point, I am so tired I feel sick, and I don't care anymore. I do care about the fact that they've been very good to me in general and gave me an extension. I wanted to do things right for that reason. But it was illogical to keep going when it was still going to lead to failure. I'm headed to bed, assuming my legs, which are terribly swollen despite a diuretic and in pain, will let me sleep. Good night.

Do I look as tired as I feel?

I am so over this move. Only a few hours left.

So tired

Most of my earthly possessions now reside in a 10'x15' storage unit, which is now completely full. The bread machine is my friend's, as we switched out machines since mine is superior. A few items are in a closet, a cedar chest, the bed, and lying in a pile at the foot of my bed to be put away tomorrow. Still have to take things to Goodwill and books to the library--and clean, all tonight. Not sure I can do all that. It's 9 pm now, and I have to work tomorrow. We'll see. But I'm drinking water and resting for a few minutes before going back over there.

I was exhausted last night

I wound up, after coming home, taking a shower, and blogging just a bit, going to bed about 11 pm. So even though I meant to get up at my usual 6 am, I slept in till 8, whereupon I was awakened by a hungry cat. We had agreed that I wouldn't feed them in the morning so it wouldn't set a precedent of barking, etc. Now YKWIA has woken up and is doing it instead. The plan is to put some clothes on, go get some caffeine, and start working again. We both had bizarre dreams, apparently.

Okay, I'll sign off here for now. Have a good morning.

I am STILL moving

I got an extension from my leasing agent because there was just so much to go through. The big stuff all got moved on Tuesday, along with about 50 boxes of books. The guys took my dresser, chest of drawers, and love seat out to the approved Dumpster area. They were competent and speedy. It took a little less than four hours. I tipped each one enough to get some lunch. They were carrying boxes of books out two at a time. Ah, to be young again. I highly recommend Wildcat Moving. They were very professional and everything worked well. They stacked things very well, using as much space as possible in my storage unit. There were other things I'll need to take out. I'm almost finished. I need to take my comics, the Rosemoon Guild files, a couple of cherry tables, the dining room table, and a few other things to storage, along with several boxes of kitchen things, one of which (the dishes) hasn't been packed yet. Then the fun begins. There's approximately 12 boxes' worth of books to go to the library as a donation. There is easily an entire carload of things for charity. There is a lot of trash and recyclables, too. Then I have to clean. I'm going to work all tomorrow, starting early. I was going to try to work last night, but after working all day at the medical centre, I only got about four hours in before becoming pooped. It's just as well that I didn't because 1) apparently there are special characters in the code for the gate at the storage area that I'd forgotten, and I wouldn't have been able to get in, 2) I decided that moving stuff into a storage unit at 3:30 in the morning, when you're a woman and alone, might not be the best plan, even though they have security, and 3) it was raining cats and dogs, and I'm moving cardboard boxes and things like acrylic paintings. It was cloudy today, but the rain left over from Hurricane Harvey has passed, and it just spit a little rain here and there.

Today I worked for over twelve hours. I am tired. We were supposed to go out to the Indian restaurant (Masala, in Beaumont) today for YKWIA's birthday, but we postponed it for the move. I didn't take a shower this morning and I was sweaty and let's say, fragrant. So I just took a shower and I feel much better. I'm just waiting for my hair to dry to go to bed. Tomorrow's agenda, beyond the apartment, is to put away a couple of boxes' worth of things I brought to the house, set up the printer, take my battery backup/surge protector and put it on the computer YKWIA is using, go over some financial stuff, and do some laundry. That's enough. Maybe we'll be able to go to Masala on Monday since I'm off.

I am getting very sleepy. I'm tired. I think my hair is dry enough, anyway, to not hurt the pillow. I think it's time to turn in for the night.