Eastside Hippie

Carl and I had a great weekend.  We took Ty and Christy out to dinner last night, followed by drinks, then ended perfectly with a midnight walk to the store for crumpets.  We saw 300 today (go see it!), then booked our “minimoon” down in Napa/San Fran for the last week of March.  Flights and hotel are taken care of, dinner plans with Katherine and Devin have been discussed a little, and we’re looking forward to it. It’s one last celebration of having money for the next few decades while I’m in school and paying off student loans.

I only have 10 work-days left and I’m petrified.  Carl (and others) have been pushing me for the last year to make this commitment, but I am still worried.  We used to live off one income 4 years ago and made it work then, so we can do it again.  No car payments, mortgage, or children are huge motivators.

We’ve had downtime since about the middle of Monday. We ran out of the alternative work yesterday and have basically just sat around getting paid. I was released at 1pm and we may or may not have a full day tomorrow. I’m not counting on it.

After having the flu two weeks ago, I somehow managed to catch a cold. My nose just won’t stop simultaneously dripping and being stuffed. It’s annoying.

Since I had early release today, I came home and continued to reorganize the kitchen. I pulled out most of the old bake ware, all of the old Tupperware, and my old Target plates. I then stocked the shelves with our new dishes and wine glasses, then managed to take out all of the flattened boxes and give 3 1/2 bags of packing peanuts to UPS store with Carl’s help.

The place looks messy, but we should have the extra stuff for Value Village ready for Sunday. That will help clear out the clutter.

Our rings are ready. We can’t actually pick them up until the 22nd though. I can’t wait! Carl said that I can’t post any pictures until after the wedding. Spoilsport. The marriage certificate paperwork is being filled out. We have a great “rough draft” of the ceremony and vows, and figured out what we’re doing for Thank You cards. So much has been done!

Also, the crock pot is back to being available for anyone who would like it.

Woke at 6am. Arrived at work at 7am. Managed to listen to all 10 calls assigned to me (though our goal is 15), plus an hour and a half of running a calibration meeting. Not bad. I left at 1pm for a dental appointment. I stopped at Borders to use up a few gift cards and never even made it to the Fiction department. I picked up Bait and Switch, The Paradox of Choice, As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl, and Amusing Ourselves To Death. The Sociology and Psychology sections are dangerous for my wallet.

The dental visit was ok. I took two Valium and actually sat there while they drilled into a few of my teeth. Baby steps, one day at a time. One quarter of my mouth is now complete. I have another appointment next Tuesday, then the following Tuesday after that. That makes 4 appointments in January and at least 2 scheduled for February. I highly recommend this dental office. They really take care of me and go out of their way to make sure that every visit has the least amount of trauma as they can. They even gave me a blanket today because I wore a sleeveless shirt.

After the dentist, I bused out to school. The Valium was giving me waves of exhaustion, and it was all I could do to stay awake long enough to get to class. Once in class, the exhaustion hit full force. I am pretty sure my instructor noticed that I was falling asleep in his class, but I tried so hard to stay awake. My notes though, half-written words that trail off…I should have just gone home after the quiz. At least the next few dental appointments are on Tuesdays.

I managed to bus home in about an hour and a half. Not too bad. Carl had me pick out some clothes that I wanted washed, then he poured a glass of wine for me and made dinner. I could get used to this style of spoiling. At this point, I think I’m just going to take a bath and go to bed. Getting up early again (if I can) so I can get to work by 7:30. I have so much to do after work these days that the sooner I get to work, the sooner I can go home.

Carl made this for me today.

The good and the bad from the previous year:

(There is more where this came from … )

I finally got off my butt this morning and rode my bicycle to work.  I realized last night (thanks Katherine!) that I was procrastinating for no good reason.  It was cold,  but fun.  I’ll keep it up, I think.  Carl and I are joining a gym next month.  It’s just too cold and wet to actually cycle on a regular basis.

They cracked down Internet and cell phone usage at our desk.  I agree with the policy.  I’ve had to listen to calls multiple times because of distractions.  The last time I was warned about Internet usage though, I stopped.  It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be.  I just started bringing my laptop in and use it on breaks.  There is also a computer in the break room that we can use.  Cell phone usage…I don’t take calls at my desk, but I was texting every day.  Quite a few of my co-workers did too.  Nothing is so important though that I need to text all day.  that stuff can wait for breaks or after work.

There are plenty of companies out there who have much harsher policies.   They don’t pay us to chat on our phones all day, regardless if they had turned a blind eye to it before or not.  Maybe it’s just that I’m maturing, but I honestly don’t see anything wrong with enforcing this policy.  5 years ago, this was not the case.  Maybe also…I’ve reached a point in my life where I am managing my personal life in such a way that it does not conflict with my time at the office.

Who knows.  There is a thought process going on inside my head, but I really can’t dwell on it as my break time is over.  I think this will turn into an interesting conversation with Carl later.

Now this means I get to stay a full 8 hours at work instead of leaving at 4 to make it to class on time.  That’s kind of icky, but at least I’ll be within walking distance of home.  I was afraid of busing out to school in Factoria, only to get stuck or have a horrible time coming home.

We defrosted an 11 pound turkey in our camping cooler over night, occasionally changing out the water via the bathtub.  After working just over 6 hours of overtime today, I came home to find the turkey nice and soft.  Mmm turkey.  I just stuffed 2 gigantic sprigs of rosemary inbetween it’s skin and meat in 4 places, rubbed salt all over it, and threw it in the oven.  T-minus 3 hours, give or take.

I’m going to give myself some downtime by nappingreading on the couch for an hour or two, then make some stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy.  Simple dinner for the two of us (with a few pieces for the cats).  The rest of the turkey is already allocated for a few different meals, including turkey pot pies tomorrow, based on this recipe.  We’ll probably throw together a soup and possibly a turkey curry sometime next week as well.  I can’t wait.  Turkey bones make a fantastic broth.

Besides making sure I had lots of soft yummy foods for this weekend, Carl also did all of the laundry, including the towels.  He had one accident though;  he shrunk my bright blue turtleneck.  I’m going to try hand-washing it to see if I can stretch it out, but I’m pretty sure it’s a lost cause.  It was 100% wool.  I’m honestly not mad either.  It was a complete accident, one that I’m surprised that I hadn’t done before this.  (There is more where this came from … )

Don’t ever confuse the two, your life and your work. That’s what I have to say. The second is only a part of the first.  ~Anna Quindlen

Jessica: it sounds like their email servers were overwhelmed
Wesa:  yeah
Jessica:  and they WERE bracing by adding additional servers because the load was sudden and big

Jessica:  pls disregard that sentence
Wesa:  ok.
Jessica:  god thank you
Wesa:  sudden and big.  omg
Jessica:  THE LOAD.  omg