Staycation Life Update

This week I’m off work. Not doing anything except recovering my equilibrium. I was feeling my mental state getting too close the edge of the abyss. And I just did not want to fall in. So I took off a week.

Already I’m feeling better. So I think it was a good choice.

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I only have one, possibly two work related things I need to do. One is to catch up a report that I’ve been neglecting all month. It’s tedious and it’s easy to say to myself, I don’t have time today. It’s supposed to be done daily. I think I’ve got 5 days in the report so far.

The other is to possibly go into work for a visit from a tech guy for our reservation/dispatch system. I have thoughts I want to share. Many, many thoughts.

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I have become addicted to a game on my phone called Wordscapes. Like I just started playing 3 weeks ago and I’m on level 1241. Each puzzle is a level. I hate when computers make pretending it’s not that bad impossible. At least it’s a mind exercise, but it is far too easy to do the game rather than do my life.

I find it easier to break a habit by replacing it with another habit. So I bought an embroidery kit to see if I can start a new habit to keep my life occupied. At least there is a sense that I accomplished something tangible with the embroidering

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I’ve recently become obsessed with keyboards. I want a mechanical one. Like we had in the old days. Where there was a tangible click when you pressed down. And you could feel the key go all the way down. And the keyboard wasn’t flat but had a pleasant upward curve.

I know it’s probably a bit more fatiguing to your hand if you have to type a lot, but I am mostly not typing long form. I’m working in accounting software. I mostly use 10key skills. And doing 10 key wants to feel more like I associate with those horrible giant adding machines. So I want to have a mechanical keyboard.

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I have decided that the small daily changes – like a different keyboard are the things that make life better. So many things in life that we just accept, but are not really that comfortable. So I’m going to start paying attention to those things. See if I can get my life to feel more like it’s moving smoothly, rather than being dragged over gravel.

To the Doctor or Not to the Doctor

That is the question.

I have Iritis. Which can be summed up by saying my left eye waters and is deeply painful. But only periodically.

It’s started a periodic. The treatment is prednisone eye drops. I have left over from last time, but I probably only have 4 or 5 drops left.

To get more I must visit the doctor. I don’t enjoy doctors. Mostly because getting my ass into a different pattern of action – ie going to the doctor’s office is hard. Depression has this thing where it wants to keep doing what ever it is currently doing. It’s super stupid.

Anywho. Sometimes the pain goes away after just a few treatments. Sometimes it lasts for more than a week and the drops take 3-4 days to touch the problem.

Also, and really kind of super important, even if it goes away before the drops run out, then I won’t have the back up drops for the next episode. This means I would suffer for many days before I can get into see the doctor.

Finally – I don’t want to go because what if it’s worse. What if I’m going blind? What if the next step is some horror, like eye surgery or something??? Ignorance is not bliss, but it is a numb alternative to bad news.

This is definitely a boring post. However it did help me work my brain through it’s spaghetti reasoning and come the to conclusion that I should call for an appointment.

sigh.

cranky kid

Unintentional Poetry

The Moon Follows you where ever you go.
Hold on to my purse.
Don’t let go of my Purse.
Whereever you are the moon is too.

Tonight in the grocery store parking lot I was followed out by a Mother and heard her saying this to her toddler aged child. I turned around because it struck me as so beautiful.

The Moon Follows You Whereever you Go.

Followed without pause with the anxious admonishment of a mother with her hands full of grocery bags and unable to hold the hand she so desperately wants to grab.

And then, again without pause, a reiteration of the beautiful idea of the moon being our constant companion.

She never raised her voice. I, as an adult who has shepherded children in hazardous areas, heard her anxiety. I don’t think the toddler did. He was focused on the wonder of the moon.

She covered all of a mother’s nature in that one unintentional poem. Teaching and Protecting.

Reasons I want to Drink

My coworker in a 2 associate team is on vacation. We recruit a backup for her from the call center.

It was a hectic day today. I had a regularly scheduled person who helps on Mondays when we are Extremely busy. Usually my coworker manages her and I only have her for 3 or 4 hours. But they changed her hours to match mine and damn it’s hard to manage someone inexperienced while trying to do your own job.

But. That’s NOT the reason I want to drink. The replacement co-worker pointed out that my regular coworker has not been marking sales tax on her invoicing for a very large account. Presumably the total amount billed is correct, I have not checked. PLEASE UNIVERSE, LET THE BILLED AMOUNT BE CORRECT. But because she has not been doing this, I have not reported those taxes collected and they have not been paid.

Taxes. NOT paid.

The thing is – she did it correctly for about 7 months and then in March she just did it randomly and in April only 4 items and after that…

I have NO idea what was going on in her mind. But I do know that I report the taxable payable amount to the owners of the company and they faithfully pay that amount to the state.

And it was wrong since March. By a not insignificant amount. This puts them in danger of audit and fines etc.

I love my co-worker. But she works too fast. That’s her key strength but it’s also her weakness. I worry that her desire to get my work started before I arrive is causing her to let important things slide. She likes to be the hero who helps people.

And I worry that telling my bosses that the last 4 months of tax reporting I did for them was wrong. Because they will want to know why. And then I will be throwing my friend under the bus.

She’s on vacation. I talk to her regularly by text but I’m not going to ruin her vacation with this nightmare. Still it’s giving me stomach issues. I can’t tell them without telling her first. But that’s a weeks wait. sigh.

Drinking seems like a decent solution to get through the week. If only it had no next day consequences.

Confession: I hate the Forth of July.

I live in a city and state that allows every Tom, Dick and Harry to shoot off fireworks. And in my neighborhood, they do. They start days before, often before dark and it goes on for weeks afterwards.

Loud unexpected noises make me jump and more than occasionally scream. However, I haven’t screamed this year. In the case of the fireworks – it sets all my fight or flight nerves on edge and I end up with some irrational anxiety over things I know won’t hurt me in my bedroom.

I have one neighbor who doesn’t go for the sparkly fireworks that go off with a muted pop. He enjoys the bombs. He sets them off days before and continues straight through. And then just randomly during the summer he will get a hankering and just shoot off a dozen or so. It a nightmare.

Last night another neighbor started his fireworks at 11 pm and kept it going to 1 am. Thankfully it was all sparkly muted pops. But still – its a bit much.

Then there’s the guy who in the midst of the biggest mess of fireworks going on all over the damn city pulls out a gun and starts shooting in the air. Now, I know I’m being a killjoy here, but bullets shot straight up have to come down somewhere. People have died that way too. And that doesn’t even account for the blood alcohol level of someone handling a live weapon. Well. Lets face it. I am a killjoy.

I don’t make a thing about it to anyone who is enjoying their family fireworks. I just complain to friends and write a whining blog about it.

I just think that in a sane world – fireworks would only be handled by professionals. And set off in public places far from me.

Grouchy Sara is grouchy.

ANNOYED HUSKY

Peas and Mashed Potato

I have loved that combo since a kid, but for some reason hadn’t eaten it in probably nearly 10 years. On Friday I bought Kroger Mashed Potatoes and frozen peas and may I recommend?

I know. It’s not home made. But.

It has all the things that make Peas and Mash a comfort and a delight.

Lots of butter in the mash and also because I add it.

The frozen peas are lovely. That requires no explanation if you like peas.

Mix together into one.

Together the soft with tiny little explosions of pea magic.

They are the panacea for a crappy day. Low to no effort and pure comfort.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

Things I just can’t deal with right now.

Life Generally.

Flat tire, specifically.

I had a flat at work about 3 weeks ago. I work for a transportation company, so I just refilled the tire and watched it. It kept inflated for weeks. I thought perhaps it was an April Fools joke as it happened on April’s Fool Eve.

But today, the tire is flat. Indeed, it was flat yesterday. My neighbor knocked on my door to tell me. I was feeling like the struggle bus had run over me and then he showed up with more cheery news.

I ignored it. I have a portable electric air pump. But it does need to be plugged in and that is where it all sort of falls apart. I live on the second floor of the building but I don’t have an extension cord long enough to handle it.

I also have a roadside assistance contract. They will come and change the tire. Presumably they might have an air pump as an alternative option. But it’s not a guarantee. I cannot change the tire. I know this from previous attempts, when I was in better shape than I currently am. I have little to no upper body strength,

Right now my trunk is full of various forms of detritus that have formed in the last 7 years. It’s in desperate need of a clean out. And if I call roadside assistance, I’m gonna need to clean it out, so the spare can be removed. My desire to do that clean out of the trunk is damn near nil. But it must be done.

All of this is just me whining about a perfectly normal hitch in life, which the stillness in my brain has enlarged into a mountain of gargantuan size. So much so that my plan to take care of it today did not happen.

The Rules

Outside my window are children who are in the midst of deciding rules for their game. Arguments have ensued. I have been sick for 2 days this week. I know they will resolve this and eventually play a complicated game of hide and seek that they understand and no one else does.

But everyday they seemed to spend at least 20 minutes arguing over the rules. Children are very keenly aware of justice. I think humans are born with an awareness of fairness. Perhaps many animals are. Remember being in grade school or younger and how deeply an unfairness felt? This is probably the most unfair thing the uncaring universe does to us. Equip us with a sense of justice in a universe that is essentially indifferent to justice.

The absolute unfairness of the universe has not yet been taught to children. They tattle to any figure of authority that is within their reach because telling the injustice feels like it will resolve it. Perhaps the unknowable universe will resolve itself and make this injustice go away. But of course it doesn’t.

Of course, our innate sense of justice is what led to society working. To the rules and laws that make a civilization work. But it does warp itself as society gets bigger and more complex. And as we grow up and realize that justice is only fleeting and rarely applied. You could almost apply the rule of speeding tickets to all of life. How often do you speed? How often do you get a ticket? One begins to think the injustice is when justice actually targets you.

But the reality is that the universe is indifferent to justice or fairness. You get a speeding ticket or cancer, not because you did or did not deserve it, but just because the universe is random. Which feels so unfair, doesn’t it?

Considering Dal

I have a slow cooker. I don’t use it. But I have it. In case I finally live up to my ideal of cooking up meals for the week ahead.

This week I’m considering making a dal. So easy, so freezable, so yummy.

But I’m not a cook. And my entire yummy dal experience is from a local Indian Restaurant that does something magical to beans that makes me like them.

So I googled, as one does. And it turns out… Dal is not just one thing. Or it sort of is – it’s legumes. But sometimes they are whole, hulled or split. Depends.

India is GINORMOUS, for those of you who flunked geography. And different areas do different versions of dals. Different spices, or beans or what not.

Very few recipes are already for a slow cooker and I’m not an expert so…

I have no idea what kind of dal my favorite is. It’s just the magical stuff you put over the rice and then it’s contentment in my mouth.

I was overwhelmed by the possibilities I see. And I’m fairly sure I’m not going to be making dal tomorrow.

I might buy some on the way home though. 😍

Fred, the Mouse

We have a mouse at work. He’s a very smart and very brave mouse. He tends to show up in the office space after most of the noise and activity dies down, so early evening.

At first his favorite spot was my boss’s office. We heard her scream several times. She told her brother it was either the mouse or her. Not that she needed to threaten him, he was already ready to be rid of the mouse.

So traps were laid out and the mouse ignored all the traps, mechanical, glue and poison.

Now he’s moved in the main office.

He’s been chased but he’s quick and good at squeezing into his hidey holes.

I am a bleeding heart about animals. If he isn’t bothering me, I’m fine with live and let live on the mouse. And the more resilient and smart he proves himself to be, the more sympathy from me he gains.

The HR director has been a mouse fan from the beginning. He named it Fred and has been rooting for the mouse all along. I finally admitted to rooting for the mouse. So we decided to start a campaign to save Fred. I sent out a funny email and the whole office went into a pro Fred vs anti Fred mode.

My boss is decidedly anti Fred and suggested I bring in my cats to deal with Fred. But I’m not bringing in my cats when there is poison on the floor. Although, I do think a cat would be the most effective deterrent of a mouse invasion.

Because while HR guy and I call the mouse Fred, we really have no idea if it’s a Fred or a Felicia. And if it’s Felicia – we are going to have a whole lot more mice.

So. Now I’m considering a new campaign for an office cat. I think we could keep the mice out and improve moral with a nice cat. And as long as we are diligent about keeping it inside, it will be fine. I work at a transportation company, with many giant buses, and more than 50 vans, cars and SUVS. Not a good place for cats to wander.

But if we bring in an adult cat from a shelter, and we keep it inside, it will be FINE. I want an office cat. I wonder if anyone at the office is allergic. I shall check. And if we add it to the interview process – Are you allergic to cats? It will be fine.

Image result for mouser cat