Thursday Musings

This morning I looked at the weather forecast in the Globe (I know, I know, I don't know why I bother either, I can't help myself), and it said today would be cooler and drier. I looked out the window, where it was raining, and then back at the paper. Yes, it really said drier. Okay.

Not that it was raining hard, but it did sprinkle on and off all day. I saw a rainbow on the way home. It wasn't hot, but it certainly wasn't dry.

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Over the weekend, my sink faucet developed a small problem. It's the kind of faucet that pulls out and is a sprayer, and it didn't want to go back in. It's never gone in smoothly, but it seemed stiff and didn't want to turn, and when I pulled it out, it wouldn't go back at all. Majorly annoying, and I couldn't see where the hangup was.

So last night, I took everything out from under the sink so that I could climb halfway in and work on it. After a couple of tries, I got it to go back in, which was a big relief. (I found that I really needed to have three hands to make it work when it was stuck.) And I tidied up under the sink, so it's a little better organized under there. The funniest thing? When I develop a leak in one of a pair of rubber gloves, I throw away the damaged one and keep the other one for possible future use. So what did I have under there? Four left gloves. Apparently I'm more damaging to the right glove, consistently. I thought that was pretty funny.

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I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I haven't had a terrible week, other than that ultra-annoying (in the sense of being an affront to my organizational sense) ongoing project, and even there my boss is pleased with what I'm finding. However, for some reason a bunch of people are having bad weeks, and you can practically see the stress molecules floating around. I had to go to the store tonight anyway, so I picked up a bunch of chocolate for my desktop candy dish. The way this week has been, we're going to need it tomorrow.

Have I mentioned that I keep chocolate on my desk? It started as my having chocolate for myself, and being willing to share, and now it's become A Thing. I kind of want to post a few rules about it, though I probably won't. Do-and-Don't, essentially.

Do:

• Say thank you. Basic politeness.
  
• If you want to, you can kick in (either in $ or in kind). Some have brought in a bag, others drop in a dollar (or in the case of my boss's boss, $20). You don't have to contribute, it's nice but not expected, but if you feel guilty for taking it, well, let's move on to...
  

Don't:

• Tell me you feel bad for taking some. That's why it's there. Honestly, I'm not counting who takes how many. There is no sting operation set up here. It's not a trap, it's just a candy dish.
  
• Ask if you can have some. This seems like it's being polite, but honestly, I'm not putting it out to taunt you. Some people seriously ask, and wait for an answer. Yes, yes, take it already.
• Criticize the selection. No one is forcing you to have any. Picking over it and telling me that you don't like this kind or that kind gets you nowhere with me. (If you kick in a little $ and suggest that you like one kind or another, that's fine. Otherwise, no.)
  
• Blame me for your lack of willpower. I don't blame anyone else for mine. Some people eye the candy but never take any. They have willpower. It's not my fault if you don't. There's another way to get from point A to point B that doesn't involve passing my desk, you know.
  

I sound a little testy, don't I? Like with so many areas of my life, I have some pet peeves here (obviously). One thing I've learned that surprised me is how many people really like Heath bars. I bought them because I like them, but it turns out that my boss's boss likes them, and his boss likes them, and another SVP likes them. I'm no dummy. We don't run out of Heath bars. I stock up when they're on sale at Target.

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I don't know how many men read this (though I saw recently in Google Reader that 20 people are signed up for this blog that way! Really? Twenty of you? Hi!), but if you're squeamish about "girl stuff" you may wish to look away for a moment. That said, can anyone tell me why tampons come in wrappers that rustle? Why can I not stick one in my pocket without it announcing its presence?

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Looking back over the year is something that people tend to do at the end of December or early in January, but my year to contemplate is really the last twelve months, it isn't simply 2008 or 2009.

Almost exactly a year ago, I was laid off.

Around 9 months ago, I started a new job.

Eight months ago, Pan died.

Seven months ago, we got Miri.

Almost four months ago, my dad died.

Among other things, this list explains why the 20-30 pounds I've put on in this time frame is not at all surprising. This is enough stress to choke a horse, and my main reaction to stress is eating. I'm now at the difficult stage where I want to do something about it, enough to think about exercising (yuck), but I don't want to stop eating all the crap. Mmm, candy, ice cream.

I think my brain is starting to win though. Last night, I dreamed that someone (a person I know in real life, and who is, um, not shy about expressing opinions) saw me for the first time in a while and asked when I got so fat. I pointed out the whole stress-year thing, and the person told me yes, but I looked awful. And of course, I know, that didn't come from this person, it came from my own brain. So perhaps the tide turns. Perhaps tonight I will get back on the exercise bike that has been sitting quietly ignored for so long.

Perhaps not. We shall see.