Hockey, Being Grownup, Shells

The Bruins game last night turned out to be ... well ... the Globe called it the "season's worst loss" and I can't argue. Not that I truly watched the whole thing; I flipped channels for a while, checking back periodically in hopes of a turn for the better that never came, before I gave up and read instead, the TV barely audible in the background. Oh, Bruins, I just can't quit you. Please do better on Saturday. Please be as embarrassed by that travesty as I am for you.

Ahem. So! Moving on! My friend and I walked again today, and man did it wipe me out. I actually took a nap afterward, something I practically only ever do when I'm sick. Between exercising and filing my unemployment claim, today was disturbingly grown-up. I would have ice cream for dinner to counteract all that nonsense, but I don't have any in the house. I have to get to the grocery store.

I did get a few pictures of the shells today, though I'm not overly impressed with the photos and plan to try again. They're not awful, but I can do better.

Still, I'm thinking of putting this on my resume, next to "eye for detail".

I know; it wouldn't do anything on the electronic searches they use these days. Still, worth a thousand words, wouldn't you say?

No change in FL, bad day in MA

So, what could make a day with a father in ICU even more stressful?

Layoffs at work today.

Yes, unexpected (at least by me) layoffs. Happily (for me), I was not laid off*, and no one I work closely with was, either, but 16 people who had a job this morning didn't at noon, and from about 11 o'clock on my day sucked even more than it had before. The stress molecules rolling around were powerful, and I felt like (and still feel like) I had a 20-pound weight between and slightly above my shoulder blades. Ow.

*Perhaps this is a sign that the universe knows how much I can take (i.e., not much more). It could simply be that I don't work on the project they're scaling back ... but I just like the idea that something is watching out for me.

How was your day?

The Bruins play game one tonight. I threw in some laundry when I got home, so that it would be done before the game starts; then I can sit on my butt and watch Boston (hopefully) beat Montreal. Let's start strong, please, gentlemen; I'm closer to the end of my rope than I like to get. Knitting*, ice cream**, and a good hockey game: that would be a wonderful evening.

*It's not something I can blog about, as it's for someone who has been known to read the blog. We'll call it Secret Project One, as I have others in mind. As soon as it's done and gifted, I'll tell you all about it!

**I stopped on the way home. If ever an evening called for Gingersnap Molasses from Rancatore's, it's tonight.

Finally, so as not to end on a down note, if you haven't seen this amazing middle-school jump rope team, wow, go now. Go. Watch.

Playing the Pro and Cons Game

If you are thinking that I'm posting this in the morning because I had another headache last night, you are correct, unfortunately. I am knocking dents into wood as I say that right now, I don't have a headache. Oh, please...

The way that I started Monday's post made me think some more about the pros and cons of being laid off.

Cons:

• Insecurity (fiscal, mostly). I'll get severance pay for a little while, and I signed up for unemployment benefits. The severance should kick in more or less right away (should), the unemployment takes a few weeks to get started. In other words, I don't know when the next money will go into my bank account. Since the bills keep coming in regardless, I get...
  
• Headaches. Stress is one of my headache triggers. Therefore, I have been having more headaches. This sucks so much.
• I liked my co-workers. We'll get together once in a while, but it isn't the same.
• There are some noisy kids in this neighborhood! I know it's related to the headache issue, but they've seemed really, really loud some days, with the bike wheels rattling and skateboards rustling, running and yelling and bouncing basketballs. Loud. Outside my bedroom.
  
• My garden. It's been hard to go from seeing it five days a week to needing to schedule a 40-mile round-trip to see it.
  

Pros:

• More sleep. I've been staying up a little later than I do on a working schedule, and usually sleeping quite a lot later. This is very nice. I could get used to this. I'd better not...
• More time to get stuff done around the house. Not that I'm getting everything done, but I have more time... to... not do it. Hmm, that sounded more like a plus in my head than it looks in print.
  
• Visiting my parents. Somewhere in his writing, Dave Barry started a sentence with, "If you are, like so many of us, getting older...", and ever since then, I've hesitated before saying things like, "Well, they are getting older" since, yes, we all are. Let's just say that it's good to have time to go see them again.
• I'm saving a lot of money on gas.
• Not having to wear grown-up clothes. Hello, sweatpants, hello t-shirts!
• Not being in a freezing cold office.
• I can shop during the day, avoiding much of crowdedness in the stores and on the roads. I am, in fact, experiencing a disinclination to go out after about 4.
  
• Kitty time. I would enjoy spending more time with the cats in any event, but given the uncertainty of Pan's condition, it's a blessing to be able to hang out with him more.

Speaking of which, it's time for another rousing game of "How many cats do you see in this picture?"


Also, this LOL is appropriate for today, when I will be packing:



P.S. Happy birthday, my friend!

As if Monday wasn't already going to bite

Since I have to take Pan to the vet on Monday and leave him there* and worry about him all day, I already expected Monday to be rotten.

*I hate leaving him there. Hate it. Even leaving both boys to be fixed ten years ago was hard for me. Now? Horrible.

Then at work today, we were told that there are going to be some layoffs. We'll find out who are the "lucky" ones next week. Some time.

So in between worrying about my cat, I can worry if some unknown outplacement person will be showing up at my desk to tell me I'm one of them.

After I spend the entire weekend trying not to think about either situation.

Yes, this month is not going to go down in the books as one of my favorites.

Now, I must turn off the computer, as round 42 of the latest thunderstorm is coming in. I checked the weather map, and the end of this storm is currently leaving Trenton, NJ (about 300 miles away). I hope I see Harold again before morning, but I'm not going to hold my breath.