Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Work, Not Work, and Wine

Right, so, it's Tuesday! No after-work-plans excuses for lack of coherence; I was going to go to Target, but there's a big storm rolling in and I decided it could wait. The start of this week has been funny at work, since I was between reports but anticipating the hand-over of a rush job by the end of Tuesday. One of those "we're not quite done writing it, but hey, once you get it can you rush?" jobs. Meanwhile, it was kind of funny that this came along today:
(Actually, I spent a large part of the day refreshing my knowledge of RA; I wasn't twiddling my thumbs ALL day.) At least this report is being written here, and will therefore be starting at a much higher level than a lot of what I've seen. (I actually got to have a look at it a few weeks ago, so I know that's true.) I continue to deal with reports written by non-native-English speakers, and I continue to find it frequently frustrating. However, I also admit to being amused at times, as for example when the writer put "underline cause of disease" instead of "underlying", and I was outright giggling when I read this about ACE inhibitors: "The class of drugs acts by inhibiting the ACE." Duh, you think? If I find it obvious. it's a good guess our clients would, too.

Other random work-related thoughts:
A job where you can laugh is a good job; most days, I laugh.
A job where you sometimes laugh so hard you can't speak? Its price is above rubies. And that's happened at least twice. I couldn't tell you now what was so funny, but oh, it was.
 
Not that it's always great. Today I got to listen to possibly the world's most boring conversation ever, about flu vaccines. Yaaaawwwwwnnnnn!
 
Another good spell-check suggestion: for Torsemide, horsehide!
 
One way I can see that I've been working for medical companies for a while: encountering the name "Ewing" recently, I though first of the family on the old TV show Dallas, and then of Ewing's Sarcoma. Yup. Brainwashed.
 
People tend to have pet phrases, and when you work with someone long enough, you get used to hearing theirs. I had a boss once who would frequently finish sentences with "know what I mean?" My current boss uses, "My thing is..." to start many of her sentences.
 
We had unexpected cake at work one day last week. It turned out that one of my coworkers just became a US citizen, and the boss thought we should celebrate that. Nice, right?
 
Yeah. For a job, it's a good job.
 
Outside of work thoughts?
Well, yesterday was Monday morning, and I was looking at the calendar and pretending that my trip to Apple Festival is only two and a half weeks away. And I guess two weeks and four days isn't much more than two and a half weeks, but really, looking at it as work weeks, that's two full weeks and one four-day week. Closer to three weeks. Say "less than three weeks" and it feels a little better, though. Semantics. At least when I look at my Google calendar in three-week view (as I like to do), it shows up now. It's coming.
 
Looking at the calendar for the fall gives me a lot to look forward to, really, and you know how I am about the pleasures of anticipation. October's big events are obviously Apple Festival and Rhinebeck. In November, I'll be going out to Webs to hear Franklin Habit speak, which will be fun; for Thanksgiving, I need to make a double batch of angel salad this year, showing that the gradual takeover of the world is proceeding; and the election with all its attendant nonsense will finally be over. And December, of course, brings Christmas, which I still love.
 
Unfortunately, looking at the calendar also shows me all those scheduled Bruins games that are not looking very likely. (I eventually "hid" the schedule on my calendar; it was getting too painful, every time I went to look at anything, to be reminded of the epic screw-up this season is turning into.) And honestly, know what has me extra-annoyed about the lockout? The regular season starts around Columbus Day every year, which means that I often miss some of the first few games while I'm away that weekend. This year, because Columbus Day is so early, the season wouldn't have been starting until after, so this year I wouldn't have missed a thing. Honestly! Way to pour salt in the wounds! I hate them all right now.
 
*****
My mother and I were commiserating recently about how unpleasant we find exercise, so I knew I had to put this up for her:
And up, and out, and down...

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