Weekend ... End?

As always, I'm sad to see the end of the weekend, which means it was another good one and I should be glad, right? Ah, life. Let's go to the photos. I'm feeling random-order, not coherent-narration, tonight.

A flower from my friend's garden today; she says it's a dahlia, I just know I like the colors.

A stack of (mostly) knitting books gifted me from another friend, who's moving. This doesn't count all the (mostly) knitting magazines and the yarn, which are still in the car. Whew!

Speaking of this friend, when I visited her (last weekend), we ran some errands. Guess what kind of store this was in?

Feed store! Though they also had this charming item, marked down, which I wanted to get for my cousin.

It's kind of big for a gag gift though. Sorry.

The store also had some funny shirts:

I had a delicious new-to-me soda:

I like the occasional orange soda, and pineapple is like it only different. Yum!

We went for a walk in the woods, too, and I was quite taken with the shapes in the wood.

One of her cats, looking concerned as she sorted through books.

Moving on, I caught Belmont playing with this cat toy the other day, and doesn't she look guilty?

I mean, not only is she allowed to, I'm glad she is!

Speaking of Miss B, we're making some progress. Friday night when I got home, I sat on the couch and Carlos took his usual position on my left, so that I could pat him. She came along, meowing, and jumped up on my right side. We stayed that way for maybe five minutes, both of them purring, before I learned that she hadn't realized he was there: he moved, she hissed and jumped down. Silly girl! Still, progress. Last night I was up late, reading*, and Carlos was again with me.

And she came along and again joined us.

 

This time, I think, she knew he was there, but who knows for sure. A little while later he jumped down and headed toward the kitchen, at which point she decided she was cut off from safety and hissed at him. I picked her up and carried her past him, and she moved away more calmly. Also progress! Given that, I decided that it had been long enough since the previous not-shutting-her-away-at-night experiment that it was worth trying again. And it worked! I feel as though Carlos wanted a little more snuggle-attention from me than he does on an average night, but when I cuddled him, he settled down again, which is great. We'll see if that continues to work.
*Code Name Verity, which is really good and so smartly written, but rather difficult in terms of topic (WWII/POW/torture), so I can't decide if I recommend it or not. It came highly recommended to me, so although it didn't grab me from the start it did catch me before page 50 (my frequent arbitrary number), and I'm not sorry I read it, but I did have to read a little Greenwillow before bed, to soothe my brain.

Other pictures. Like this one of long, lanky Carlos:

Amusing signs for parking:

And a sign of a different type:

Yesterday I went up to Wilmington with Mary Ellen and her husband to visit the Bruins' development camp, where future Bruins* are brought in to get a taste of the big leagues. Hockey hockey hockey! I love summer, but it is seriously hockey-deficient.
*This lot was born between 1991 and 96. None of them are likely to be in the NHL for a few years, at least.

Sometimes the pictures that don't come out are the best. What was he doing? Twerking?

In the first session, one of the players wore a rig with what looked like a camera.

When you've just had shoulder surgery, you wear a red no-contact jersey. Which can get lonely during contact drills for everyone else.

I didn't get a picture of it, but at one point he was firing pucks at the skates of some of the players waiting their turn. "Play with me!"

The other thing I didn't get pictures of was when I was watching Malcolm Subban skate by, and I was wondering why he seemed to be shimmying a bit. Then I saw that he was kicking a puck back and forth between his skates. Wild! These coordinated people.

Pastrnak is the one to watch: consensus is that he's a long shot to make the team this year, but not impossible.

He's been having the best time, by all reports. Brought only skates, no other equipment; lost his passport for a while; laughs and jokes about how often he's falling down (often enough that they're writing about it, anyway).

You can see here that there's a player named Sweezey.

We believe this may, just may, have been his car in the lot.

Just a guess.

Hockey hockey hockey. Happiness.

Work Thoughts, Friday Whew

A few work notes:

The company is moving to the new office space in a couple of weeks; we've been down the hall to see the new space (it's big! and bright), and they're working out all the details of who goes where. It isn't finalized yet, but it does seem I will be in a cube, not an office, which isn't a huge deal but is, I will admit, a slight disappointment. ​

​Oh well. I didn't take this job to get my own office.​

 (Although, the writer gets an office and the editors don't? Hmmm.)​

​

I am hoping I won't be too close to the kitchen space, since we got a new coffee machine this week, and it is not quiet. The thing is about six feet tall, it makes all kinds of coffee drinks, it grinds the beans ... not quiet. They installed it on Tuesday, and my head was not thrilled with it. We'll see about that as well.​

​ A new editor started in the office this week, and I'm happy to say we get along, which is very helpful and hopeful. She's younger, I'd guess late 20s, friendly, open to learning, all that good stuff. She's even a hockey fan, if not a Bruins fan (Philly; at least it's not Montreal). There was one day when we shared an only-editors-care-about-that things, and the other guy in the office said, "Did I just witness an editors' geek-out moment?"​ And we told him yes, he did.

*****
This has been a weird week for me, with the migraine and all. I feel like I lost track of time, and I don't know what day it is. I mean, trust me, I know it's Friday! But, the 11th? I feel like it's the 7th, maybe. 

It didn't help that I was more social than productive last weekend, and I have a few social things this weekend, too, so I need to manage my time a bit better. Like, scheduling when I will do laundry, instead of leaving it loose. So I'm doing it tonight. Woo. Still, good to get it off my back. I also got the car inspected after work, another thing not to think about getting done. So many things. So many, many things. But at least it's Friday.

Drained is the word

When I wrote last night that I was hoping I might cook tonight, I had forgotten that tonight was calling hours for the father of a friend, who died earlier this week. We're not really close friends, but I've known him a long time, he's a really nice guy, and it's what you do, you go and say how sorry you are.

It took almost an hour to get through the line, and with the hot weather and the emotions, I'm pretty much limp with tired. The cats are meowing and I just want to go to bed. Eat something first. TGIF, though, seriously.

Head: Progress

It's a good-news/bad-news thing with the head. Yesterday wasn't as bad as Monday night had been, despite being bad enough that I couldn't work a full day, and I felt much better this morning, closer to normal, my head only bothering me a bit this morning. After lunch, it got worse, which was annoying, though Tums and ginger ale helped a lot. Could be worse, not great. At least I worked all day.

However, overall? Improvement really is there, even if it doesn't feel like it this week. For the last few years, I've been keeping track of how many days are impacted by headaches, and specifically by the very worst ones. I looked back at it in 6-month chunks since 2012, to see how many days I've had a severe headache.

1H 2012: 12
2H 2012: 19
1H 2013: 9
2H 2013: 8
1H 2014: 5

Isn't that a nice downward trend? I started seeing the chiropractor in Feb 2013, and these seems to be a connection, doesn't there?

Maybe tomorrow night I'll have the energy to cook. I'm going to do some dishes tonight, in preparation.

Eh. Still not good.

At 6 this morning, my head still hurt, but another hour or so of sleep and it seemed to be on the mend. Unfortunately, as the day went on, it got worse again, and I had to leave work early, again. Migraines suck.

Right now it's not too bad. But will the pain go away and stay away? Who knows. Someone I work with says she gets them and they always last three days. That's a long time, but there's something to be said for knowing, isn't there?

Anyway, cross fingers for me.

Headache

I'll be back when I can. I'm hoping that when the storm passes through, things will improve. A storm that's brought a tornado watch just west of here seems like it could be packing enough pressure to fuck with my head, you know?

Good Tired Is Still Tired

It's been such a good weekend, so full of relaxing and socializing that I can forgive the not-so-much with the accomplishing stuff like laundry (and quite a few other things, really). And long enough that Friday's bad weather is a distant memory. But not long enough for me to have patience with the cat juggling, really. Or to not feel tired after an afternoon in the sun (knitting on a patio, not exerting myself, mind you). I could go to bed now.

Here. Let me not leave it at that. Have I shared this already? One-man Swedish marching band plays Star Wars theme?

Because of course.

Happy 4th!

Red shirt, blue shorts, and white on the cat. Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!

Too Tired to Come Up With a Title

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything lately. Not unmanageably, but like a milder version of the depression I went through this winter, when I just couldn't cope with all the everything. Right now, I think the warmer weather and extra sunshine help a lot, but dealing with the new job and the new cat simultaneously are taking a lot out of me. It kind of sounds like it should be manageable, but it just doesn't feel that way. Like, I have to feed myself again? Buy food, prepare food? Plan? Didn't I just do that? And I'm sure I just ran the dishwasher ... last week? or was it the week before? Anyway, why are there no clean knives again? Dirty dishes, mail, laundry ... it all seems too much, particularly when I'm dealing with the cat juggling.

I get up in the morning and go to release Belmont from the office. She's eaten all her food, so I give her more, and sit down with her to pat the kitty. Carlos, meanwhile, has heard the cat-food can and comes out to complain that it wasn't for him (though he has food left from dinner) and that I am in with her (even though he's just had me to himself all night). Once I come out, he'll finish what's left of his food, and sit down with me while I read the paper. When I start getting ready for work, he'll generally go back to the bed to nap by the window, but when I'm in the kitchen, she'll come out to bitch at me some more. That loud, piercing meow that demands ... something. Attention, time, something I don't have just then.

I feel as though, living "alone" as I do, there shouldn't be this much complaining at me going on! They're each generally happy when I'm with them, not so much when I'm with the other. When will they give each other some company? It's been less than a month, I know, but she's still hissing at him, and he won't settle down for the night if she isn't closed in the office, and ... and I'm tired. Just tired.

Hopefully a lot of sleep over the holiday weekend will help. For tonight, a movie and some knitting sound nice. I'm working on the heel flaps of the 2-in-1 socks.

And now, here is your fun fact of the day: Did you know that the US is one of only three countries not to use the metric system? (I did not.) Do you know the other two?

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*****

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Liberia and Myanmar. Interesting company to keep...

A Lot Tired, A Little Cranky

In my quest to have two cats who keep each other company, I went from having one cat who wanted all my attention to the (temporary) situation of having two cats who each want all my attention, but not that other cat, just me.

In my quest to get away from my old job with its many issues, I am in the (temporary) situation of learning a new job and all the new ways of doing things, and trying to remember 87 things simultaneously (which rarely works).

I'm tired. I'm okay, but I'm tired. And as I try to keep the cat from stepping on the keyboard or knocking the lamp to the floor, I think that's it for me here tonight.

Yawn. Purr.

Guess which of us is doing which.

Edited to add equal time:

Here I Am!

I got a bit philosophical on the drive in to work this morning, which is unusual for me at that hour of the day. I was stopped at a traffic light behind one vehicle, which was signalling a right turn, as I also intended to make. When the light turned green, the driver dithered his way forward, as though there was a lot to consider in the concept of going, while from across the intersection, someone making a left turn bulled his way in between the idiot's car and mine. Jerk, right? Which got me thinking, which would you rather deal with, an idiot or a jerk?

*****
Anyway. Onward. It hasn't been my week for blogging, has it? And tomorrow night the boss has invited us to have a happy hour, so who knows how that will go; I may get home with stories to tell, or too tired to turn the computer on*. As for last night, I'm happy to report that it was a combination of laziness and cramps that kept me off the computer, nothing more serious.
 *It needs replacing so badly anyway; right now it's driving me crazy making all sorts of working-so-hard noises when it isn't supposed to be doing anything. I mean, a little whirring is one thing, but this is seriously stupid noise for what I'm doing.

Well, that and a little cat-juggling: I wanted to spend time with Belmont, since I hadn't spent much with her on Tuesday night OR on Monday night, what with the headache-and-knitting-group-ness of Monday and the NHL-Awards-and-peas-ness of Tuesday, and of course my sitting in the office for half an hour with her last night put Carlos's nose completely out of joint, so then I had to spend some time with him ... they need to chill out, soon, already. I tried leaving her out for the night last night, mostly from inertia, and as I tried to get to sleep, between the heat and the humidity and the cramps, Carlos kept waking me over and over, mrrping, even though as far as I can tell she was in the closet the whole time. I finally gave up, lured her out with food, and shut her in the office so that he would settle down already and let me sleep. Between that and the cramps, I was heavy-eyed today. Bleargh.

Tuesday's head was better than Monday's head, which had been better than Sunday's head. Yay, I guess? Monday I was functional, mostly, but that was about the best that could be said. It wasn't an easy day by any means, especially given what I was working on ("challenging"), but I'd rather not rub their face in my migraines until they've decided they can't live without me, and we're not quite there yet. Yesterday the cramps were the factor, not the head, and much the same today. Bleargh, as I said.

The NHL awards, though, mustn't forget them! My boy Bergeron won the Selke again (that's for defensive forward, which fits him to a T), and also the NHL Foundation Player award (which, um, okay, whatever, I guess it's for his charity work), and was announced as the cover boy for the video game NHL 15. Ahh. Tuukka also won the Vezina (or, as he called it, "the goalie one"), and Chara didn't win the Norris, which is too bad but whatever. A good night for the Bruins, overall, and especially for my favorite.

One more thing about that NHL 15 cover announcement: it was preceded by a weird dance-off thing with these dancers in Montreal colors (for the other finalist) and Bruins colors, dancing at each other. It was supremely weird, and I can't believe video of it isn't on the internet. How is that possible? Not one person thought it needed to be up? As WEEI said, "having a group of masked dancers point to a video screen to reveal Bergeron as the NHL 15 cover athlete — with no further acknowledgement of it from anyone — was laughably weird." But here's a still shot of them with Subban:

See what I mean?

By the way, in unrelated news, if I may pat myself on the back, I rode the bike for a few minutes last night, in spite of the cramps. Less than 10, but still, more than zero! I will try to get back on tonight, which means I'd better wrap up this now.

Don't forget to weigh in: jerk or idiot?

I could be blogging

Or I could be shelling and eating fresh peas while watching the NHL awards. 

Sorry (not sorry).

Very. Briefly. Very!

Came home from stitch and bitch, ready to crash. Must pay attention to cat first. Zzzzz. So, what do I have for you?

A random cat photo from the intertubes:

And a random music video, knit-themed. Some people are so creative!

It just blows me away. (Found on The Knitting Needle and the Damage Done)

Later

The head isn't all better, but it's tolerable. Someone is trying her best to heal with the classic laying on of paws.

Today's Migraine Analogy

Imagine that as you are getting ready for your day, a 60-pound weight is placed on your shoulders. It is attached to your head as well, so that it pulls on your scalp and skull and brain, even your eyeballs. Go ahead, tackle that to-do list now.

And this is why I want a round of applause for emptying the dishwasher today.

​And Now the Job Update​

I've been at the new job for three weeks now; it seems both longer and less than that. I've settled in somewhat, remembering names and tweaking the commute, learning the traffic trouble spots and re-centering myself on the new location for after-work errands and the like. I have my plant and pictures on my desk, and both have prompted conversations, which is a good thing, getting to know people. It is nice not to be freezing all the time (would you believe, if we adjust the thermostat, it affects the fan? crazy!), and since we're on the fourth floor, I'm getting some extra exercise since most days I do the stairs. Whuf! Down is much easier than up.

The office setup will change when we move to bigger space down the hall, which is supposed to happen next month, so I don't feel like I'm completely nested, but that's okay for now (she said bravely). I do wonder what it will be like there, what will be different and what the same. (Will I really have my own office? That would be sweet, but I don't want to get too excited until I find out for sure.) My current location in the office is very central, which is both good and bad; I'm interested is getting to know how things work here, but there are a lot of distractions. My desk faces a window into the little common area with kitchenette stuff, the supply closet and coffee machine and bathroom, and the copier, so there's a lot of noise and movement. I also can see the door into the hall, so when deliveries come in, if no one's at the reception desk (which there usually is*, but not always), they see me first. I can also see another door, out in the hall, that seems to be building maintenance or some such; there's no sign on the door, but they are in and out all day long, and I can't not notice, even if I have headphones in (which is more often listening to conference presentations than music, but either way blocks out sound, not sight).
*There's been a temp filling the receptionist/office manager role; apparently the permanent one will be there next week. It's nice to have one, anyway! Since we didn't at my last company. And the president's executive assistant started this week; at my last job, the head of the division (the boss of my boss) didn't have one of those, either, and it always seemed ridiculous to me that she didn't.

I'm starting to figure out who does what in the general scheme of things; it's slightly complicated by the changes that are coming along as the parent company expands operations*, but at least I only have to deal with interim-now and what-will-be, I didn't have to transition from how-it-was. The other editor who's been guiding me and the VP of publishing are both friendly AND are my kind of word people, which is awesome to work for/with; when you are the sort of person who cares about the Oxford comma or if something should be hyphenated, it's wonderful to work with kindred spirits. There are a number of cat people here, too. One of them is the in-house medical writer, who started the day after I did, and she wants us to work together and learn from each other, which will be helpful to both of us.
*Which of course is why I have my job, so I'm keeping that in mind, believe me.

On the actual work side of it, things continue to go well, with only occasional overwhelmed moments. I'm working out my own processes for how to keep track of things, what I'll want to save and how best to save it, physical files and electronic, and I'm organizing all my notes into lists that will allow for quick access when a question comes up that I know I've asked before. I started work on my first solo conference today; obviously I'll still ask a million questions, but still, eek!

Next thing to update: knitting!

The Latest Cat Update

I want to update you on the cats, and on the new job. Tonight, I pick cats.

The cat integration project really is going so well*, but at the same time, I'm a little sick of it, you know? All the cat juggling. Last night after I shut Belmont in the office, I sat down for a minute before I let Carlos out of the bedroom, just to enjoy a moment when no one was meowing at me. (I have to shut him in if I'm going to spend any time with her, unless I feel like listening to his complaints the whole time. Most of the time when I shut him in the bedroom, he just lays on the bed or in the window and hangs out until the door opens again. He isn't suffering, is my point.)
*When Tonto had been here this long, I still couldn't leave them alone together. Never did, in fact, did I? But still.

So yes, I have been shutting Belmont in the office at night, just to avoid any drama (there hasn't been much, really, but I need my sleep, yo, I'm tired enough as it is). I first let her out (when Carlos wasn't shut away, I mean) and left them for a few hours on Saturday, and again on Sunday, and there was little enough drama (they mostly ignore each other) that I did decide she could stay out during the day when I'm at work.

So I let her out in the morning, and she meows at me a bit and then heads directly into the closet, which she has chosen as her home away from home. This is a closet in the kitchen that I use as a combination coat closet and general storage: recycling, packs of Coke, odds and ends of kitchen implements, bags, tools, things that I should sort through and get rid of, mostly, that kind of thing. She climbs back into the corner and seems to sleep most of the day; obviously I can't say for sure how much she's in there when I'm not home, but she goes right in, and comes out when I come home. I noticed yesterday that she ate some of her food, which I had put down in the morning but she ignored to go into the closet, so she did come out for that long, anyway.

I don't get the sense that she's scared, just that she feels safe there. Carlos has approached her, cautiously, in the office when he hears her use the litter box for example, but otherwise he only cares about her if I'm giving her attention (of which he does not approve, naturally). Usually she comes out at night and is happy to have me pet her and pet her and pet her.

One really unnecessary complication to the whole situation: this week, there has been a cat outside who is, I suspect, in heat. There has been a lot of yowling out there (one might even say caterwauling, one might), which none of the three of us in here really needs.

And speaking of yowling, someone wants to be let out of the bedroom, which given that someone else hasn't even come out of the closet, I might as well go do. Excuse me.

Just a Little Bit, and some little bits

I miss writing at greater length here, but it's been hard for a couple of reasons. First, I'm crazy tired with the new job; it's not like I'm working longer hours, but the brain strain is huge. Second, since the computer is in the office, and Carlos is very jealous of me going in the office even when Belmont isn't in there, I have to either be quick, or shut him in the bedroom. Which I did last night, in fact, booking flights to go see my brother in a few months (yay!), but I don't like to do it a lot. My poor kitty with his nose out of joint, he needs time.

So here I am on the couch with the iPad, already tired of typing. Here, have a cute photo via lolcats today:

Could you die of the cute? Because I think I just did.

Just for a second

I got home from stitch and bitch, played musical cats (Carlos is offended if I spend time in the office, since that means HER and not HIM, but that's where the computer is), booked my trip to SF to visit the brother in a few months, and now I need to switch the cats so I can get ready for bed. Before Carlos expires of sad. So, here, funny dog picture.

Can you imagine? And I thought my cats shed a lot.

Peaceful Coexistence

A couple of people have asked how the cats are doing, and the answer is remarkable well so far, though I will say that this would be easier to write if Miss Thing would stop stepping on or laying on the keyboard; if she had her way, this post would start with six inches of emptiness. It would also be easier if I weren't stupid tired, which I am; I woke up too early (and was too hungry to go back to sleep), then spent a few hours sitting in the sun today, which was delightful but seems to have been enervating as well. There are worse problems to have. I guess. Yawn.

Anyway, the cats! They really are doing well. I've been giving her open access for longer and longer, and she comes around sniffing before finding a closet corner and taking a long nap. If Carlos gets too close, she hisses and growls at him, but it's very much defensive, a warning not to come closer, and importantly, is not notice that she's about to attack. For his part, Carlos is clearly puzzled, and he doesn't like it when I spend time with her (or even just in the office, though the door is open and she isn't there). I'm still putting her away at night, which she doesn't seem to mind, mostly because I'm tired enough without the potential for disturbed sleep. I think, though, that I'll leave her out tomorrow. They both seemed fine, yesterday and today, when I was out.

This was from Wednesday night.

Slightly blurry in low light, but it beats the one I didn't get a picture of. I was at the computer yesterday, no camera in reach, with my foot at the edge of the blanket she's been sleeping on. She came along, curled up, put her chin and paw on my foot, and took a nap. Adorable! And you just have to take my word for it.

Tired. Cats. Chickens.

I didn't think about it beforehand, but it does make sense that I'm almost as tired after week two as I was after the first week of the new job. Which is pretty tired! It's all going very well, really, but woo. Zonk.

That said, I am going to try my best to stay up tonight, though, because if LA wins tonight's game, they get the Cup, and I love to see that part (well, except last year, but you know what I mean). We'll see how that goes.

I have the door to the office open. Belmont hissed and growled at Carlos when he came along to see what I was doing, and now she is curled up quietly while he lets out mournful meows from the other room. Time for me to wrap up here and see what happens when I go out there. Will she stay here, or come out?

While we await the answer, have some chickens.

I saw them the other night when I was driving home. You can't tell from the picture, but it's actually an unfenced yard on a busy street. I can't figure out why they stay in the yard.

Not that I want them in the road, mind. That's a joke waiting to happen.

Not Quite Quiet

Miss Belmont has such the crabby meow, which I tried to capture on video with moderate success.

The mouth! But also the purr.

Better Head, and Cats Update

My head is not 100%, but it is better than it's been the last two nights, so that's something. Hey, look, it's 8 and I'm not lurching toward bed! Progress.

Speaking of progress, the cats are taking baby steps, too. Tonight, I let Belmont out of the office and brought Carlos in for a sniff safari.

 Who does this smell like?

 And THIS?

 Wasn't this MY blanket?

What the hell, mama?

Great, right? So I brought him out, which she was still out there, and let them see each other from a distance. He was ... not enthusiastic.

She seemed intrigued.

Closer... (He's just out of shot on the left.)

At this point, though, SHE started hissing and growling at him. No, no, Nanette!

See him under the table, wondering what the hell is happening? I gave her a minute, talking soothingly to both of them, then when she wouldn't stop, I decided that was enough for the first try. Perhaps tomorrow, she'll relax a little more. Poor Carlos. I'm going to pet him again now. He's so confused.

I know it will take time. This wasn't catastrophic. But I at least have had enough for one night!

Ow

I've had a headache since yesterday. I've been able to work, although somewhat impaired, but last night was awful (in bed by 8, because even sitting up was not possible), and it isn't great right now. Fuck migraines, man. Fuck'em.

Ow ow ow. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. My plans were not ambitious! I should be able to do something in the evening! I'm going to try sprawling on the couch, see if I can manage that much. Shit.

P.S. Belmont is doing well. Better than I am right now, in fact.

Quick Cats on Sunday Morning

I've been up for a while, but I'm just getting my planning for the day done. I may or may not get to wordy blogging later, depending how things go, so I thought I would pop in and share pictures I just took of the felines. Still separate, but certainly not too stressed by the changes. 

Herself, in the office.

Note the white spot at the tip of the tail.

And himself on the bed.

Even when he wasn't planning to get up, he doesn't like it when I close the door. But as you can see, he doesn't stay upset. Life's too short to hold a grudge.

Saying Hi

Someone wants to say hi.

Hi. I'm Belmont. I don't know why I'm here, it's all very weird, but hey, meow to you.

It's been a busy, quiet day here Chez Cat Hair (speaking of which, I wonder how many cats Belmont thinks live here?). I got a solid ten hours of sleep last night, thank heavens, since the week, good as it was, wiped me out completely. This morning I got the office ready for its new occupant, then went to get her. She's spent part of the time hiding away, but has come out frequently, and the answer to the question of "are you hungry?" was a resounding YES.

I've been playing musical doors all afternoon, since if I just come into the office and close the door, Carlos promptly comes to sit outside the door and meow for me. So I have to close him in the bedroom, then close myself in the office to check on the lady. I did let her out into the kitchen when she showed interest, and she circled around, low to the ground but not running, sniffing all over, before returning to the office. Right now, she's on a blanket under the table.

The hockey game starts at 7, so what I'll do is leave her shortly, but check on her again once or twice before bed. Then we'll see how tomorrow goes. I don't want to rush introducing them, but of course, I can't wait to see how it works out.

She's very sweet. Come on, Carlos, let her stay!

"Great"

That's how I did at work, according to two different people (separately). So I'm going to bed early and exhausted, but happy. Tomorrow: Belmont the cat!

And how are you?

Cat Thoughts, and Hopes

If I hadn't been facing the week I was, I might have brought Belmont the cat home last Sunday, but given the new job, I put off The Great Feline Transfer Plan. However, Carlos has been driving me crazy this week, clinging and whining, and I can't wait to bring the old lady home for him. Lonely cat is lonely! I sure hope they get along.

Dude needs someone, more than I can be home. Let it be Belmont! Fingers crossed.

Broken Record

So, yeah, it's still good, and man, am I ever still tired. I just looked looked at the calendar and thought, wait, tomorrow isn't Friday yet? How is that even possible? I can't be this tired just 60% of the way through the week. But here I am.

On the other hand, I was on the phone with the NY editor again today and, man, are we ever compatible, editorially speaking. Unless this is your first day here (in which case, welcome! I'm not making a lot of sense this week. Even less than usual, I mean), you know that I had a variety of issues with my last boss, one of which was that we weren't really on the same editorial wavelength, and yes, that's totally a thing. Welcome to my Facebook page:

 

I bet the NY editor's page looks a lot like mine, is what I'm saying. This is a good thing.

Also, I edited for real today, instead of just trying out something as practice. We'll see what feedback I get from it, but I think it's going well.

Also? Let me tell you how much it cracks me up to hear a 7-page article referred to as "huge". I absolutely LOVE it, but it cracks me up all the same. Seven pages, in Word, including four figures and a table ... huge. Riiiiight.

Still Good, Still Tired

I mean, really, how is it only Tuesday? It feels like the week should be almost over at this point. Still, let me see what I can get down, incoherent as it may be, before I crap out for the night.

I started yesterday and another person started today, bringing us up to nine people in the office that I know of (there may be one or two more). Then there are three people (again, that I know of) who don't work out of this office, and a few more starting later this month. Not too many names to learn yet, and so far everyone seems very nice. We're moving to larger office space, just down the hall, sometime this summer; since this has been mentioned to explain why some of us are sharing offices now, I wonder if that means I'll be getting my own office then? Who knows, but wouldn't that be something.

For now, I'm in an office with the only guy, who does something production-related, and has been very quiet though not unfriendly. The room is big enough that it has another desk, and could probably fit a fourth, so it's not like I have to look before I push my chair back or anything too claustrophobic. Still, it makes me a little more self-conscious, and thinking of things like quiet snacks (though I can't rule out carrots and eat chocolate forever!). The woman who started today is a medical writer, and when she heard where I came from, the name was familiar to her, though it took a moment for her to pull up the name: my old boss! Yikes. She doesn't know her well, clearly, but it's not the most positive association for me. Still, she was very pleasant, and I will try not to let it prejudice me too much.

My nominal boss has been very busy, but I've spent time on the phone with one of the other editors, who is showing me the ropes, virtually speaking. After we talked yesterday, I put my pages of scribbled notes into a somewhat cohesive list, and sent it to her this morning to ask her if I'd misunderstood anything. Her reply started out, "This is brilliant! We’re going to keep this as a teaching tool" before going on to mention a few small things to add. It was a nice shot in the arm for my confidence (and not the first time that's happened to me, actually, eh Mum?).

I needed it later, in fact, as she gave me a sample piece to work on and I found it kind of overwhelming. She said afterward that she'd chosen one with some issues, so I could see them, and I totally understand the value of that, but I wish I could have had an easy one first. We had gone over a good one together on the phone, but that's not the same as doing it yourself. Still, I know it will get better, it's only the second day, all that. Just, you know, not fun. One day at a time. I can tell that this work isn't going to be beyond me, just that it will take getting used to the 87 things to keep in mind all at once, 42 of which are different from my recent experience. Yesterday she gave me a ballpark idea of how long each type of article will take to edit, once I get used to them, which is actually fantastically helpful*, but that's when I get used to them. It will take time. I have time.
*When I started my last job, the then-editorial manager gave me a report to work on and would not give me an idea of how long it "should" take. If you don't know whether it should take a day or a week or a month, it's sort of frustrating.

If this sounds discouraged, I'm really not feeling that way. I'm tired, and mildly brain-dead, but still optimistic. And now I'm going to ride the stupid bike for a few minutes, before I get ready for bed. Or, in pictures, this (ha):

Followed by this:

Woo.

Okay! Better Than That, Even

I am so tired, though! So much to learn, little differences but lots of them. No regrets, though, not a one! Just, I need to get ready for bed now.

This is your developmental editor, signing off.

Once Again, the Night Before the First Day

I am deliberately not counting how many times I have blogged the night before starting a new job, because even a general idea of the number is a depressing proposition. So many job changes in the last dozen years! But as always, there is hope that this one will be better, this one will last longer, maybe this time...

I'm a little nervous, of course, but not frantic. I have a good feeling about this place, which was only helped by coming home last night to find this:

They sent me a little welcome box from Harry & David. Isn't that nice? It gave me a warm-fuzzy feeling about them, which can only help the nerves.

Also ready to take my mind off things is this guy:

I was out all day yesterday, and when I got home, he wrapped himself around my hand while it rubbed his belly, and he purred and purred. Because that's how he rolls.

And Done!

In what I'm sure was not at all a subconscious message, I forgot to set my alarm last night. I woke up thinking the alarm must be about to go off any minute, but after lying there for a few minutes, I looked at the clock and, oh, I see, I got an extra hour of sleep. Nice! And there was no need to rush in, as I didn't have a report to work on anyway, so it was the easiest kind of oversleeping.

I approached the last week of this job curious about something: what, if anything, would they do to send me off? In one way, I didn't care, given how I feel about the job and the company (more on that below) and some of the people, but on the other hand, in the past they have at least ordered pizza for the departing, and to be honest it would have hurt my feelings, albeit slightly and briefly, if I didn't rate that much. While I waited to find out, there was some consolation in the thought that this was the last time I'd have to wait for that kind of last-minute planning. At least, I hope the new job won't have that problem! I'm sure it will have its problems, but I'm ready for some different ones.

At any rate, late Wednesday afternoon the boss sent out an e-mail that lunch would be ordered on Thursday, which was really the last possible day given the sparse attendance typical in the office on Fridays (last week, my boss and I were the only ones who came in; this week, there ended up being five total). There was some further suspense in terms of what it would be (since the message did not specify pizza) and if it, too, would be ordered at the last minute. The answer was pizza (which is fine) and "not quite the last minute," as the boss came out looking for menus at 10:30 Thursday morning (I had put the menus I'd accumulated out on the empty desk next to me last week, in a symbolic "not my job any more" move). So, no, as a couple of people asked, I did not have to order my own celebratory lunch.

The pizza was good (and I had leftovers for lunch again today, why not), but it did turn out not to be the last last-minute waiting I'd do. The day that I gave my notice, two weeks ago, I talked on the phone to the woman in HR in NY, who said that she would set up a time for an exit interview closer to my end date. Ten days ago, my official end date was set, the boss notified her, and she responded, so she knew. And yet, guess what she didn't do? Yeah, big surprise. I had even e-mailed her last week, with a follow-up this week, and never heard back. Typical. She finally called me, today, at 12:20, to address the question, but you know, kind of last-minute. She scheduled a call for us at 1, when it turned out that she had a whole exit interview form to go through, which took half an hour; I'm so glad I brought my knitting in with me, to get through the excitement of rating things by "excellent, good, fair, or poor" and so on.

How will I not miss working for this company? Let me count the ways.

• The many general "quirks" of the company, about which I feel I should remain vague here, but lo, they are myriad, and clearly "procrastination" and "unprofessional" are among the words that could be used. (Also, "templates," if you really want to see me boil over, is an excellent trigger.)
•  The physical problems of the office, with its temperature issues and its turning lights on in empty rooms and its water dispenser that takes 30 seconds to fill a cup.
• The specific quirks of my boss, who I NEVER HAVE TO SEE AGAIN, NEVER NEVER NEVER, ALLELUIA, do you hear the angels singing or is that just me.

When it was time to take my things out to the car, I was a little giddy. Woo! Done! Last time!

When you leave a job, you leave behind a legacy of sorts, whether just of memories of you, or of notes used to train new employees, or any number of things. One of the legacies I'm leaving behind is from my plant, Seymour, who left cuttings with half a dozen people. I told them I expect to see a jungle by this time next year.

Seymour awaits his new home. As do I. It would be nice to get some time off in between, but this way, I won't have time to get worked up about it. And that's probably a good thing.

Off to do laundry and eat ice cream. Not together. Happy Friday! Happy, happy, happy.

Reporting on a New Toy

I have a story to tell, and it is in part a story of how something quite old (within the context of my life, that is) is helping me handle the frustrations of something quite new.

The old thing is this: a Sandra Boynton pillowcase, from the 1980s, which I recently got on eBay.

I have noticed recently that when I get frustrated with some snafu or problem, I find myself raging, "Nothing is ever simple! Why can't something be simple for once?" My hope is that this pillowcase will remind me to laugh at myself when this urge strikes. I saw the pillowcase recently, coincidentally, just two days after having vented that exact line, and here is how I got to that point.

When I got this new job, I decided that this was the moment, the turning point for me, Ms. late-late-late technology adopter, when I was ready to pay the price to have a tablet that doesn't rely on wifi. I've had the iPad for over a year now, and have grown accustomed to a level of access I didn't have before, to the point where (finally) it would frustrate me when I was out, out of wifi range or not carrying the iPad, and couldn't look up my calendar, or something on a map, or check for a nearby store, or email that I was running late, or some such thing. And, here's the key, frustrate me to the point that I'm willing to pay.

The first step was to buy a tablet. I knew that I wanted a smaller one than the iPad, which is a bit heavy/cumbersome for carrying around, and my choice was vastly simplified by the fact that a tech-savvy friend had told me last year that she preferred the Nexus 7 to the iPad. I checked in with her to see if she still felt that way, and she did, so I bit the bullet and bought one.

It arrived last week, and I started to figure out how it works exactly, since it does of course differ from what I'm used to*. It has wifi as well, so I played around with it a bit at home, getting frustrated at times, but overall sure that yes, having this was what I wanted. And last Friday, I took it to the Verizon store to get them to make it work. To take my money, essentially, and wave the magic wand, poof!
*I'm sure this will come up again and again

Let me add that on Friday, I made five stops after work, and something went wrong at every single one (for a start, I'd only planned four stops). Not always big things, but it was one of the most annoying errand runs ever (there's a reason I didn't blog on Friday night, since I couldn't turn my mood around, or summon much beyond "Nothing is ever simple!"). And the guys at Verizon really pissed me off.

I was thinking about it afterward, and what they reminded me of is car salespeople, pushy and smarmy and untrustworthy and just so annoying. I handed over the N7, and the response was, "What is this?" Well, I don't know, maybe the inch-high letters on the back that say "nexus" would be a clue? "Well, we sell a Nexus 7, but it doesn't look like THAT." It took them a while to find the slot for the sim card, then it took them four tries to log into their own system (which, I get that tech problems happen everywhere, but it was kind of ironic), and finally they announced that no, they couldn't take $30 a month from me, this thing doesn't work with their system. But they could get me a free tablet...! I said no thank you and walked out. Perhaps instead of car salesmen, they were more like drug pushers lurking in an alley.

Here is what I'd like to know: why can't the specs for these things be written in English? Instead of lines of codes and acronyms, why can't the description say, "This will work with X Carrier but not Y Carrier"? Would that be so difficult? I just wanted to carry the internet in my handbag, but of course it isn't simple.

I want to the AT&T store last night, though, and the experience was the exact opposite. Night and day! The salesman was friendly and helpful, not pushy, suggested I start with the lowest amount of data (aka the cheapest plan) but that I could always trade up, or down, depending on what I wanted ... it was exactly what I wanted, how I wanted it. He asked about my cell phone plan, and let me know what I could get from them, and what it would cost, how it's a little more for this, but then lower for that ... not at all pushy, just informative. Amazing! He even showed me the new phones I could choose between, which he tactfully called "texting phones" and not "dumb phones" as I call mine. I may very well switch my phone, but I walked out with a tablet that could connect, which was what I wanted, for less than I thought it would cost, and not even tied in to a contract ... amazing.

By the way, now that I finally have one, I'm sure that any day now, the world will switch to the next big thing. Maybe implantable devices, direct to the brain. Maybe Google Glass will just be everywhere. All I know is, if I'm climbing on it, the voyage is almost done. Consider yourself warned.

And Two Days Left

Last night was a quietly successful evening. I stopped at the post office and the grocery store on the way home; put the recycling out as I brought the groceries in; got together things I needed for tonight; blogged; petted the demanding kitty; and got back on the bike, after the weekend of I-don't-think-so broke up my previous streak of six days in a row. And then I went to bed early. Yay, me. Tonight was an errand, a quick dinner, the chiropractor, and then my alternate knitting group, which I haven't made it to in months, what with one thing and another. Carlos isn't thrilled with my absence, but you can't please everyone. Time to turn the hockey game on and see how LA is doing.

Although I haven't been weeping into my pillow over the Bruins' premature playoff exit, I will admit to being pleased at how the Rangers are beating Montreal (not last night, but overall). They're not making it look totally easy, which would be embarrassing, but they're getting it done (assuming last night's Montreal win was an exception, which I am assuming). And LA is beating Chicago too, so far, which given last year's results also pleases me. I am winning the consolation playoffs.

The Bruins, meanwhile, released their video thanks to the fans, which was mostly enjoyable to watch (if slightly bittersweet).

Nice to see all the former Bruins who dropped the puck through the season pop up again!

Post-Migraine; Possible Cat

I'd almost expect to be more angry about losing the long weekend to the migraine, but what I really feel is resigned: eh, that sucked, whatever. When my boss asked if I had a nice weekend, I just said "fine" and asked about hers, because I didn't want to get into it. In similar conversations in the past, I've said I had a migraine and she's asked "why" I had one, as if there is any "why" about it. Today I didn't feel like beating a dead horse. It's not like any one thing I did or didn't do caused it; they just happen. I mean, if you spend a long time in the sun without sunblock, you get a sunburn: it's cause and effect. Migraines aren't like that. One thing I am doing, though, is going back to weekly chiropractor visits, instead of every other week, which may help. Or not. No way to know for sure. We move on.

I did manage to visit my friend on Saturday afternoon as planned, and meet her cat; I don't think I've even written about it yet, with the weeks of all-consuming job search etcetera and then the migraine, but she contacted me a little while back to propose that her lonely cat might be a good companion for my lonely cat. Hmmm!

Belmont is 15 (they got her when she was young, so unlike Carlos, who could be anything from about five up, hers is a near-certain age), grey and white, and a people-lover. They had to put down their other cat earlier this year for health reasons; I asked if the two cats had been close and my friend said, "I wouldn't have said so!" They weren't Pan-and-Harold-like snuggle buddies, apparently. But she's acting lonely now, much as Carlos has since Miri left*, and given that my friend has two kids, a three-year-old and a three-month-old, getting another cat right now is understandably not in their plans. They aren't trying to get rid of Belmont, but hoping to find her a place where she could be happier, with more attention and laps, and they will take her back if she and Carlos don't get along. Sounds like the perfect test, doesn't it? They're going to take her to the vet to get her up to date on shots, and then we'll try it. Cat dating, as one of my coworkers called it, and we discussed having Carlos fill out a form of what he's looking for.
*About which I honestly still feel relieved

The other thing I did on Saturday, or perhaps I should say tried to do, was go to another friend's house for a family-style dinner for a six-year-old's birthday. It was great to see everyone, despite how I was feeling, but I only stayed an hour, leaving when my stomach informed me that not only was I not going to be eating any time soon*, but that being in a room with other people eating was also not the best idea. Ugh. I got home at 7:01 and was in bed at 7:02, not what I had planned for the evening.
*I weigh myself semi-regularly, and my weight stays pretty stubbornly stable, so being down 2.5 pounds on Monday is pretty clearly related to the Weekend of Head and Stomach.

That could be said of the whole weekend, couldn't it? Largely Not As Planned. Not to mention that apparently, my three days of being mostly home and mostly in bed or on the couch gave Carlos delusions of what life was like, and when I got home tonight, he bitched mightily about his terrible state of neglect.

Poor thing.

Doesn't he look neglected?

Better, but woooo

Today has been a headache hangover day. If I felt like this out of the blue, I wouldn't be happy: I'm kind of woozy, lightheaded, no energy. But! My head didn't hurt! My stomach barely burbled! After Saturday and Sunday, this is vast improvement. It sucks to have essentially lost the weekend, but there we are. At least it seems to be blowing out now, and I look forward to the last four days of the old job, which is pretty damned exciting. Also, I was able to get to stitch and bitch tonight, and show them my two-in-one sock, and catch up generally. It was good.

I'm wiped out, though. Probably better get to bed soon. I hope your weekend was better than mine!

Big Achievements

I think I wrote about the time a few months ago when one of my coworkers got sick, and as he was getting ready to leave, he said, "It's so weird, my head hurts." And I just stared at him, because I've been getting migraines for about thirty years now, and I can't even imagine what it would be like to find head pain "weird". 

I was thinking about this today, the second day of this migraine, when my big accomplishments have been:

1. Eating something. I didn't eat much yesterday, as this has been a headache with strong stomach involvement. But after testing things out with crackers this morning, I actually made scrambled eggs, with a potato and a little bacon. I had to go right back to bed to sleep it off, but it's an achievement.

2. Cutting my fingernails. I had trouble getting my contacts out last night, which is the true sign that they have to be cut. (Carlos did not approve. Longer nails scritch better.)

3. Getting photos off my camera, and emailing them around. Seriously. It's an accomplishment.

Not much, right? But, literally, all I could do. I am slumped on the couch now, hoping I won't have to go back to bed. My body does not seem to recognize how much rest I've gotten (of the last 22.5 hours, I've been in bed for about 16 of them), probably because it isn't that restful with this head, and I'm basically limp. But if I don't fall asleep, lying there gets very boring. Maybe I can find something stupid on TV. And hope for better tomorrow.

Maybe. Just Maybe

I have a headache, so I'm only just functioning today, but I have enough brain power to suspect that maybe, possibly, perhaps, I could stop buying sock yarn for a while.

And in particular, blues and greens.

Of which I have more than all other colors combined.

Although, on the flip side, I look at this and think that I won't be running out any time soon. And that's not a bad feeling.

...Not Stressed?

It's been kind of weird this week to have my elevated stress levels drop into the normal range. Knowing that my time at the current job is finite makes it easier to shake off annoyances there, and I haven't started really fussing about starting the new job yet (that will probably pick up next week), other than to consider my work wardrobe with a fresh eye. But instead of trying to fit in applications and interviews, and so on, and angsting about not hearing at this stage or that, as well as with the removal of Bruins stress, it's been ... peaceful.

Hockey-specific-ly, I'm kind of watching the remaining games, but in a half-assed way. Certainly, not staying up late for them, but also not bothered by that. I had the Chicago-LA game on last night, and when Chicago scored to make it 2-0 in the second period, I turned it off (mostly because I hate those frigging horns, not just Chicago's, but everyone's). When I read this morning that LA came back to win 6-2, I was surprised, and impressed, but not a bit upset that I missed it. I mean, it would have been fun to watch, but I was tired, and the valued the sleep I got far more. Tonight is NY-Montreal, and I'll have that on, but again, likely won't make it to the end. I'm okay with that. (Although, go Rangers.)

Carlos has requested a place in the photo of the day, and who am I to argue?