a new domain and a "new" blog

I've finally taken the leap and purchased my own domain.

http://thunderofwade.com

and set up a new blog there. Well, not so much "new" - more like "moved, consolidated, and renovated"

visit me here:

http://thunderofwade.com/blog/

I'll eventually shut this down - so update your bookmarks.

week 3 of Sumac 2011

So, I'm just past the midway point of week 3 of my poison sumac experience. I'm doing much better, but it's still not quite gone yet. Still doing the long-sleeve shirts and calimine lotion - with a dubious effectiveness. Though there have been a few times where I've stopped and thought "hey, it doesn't itch" - which of course makes it instantly itch again.

I hit the pool yesterday after work - the first time I've been back since the itch began. I think the chlorine in the water helped a bit - but it was counter-balanced by massive cramps in both calves. Very painful. I managed to "limp" my way through the last two laps, but it was rough. They are still sore today. Guess I need to eat more bananas.

I went over to the neighbor's for dinner on memorial day - they had grilled out. I had a couple hot dogs and two ears of amazing corn on the cob. I have a "kernel extraction" technique that impressed those assembled - and that was about the extent of the excitement for the weekend.

Work has been rough this week. I can't really go into it - other than to say that there are those that are actively opposed to their own success - and mine, incidentally. I'm getting close to unleashing some wrath.

Tired, sore, cranky, and itchy. Still so very itchy.

poison

The weekend before last, I decided to do a little yardwork. I don't do much since I rent and the landlord does the mowing - but a storm had knocked down some trees and branches into the yard. And instead of cleaning them up, they just mowed around them.

So, armed with a really wicked tree pruner, I went after those branches and tore through them. And of course, I got more than I bargained for.

Poison oak - or sumac. Doesn't matter what it was except that I got a bad case on both arms. It didn't really hit me at first, but this past weekend it went into overdrive. The itch was maddening. And, try as I might, I couldn't stop scratching. I'd do okay for a bit, then the madness would strike and I'd tear into my arms like I had a flesh-eating scarab beetle burrowing into my... well... flesh. And to make matters worse, I've actually made some progress on breaking my lifelong habit of biting my nails. So, when I dig in - I can really dig in.

On Sunday, I had an appointment to donate blood - a double red donation. Not really sure of the protocol I went anyway and I signed in. It was at a Best Buy and they were giving out gift cards and t-shirts. They handed me a gift card when I signed in and sat down to read the red book. The woman seated next to me was getting an explanation of the double red. The women decided against it - mainly, it appeared, because she would only get one gift card. I could tell that the staff were a little disgusted by that as well. I went back to do the history and did the full disclosure. The staff member took a look at my arms and said the poison was too close to where the needle would go in and they wouldn't be able to to disinfect it properly.

They thanked me for coming in anyway and offered me a shirt. I declined and returned my gift card as I left.

Kind of a bummer, but at least I tried - and I'll try again once the poison is gone.

Today, I was bad enough to take off of work and go to a stat care. They gave me a prescription and suggested a few things - and I think genuinely felt bad for me.

So, I'm on drugs and covered in Calimine lotion. I'll do another shower tonight and slather it on before I go back to work tomorrow.

Oh, and I've got a head cold too. Yea.

a good deed

Yesterday, at the pool, I was doing my laps as usual and noticed that the guy in the lane next to me was a novice swimmer. Well, more novice than I am, as far as that goes. He also didn't have goggles and the pool is usually super-chlorinated.

So, when I finished up my workout, I waited at the end of the lane for him to come back. I told him that I noticed he didn't have goggles and how rough the chlorine is on the eyes. I handed him my goggles and said he could have them - and that I had a back-up pair at home. He was really surprised and gratefully - and put them on right away. I wished him a good weekend and went back to work.

balance

I saw a set of signs up in the student union today. One said that graduating seniors could pick commencement tickets today. The other directed incoming freshmen to orientation.

Seemed like a circle of life kind of balance thing. Kinda neat.

Which was good, because the rest of the day was shit. As was last evening. As is, apparently, tonight.

So, at least I've got the circle of college life thing going.

easter weekend, saving the day, still standing, temp

I went to my sister's new house for easter weekend - my parents stayed there as well. The new house is huge and on a great piece of property. We had a pretty low-key weekend; I got trounced by my brother-in-law at ping pong and we went for a couple of walks with my niece. She's babbling up a storm and working on new words all the time. We all enjoyed her exploration outside - the creek, the trees, the trampoline, and the trip down the quiet road in the wagon.

Back to work and a very stressful Monday - but on Tuesday I saved the day several times. It's getting close to the end of the semester and the pressure is rising. I helped several departments get things done yesterday and got some good feedback.

I'm still experimenting with the standing desk. I think I'm getting used to it, but my feet still get a little tired by the end of the day.

The heating and cooling system here at work is based not on the outside air, but on the time of year. So, we freeze in the fall and cook in the spring. A nice warm day - with the heat on in the building - means that we swelter. Yesterday, it hit 83.1 degrees in the office.

Hope it doesn't get that bad today, but we're already at 77.5 degrees and it's not even 7:00 yet.

dog

I forgot to mention one part of the walk from the other night. I was taking a slight shortcut through a bank parking lot and out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement behind and to the side of me. I turned and saw a dog. Here's a reconstruction of what went though my head while I was busy being startled:

DOG!-straylostrabies?!-(werewolf?)-rabies!-lostdog-stray-help?-run?-CHASED!

I made a loud noise and shouted at it to leave me alone. It was a pretty good sized dog and it was a full moon - so, I was totally justified in the werewolf thought.

The dog wandered away and successfully made the trip across a busy road to pester some people at the dollar store. I continued on to Starbucks - and kept looking for the moon.

standing and walking - but not talking

Today is day four of my Standing Desk experiment. I'd read about some studies that said that sitting at a desk for 8 hours a day can lead to some health problems, so I bought a cheap set of plastic shelves and configured them to sit on top of the cubicle on my desk. I still need to work on the height a bit, but otherwise I'm getting used to it. My feet are bothering though. I've got a foam pad that I'm using, but it's not enough and either shoes or no shoes, they still are uncomfortable. I'll give it a few more days and see how it goes - I can pretty easily revert back if needed.

I took myself for a walk last night - I was in the mood for hot chocolate and made a trip to starbucks. Total 2.9 miles. This is on top of the 30 laps I got in the pool at lunch + standing up all day. I slept pretty well last night as a result - once I finally turned off the video games and went to bed.

My phone is being a little...what's the phrase I'm looking for? Oh, right. Ham Doctor.

The screen won't go dark at the preset 7 seconds... or any number of seconds, apparently. So, the battery drains like it's trying to get a signal from Pluto. Which is, in fact, still a planet. A dwarf planet, but that's still real - right? I mean, it's not like the movie is suddenly called, "Snow White and the Seven _______"?

Anyway, it sucks. I charged it up last night and this afternoon I'm already down to one battery bar - which doesn't mean anything, apparently. I've seen it sit on one bar for days (though not recently) and other times I'll go from full bars to a plaintive beeping as it approaches shutdown in minutes.

You know, I'm pretty much indifferent to smart phones. People that have them seem to enjoy them. I'm on a computer 8+ hours a day so I kinda like to unplug. But I don't begrudge them.

I don't have a smart phone. I have an ordinary phone. Which apparently translates to "non-functional".

The really crappy part is that I can't even enjoy hating them since I'm stuck in another 2 year contact. Ugh.

I'm going to try a factory reset and a cell tower reset when I get home and see if that fixes the "no bars of any kind" issues I'm having. If not, I'm going back to the Verizon store. I don't care how shiny the phone is, I'm really getting tired of paying too much money a month for a phone that doesn't work.

karma

I headed back to the School of Law this afternoon for a beverage and thought I'd treat myself since it was a nice day and I'd had a tough week. This time, my target was the vanilla frappuccino. I swiped my card, pushed the button and the machine politely registered my transaction and thanked me - giving me my revised balance.

And nothing else. No gears turned, no whirring noises could be heard. No beverage was even attempted to be dispensed. Nothing - except my card now has $2.50 less on it than before.

I switched machines and got an iced tea instead.

Apparently, the machine remembered me from last time and was still ticked off from the discounted-by-force frappuccino I got before.

I have learned my lesson.

accidental frappuccino

I headed over to the nearby school of law today for a beverage - since the computer center vending machines don't have the selection or the convenience of using our campus ID for payment. My co-worker went with me since he wanted to get out of the office for a few minutes as well.

I swiped my card and punched in the code for a cranberry juice. The machine did its thing, but when the bottle dropped, it neatly wedged itself between the plexiglass front, a side panel, and the corner. I gave the machine an experimental shove and quickly concluded that I was out of luck. I swore quietly and my co-worker came over to give it a try. He used what was right on the edge of excessive force, and then went ahead and crossed the line to excessive. To the point that I thought he might break the machine - not a good thing in a building full of lawyers.

After a few moments, something odd happened. The cranberry juice bottle refused to budge - of course - but another bottle fell instead. In the far upper left corner of the machine are the really pricey drinks and apparently they are vulnerable to machine shaking. Down tumbled a cold bottle of Starbucks Coffee Vanilla Frappuccino - which I've never tried.

We quickly headed back to the office - leaving behind the stranded bottle of juice in favor of the iced coffee drink.

It was good. It tasted of anarchy. :)

the law

Early on Saturday morning - before I headed out for my epic swim - I heard sirens outside. I looked out to see 3 police cars come down one of the roads near the apartment and make a sharp turn onto our road. A bit later, my room-mate heard something that could have been shots fired, but it was difficult to tell.

A bit after that, my room-mate looked out the back windows and saw a police care in our backyard. There was a black Cadillac parked/abandoned back there as well and we watched a police officer inspected the car. Not long after that, a tow-truck came, but they ended up driving the car out of the yard since the ground was too wet for the truck. In short order, everything was back to the way it was.

Later that day, we found out (from our neighbor whose brother is on the local police force) that the car had been stolen in a nearby township, driven it and been pursued by police until he got to our backyard, then fled on foot. He was captured a few blocks away.

This was all fascinating at the time, but now it's just disconcerting. I guess the trees in the back and along the road made me forget that I'm really still in the city. We're always very careful about locked doors and such, but it's still worrisome.

5 miles

I hit the pool this morning and did 30 laps. I was feeling pretty good and worked my way up to 60. Figured that I could do better than that, I set my sights on 120. I was getting tired, but kept going. 150 came and went and by this point I was really tired, but I did some math and realized that another 30 would finish me at 180 - 5 miles.

I got through it, but I was really tired. I mean really tired. It was all I could do to pull myself out of the pool. I was feeling better when I got dressed and better still when I got home and ate. I think I'll sleep pretty well tonight.

5 miles. Didn't think I had it in me - and not bad for a 38 year old.

irritated

I spent much of my Monday in a bad mood. Must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed - I was cranky all day. And pretty much every email or phone call I got just ticked me off more. I couldn't even enjoy my swim - I got dizzy at the end and had to stop and rest. I got home, spent most of the evening cranky and went to bed cranky.

So, I get into work with a resolve to have a better attitude and I check my voice-mail. I had one message - from 5:30 the evening before - asking for help with a project that needed to be done that night.

Really.

Now, I'm pretty much used to the "last minute" on projects - it's kinda the way things go. But this one really took the cake. I called them this morning and they had worked around the system and gotten whatever Incredibly! Important! Thing! done that they needed to get done.

So, I actually had people contributing to my bad mood when I wasn't even here. A sort of time delay annoyance.

(insert head shaking here)

laps and news

Yesterday, I hit the pool after work since I wanted to go farther than my lunch hour would have alloted me. So, I did 60 laps and felt pretty good. Today, I hit the pool again and did 45. I would have gone farther, but I got really worn out. Still, not bad for two days.

Got some bad news from Illinois this week. My aunt - who has been fighting brain tumor - had a relapse. She had been doing better but had a seizure and was back in the hospital for surgery. They removed 90% of the tumor and some scar tissue and are still waiting to see how she's doing. She's a fighter and we're all pulling for her.

cold and feeling down

My room-mate got some bad news this week - he lost his job. It was a sales job and a stop-gap measure at best - but still rough for him to hear. Apparently, he wasn't meeting the sales goals - though none of the previous 5 people in that job could meet the goals either.

He's going to get paid though the end of this week and he's already got some leads on a new job, but things are still pretty tense around the apartment for now.

Work has been kinda stressful for me these past couple of weeks. I'm holding my own, but the projects keep rolling in. Which is good, but it wears me out.

And, because I live in Ohio, I'm required by law to complain about the snow. "I'm tired of the snow" So, there you go.

catching up

I just finished up my antibiotics today - I'm hoping that the trend of getting better stays the course. Still a bit of a cough this morning, but I'm feeling pretty good.

I fought through the cough this past week to get my laps in at the pool - and did 45 yesterday. The last ten involved coughing underwater, but I avoided drowning - which is always a good goal. So, 90 laps for the week and back on track.

Earlier this week I helped run a series of usability tests on part of our website for work. It went pretty well and I think we got some good information, but it took a lot out of me.

I also did my taxes. Which I despise. I don't know that anyone really enjoys doing their taxes, but I've taken it to a new level of despising. I'm getting some money back on federal and from the state - and I didn't owe the city anything. So, it's over and done for the year - just wish it wasn't always so complicated.

In other not-terribly-awesome news... I've decided to boycott chik-fil-a. I found out that - despite the tasty food and disturbingly polite and friendly service - they are kinda evil. Or rather, their corporate office funds other folks that are evil. I guess it's a bit like BP - though in their case they are pretending to admit they are wrong and then still being amazingly evil and greedy. I can respect that. Chik-fil-a thinks they are doing the right thing and that is a bit more disturbing. I'm considering writing an email to their corporate office, but seems a little futile.

Went and saw Red Riding Hood last night. Pretty good, nice twist at the end - though it did drag on a bit.

I've been playing Overlord for a while now on the PS3. I've played this before and didn't make a lot of progress, but this time around I've got some new tactics and it's a lot more fun.

And finally, I'm thinking about doing a little work today. I've got a survey to build that looked like a bit of fun - or I may work some more on my new desk for home.

humor in emails

Two emails that I've recently sent:

"As Supreme Overlord ™ of the SYMPA List management system, my powers are vast and amazing. Unfortunately, while I can see what lists you are a member of, I don't have a way to view a list of lists that you own.

Guess I'm going to have to get rid of that "I'm omnipotent! Ask me literally anything!" name-badge."

and in response to "How can we end world corruption?"

"Wait… End world corruption? I've been trying to increase it all these years."

Just doing my part to keep my co-workers guessing.

coughing and crazy

A week ago Thursday, I started getting a cough. By Friday, I was a mess. Took the day off and spent most of the coughing, then coughing so hard I would throw up, then throwing up so hard I would get dizzy. The weekend sucked. Took Monday off. Finally back to work on Tuesday, still sick.

I kept fighting it and finally gave up yesterday and went to the doctor. The diagnosis is bronchitis and doctor go met a prescription. I'm getting tired of the constant cough and having to sleep sitting up. I've even been too tired to play video games most of the time.

My room-mate has pretty much the same thing - though he has been mixing his over-the-counter meds with some disturbing results. The lines between "reality" and "crazy talk" blurred enough that he tried to convince me that the reason we were both sick with the same thing at the same time was that we were "taken" by space aliens. He explained that he had "awakened" at night and seen stars on the ceiling and then they started to move - he felt like he was someplace else.

And then he got ticked when I didn't believe him. Really. I tried to argue with him that his explanation was the "least likely" of possibilities instead of the "most likely", but then I just gave up. There's only so much I can handle when I'm that sick and I'd already broken my number #1 rule - "Don't f*@# with crazy people".

The next day he called me at work to complain about the people in his room and how a little girl plugged in her electric cat and let it run across the bed and then how someone peed on him. That evening, when I woke up from a nap and came downstairs, he got confused between day and night.

I finally got him convinced that he really needs to stop mixing the meds and he's doing much better now. Still as sick as I am, but way less crazy.

donating blood and a loss

I went to donate blood yesterday after work. I didn't have an appointment, but it didn't really slow anything down. Went through the usual process right up until they did the needle stick. The nurse was alerted to a problem and hurried over to the snack table. A high-school aged guy had his head down on the table and was about to pass out. A couple of the nurses got damp cloths and carefully tipped him back over in his chair so his feet were elevated. It looked a little weird, but seemed to do the job. They kept him like that for a few minutes, then moved him onto one of the beds. He had turned a strange shade of green and stayed that way all through my donation - which went smoothly and uneventfully. (though the actual needle stick was a little rough - I'm guessing she was distracted) I'm guessing he didn't eat before his donation - I learned my lesson on that a while ago.

When I was done, I went to stop at the snack table, but there was no room. So, mildly cranky at being denied my juice and cookie, I headed on home - no worse for wear.

That evening I got a call from my former room-mate's mom. She told me that my FRM's former girlfriend's mom had passed away. Seems like a tenuous connection to me, but as much of a jerk as my FRM could be - he did manage to surround himself with good people. So, I get along well with his mom, his former girlfriend, and her mom. The service is to today and I can't get out of work, but I got an address and put a card in the mail. Doesn't seem like enough, but maybe it will help.

Busy day ahead of me - lots of work to do. Better get to it.

helping with moving day

My sister and her family were moving to a new house over the weekend and I offered to help. My brother-in-law had rounded up a big crew and we managed to make short work of the furniture. Some of the heaviest pieces were a file cabinet, a dresser, and a freezer. I got on those and helped with taking them up or down stairs as needed.

And I paid for it. My back was bothering me this morning while I was still at my parents so I hit the hot-tub for a bit before I got moving for the day. It helped, though I tend to get a headache if I'm in there too long.

Still, I'm glad I was able to help - they have a great new house and I hope they have many happy years there.

The drive home was okay and I was hoping to do a little yoga this evening to stretch - but I couldn't find the DVD. Maybe the swim tomorrow will help.

That's it for now, time to wrap up the evening and get some rest. Got a big and busy day tomorrow.

spongeBieber

One of co-workers and I have been sharing a SpongeBob SquarePants figure for a few months now. It actually belonged to one of his kids, but he brought it into work for some reason and we've taken to hiding it in each other offices. I get in earlier than he does and he stays later than I do - so, we've each got a window of opportunity. Sometimes behind a computer monitor or in the fake plants on my desk, the unspoken rule is that some part of SBSP must be visible. Not long ago, I decided to up the game. I tied elastic strings to SBSP's legs and hung him upside down from the ceiling in my co-workers office behind the door - as though the plastic figure had bungie jumped off the door. It was a few days before my co-worker noticed the strings hanging down from the ceiling and laughed out loud when he realized what I had done.

It took me a while to find SBSP when he was next hidden in my office and I decided to have a bit of fun. I did a little search on the internet and found a cartoon version of Justin Bieber. I resized this and printed it out - then used a little tape and string to make a mask for SBSP. I brought the now disguised figure and put it on my co-workers desk - right out in the open.

I'm looking forward to my co-workers reaction - and I'm already staring to plan for the next round. :)

Update -

I stopped by his office this morning and asked if he'd found SBSP yet. He said he hadn't looked for him and my eyes went to the spongeBieber on his desk. He followed my eyes, realized what I'd done, and burst out laughing.

Even better than I'd hoped - the disguise worked!

tires and tired

A while ago, I had an incident with the snowy roads and the sharp turn into my driveway. I ended up missing the drive and sliding into the ditch. With a bit of luck, I managed to straddle the edges of the ditch and contrived to get myself down the hill to a smoother spot and got my car out and back onto the road. Ironically, that was the day where I had earlier complained about bad drivers in the wintertime in Ohio on Facebook.

I was pleased with myself that I had gotten out without a tow-truck - but there were consequences. I had somehow messed up the alignment and now had to pull the wheel to the right in order to go straight ahead.

I drove like that for a while, but realized that the terrible Ohio potholes weren't going to knock things back in place. Also, I needed two new front tires as they were going bald.

So, the day before the latest huge snowstorm, I headed up to National Tire and Brake. I told the guy that I needed two new tires and to have my alignment... re-aligned. He asked what kind of tires and I told him that I didn't need anything fancy - just round, made of rubber, less bald than my current ones. Taking it in stride, he asked if I wanted those in black or yellow. I smiled and said black would match my car. He gave me an estimate that seemed reasonable and said it would be about an hour. I walked over to Best Buy and got the new Adele CD - then over to Burger King for a snack.

Back at NTB, I sat in the waiting room while they finished up the alignment. The guy at the desk called me over in a bit and explained what they did and other services they could offer. I politely declined and paid the very reasonable bill.

I actually had a little trouble driving home on the highway - it seemed that I'd gotten used to the mis-alignment and it took me a bit to get used to the new steering - and the new tires.

My car is riding fine now and I'm pleased with the results. It's got 113,000 miles on it, but I'm glad I can hang onto it a bit longer.

snow day and singularity

I got up at my regular time this morning and first thing I did was check my phone. Sure enough, there was a text message from the University - we were closed for the weather. In a word - awesome.

Also - Three. Day. Weekend.

So, I went back to bed for a bit - then got up again had some breakfast. I spent a chunk of the day doing little chores around the apartment. I also spent some time ripping some CD's and getting them onto my external drive.

This afternoon, I cleared the snow off driveway that had been missed by the plow.

There was also some epic video game time - I played a new game called Singularity. Time manipulation and lots of good "jump out at you". A really good story and a lot of fun. There was a moment when I'd been following a woman through the facility and we'd just survived a huge fight. I walked into a hidden room and rewound a message that had been erased. All it said was, "Don't trust her". I got cold chills - and can't wait to get back in there.

I'm planning on working on my new desk this weekend and enjoying the days off.

health, weather, mental dislocated

I did an online health survey yesterday and according to that, I'm apparently near death. High risk for like half a dozen serious ailments and conditions. I guess I'd be more worried if the health screening I did recently was even slightly accurate and if the health survey wasn't so dang vague. I'm going to take this with a grain of salt - which I should be cutting back on - and just keep doing what I've been doing.

I got my oil changed yesterday and managed to get out of there without any "add-ons" this time - though they really really wanted to rotate my tires.

The weather has been a little rough here recently - and though I managed to make it into work yesterday, several of my co-workers got hit harder and worked from home. It made for a quiet day around the office - but surprisingly a little lonely.

I haven't been sleeping well - mostly stress and caffeine. The later of which I had cut out of my diet but somehow managed to creep back in. I guess I need to go cold turkey on soda again. Not sure what to do about the stress.

I've been feeling kinda weird recently - even weirder than I'm used to. Just mentally dislocated and not myself. I'm really missing the sunshine - that blip last weekend wasn't enough.

So, back to work. Webpages to make and the day to be saved.

a sunday afternoon swim

I forgot my swim gear on Friday -and the pool ended up being closed anyway. Based on my rules...

Monday, Wednesday Friday + pool open + at work = swim

...I was in clear - but if I'd had my gear I could have used the other, not as good, pool.

It was closed on Saturday as well - but today was open. So, I got my gear and headed to campus and did 60 laps. I wasn't very tired, but I was a little bored, so I called it a day.

When I got home, my room-mate was alternating between the Daytona 500 and golf on TV. So, I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the office/media room/armory to play some Batman. I beat the game and only have about 3 more secrets to find.

Been listening to Adele a lot - her new album (which I can't seem to find in stores) is amazing.

And that's about it.

giving up on a book and on zinc

Given any kind of downtime and I'm likely to be found with my nose in a book. I love to read and the shelves in my own library at home are full to overflowing. So, it's pretty rare for me to "give up" on a book - that is, start and then not finish.

I've been reading Engineman by Eric Brown. It started off pretty good and I enjoyed the first half - then I realized that the plot...

"Down on his luck spaceman falls for the token sci-fi chick and together they fight alongside the quasi-mystical aliens against an evil corporation that is destroying the environment"

...is the same as every single "grade B sci-fi movie" of the past 20 years. Even freaking Avatar had the same plot. Once the big reveal of the environmental damage showed up, I pulled my bookmark out and closed the book. Enough of that mess. Apparently, Paris gets destroyed later on, but I really can't be bothered.

I'm starting to feel that way about the TV show "V". The plot is so freaking transparent - I know how each episode is going to end in the first 5 minutes. And the big reveal of a character from the original series was marred - she just sits in the basement of the starship and has made a lifestyle out of being cranky. Really, Diana? That's all you're going to do?

I find myself almost rooting for the bad guys - at least they have a semblance of a plan.

In other news, I'm still sick. Bubonic Halitosis, I think. This stupid cough just won't quite go away. I read yesterday on the internet (so you know it's true) that Zinc is awesome for halting cold symptoms. I bought and tried some last night and discovered:

1. It tastes like cherry flavored crap.

2. The taste lingers.

3. It doesn't do anything.

Now, I guess you're supposed to take this when you first get sick - but I was still expecting more than just a bad taste.

So, I'm at work - and wearing a tie - already counting down the hours until I get to go home for the day. Not a good sign.

games and work

Last weekend, I went to visit my folks, my sister, and her family for my sister's birthday. We went out to eat to a local Mexican restaurant and spent much of the weekend hanging out and playing games. I got some high scores in Quirkle and gave the rest of the crew a run for their money in Scotland Yard as the infamous Mr. X.

We also hung out with my niece - who gets more fun and awesome whenever I see her. She's just over 1 year old and is in full explorer mode.

After a fun weekend - it was back to work. This week has been crazy-insane-busy. It's really wearing me down. Plus, still sick. Today I tried some zinc - we'll see if that does any good.

I'm still swimming though - not going to let this cold get me down. I've been using my flippers a lot more - so, I go faster and get more tired.

Well, about time for dinner...

hearts, games, sick, test, work, hair

I ended up making 300 hearts for the Hearts for Humanity dinner/dance. I timed myself and was able to make one heart in 50 seconds. You can do the math on that one - then add in time to actually cut the paper to 1/2 squares. I didn't get any feedback, but I'm still pleased with the accomplishment.

I've been spending a lot of time on the PS3 recently. I beat Assassin's Creed 2 last weekend and I've been playing a fun game called Nier - with an impossibly foul-mouthed character. She swears every time she talks and called someone a "shit-hog" before getting turned to stone. I'm hoping she comes back - her word choice is pretty funny. I've also played a little Batman. When he's fighting, he moves like a freaking ninja. When he's just walking around, he moves like Frankenstein's monster. I almost expect to hear a "clunk" when he takes a step.

I've still sick. The pink-eye is essentially gone, but I've still got a bad cough. It's just enough to be really annoying. If it doesn't get better, I guess I'll head back to the doctor. Hasn't stopped me from swimming, but it does slow me down.

The University is offering an incentive to us to go through a simple health screening and fill out a survey - then reward us with $120 in our paycheck. I was a little... ummm... disconcerted about this - there's a general feeling of unease with providing medical data that could be then used against you.

But, I reasoned that I'm generally healthy and in reasonably good shape -and the people asking for the data already have it since it's tied into my insurance anyway. The only potential worry would be my cholesterol - which, last time it was checked, was a little high.

So, I went to the health screening today before my swim and lunch. The BMI and blood pressure were normal - but they couldn't get the cholesterol test to work. They did the finger stick twice and the machine kept failing. So, they finally just wrote down that it didn't work and said I'd still get credit for the screening. Which works out nicely.

I had kinda earned a "something going right" - the past few days at work have been insanely busy. Non stop email, phone, webpages, etc - I've been in a kind of media overload. I got a lot done, but it wore me out mentally.

This afternoon, I got another "something going right". I went to get my haircut after work and only had to wait a few minutes. I got my stand "#1 buzzcut over my whole head" - since it's proof against stocking cap hat-hair. The stylist finished this in no time at all - then only charged me half the regular amount. She said she didn't think it was right to charge me full price when it only took 6 minutes to cut. So, I gave her a couple bucks tip and was on my way.

Well, back to the video games for me - I'm thinking about going out to dinner tonight.

strep, niece, eyes, salt, heart

I'm still doing battle with the remnants of strep throat - though it's now reduced itself to a sore throat and occasional cough. It's rare for me to be sick for so long - and it's making me cranky. Or at least crankier than usual.

My niece's birthday was last weekend and my sister threw a party. It was rubber ducked themed and my sister made cup cakes that looked like little ducks. My niece enjoyed the presents - or rather, the boxes they came in and the cards - and had a lot of fun running around. I tried to keep up with her - but she wore me out.

Earlier this week, I woke up with a sore eye - which swiftly turned red and started, well, oozing. Kinda looked like the squishy gunk when you fall asleep - but before it turns to "sand". There was a lot of it too. I bought some eye drops and an eye patch to try and give it a break. This has been a couple of days ago, and it's getting better - though this morning the gunk sealed both my eyelids shut until I could get some warm water on them. Gross and weird. My eyes are still pretty red, but getting better. It's most likely pink eye - which will go away by itself. I'm trying to keep from touching my eyes and I'm washing my hands like I've got OCD - so, I should be back to normal soon. Or at least as close as I ever get.

I watched Salt last night on DVD. Good stuff. Lots of action and some nice plot twists.

Finally, I've volunteered to make some origami hearts for a fund raiser dinner/dance coming up soon. I'm hoping to get the final count today before I can leave so I can get the paper cut and start folding this evening. It's not a very complicated fold, but it will take some time to get them done.

sick, birthday, paint, tron

I'm still sick. Can't remember the last time I was ill this long before. I'm better, it's just a sore throat at this point, but it's still bothering me. I finished up my antibiotics over the weekend and I'm still taking cold medicine. Tired of being sick.

My family visited on Saturday for my birthday. We had some cake, went to a Paint Your Own Pottery store, went out to dinner, and had more cake. My niece was there and did much of the entertaining - she's walking everywhere and with much more confidence.

The pottery store was fun - though as we getting ready to leave, I bent down to pick up my coat and gashed the side of my head on a display table. I didn't break anything, fortunately, but I was bleeding pretty good. One of the women that worked there said she hits that all the time. I think she was trying to make me feel better, but I just wondered why they didn't fix it.

Went out to dinner with some friends on Sunday evening. Had a nice time and the food was really good.

I was off work on Monday and went and saw TRON Legacy. The visuals were impressive, but the sound in the theater was really bad and the story could have used some work. Still, the 3D was fun and I liked it overall.

Back to work now with a short week. Just heard the boss come in - I should go look busy now.

very sick

Tuesday afternoon, I conducted two back to back training sessions at work and started to lose my voice. I didn't think much of it - I'm not used to talking for 3 hours solid. Once I stopped talking, though, it didn't get better. The next day at work, I had a sore throat and I sounded really bad.

Thursday morning I woke up and felt like crap. Terrible sore throat, horrible headache. I got out of bed just long enough to sent a "I feel like crap and I'm not coming into work" email and make an appointment to see the doctor that afternoon. One of my co-workers had to go to the emergency room with Strep throat recently and I was worried that I had the same thing.

So, Thursday afternoon I headed to the doctor's office and got the diagnosis - strep. He prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way.

I started taking them last night, but before they could do any good, I got much worse. I had the chills, some nausea, and my fever spiked at 100.5 degrees. Kinda scary. I went from sweating like crazy to shivering. All the while, I was in and out of this really messed up dream where I was trying to react to a constantly changing series of disasters.

I was still feeling rough this morning, but I took my medicine and tried to be productive. Got through most of my work email and I'm working on laundry now.

It's funny how quickly things can go from same old, same old to really, really bad. I'm doing better - though my throat is still sore - and I should be back to work on Monday.

Time to go gargle some salt water and see if that helps.

pothole

This morning, on the drive to work, I hit a pothole so bad it knocked the faceplate off my radio.

Welcome to Ohio.

holidays and back to work

It's back to work for me - feels a little weird after so much time off. We got out early on December 23rd and just got back into the office this morning. I kept up with a couple of email accounts from home, but it was still nice to be off.

I spent part of Christmas day with my room-mate and his family at his sister's house. The kids got a Kinect and I got in on some of that action - fun stuff. The sleeper sofa was... miserable, but I got though it. The drive there and back wasn't too bad - my room-mate is still recovering from the surgery and I did all the driving. For the record, though - he's a side seat driver. I figured he would be in charge of the money for the tolls (fail) and navigation. Instead, he commandeered the radio and we listened to 70's music the whole trip. Ugh.

After a week of doing pretty much nothing, I went stir crazy and cleaned up the office at home. (this was after an episode of Hoarders) and then I started on my building a desk-out-of-a-door project. I spent a lot of time on the legs and got them looking great - then realized they are too long - making the desk too tall. Oh well, it's fixable - though a lot of work.

I met up with my co-worker and his family for lunch at Chiptole. Their little one had a spectacular diaper blowout - but otherwise it was a nice time.

This past weekend I went to see my parents, my sister, and her family. We had a good time, played some UNO and hung out with my super awesome niece. She's crawling up a storm, starting to walk, and a great pile of fun. They'll be visiting me for my upcoming birthday soon and then I'll be headed back there for my niece's birthday in a couple weeks.

So, I'm back to work today and trying to get back into the swing of things - and getting back to the pool again after a break.