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!