Work did this thing where I got a sideways promotion because I turned down an official one. So today has already gone nutso because I was learning my new duties and everything, I mean *EVERYTHING*, went wrong.
Like we were setting up a new hire and the people who did all of the prep work got her name wrong. She had the wrong emails set up and the wrong account names for stuff… “If you need me, call me!” was the note my predecessor left me.
I tell ya. Anyway, she’s set up now.
The rest of this weekend should be somewhat low-key, given that we’ve got Thanksgiving behind us and we’re in “listening to Holiday music” mode but not yet in “have Holiday parties” mode… but I did get my first holiday party invitation today. (The madness officially starts in a couple of weeks.)
Which means that this weekend is one of the last to stuff in errands like “go to Costco and get a million things” or “go to Petsmart and get a million things” and have a hope that the stores won’t be packed to the gills. Maybe only packed to the pectorals. So that’s what we’re doing this weekend. The pre-holiday non-holiday stuff. (And, oh jeez, there’s another emergency. Why do they always happen on Friday?)
So… what’s on your docket?
(Image is “Play” by Clare Briggs. Used with permission of the Briggs estate.)
I’m attempting to get my Canadian passport photos taken tomorrow so I can renew my Canadian passport. This usually ends up being an ordeal, but “usually” has a small n and on the phone these folks seemed competent, so it may go well.
If it does I’m making Jaybird take a break from bustling around to come have lunch with me. Actually if it doesn’t I will probably do that too. But lunch will be more fun if it does.
Other than that my happy weekend thoughts mostly involve a lot of warm blankets and some purry cats. It’s that time of year.Report
I am finally coming up for air, as major events are either solved or in their final stages. The new (100yo) house has been rewired, the business project has been finalized, Thanksgiving miny vacation has passed (when the wife insists that you take four days off when in the middle of hardcore issues, it really only adds to the pressure) and now I just need to pack. I have packing, but with only one thing to deal with life becomes much more manageable.
I might even be able to think about things and comment on them… Or write something!Report
Working we have big events every weekend until Christmas. Starting the 18th they won’t see me until January sometime have a crazy amount of comp time to use.
And as a big Merry Christmas my husband got laid off from his job. The perils of working for a non-profit that did not do enough to diversify their funding a big, and I mean BIG grant did not come in this year and about a third of the staff was laid off.Report
Oh, jeez, that’s awful.Report
Thanks @jaybird yes it is. We are trying to look at it as an opportunity for us to start another project we have been talking about….a Makers Space if you know what those are. He can fall back to being an arborist and landscaper as he was before (though we sold a lot of the equipment) and he got 2 months severance. Still he will be looking for Journalist/Photographer jobs as that is what he loves.Report
We got new kitties, brother and sister, about 11 weeks old.
From this rescue foundation in the Northern Virginia area.
https://lostdogrescue.orgReport
Amazingly, I have accidentally completed all of my projects at work for the year and so I am basically on cruise control until January. I’m doing lots of little house-keeping items like getting productivity reports and weekly presentations setup for 2018, purging files and putting together my first 6-month plan for the new year. I’ve also been tasked with writing a white paper about the last Big Important Product Launch and how we managed to improve our Quality. These assignments are when I have to remind myself that I can’t write like a Liberal Arts guy and have to try to write like an MBA guy. Ugh.
On another note of accomplishment, all Christmas decorations at both our house and my mother’s are up. *whew*Report
I spent all day yesterday (including a drive of some 3 1/4 hours each way) taking part in a volunteer effort (essentially: editing work for a small journal).
It was not something I wanted to do. It was not something I exactly enjoyed, though I like the people I worked with (the drive was the worst part, as was losing my ENTIRE Saturday to work). I get that it was important. It was hinted I may someday become the new editor of the journal (a 100% volunteer position, so….) in some years, so I don’t know.
It seems so much of adulthood for me is doing things I’d rather not do but that I do because I know they need to be done, and the opportunity cost is doing the things I WANTED to be doing (I would have LOVED to have gone antiquing yesterday, and was planning it when someone suggested the editing session might be canceled because of a conflict, but it wound up not being).
I am really, really, really, really hoping this counts as “service” for me. (We have post-tenure review, where we are evaluated on teaching, research, and service. I get good teaching evals and I teach classes no one else can so I get good marks there. My research has gone pretty well and I’ve made the effort of including undergrads which is looked on favorably. But I got dinged on the last one for not having enough service, and someone tougher and giving fewer fish than I do could roll their eyes and go “Like I’m not already doing enough in the other areas?” but that is one specific way in which I’m over sensitive and it really hurt so I’m pushing to do more service, but it seems the kind I NEEDED to do (university committees) does not come available – I asked to be put on more but was not). So anyway. This BETTER count as service because that’s literally the only return I’m going to get for the 12 hours and full tank of gas I spent on this.
And it occurs to me: it sucks that there’s no Santa for adults, because an awful lot of us are VERY good, and yet we never get the Hot Wheels Garage or the My Little Pony playset of our dreams. (Or whatever the adult equivalent is). We gotta buy our own toys, with money earned by the sweat of our brows.Report
Tried out a Skype D&D game for the first time, which worked out nicely. I drank Dec 1 and 2 of my Beer Advent Calendar (all German beers) and my Barbarian smashed his foes with no regard for safety, planning, teamwork, or long-term survival.Report
Just Skype? I’ve seen some interesting online tools for tabletop RPGs over the years, and have wondered how they work in practice.Report
Just Skype. Our DM has a mat he focuses the camera on, but we’re all mostly using tablets or phones. (I was using a tablet for Skype and my PC for character info).
It works out well enough. We trust enough to do our own rolls without worrying about lies, and the only real issue is the occasional left/right confusion when describing movement.Report