This week was the second Anniversary ..

 

I was on FB earlier this week (at Breaktime).  I saw my coworkers KC’s Memorial to our former Coworker who committed suicide 2 years ago Tuesday.  It was Memorial Day weekend.  We were working that Friday.  Linda was working and seemed semi normal.  She left late that day and headed up to her family’s vacation spot and the next day jumped from the side of the MT Pisgah mountain near Lake Willoughby.

 

We lTearned on Tuesday after the holiday.   The Administration eventually sent the email.  The services were on June 5 at St Michael’s in New Haven.  I remember attending the wake, but I’m unsure about the funeral. During that time those who were in the office wondered how and why she could do this.  We knew she had problems and was troubled.

 

Since that time, the Local 34 Committee for the Office of YM has prioritized reaching out to individuals who may be experiencing difficulties.  That’s one of the reasons we started focusing on JT this passed year.  We have been doing it longer than that.

 

The rest of this week has been busy with the daily stuff.  Some days felt longer due to annoying traffic.  On Thursday, I learned new work procedures successfully. I planned to stay longer today, but I started feeling sick at lunch.

 

The Annual University Spirit Week will commence next Tuesday.  I believe there is a Employee Appreciation lunch.  It should be fun.  Several of us from the office will be attending.  I am not sure if those working remotely will be attending.

 

I experienced a stomach bug on two occasions this week.  The first was during Wednesday’s Meetup.  The second event I mentioned earlier happened today.  I had to come home after two.  Since two thirty been taking it easy.  I had to miss Steph’s Birthday party.

 

I attended the first part of my dentist’s appointment last night.  I got there a little late but the whole procedure was to prepare for a temporary cap for my tooth.  It included a mold of the area so that the permanent one goes in.  The appointment is scheduled for next Thursday at 6:45 PM. I will not require any additional time.

 

I am going to the lab tomorrow to get blood work done for Dr.Y (Metabolism Assoc).  Our next appointment is in a couple of months.  I must review the appointments. I must also check my Cholesterol level for the Cardiologist.

 

I have an appointment with the eye doctor early next Friday morning, and I will take the entire day off for it.  I wasn’t sure if I will have eyes dilated or not.  I didn't want to go back to work with dilated eyes.   Next week, my schedule is quite full with appointments at the end of the week.  The following week I will look at later.

 

My nephew John, Angel Brother's older son, recently completed his EMT course and is now a certified EMT.  I don’t know if he has a job or not.  I am so proud of him.  Tiffany is proud.

 

His sister has been busy with theater activities.  Merman seems to have been vomiting under the bed.    Merman is their cat.

 

I am starting to get tired so I think I will finish this for now.

Catching up Work Life

 

Well, it’s been a while and I have wanted to start this so many times but couldn’t think of what to say.

I have been busy with work, volunteering, and going to a few meetups and spending time with family.

 

Work has been interesting.  Things are changing both in our department and overall across the university.  Since last summer higher administration has changed and have been looking at changes that could help productivity (that seems to be going well).  It is working well for me right now.

For me it made it easier.  I get the scanning done more quickly and as soon as they look over some more things (that are not straightforward) we will give them to the correct people.  It allows me to get some training and annual stuff done.    

However, we did have some inter-office issues with a coworker who has been troubled for months.  She has had several meltdowns and has caused concern amongst us.  I had tried to help by giving her rides but she took advantage of that, so I had to put a stop to it.  We are just getting back to speaking to each other, but the taxi service is closed

As I mentioned earlier, things with the union are ramping up for the upcoming contract negotiations that will start in July 2025.  It’s also trying to get more people involved with the committees, especially in our area.    There are a few people who will be retiring later this year.  EV even suggested or was hoping that I would step up and I am not willing or ready to.  We did a survey and the leadership is reviewing it, There is a theory that we are in for a fight come negotiation time.  Especially during the current climate of the country.

The last couple of Days have been..

 

As you recall, we have had a gnat/fruit fly infestation at the office.  Guardian angel made calls and yesterday she was a complete bitch.  I snapped at her after she said some inappropriate things to me.    So, we barely spoke today. 

I spent most of the afternoon scanning at work.  I think I did well, but I could be just kidding myself.  I am sure Supervisor Bob would have said something.  I had to show him a patient check I found under my desk that was nearly a year old.  I hadn’t seen it before and when I found it yesterday, I was afraid I would be in trouble.  He just reminded me to be careful in the future.

My friend Jennifer was having a really bad day yesterday, and I know I encroached on her space a couple of times.  It worked itself out, but she was just going to lose it all around.  The equipment was not working right (it was happening to a few of us).  There was also the fact that she was the source of the infestation.  She has had to clean out her desk for the last couple of days. 

The ride home today was longer than it should be.  I suspect people were not comfortable with the drizzling rain.  It was annoying the crap out of me.  I had ordered Chinese food for 4:30 and I didn’t get it until 5.  It didn’t help that people cross the street wherever they wanted to.

 I still haven’t found my ATM/debit card all week.  I have looked and looked all over the place.  I will try again in the car.  However, since my credit union is going through a Major upgrade/updating this week entire weekend.  I don’t want to do anything until they are done.  I am hoping if I continue to look again, I will find it somehow. 

I was afraid I lost another credit card this week (seemed to do that a few times ths week) but luckily it was here at the house. 

Well Hurricane Helene is messing up with my sister’s plans to go to South Carolina tomorrow.  It’s currently heading to Florida at a Category 4 and is predicted to head towards part of North Carolina (yes, I see the irony here).  She may get to go down, but the return trip may be a challenge.

Hey, I saw the new season of TOH tonight.  The first ten minutes was men. Then it got into the groove.  I missed a little bit of it but it will be on Saturday morning.  At the end they mention their family losses. Russell Morash, the creator of this Old House and Ask this  Old House and Roger Cook, the resident landscaper who stepped back from the show three seasons ago. 

Well, I am starting to get tired and I took ZZZQuil tonight and I hope it will kick in soon.

 

 

Sleep

 I couldn't sleep Monday into Tuesday.. For a lot of reasons.  Probably the coffee I had earlier in the day.  THe other reasons were thinking about work.  All the things I have to do before my vacation tomorrow night at 4.  I had to train Tania on the claim forms.  I think it was easy.  I may be wrong.  I trained Tania on the scanning denials.

As for JT ,  I don’t know what else I can do.  We reviewed the notes she made and she decided that if she needs to ask Tania she will.  She is hoping to help me with the mail when I get back because she doesn’t have anything.  I suggested to her that she can continue with the batches.

My Friend Elia lost her father over the weekend.  She had been expecting for the last couple of weeks.  So she has been on FMLA. So no meetings for now.

I made sure things were done before I left.  I reminded people about my vacation so for email denials they have to send to Annette and Tania.  Hopefully in the near future we will be getting them in a dedicated email where all of us can access it.

THis vacation is two and half weeks and not the three weeks I thought.  Frankly I am glad because I have never taken more than three weeks off.

Some changes at work

 Last week we learned that two of our Senior Leadership people have departed. They are COO and CAO.  One we barely saw if at all through monthly meetings and the CAO came in almost weekly.  We have been assured that’s the only change going on.  I had learned at the committee meeting on Wednesday, but various departments found out the week before.  By the time the week ended everyone knew.

The union is pushing the Local 33 action that’s happening this thursday.  I contacted my people at least twice (I am not going to take them by the hand and lead them there)..  The weekly SP committee was canceled because EV has a meeting with DR. McGovern.  I look forward to meeting her in person.

Tania finished working on the refunds that she was asked to work on and she finished the mail that arrived today and I finished most of Fridays.  I just have to scan stuff out and then I can work on the CD upload.

Yes I said CD upload.  Mustafa is out this week until tomorrow and his boss asked me to do them.  OF course GA asked me about (she thought she did something wrong and I explained to her that I was doing them because the boss asked me too. She said is it priority and I told her I arranged to do it in the afternoon after the mail is done.

AC came back this week.  She has been trying to catch up with things.  I am wondering when she is going to train TD on scanning.  I am just wondering but I realize it's not my job.  AC is planning on training TD on scanning as soon as she is given access to the necessary equipment.

On Thursday the 12th Guardian ANgel became Gargoyle. She was preparing for a huge meeting for finance and she was trying to help us.  Somehow (and I swear all I said was she is stressed out) she believed I was badmouthing her.  The others have said don’t worry about it.

Supervisor had to send me an email asking me not to wave at people while they are in Zoom.  Everyone saw me.  I have no idea what got into me.  He was forgiving, that's for sure.  He asked me if I would be needing help from Tania and I told him no.  She is trying to do a lot with refunds.

Making Progess

 We are now working on dates for the mail from the beginning of February .  JT is still unsure of herself about it all and a part of me thinks she is playing me.  It frustrates me a little.  However, I am sure I have made people frustrated with my actions and behaviors.  She had to  thursday off and I am hoping I will be further along in the dates.

On other news I had called IT to fix the zoom mechanism and now it's working.   My computer screen on the scanning computer had a loose wire.  It's all fixed now.

We had a zoom committee meeting on Tuesday.  As I am writing this I am thinking back to a phone conversation I had with Kamisha who has stepped back from the Committee because she was not getting answers from key people and it was becoming frustrating.  I shared my experiences with  our lead organizer/steward with Kamisha and I could feel the annoyance.  It was on different matters but when she doesn’t answer or respond to phone calls for a reason it's frustrating.

Kamisha came into the meeting and explained her reasons.  There is something going on with a member and she messed up on her job and she may not have it (not Kamisha) as of now...  The person is someone I know fairly well and is usually on one of the text chats but she has been missing from it.

On Wednesday of this week, members of the Finance Dept were moving on to our floor.  Some of them I haven’t seen in like three years. TimG is one of them.  He tells me his family has grown since I saw him last at George Street.

Returned to work

 

Today was pretty much what I expected.  We did our normal routine and around 8 I went out and cleaned the car off from last night’s snowfall.  It wasn’t much but I did manage to put the ice melt out last night before going to bed.  It didn’t take long to clean off and I was on my way to North Haven for the Bone Density test.

The whole thing didn’t take long at all had to answer a bunch of questions and then the test was done.  I was out the door and on my way to the office.  I had called DG on the way to the appointment to remind her where I was going and when I would arrive.  I admitted I may have forgotten to tell anyone including the FMLA coordinating company.

I got to the office around 9:30 and checked in with DG and she was fine (doing mail that arrived earlier known as the Health logic.  She was fine with that and I did scanning.  We talked about how we would separate them by dates.  It was not making sense to me but talking to her at times can confuse me. 

I did about an hour of scanning and then helped her with the mail that came in today.  Three transport bags from Finance and about three buckets from the main Post office on campus.  We spent the next couple of hours sorting and getting the checks out and whatever was left she worked on while I did or tried to do the readdress mail.  Near the end of the day I copied the checks and scanned to SR.  It seemed to take forever.

AT lunchtime I called the FMLA and put in the appointments for this month and up until the end date of the current leave.  The representative who worked with me on this today really annoyed me.    They are really pushing that we report our times as soon as we get them or it won’t be approved.    They are cracking down on things.

After work I stopped for gas.  It was dangerously close to empty and even though I normally know that I have until 60 miles before I have to get gas I wasn’t feeling that confident.  As soon as I filled up I got my receipt from the cashier (without my mask!) I took off for home. 

It was after 4:30 when I got home I had already checked the mail.  It wasn’t much but they were coupons for big Y.  A large New England independent grocery store headquartered in MA.  It opened in Milford three years ago next week. 

After that I fed the cats, put the pork loin in the oven.  I was hoping to use the toaster oven air fryer but it wasn’t working and I need to take the actual time to read it. I had it on the baking mode and it didn’t seem to be working. Then again with the amount of coffee I had tonight I should be awake to read it.

I had already finished my dinner by the time I had my session with Debra.  I showed her some of the changes and additions that have occurred since our last meeting.  We talked about finances, and family stuff.

Apparently she heard from Lawyer Man.  He wanted to get Debra’s view of how I am doing and feeling about the condo.  We agreed I am love the place and not regretting anything (except maybe the debt).  He also is making moves to reimburse Liz and me for the move, and also pay off my debt (why doesn’t he just give me the money?).

As it is I had to make another payment to one of the cards or they would close the account.  I did it right from the website and I could have done it from the credit union and it would have still gotten there in the same amount of time.

I heard from my cousin Judy today.  She sent me her mother’s new phone number.  She also wished me luck in the new place and thanked me for the update.  We have a family zoom visit next weekend.  I hope to have chatted with her mother by then.

Well, I replenished the water in both the humidifier, coffee maker, and sent the dishwasher through.  I made lunch and now I need to go sleep.

 

Last day of work before the recess

 

I am not sure what I was originally going to call this because it’s on the hard drive at home.  I think it was something close to this title.  So yes today is the last day of work for the next ten days.  SR sent out a cute Holiday message and many other admins and departments across the campus followed suit.  Everyone from the team responded

 

DG and I discussed what we should do when we return as there will be a huge backlog of mail.  So we plan on working together as a double team and focus getting out as much as we can without overwhelming ourselves.

 

There were a small number of people in the office today.  Many took today off in preparation for the holiday.  It was pretty quiet for most of the day.  Supervisor left after 2:30.  When I left there were only three left in the office.

 

I did scanning for the entire day.  I straightened up my desk a little but not by much before I left and ran for the door.  The sun was in setting mode and it wasn’t too cold.

 

I was planning on going grocery shopping but decided against it.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect (pandemonium probably).  Besides that the drive was a little slow at times.  I must say I still haven’t made the mistake of heading to the old house even once since I moved.

 

I stopped at the mailbox before coming into the house/condo.  It was empty.  That’s okay I can catch up on card writing.  I came in and the cats were coming out of the bedroom.  It was nearly quarter of 5 so I fed them, got some hot chocolate, and watched tv for a while.

 

I made some dinner of steak and nearly made a mess.  Too much oil to begin with and it spattered everywhere and on me.  There was still an oily smell in the kitchen so I went to put the ceiling fan on and I am use to turning it on at the source and it wouldn’t go on.  I had forgotten there was a switch for it.  I finally found it and turned it on.  I will have to check the chain to make sure it can go faster when necessary.

 

I spoke to Liz today.  She had a really hard day for herself.  She was recently diagnosed with diabetes (its in our family) and she also has Barrett’s disease.  The doctor told her she is really sick and it needs to do it.  There is a lot of factors involved here but Liz also knows it was the food she was eating.  She has to cut a lot of things out and she says it will be hard but she will do it.

 

The one highlight that probably made her day better was facetime with her newest grandbaby Aiden.  She sent me pictures of him wrapped up like an elf.  He made funny faces at her too.  He is beautiful.  I believe he will be going home tomorrow.

 

I have to make sure I get an email off to Dr. T.  I have been having problems trying to get the pictures I took of the condo to her.  I hope it works this time. 

 

Tomorrow I need to make calls and clean the condo.  I can’t believe I have been here a week already.

Didn't get much accomplished

 

Well I didn’t get too far with the quotes yesterday.  I am not surprised.  I looked online at one and tried to call them but 1) this particular place out of East Haven is closed weekends.  2) They tell you to give some details of what you need but don’t give you a quote until you call.  Well I am not sure what to say yet.  I am also guessing most of the others are close for the weekend now too.  I did go over the Optimum packages so I don’t have to keep paying $223 and change. 

My goal today is to get the house cleaning done, and get to the closet.  Not really accomplishing that at the moment.  I will.  My reasoning for that is we are supposed to get a rainy Sunday afternoon.  My hope is it will spur me to do it

Today is my Niece Diane’s Birthday.  My memories of her over the years are mixed emotions.  She was a funny little child when she first came to us and she was on her second and final return from Taiwan and she became a real American girl.  There were times she irritated me (usually when she was smart ass teenager) and then when she went through the drama queen stage (to my siblings she is still there).  I still love her despite that.  I actually feel the same way with all of them.

I contacted my coworker who said she was going to get tested and she contacted the Manager and Supervisor.  It looks like we will have to sign a paper tomorrow.  I am waiting for the two emails that chew me out for it.  I didn’t tell I knew it was NW.  I called Liz and gave her the update. 

WE talked about the movers we have to contact, and you have to go through a hundred things to just get  a quote.  We decided that we would do that together sometime soon.  We also took a look at the optimum last bill…we will be working on that one too.

We also talked about the closet that I have very little outfits I put aside for spring as most I wear all year long.  Including some of the dresses but I can still put them away until I get to the condo.

I heard from Jim today he says read the travel policy for PA and he said I was right (yeah no shit) that it is getting bad.  NO Shit.

 

The weather is changing quickly.  The sun was out until about noon time.  The clouds moved in and the wind started picking up and about an hour ago we got a “severe weather alert” in patch.  The wind is supposed to be heavy and thunderstorms until midnight.

The TV remained on and managed to get rid of a lot of clothes hangers.  One whole bag of it and still have lots more to throw out.  I still need to do the clothes things.  I will do it slowly. Then again,  I think I am done for today.

 

 

Feeling Better

I had a great sleep last night.  I think I missed most of my Friday night radio program.  The alarms I set on the Boise still are not working but I really didn’t need one especially with the cats.

They have been fed and I have had my coffee and I have been chatting with AB on the text.  She is up early too for some reason.  She noticed I was quiet last week.  I explained that I saw they were really working hard and didn’t want to get them distracted.  I told her I kept busy during the week.

I managed to get online and found out a teacher from HS passed away yesterday.  The Obit isn’t online yet so I am not sure where she is-was from.  I sent a text to Dave because I think he had her for English during our HS careers. 

I did my early morning check in with Jim.  I probably will hear from him later this morning.  I am wondering how he did at the gym yesterday.  I know he took a walk around the park across the street from his condo.  He shared to fb.

Right now I am enjoying the 66 degree cool and sunny weather from my couch.  It will be in the 70’s for most of the day and by the afternoon strong weather (translate: rain-my hope is lots of it)

This morning I have class at 8:30 will need to get ready for that shortly and my hope is to use the In-body machine to see how I am doing.  Prayers for weight loss would be great.   I have my personal training session with Alex at lunch time.

My hope is to go grocery shopping in between those two activities because I am pretty sure I will not want to go out in the thunderstorm this afternoon.

Most likely the day will end with me watching TV and on the computer writing emails.  Updating files and then sleeping.

pajama Day

It is just before 7 am and I have been up since before 6.  Much to the indignation of Sky and Tiger they really wanted to be fed by the normal time.  They were satisfied by the time we got down to the kitchen.  The routine moved along.  I made some coffee and planted myself on the couch. The only problem is now I have to go to the bathroom.   Have I mentioned it’s a pain to get up from the recliner?

Anyway, I have been reading messages, and emails and alerts.  I have heard from Organizer Barbara during the night regarding my update.  She made offers to get things if I needed.  I explained I was okay and taken care of the groceries. 

Among the reports that came through my inbox today was that a nurse from WR died earlier this month from Corvid19.  That prompted me to send an email to RecreationNatalie to offer my condolences. It is too early to expect a reply.

I have checked in with the three amigos.  They seem to be in good spirits this morning.  AB lost her ex BIL to the Virus earlier this week.  The BIL is her nephew Adam’s Father.  Adam lives with Ann most of the time.  I need to edit and say she is anxious she needs to go to the health plan and she is not relishing the idea.

I guess there are plans at work to pick up cash bags from one of the departments and I have to wonder if FinanceJoel is even aware I am not at work nor have I been since I spoke to her on the 6^th.  I am surprised that Supervisor hasn’t mentioned anything. 

I have to wonder if the goal of May 1 for opening the state will be achieved.  From the recent article it will all take time.  I believe the governor is right to make the decisions he is for public safety.   I want to be around people but not at the expense of my health or anyone else’s, especially after what happened this spring.

So I said today may be pajama day.  I thought it would be miserable out this morning but the temperatures are 39.  They are supposed to go to 51 and right now sunny they are forecasting clouds too but  they are the  fluffy clouds I am sure.

Slept through some alarms

Well I knew I would sleep through some alarms this morning.  I went to bed around 9 after having some sleepy time and it started affecting me around 10.  I slept hard until about 12:30 and then woke up for another few hours.  The second cup of tea didn’t do as well as the first.  When I finally did fall asleep it was nearly 3 and I was able to sleep until the alarm went off and turned over.  Sky the dutiful fur baby boy that he is came to wake me up.

Both Sky and Tiger slept on the couch last night right where I left them.  That’s okay I have a feeling I was able to stretch out a little and got online a little longer during the night as well.  We did our regular morning ritual. 

I had to rush to get ready for work, but I was pleased to say I got out in good time and made to it work without incidence.  Can’t say the same for the commuters in Stratford there was an early morning accident on the northbound side of the highway.  Heard nothing of it even in the search for it today.  Or I am just missing it.

We had some excitement on the upper floors.  One of my coworkers tripped and hit her jaw on the edge of a window and ended up breaking her jaw.  The first I heard of it was at the commitment meeting and then chatter on our floor.  I later discovered that she is “AW”s Client.  She is also the big Boss’s assistant.

The petition for health and safety issues will stand as is but we will be having caucuses to explain further about the petition.  There is a membership meeting in March.

I left the office late after making sure things were opened or ready to be opened.  I wanted to make sure the one remaining bag had a key and locate it.  I got home about 5.

I fed the cats, made dinner that I Had to finish after my time at the gym. Went to the gym,

 I had a good session with Alex.   He seemed to be in good spirits despite the news about my coworker Lisa and my diet mistakes.  I took Trainer P’s class.  Alex had a 7; 30 one and everyone thought I would stay. Nope, I was achy, tired and wanted to watch NCIS.

Saying Goodbye

Thursdays are usually Thankful Thursdays but today is a day of saying goodbye to all of the people in the building that has been our home for 18 and half years.  At that time we came from different locations such as refurbished old high school that the University had leased or bought.  We would be together at George Street until few years ago.  Now we will be together again.  Well our finance department will remain in the med school area.     I am betting this will be the last building move until I retire.  There may be seat rotations in the near future.

The owner of Café George is having a farewell party for us and the building later this afternoon (at 3:30).  So hopefully by that time everything that needs to be done will be done for the day.  We have interacted with all the companies and departments on some level even if it’s walking into work or riding the elevators every day.

All that’s left now is to pack up the mail slots and the mail that will be left after the final pick up on Friday.  I believe GA said she would call the mailroom tomorrow to pick up the excess trays that we have right now.  We won’t have the room for them at the new office.  We don’t have enough campus envelopes to store them so my shadow and I brainstormed yesterday and said whatever mail is left at the end of the day will be wrapped up and the list of names on each one of them and put in a crate.

I was a little confused about Troy’s area and the second half of the finance department.  Are we going to send their mail via courier or through regular campus mail?  GA was not making any sense to me.  She said she would help (at SR’s request) until Friday Morning.

I actually took a drive to the new place on the way back from my infusion.  I took a route that brought me via the side roads and it was about 15 minutes.  I took me through the Albertus Magnus College campus.  When I left there to get to the office it was down Whitney to Temple.  Not that bad.  The drive from home is going to be about 22 minutes and total of 15 miles away.  It looks like if I leave the house by 7:20 (actually be in the car) I will get there by 7:45. 

I will have to say that now that I will have the parking taken out of my check, it will be nice to come and go and not have to shell out money on a daily basis.  I will have to learn to make my lunches and not order out a lot. 

 This will be a new adventure.  We will have to reorganize and set up how work gets done between shadow and I.  We came to an agreement before shadow left that I would revise the notes I have so that she won’t have to keep coming to me and asking.   I reminded her that it helps if you have it out to refer.  She also asked that when we have labels for readdressing mail that I keep the insurance labels separate from the actual individual names. 

I am feeling anxious about it right now (the packing up of the mail but at the same time I got this).  I am hoping the rest of the staff doesn’t send anymore mail out for Friday.  If they do they might as well hold on to it until Tuesday.

MOnday Musings

This has abeen a challenging day.  First, I didn’t get up when I wanted to, but I did get up my normal time and did the normal routine.  I hadn’t slept well last night due to the excessive amount of coffee I had yesterday to stay warm. 

I left the house quarter after the hour and got to work at a decent hour.  DG had been working on the backlog of mail from last week and I worked on the readdress mail.

DG/shadow was unsure of a few things and I would learn later she gave mail to the finance department head from mid-December.  IT made the EXDIR aggravated.  I have reinstituted that I will check the mail and go over the mail with her every freaking day!  DG says she only gave her one thing and that the rest she has no idea.  She gave a document to Credentialing and it wasn’t theirs.   Just what I am freaking needing.

The scanning is back online.  Not getting new scanners after all.  I am not sure why but this whole thing took far too long and has put us behind.  So, once I was given the go ahead to sign on I jumped at the scanning.  Although it took me a few minutes to remember the steps.  AC helped me with it all and she gave me the McKesson link and the instructions for it.   By the time I left for the day I managed to get about 16 batches done.

The regular crew left a little after 4 and I got to the street around quarter of five (the sun was not as big an issue as I thought it would be) and I stopped and saw my god puppies, Simon, Sawyer, and Lilly, and of course their Dad.  WE chatted about the holidays.

Then I went home.  The kitties were were waiting in the kitchen to be fed.  I fed them and cleaned out the litterboxes and decided to relax until class.   I even fell asleep for a short time.

I was very relieved to hear from my pen pal in Kentucky.  Kathy has been really sick these past several weeks with the Flu and bronchitis.  So she wanted my snail mail address and right now I am trying to write her a reply.  I still may email it to her.  I am still trying to finish a letter to Amorette in Montana.  I also started a letter to Karyn in CO.

So last night I was invited at the last minute to the Surprise Birthday Party for Jen and her Mom.  Jen felt terrible and asked my sister to invite me.  So I went.   When I got there I made the rounds of greetings and such.  Baby Sophie was not suffering fools lightly.  She wasn’t feeling well at all.  It took most of the night for her to finally fall into my arms and say good bye when I left.

The evening was great except for a couple of moments that really irritated me.  When my sister and Brother In law and I were talking about the NYE party my brother in law asked if I got drunk at the party.  Now I am hoping I didn’t look angry but what a stupid fucking thing to even ask.  Have you ever known me to get drunk???  I didn’t have any problem with him asking about the champagne but I again I don’t drink..

When my sister asked if I had any of the pasta on the Mini buffet and I replied I don’t usually have it and she said “what you do and what you say or two different things! So don’t be fresh”.  FUCK YOU!  You don’t want your accomplishments with your recovery to be dismissed but you want to dismiss mine?

When I had my phone session with Debra we discussed this and the holiday   Mand boy.  It was so annoying.

I stayed until 8:30 and then drove home when I realized I was missing my phone session.  It was a great session.  We got caught up and on everything.  I don’t remember what she said about the incident last night.  We will meet next week but the following week we will have to reschedule.

After the phone session I got ready for bed.  The titans eventually followed me up to bed and spent most of the night curled up next to me and eventually with each other.  Right now Tiger is half under the covers and sleeping.  Sky is trying to look for a good spot and he chose to lie at my knee.  

They actually have been snuggling up next to me on the recliner downstairs a lot this week.  I gave some treats and they wanted more.  I have to be careful about that.  I don’t want them to have stomach issue.

Well its time for me to get some sleep.  I have another full day and evening..

Such a long day

Today was such a long day.  I left the house around 7; 15 and got gas.  At First the pump didn’t work and when it finally did the receipt printer didn’t work.  I had to go in to get it.  I was strongly objecting and he explained it would be $10,000 to replace maybe you want to pay for it?  Ah that’s one of the responsibilities of having a fucking gas station you moron.  His snarky remark to me made me feel like I won’t be going to him again anytime seen.

I got to work just around 10 of the hour and realized I didn’t do the WC mail.  DG and I strategized and discussed that and got right into giving her the stuff I worked on it.  I actually worked on the one box of heal logic until early afternoon.  WE switched and I worked on readdress mail that seemed to be growing in volume.  The US mail came again and worked on that.  When that was finished I went back to the readdress mail.  I had no choice the scanning project was not resolved.  At this point it won’t be until next Monday.  I have no idea why a new scanner is now the issue.  It frustrates me because we are so backlogged and we have two weeks until the move.  I want to get some of this stuff done and shredded so we can move on.

I left shortly before 4 and got to the car and headed to the tire place.  Happily I got there by 4:30.  I was testing people’s patience driving No faster than 55 (or least trying to) on the highway.  I made it safely.  The technician took down the info and looked at the other tires and told me that the other tires were bald and he would look to see what could be done.  He had given me two options (one was $530 (including labor and whatever else) and the other was $510 (including labor and whatever else).  He had me move to the back and I came back inside and sat down and got on the phone for a bit.

I checked emails and then wrote one to my Australian Pal Mary to see if she was safe from the Australian wild fires.  I don’t exactly know where she lives (despite searching all the files I have on her).  I didn’t get a response yet but I also tried on her Facebook page.   There hasn’t been any response from her as of yet.  I know she responded to a post on my newsfeed so I am hoping she is safe    

I also took a walk to DD for some coffee and a place to pee.  I wasn’t really comfortable using the tire store’s facility.  As I approached didn’t see anything unusual but while inside discovered there were not one but two accidents out front.   I talked about it with the technicians at Town fair.  I sat down and proceed to call my sister.

It wasn’t a totally long (had some connection issue).  I told her I was getting a tire replaced but didn’t give too much details.  We talked about the party, the family gathering she had at her house for Nelson the 3^rd (I can’t believe he is 9) apparently it got really chaotic.  Adam dropped the cake and it went everywhere. 

She sounded horrible (the bronchitis returned-she was teasing me by telling me I gave it to her).  I fell for it…She was looking forward to some quality time with Baby Sophie this weekend during the double Surprise party for her Maternal Grandma and Mama.  She isn’t sure she will have the stamina for lots of reasons.  We hung up and I got my car. 

The big flashy signs eventually stopped.  The one about the tires didn’t.  They couldn’t reset it so if it stays lit this weekend I have to stop at Honda.

I think I got home around 5:30.  I decided to take a detour over by cemetery and get on the highway that way.  It probably was out of the way but I just had a feeling the way I would be going would be slow.

When I got home fed the titans quickly and ate part of the Pork roast from last night.  I wasn’t going to eat because I didn’t think I was hungry but I ended up having that and vegetables.  I relaxed for a bit too.

For the last half hour or so I have had tiger beside me and Sky above me sleeping.  When sky first got on the cushion behind me he nuzzled my hair.  He got off and just got back on.    There is a post I shared to my FB newsfeed that read “Antidepressant drug and there is cat coming out of a pill.  They are so right.  There is something to be said about cats and the love they give when you are tired, stressed o hundred other emotions.

I am really going to need them soon.  Especially after the current activity that number 49 sanctioned a drone attack that killed a High Ranking Iranian Military official who has been accused of causing many of men’s death.  However, are own representatives are split on this.  I am afraid we will be going to war again.  I actually need to educate myself on this and actually read some of the articles.

Well it is getting late and I want to go to bed soon.  I Hope the coffee I had will let me.

Rainy Day for the end of the week

This isn’t a normal fall day.  It's almost 60 degrees and raining when it should be snowing and cold.  Will not debate the global warming theories here. In all likelihood it is that very reason.  For the first time in years I heard the siren go off to warn Woodmont residents of flooding. I can’t remember the last time (maybe during the last hurricanes or bad storms).  I would later see pictures posted to social media of the waves crashing over the walls and the flooding along the beach. Happily it doesn’t affect me unless I go towards West Haven from my street.  The marshes do get full but not to the extent of reaching to our properties. Not sure about my time at the beach house though.

Tonight I meet with Debra for the last time this year.  We will resume our sessions after the recess. Maybe with one phone session but I will keep her posted as I Have been with blog entries.

I will go to the gym after that and then get going on the shopping.  Mostly the kids. I am wondering if Diane and Rogier or Ethel and the rest of that branch of the family are expecting gifts?

I actually got an text from CHeryl about a yankee swap and so I am participating and immediately ordered something from Amazon for $25 (tumblers of something) and it should be here sunday.  Now I could have thought about getting stuff for the kids on Amazon. Next time I will think of that.

I will also stop at Christmas tree shop and get more cards and then go to the post office and mail the letter.

I ordered the breads from Julia’s bakery and will pick them up on December 31 at 9 and then drop them off at Dave’s place after I go to the dentist.   I sent him an email giving him the heads up. I have no idea if he will be in town that day or on his way home. He got the message and he pointed out I wrote Jan 31 instead of December 31.

I managed to get 6 treasury batches done today.  Some of them were large and some not so much. The last 45 minutes of the day cleaned down the desks and relaxed actually.

It was so cold

t was so cold that I closed most if not all the windows in the house this morning.  Like I said yesterday I had turned the fans and AC off before going to bed.  I buried myself under the comforter during the night.  I slept on the couch last night and both cats were either at my feet or on my legs-again.  I got a little uncomfortable so I was somewhat relieved I could move around without annoying the cats.  The downside is I didn’t fall asleep until maybe 2 and had about three or 4 hours of sleep.

Tonight I put on the woolly socks that Roberta sent me before she left NC last month to bed to keep my feet warm.  I hope the cats will eventually come up to bed this time.  THey are both still curled up on the sofa where I left them.

THe weather people are keeping an eye on Hurricane Florence.  It is expected to hit land sometime in the next several hours.  I don’t know if it will make its way up here or not.  Like I said the local weather people are keeping an eye on it.

I made it to the shuttle just as it arrived this morning.  I was the only one at the first stop but at the third stop it was all regular.  I didn’t even notice any traffic.  I was busy chatting about the weekend with my fellow commuter.  I can’t say the same for the evening commute.  The driver pulled away just as I got to the front of the building.

I spent the morning scanning and had only a couple of issues that made me have to do a few of the batches over again.  This  afternoon I spent doing most of the mail.  I have to finish the Healthlogic and then deliver it tomorrow to Susan.   I thought DG was coming back from vacation today but she didn’t.  That’s okay.

I am really pleased to say TE and I will be having an early morning breakfast on Saturday before I go to the gym.  I will pick her up around 9 and we will have breakfast at a local diner.  Among our discussions we will talk about going to a movie or something another day.

I also heard from Crystal (the woman I met on the way down to SC this summer) she wants to get together for lunch but I told her dinner would be better.  She hasn’t responded yet but I hope she will consider it.

There are more canvases and phone banking for the campaigns coming up .  I guess whatever they originally had planned for today was changed due to the weather.   I was asked to come do some stuff but i couldn’t.   There was a call to volunteer tomorrow but again can’t do it.  There are a few on Tuesday that I can’t see myself making as it conflicts with Alex.  I have to look at them and my appointment books tomorrow.

I got an email over the weekend from LG President LD  letting me know that the hospitality committee is really a one person chair seat and suggested I work on the news letter.  Well that’s great.  I would really like to do that.

The one thing I forgot to mention last week after all the crabbing about the last meeting.  THe one thing we won’t be having this year is the Annual Auction in DEcember.    The reasons vary (but mostly the Rev doesn’t want to have it done anymore).  The parish picnic was yesterday.  I have no idea how it went but I just didn’t want to go.

I didn’t go to class tonight.  I was too tired and it was too cold and rainy out.  Instead I watched TV and made pancakes (with the protein whey in it).  Needs work let me tell you.  Lots and lots of work. 

Oh I also got my latest FMLA reapp approved and so my FMLA will be until February 2019.  I just skimmed over the letters and saw the dates.

Well its time for me to go to bed..I can’t keep my eyes open...