Working Wednesday, July 26, 2023

~ Jenny

So I haven’t moved yet, going the final stuff today, out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Probably closer to noon at the rate I’m going. So that’s what I’m working on.

What are you doing?

45 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, July 26, 2023”

  2. Best of luck with the move. Give yourself a treat to look forward to even if it’s just a nice meal you don’t have to cook.

  3. My trainee resigned out of the blue this morning, so I am working on not being upset at the week and a half wasted. I liked her and she was doing really well, so it is disappointing to go back to the drawing board.

    Otherwise, I have switched to my true love and am crafting for fall and Halloween. I could do that all year, although pretty soon I am going to have to think about Christmas.

    And I bought a sword yesterday. It’s a stainless steel replica of Sting, Frodo’s sword, that I found at a thrift store. It’s half decent and came with a little wooden wall mount. My hubby hung it up for me because he is the best and now I can stab people in case of emergency.

    1. May I borrow that sword? I have an emergency. I need to stab a 27-year old CEO who gave me feedback that his executive team didn’t send my consultant complete or correct information and somehow…that’s our fault. And she did give the CEO a heads-up on Monday that the information they’d sent on Friday was not complete and he said…it wasn’t fast enough of a heads-up. Actually, scrap that. I think stabbing won’t teach him a real lesson. I’m going to steal his entitlement genes away from him instead. That’ll learn ‘im.

      1. I think that you might need my larger ceremonial sword, which my husband has named Rape Whistle. She was made in Philadelphia in the mid century and is a long, rapier-esqe blade with a fancy handle and scabbard.

        What is with the 20-something crowd? I am 30ish and wouldn’t dream of pulling these stunts. More fool me, maybe… That is how I get stuck.

        1. That sounds like a better alternative. Although I’m not sure he deserves a fancy handle.

          Anyway, I’m sorry your trainee left – this seems like a long saga now.

      2. When you meet people like that document like crazy and save all the emails etc to cover yourself. Also check official agreements, if they’re officially supposed to give you all the info at a certain time, you can hold that up like a shield at a later date if you have to.

    3. Sting.. the original was supposed to turn blue in the presence of Orcs. I wanted Hadhafang, but I have nowhere to put it sigh

  4. Primarily, trying to stay cool and keep yard / birds / Scruffian alive. It’s not nearly as killingly hot here as in some places. thank all the gods for ceiling fans and wind tunnels.

    About 40% done with text revision for the last backlist title to be updated. Have just obsessively updated the description for the previously-updated title to ensure REVISED EDITION shows up.

    Editor for the last outstanding submission got back to me, I hadn’t even heard that the anthology accepted my story, short exchange to confirm terms since this one doesn’t do contracts per se. Realize that is a risk, thus put a couple things in writing at my end.

    Made contact with a couple people trying to poach me from my job. Things have gotten so weird there, I figured it would be stupid not to open an escape hatch. Now going to check the website for local office of one of those places and see how many people I know there.

  5. Hm, what work. My lines are memorized. Still knitting. Still rehearsing. I’m attempting to find a replacement therapist, but I’m waiting on #3 to get back to me after her vacation this week. I have an audition for an improvised show this weekend.

    I’m debating whether or not to apply for a job someone told me about. Normally I would not apply for it AT ALL because it is front desk/phone answering/financial work and I desperately want out of all of that because I can’t stop being terrible, but the guy told me it’s a good company to work for and they promote from within and the front desk work is just making people sign in and it isn’t the nightmare that my job is. I personally wouldn’t hire me for it, though, since I have no financial experience and I don’t want to work on budgets and travel arrangements when I’m stoopid at math.

    I know, I know, let them rule me out, but I have to write a @#%$#@$ cover letter and I cannot argue that I should be hired for this, you know?

    1. Will you show up on time, be professional and pleasant? Because if you see my post above, that is really hard to find. If you can do that, I am sure they will be happy to have you.

      Don’t worry about the math thing. I work at a bank and you don’t have to math to work here. The computer does all that for you. Just try your best, accept responsibility for your mistakes, ask for help and try to fix them. And they will LOVE you. And I have found that the job doesn’t really matter. It’s the people you work with that make all the difference.

      So I think that you should go for it. And I think that when you write your letter, you should try to channel not that they should hire you, but that you really want this job. Which, I think you might, so it’s true.

    2. The trouble with women is that we don’t apply for jobs we wouldn’t hire ourselves for, but men just see ONE criterion they meet and they are SURE that they’re gonna be the best “Whatever-It-Is” that the company has ever seen.

      As a result I have often over-applied. Each time is a learning experience and I’m a nerd enough to enjoy applying, making the shortlist which is usually limited to 5 candidates, getting interviewed, and not getting the job😜.

      The win is getting to interview. It’s helps me to see if I have any gaps to fill in experience and education. Because half of these posts are not what I actually want yet. When I do get to the one that I actually want, I’ll be well experienced!
      😉

    3. Just do your best, at my work the 3rd chosen candidate got the job. The first choice turned up an hour late to interview without an apology. Number two spend an hour on the short basic testing that the average is 15 mins. Number three turned up on time looking neat and tidy and managed the testing in time, they handed it to him. If you look like you made an effort and are actually willing to work, they will like you.

      1. It’s really hard to know what a job entails until you interview (and sometimes until you have it!) and if it’s not a good fit at least you have the interview experience.
        Go for it !

    4. Jennifer, if you’ve managed to get by on a tight budget at a personal level you’re already more qualified than you think you are. Most of travel arranging is finding a balance between cost and comfort, and if you’ve been broke before you’ll do that instinctively. A lot of finance isn’t actually numbers, it’s weighing options and being sensible. And if you don’t have a financial background but are willing to learn, that just means they can train you according to their preferences and end up with an employee doing things exactly right according to them.

    5. Being terrible at one place doesn’t mean being terrible at all of them. From what you’ve said about your workplace, I reckon a genius would have trouble thriving there. No-one does good work while other people are grinding them underfoot.

      I applied for a job a week ago and didn’t even get an interview. But applying forced me to update my CV and I feel surprisingly good about having that done. So, at worst, you get an up-to-date CV and some application practice out of it.

  6. I spent last week at our users’ conference, getting back late Thursday. So Friday was a blur of incoherency. But Saturday and Sunday I was able to get back to my quilt. I had shown pieces of it before. Now my squares are put together, and I’ve got the top mostly done. It just needs a border – but it was too late for me to start that on Sunday evening when I got the rest of that done. It looks pretty so far!
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CvJ6-_uONJR/

    I bought soft and fuzzy backings for the pink quilt I made last week. Friday I’m going to the quilt shop to rent the long arm and get this one done. Hopefully pictures next week!

    Good luck with the move Jenny!

    2. Nancy, I like the colors and design. Three of my sisters have made quilts, one continues to do so. I have a quilt from each one and I treasure them. Anyone who gets a quilt from you (whether as a gift, or purchase) should treasure it highly!

  8. A nerve in my neck got pinched probably from sleeping wrong, so I’m working on getting my neck mobility back.

    For work I need to do some research into some tools we may loan out to aid people with different disabilities. I need to figure out how they work and where do we have any kind of privacy issues afterwards. I also need to process email as I was on vacation for Four days last week

    I have a quilt on my quilt frame that I’d also like to work on but I’m not sure staring downwards is the best thing for my neck. 😔

    Jenny, I hope your move goes smoothly and proves to be a wonderful decision!

    1. Oh, I am also adding Lavender’s Blue into LibraryThing, so it can make its way into people’s collections.

  10. glazing! not floors at all. yay!
    Glazier came in to quote only one day after I called his company. Wow.
    Given that he helped put in the original windows, when he was an apprentice, I assume he knows what he is doing. Thirty five years in the same field, mostly in the same place, gotta be at least competent if for no other reason than that you’d have had a chance to make and fix most possible mistakes
    The plan is to get a cat flap and have roof widow repaired. Should that go well, then putting in double glazing for the rest of the house.
    Must remember this is really a small town, at least for the locals, no matter the city lights.
    Floor update for the curious:
    We picked a floor, bought a box worthc(3 square meters) and I’m going to install it in a large closet.
    This way we get to check the colour, how much sound proofing we’ll get and most importantly how much of a pain to install it actually is. If all goes well, we get excellent flooring over time as I work my way through the house. Hopefully learning enough in the closets and bedrooms that I’m reasonably good by the time I get to the living room where all errors will be on display.
    Or, I become seriously motivated to find an installer of something cheaper.
    Good times, with flooring and a cat flap, ahead.

  11. I worked on not melting down. Meltdowns a la “Julie and Julia” were never a thing for me until recently. I guess the medication changed my tolerance level. So far, so good🤞🏼. Perturbing systems left and right.
    Going to do origami with my class. But first I must learn it meself!

    We have promotion posts advertised by our province. I’m good at this process. So I guess I’mma apply. I worked on organising my spreadsheet and application envelopes. Very specific requirements!

    I have an art idea using the thought pattern reframing for each condition relevant to me from Louise Hay’s “You can heal your life.” I got the paper out. Har.

    My temperature is over 38°C, but I feel fine. 🎼It’s the end of the world as we know it, 🎶and I feel fine🎵. My humour is intact, woohoo.

  12. Take water and snacks, getting to eat and staying hydrated never happens on Moving day

  14. I’m glad I’m not moving house today. It is bad enough just moving myself from point A to point B. I live in the Phoenix, Arizona area with a high temperature today of 116 degrees F (46 degrees C). It has been 25 straight days of temperatures of 110 degrees plus, and I’m so very, very, very tired of it all. Yes, I’ve been living here for nearly 50 years, and know the desert heat, as I was born and raised in the Mojave desert in California. But it all just too, too much. The air conditioning at work is very efficient, in fact my fingers and toes often feel a bit numb from the cold by mid-day. Then I leave work and walk outside into an oven. Set to broil.

    Argh.

    1. I’ve never understood why Americans set their aircon so extremely low. It makes the outdoor heat feel so much worse, and I’m sure can’t be healthy. Though I also don’t know how you can bear those high temperatures. Hope it cools down soon.

  15. Very best of luck with the move. I’ve mostly been gardening this week. Also did my accounts – started a new, simpler system, which should help a bit. And agreed to another proof-reading job – essays by an early C20 Chinese revolutionary.

  16. Got my hair cut today; it’s not flipping up and out anymore. That’s the last of my July meetings/appointments/projects.
    On to August!

    Going to be hot here the next couple of days. Not 100’s+ hot, just 90s. The older I get the less I tolerate the heat.

    I’ll be slouching in my favorite chair with a cold beverage and Lavender’s Blue soon.

    1. Still working on recovery from surgery (making and going to doctor appointments). Also back at work at the day job and continuing to wrap up the details for the second commitment ceremony. Of which there are many…
      Made the final reservation for our week in California.
      Still need to buy party clothes.

      What I’m not working at:
      Gardening (it’s too hot)
      Persuading my mom that she has to clean or throw out even the clothes that were under plastic in her moth infested closets (my sisters are on this not to say over invested)
      Trying to get my dad’s trust tax documents corrected and the trust moved—I just won’t have bandwidth until September.

  17. We’re still working on the 2nd master as mini apartment project. Plumber came to see about adding a kitchenette sink and decided the head plumber needed to come look which isn’t a great sign. Also working on the garden, which is magnificent this year.

  19. I’m training at work again. One day last week, one day this week, then all of next week. My trainee last week just walked out after lunch without telling anyone. She wasn’t well but we’d already had a conversation about how to go home early if you’re sick (tell a manager you’re leaving and clock off). It is unclear whether she will come back this week. She’s a nice girl but not a great fit for the airport environment. The two today should be fine, they’re just moving on to the next skill set.

  20. Another quiet week. The dotter and I shopped today, just a quick trip to a gas station to put $50 in her gas tank – that used to be a lot less – then to the Friendly Neighborhood Food Lion. Not the old FNFL – 3.9 miles from home and the dotter’s favorite because of self-checkout. The other FNFL – 3.3 miles from home but no self-checkout. Getting gas put us very close to that one, so there we went. Some meat, some vegetables, some deli, some more deli, and some wheat bread. I bought a banana nut muffing, but I didn’t read the label. It’s a calorie-laden sodium bomb.

    This is the week that I dealt with Home Moanership problem XII, humidity in the basement. The solution is a dehumidifier, of course. I bought one. The thing is, it has two modes. In bucket mode, it sits nested in a square bucket that you have to empty when it fills, lest it shut down automatically until you do. It operated in that mode for 4 days. The bucket fills up in 24 hours. Guess who empties the bucket. (sigh) I switched to pump mode. The problem with pump mode is that it has to sit high enough so that the drain hose slopes down. There being no convenient floor drain, that means I needed a table to raise it above the lip of the deep sink.

    Too late to make the long story short. I took care of the problem, and eliminated the condensation on all the air conditioning ducts in the overhead of the basement.

  21. I had actual work today, including a deadline, even though it’s my birthday. (I know grownups don’t get automatic birthdays off, but still… ) However, every time I had to take a bathroom break I read a bit of Lavender on my phone. Did I maybe drink a little more water than usual???

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