Musings on a Small Life

It's an unwritten law of the Universe that your washing machine will die after (or during) the wash cycle, but before the spin cycle.  On a Sunday at 5AM. On a long holiday weekend.     I'm not going into details of how difficult it is to hand rinse sheets and towels in a spare (unused) litter box in your basement wash sink. Or how long it takes to bail out a washer full of dirty water. I'll just say that I'm waiting for the vacation fun to start!   Oh, and I did I mention that the sky looks ominous right now, like rain and thunder are in the offing? Peace .

It's always great to use only 4 vacation days, but get 9 consecutive days off.  :-) I'm in vacation mode now, while still here at the office, have the better part of an hour to get through before I can leave. Can't start anything now, have no focus, my desk is tidy, plants are watered. BTW, I've had time to mull over the position upgrade now, and am finding it does make a difference in my attitude for the moment . Not with regard to the politics and all the sh*t that goes on around here, but to my job specifically. I truly didn't realize how frustrated and under-valued I was feeling, particularly with so many at my level being upgraded at the drop of a hat (in the upstairs offices, specifically). So I greatly appreciate the effort of my "big" boss; I know she really had to push hard for it. And yes, I did send her a thank-you email, and sent one to my "old" boss as well, for whatever role he might have played. Anyway, if I have some...

Between the ITServices and HR, I think my head is going to explode this morning. By 9AM I already wanted a shot of something stronger than coffee. *Rolling my eyes*   Plus I goofed on the agenda I sent out yesterday, for a morning meeting today. Small oops, not life and death, but a dumb error. And I try so hard to be super careful, because the attendees are all the big mucky mucks around here. I didn't even catch it, one of the admin assistants upstairs mentioned it. Gee thanks!   On the plus side, I got my position reevaluation letter (from HR) in today's mail. I guess it's official now.   Life would be so much simpler as a hosta, don't you think?     Peace . *Comments are off*

I saw the skinny Fin look-alike on Saturday evening (or maybe it was Friday), up in the tree behind my unit. The boys were outside at the time, so I squirted my water bottle at him and off he went. Poor guy. I went out with a can of food, tapping it, but he wouldn't come back. I felt so guilty for chasing him off that I had a sob session over him (and all the other unwanted cats) for a while after that. Then I found out a bit later in the evening, from talking with one of Carla's* humans, that he might have a home of sorts -- he's been spied in the area by others and someone thinks he might live in one of the units in the complex down the hill from ours. Apparently he was offered dry food by Carla's humans, and he refused to eat it. So that leads me to believe he's not starving, even though he's so skinny. Mind you, he's young (and still unneutered, btw), hasn't filled out yet. Anyway, that's the back story to the few pics below. The next m...

So it took about 30 hours before I started to feel significantly better after the injection. Three days after the fact, I would say it's helped for that area, though not for the glutes. Sitting all day at work still is somewhat uncomfortable. I'm not certain I'd have the needle again. Therapy of some sort instead, perhaps. Which I likely will end up doing anyway. *** I've been reading an executive summary of the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking . A coworker has the book, but I don't have the patience or focus to wade through anything of length. (Isn't that sad? I remember when I did and could, and it wasn't that long ago.) Anyway, even the exec summary helps explain a few things. Of course for decades I've been aware I'm introverted, and have known for a number of years that there are actual differences in parts of the brain between introverts and extroverts. But some things that I've chalk...

[This post is primarily for my mother. Can you see me rolling my eyes? Poor Mom! LOL. I love you too.]   I had the steroid injection this morning, which while wasn't fun, went fine. The resident did it under the supervision of the overseeing doctor, and then the overseeing doctor trapped me into doing a female test that we all should have every 3 years (Canada's guidelines). That was adding insult to injury, IMO. (She told me I was due for it and my response, literally, was " Yeah, whatever ." So her reply was that if I wasn't going to come back, she'd do it now . I caved and opted for the "now" because no way was I going back for it.) So I've been poked and prodded in places that hurt (butt and hip) and unmentionable places too, and am feeling quite uncomfortable at the moment. LOL. RE: the hip injection -- it wasn't into the joint, just into the bursa (i.e. fluid-filled sac) at the most painful spot. The doctor did tell me I...

I hauled out the carpet cleaner to do the bedroom yesterday morning. This time it was the dirty water tank that wasn't picking anything up, and I had to readjust it three times before it decided to work. It seemed to be housed properly, but apparently it wasn't. Obviously if any part is out of alignment by one freaking millimeter, it won't work. I'd like to point out that for someone with zero patience and tolerance, this is VERY frustrating. I might have screamed a number of HBO words at the stupid thing. Windows closed, neighbours away. Also, the regular trigger did not work once again. I'm just glad the clean surge one does. As for the actual cleaning, let's just say that I was not disappointed at the state of the water in the dirty water tank, once I was done. Blech. The carpet looks a lot fresher now, though! *** I wasn't too keen to come to the office this AM, but perked up when I got in and realized that two of my coworkers whose off...

Derry's not mine. Looks pretty good to me -- I just snapped this pic yesterday or maybe it was Thursday. As for other things, I have a slew of "stuff" for Saturday: I'm so terribly sad for Rene from It's All About The Cats , whose beloved Tucker had to cross to the "Bridge" yesterday. Tucker was one of those extra-special Cats that those who follow her blog loved, and her own deep and abiding love for him shone through all her posts. ::Sigh:: Ann @ Zoolatry made the badge, of course. I have it up on the cats' blog, on our "Friends at the Bridge" page. I'll do a "comments off" post over on the boys' site soon. Other things: I had a hair cut today, always love having her dry my hair because she styles it so well, something I just don't have the talent or patience for. Plus it's not easy to do the back of one's own head! I've decided not to put any more colour in it at this time (i.e. ...

First, thank you for the comments on yesterday's post. So serious! Even I wasn't taking my mood that seriously, it comes around like clockwork every month and has for the past few years, ever since we had the work reorg. More strongly now that we all share space (since the latter part of December), of course, as I still struggle with that. But the reality is that our campus isn't what it used to be, what with the switch to the corporate business model and the emphasis on creating top-level position$ and on the "brand". A lot of people who were around before this change miss the previous (also imperfect ) years, but it is what it is. Yes, I'm keeping my eye out for other positions, both internally and externally, though am not seriously job-hunting at this time . I'm not a fool: I'm 50, no university degree, need to support myself and need a pension and benefits. That's life. ::Shrug:: I'm lucky and I know it, even working where I do. Just ...

I think this is what they might ask me!   I think I'd have to say it was some years back, when they first started refusing to let me sleep past 4AM.  :-) BTW, Derry's chin seems to be back to normal. I stopped feeding him from the porcelain (?) plates I had purchased at WalMart and now, several days later, things appear to have cleared up (or almost cleared up). Okay, only glass plates from here on in, or perhaps china.  I snapped pics yesterday afternoon, but haven't downloaded them for editing yet. I'm taking a half day's vacation today, not that I want to use my holiday time like that. But I have a few things to take care of and that old expression, "make hay while the sun shines" comes into play. Plus I'm in my usual hormonally-induced unsettled mood, the mood that makes me want to chuck it all, job and house, take the cats and run away. Because I simply won't survive living like this for another 15 years till retirement. Fortu...

Much of my internal "dialogue" today: I want to go home. (Repeat this one ad nauseam.) I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I gotta pee. I wanna cookie. (This one I succumbed to. I feel better now with a hit of sugar.) It's like listening to a whiny, spoiled child in my head all day. Must be Monday, right?  :-) May your day be whine-less, though perhaps not wine-less. Peace.

Thanks for the comments re: Derry's lip in the last post. I thought of a lot of things, including a tussle, but not a possible sting or zit. (Well, I was at one point I thought "acne" but I feed from glass dishes, not plastic.) I'll keep an eye on it; it doesn't seem any different today, i.e. not worse, knock on wood. It's been several days now, at least, so whatever happened, occurred this past week. Moving on. I decided I would steam clean the carpet in the spare room adjacent to my bedroom this morning, that room being the one with the upstairs litter box and the least furniture to move out. I thought it would be a simple, straightforward and quick process. I didn't take into account my utter cluelessness with regard to carpet steamers. It took me forever to grasp that the hose that came with it isn't required except when using the tools. I thought it was like a vacuum hose-- and I figured out where to insert the hose into the b...

Does Derry's lip look funny to you? I noticed this week that he isn't always closing his mouth all the way, which is either new or has gone unnoticed by me for 6.5 years (not likely). You can enlarge if you need to.    I'm pulling his lip down here (below). Maybe I'm just super-moon extra paranoid and crazy this week? He doesn't like me opening his mouth, so a good look isn't an option for right now, though Derry does have a regular vet check scheduled for early August. Of course I've been peering at him as much as possible, and half the time I *do* think I'm nuts and the other half I worry he has a dental issue, mouth ulcers, mouth cancer, etc. Of course my own mouth sometimes hangs open a bit too...unless I'm clenching my jaw in anger or frustration.  :-) It just looks...different. And I've looked at pics from June, haven't noticed any where his lower lip looks a bit odd or is open. Maybe I'm losing my mi...

This quote has a number of sources (you can Google), but I mean this quite literally with the blooming cactus below:   It's planted in someone's front yard, at the edge of the sidewalk and the driveway in their flower bed. I see the cactus every year (it's on my regular route in our neighbourhood), it blooms for a short time and that's it for another year. What astounds me is that a cactus can survive outside in our climate, and for so many years. I wouldn't have thought a desert plant could be so hardy in a harsh winter/steamy summer environment, but somehow it manages to hang on. I'm sure there's an analogy for us all in there.  :-) On another note,  I found one of today's articles on TinyBuddha.com particularly good: http://tinybuddha.com/blog/10-habits-unhappy-people-how-to-fix-them/ I'm not suggesting anyone is unhappy, just sharing the link. It all comes down to the less endless hamster wheel of introspection the better,...

So my Hoover carpet cleaner arrived yesterday (it had been delayed one day). The last time I ordered something that shipped via UPS (from Costco.ca), the driver left a delivery notice and I went to the UPS store in town and picked it up the next day. However, the steam cleaner was shipped from Amazon.ca and the tracking info indicated the driver had left it by the front door. Yikes! I saw that update when I checked the delivery status and cringed, given where I live and the mentality of so many people, not just in my immediate neighbourhood. In other words, I was NOT expecting to find it still on my doorstep when I got home! However, kudos to the driver for having common sense: I had a jumbo garbage bag (clothing) on my step marked for donation via the Canadian Diabetes Clothesline, and this guy had the common sense to tuck the huge box with the carpet cleaner in behind it, almost out of sight. (It helps that I have a big shrub in front of my step too). So when I got h...

So the ongoing hip/thigh pain I've been experiencing since late last fall (and which hasn't abated, even with the new comfier mattress) appears to be "greater trochanteric pain syndrome," i.e. bursitis. Common in 50+ females and long distance runners. You all know which category I fit into. (Hint: It's not the long distance runner.) I just got back from my doctor, having caved and gone because the discomfort has been negatively impacting my life to a significant degree for so long now, it not being comfortable at all to sit, stand, walk or lie down. (Makes sleeping well impossible.) He's sending me for an x-ray tomorrow (if I can get in, it's a show up and wait deal) just to ensure it's not something else (arthritis, etc.) Then it'll be a steroid injection for temporary relief -- right now I'll do just about anything to ease the pain -- and probably physio. This is a cosmic joke, right? I'm finding it funny, even as I wince...