So disappointing. Got the Moderna shot Thursday, so that’s off the to-do list. I don’t know what’s up with distribution, but there were no Pfizer shots within like 50 miles of me, so Moderna it was. At least I didn’t feel like crap afterwards, which I was kinda worried about since I really couldn’t afford to be a zombie at work yesterday.
But all in all, not bad. Sore arm, and kinda tired and achy around the 24 hour mark – advil and a nap took care of that, and I slept like a rock last night and this morning, all good.
Post vacation workweek was actually pretty darn calm, which was VERY nice.
Finally got back to the farmers market today, YAY! Lettuce! Tomatoes! Peppers! Sweets! Probably Too Many Sweets!
And I’m thinking about the things I need to get done today and because nothing is CRITICAL, I have a feeling very little will get done today. And that’s OK.
Occoquan festival got canceled – on Friday – and despite my brother searching for updates yesterday, we did not know about this until we tried to go today, LOL.
I’ll admit, I’m bummed, even though canceling it was a smart move. It’s always a good time and we’re hurtling into the Cold and Dark months when there isn’t as much outdoor stuff and patio seating for lunch isn’t necessarily pleasant.
But, there are worse ways to finish off a week of PTO than cozying up on the couch with the kitty, watching murder mysteries, and eating myself silly. I’ve already polished off the leftover combination fried rice, and I’m on the hunt for the next snack.
I did not have “contend with tropical storm that wasn’t even on the radar this time last week” on my PTO fun stuff to-do list for sure. Definitely putting a dent in the weekend plans of the fall festival down in Occoquan, but it does look like it’s moving through fairly quickly and tracking farther east so maybe tomorrow? The rain is actually pretty light right now. which is good, but the wind is making it definitely unpleasant. I’m usually “have hat/jacket/umbrella, will travel” but not with wind…
But on the whole, it has been a pretty successful staycation. Started with getting off work ON TIME and outdoor margaritas on Friday. Mount Vernon market fair was fun and I always love going through the gardens there. NMAAHC was spectacular. Got Outback for dinner! Finally painted my nails! Unintentionally Barbie Pink! Had a fantastic dinner at Trattoria Villagio in their lovely new-ish outdoor courtyard. And I met a capybara named Tater!!!
And all with an eye to Covid – either doing things masked up or outside and regularly testing and this morning we have another negative in the books. Am I salty that after three and a half years I still have to actively think about this? Yes, yes I am. Am I gonna throw in the towel? Hell, no.
If you’re in the thick of Ophelia – stay dry! If the weather is decent where you are – get out and do something fun for me.
If you’re in DC and have the time – do it! Time off work and ticket availability converged and I finally got to the NMAAHC, and it did not disappoint.
The content is fantastic, and there are really great design choices. Three levels dedicated to history and three levels dedicated to culture. You start on the bottom floor and there is background on European & African relations and then moves into the Atlantic slave trade right off the bat – and yeah, it’s a pretty bleak part of our history. But as you move upward through the exhibit, things shift and it’s more, IDK, hopeful? So many victories and progress, but absolutely not glossing over all the hardships placed on the Black American community by white supremacy.
Then when you get to the culture exhibits, it’s downright celebratory. Just awesome exhibits. There is also a special exhibit on Afrofuturism which is terrific – it’s open until August of next year.
There are parts of the museum that will absolutely make you sad, angry, uncomfortable, and embarrassed about the history of our country – as they should. But there are also SO many good things – they got the balance just right.
They’ve also done a great job with accessibility too. Ramps, elevators that aren’t hidden away, escalators, sensory maps, closed captioning on video exhibits, apps for visual interpretations – they really put a lot of thought into it. Also, lots of benches to stop and have a rest.
Good morning!!! Staycation is off to a good start – work week leading up to it was bonkers, but I front loaded everything to the start of the week and left ON TIME yesterday!
And to celebrate, there were patio margaritas, chips & queso, and carne adovada enchiladas, followed by an EPIC nap.
Work was just something this week. Super long Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday for the feature and client issues.
My dev found the problem in our pain in the ass app – still kicking myself that I didn’t see the pattern in the client data that triggered it, and that we didn’t have that pattern in our testing. Granted, I wasn’t the only tester and I begged for as many eyes on it as possible and was turned down – but I’m still mad at myself over it.
My dev was awesome about it – “Hey, we have a new test scenario! We learned something! Don’t take it personally, it’s just work.” Even my VP was good about it – he flat out acknowledged that we’re “severely” understaffed and this is what happens.
That did help with my brain going, “You’re the most visible QC on this shitshow and you’re absolutely gonna get shitcanned, probably in the middle of your PTO.” He assured me that wasn’t happening. I usually don’t have a lot of love for upper management, but he’s a good dude. He’s trying to slow things down on the “new stuff” front and get us more bodies – whether he’ll have any success remains to be seen, but he’s at least trying.
Of course, Friday, not 20 minutes after I updated the tracking sheet saying I was done with the feature test, I have someone trying to give me a 2 day task and nope, I had 4 hours left in the day, other work to do, and I’m not working while on PTO. Can’t do it. Go me.
And I still managed to fill the rest of my day with work without that new task. Ton of prep work done for when I’m back next week. Future me will be happy. 🥰
And now I’m sitting at the salon with a head full of tinfoil, getting all blonde again. I don’t usually have morning appointments, and I feel like I should have brought donuts for everyone or something like that.
I made the early appointment cause it’s also the weekend if the Mount Vernon market fair, but I think I’ll do that tomorrow so I can really take my time with it, and this afternoon I can sit down and finally paint my nails like I’ve been talking about doing for like, six months and every time they hit a nice length, I’d break one before I got to painting them.
I also have an exciting trip to Walmart for some new pump bottles for my shampoo and conditioner after the salon. The original bottles they come in are stupidly stiff and hard to squeeze, and no one has time or balance for a wrestling match with a shampoo bottle in the shower.
Ooh, and if I’m doing Mount Vernon tomorrow, I should pickup some lunch on my way home – we have Wendy’s, Jersey Mike’s, and a nice deli in the two adjacent shopping centers where the salon and Walmart are. Decisions, decisions!
You have a great day while I go look at lunch menus!
Seriously – if there is A Thing that brings you joy – event, activity, hobby, food, whatever – just go do it.
Especially if it’s something the avocado toast brigade thinks you shouldn’t be doing – then you really should do it. Those folks are hellbent on everyone being miserable, and you don’t have to participate in that bullshit.
Despite pop-up rainshowers today, I saw a solid break in the radar and went back to our local festival for a second day, because WHY NOT? And I’m so glad I did!!
Sure, I could have gotten the same fresh air and exercise with a couple loops around the block, but this was so much more fun.
Got myself another hot dog & coke from the Lions club. (Seriously, $4 for a dog & a soda is a Great Deal!) Really, nothing like a perfectly fire-grilled hot dog. And I got two little candles from two vendors I somehow missed yesterday. Plus, a few more adorable Christmas ornaments. And yeah, I hit up the wine garden again and tried the rose I didn’t try yesterday and enjoyed it while sitting in a weird sunshine-spitting-rain combo.
And even if I hadn’t bought a single thing – it was so nice to just go be there. To see all the lovely things that people make. To just be out and about with a bunch of happy people. To find the pride flags I’d seen yesterday and get one for myself! (Thank you local UU church, I am not shocked it was you.)
It feels like we’re spending so much of our time screaming at government to please stop the fucking fascists while they reply, “But The Economy is GREAT!”
We need to do the things that bring us joy so we have the energy continue to rail against those who are failing us.
Had a great time at our little fair yesterday. Got all my steps in, got myself a hot dog and a coke from the Lions club, a cute flowy sundress/coverup WITH POCKETS, a Christmas ornament, some spice mixes, and some wine. Excellent day!
Just look at this penguin for the Christmas tree!!
And this little dress/coverup is great – probably won’t get much wear this year (well, who knows with climate disaster) but I love the colors and it’s flowy and billowy and the lack of structure makes it perfect for wearing while eating ALL THE THINGS.
I’m happy to have another negative test under my belt – I’m still doing the “test the day of a thing and then 5 days later” so, woohoo, didn’t pick anything up at my acupuncturist! I didn’t test yesterday because I was negative on Friday before my yet again rescheduled dentist appointment, LOL, but I’ll be doing a followup on Thursday to make sure I did OK at the fair.
And now I’m off to some Sunday afternoon excitement of the grocery store! Woooo!
Six of the next seven weekends, I have something fun to do outside!! WOOHOO!!
This weekend is our very local festival – it’s not huge, but it’s fun. Great vendors, hot dogs from the Boy Scouts, and a wine garden! It’s great cause it’s literally 10 minutes away, I know exactly where to park, and it’s just a good time all around. And to the dudes (and it was always dudes) who made fun of me for liking this stuff over my lifetime – fuck you. I LOVE THIS SHIT AND I MAY GO BOTH DAMN DAYS.
Work week was relatively calm, which is good. I did leave on time yesterday for our half day and felt kinda guilty about it, cause there was a client issue swirling around out there, but when I left, my inbox was empty. Fact of the matter is, I’d been there since 7AM and going full tilt all day and if early closings apply to everyone but engineering, then they need to say that out loud.
Coming week is gonna be a full on shitshow I’m sure, given that it’s the last week to finish testing this feature-ette we’re putting out and I’m sure that client issue is gonna be in my inbox first thing Monday morning. But then I’m on PTO and there is no way in fucking hell I will be online that week, cause I have PLANS! So, let the shitshow commence, I will get through it.
On the “bodies are stupid and were horribly QC’d” front, I’ve done something to my left hip. It feels like I twisted it or slept on it wrong or something, I don’t know, but it vaguely feels like if I could just “pop” it the right way, that would fix it. Here’s hoping Advil, some walking around a festival, and a spell in the wine garden do the trick.
Well, end of Labor Day at this point. If you did have to work today, I hope you got double pay, everyone was decent to you, and you get a bonus day off sometime in the near future.
Other than the impromptu margarita party on Friday night, it’s been a very chill end of summer weekend around these parts. I did find out the hard way that the Ben’s Chili Bowl half smokes come in regular and spicy! I’m 99% sure they only have the regular ones at the ballpark, probably for ease of service, and that is why I wasn’t looking for two different types when I was at the market.
Legit was sitting here eating mine thinking, “Huh, these have a little more of a kick to them than the ones at the ballpark” and then it hit me, LOL. But my sinuses are clear.
Other than that, it’s been laundry and watching baseball games. Wild and crazy times. My beloved Padres had a nice couple of games against the Giants and then the Phillies came to town and well, things are not going well for them tonight.
It’s been a good restful weekend.
Remember – rest isn’t something that has to be earned. It is a biological imperative for both your physical and mental health.
Our glorious fall preview is over and it’s gonna be 95º today. But I’ve already been out and gotten the coffee and done the marketing AND got everything on the list!
We’ve got Ben’s Chili Bowl half-smokes for Labor Day, woohoo! Very excited to have these in the grocery store. Mind you, when I’m at the ballpark, I just get mine plain (they’re so good just on their own) but I know my brother wanted the chili to go with it – so we have both Ben’s “chili sauce” and chili con carne, because I have zero idea which one actually goes on the half smokes.
I’m getting stoked for my upcoming staycation. I finally got tickets to the National Museum of African American History, and that’s Monday. Also gonna take advantage of the outdoor seating at Villagio for a late lunch/early dinner at some point. (Usually when we go for birthdays the weather isn’t conducive to outside, so we just haven’t been there since…we first got vaccinated in 2021?) And there is a local petting zoo that supposedly has capybaras, and yeah, I’m gonna go check that out and find an outdoor lunch spot over in that part of town, too. Oh, and I’m pretty sure there is gonna be an Outback takeout night, too.
Plus that week is bookended by the Mount Vernon market fair and then the Occoquan fair! It’s gonna be a good week, even if I can’t do my road trip.
Just gotta get through 8 1/2 workdays. I can do it?
Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female. 