More happy things…

Posted on June 21, 2020 by A Dreamer

Just a whole damn weekend full of reasons to smile.  Grab that joy wherever you can these days.

First, this – sound on!

Last night we got takeaway from our local tex-mex spot for the first time since before the pandemic and OMG, it was delicious, and there are leftovers. And because to-go alcohol is a thing now, I was able to get a couple of their excellent margaritas. (Totally unrelated, I’m sure, but I was also out like a light before 11 last night.)

Earlier this week I realized I was down to two pairs of shorts, so I hopped over to REI and they had my favorite Kuhl shorts on sale! They arrived yesterday, they fit, AND THEY HAVE SO MANY POCKETS.

I have managed to keep this african violet alive for a year AND IT’S BLOOMING AGAIN!

Photo of an african violet with purple flowers

And here’s a Lily for good measure:
Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, curled up on the sofa

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The things we get happy about these days

Posted on June 20, 2020 by A Dreamer

Dare County is mask mandatory starting tomorrow!!  They’ve had a small spike in cases and folks haven’t been doing it very well voluntarily, so they’re putting their foot down, and I am pleased as punch.  I was going to be masked up anyway if I went anywhere, but damn, it’s nice to know other folks will be as well.

The place with my beloved pato tacos is open for to-go with ordering at the counter, on the phone, or online, YAY!  My brother is in charge of dinners, and is researching who has to-go – so far, many of our favorites are doing takeaway.

I am so desperate for a change of scenery and freah seafood, and holy shit, only 18 days to go, and we’re gonna do this as safely as we can.  It won’t be the same, but it will be good, safe, and the break we need.  My hair will be a disaster, and I’ve got quite the quarantine bod, but I suspect I won’t be the only one.

I’ve even ordered biodegradable camping soap for the outside shower in case anyone feels the need to scrub themself silly before going in the house.

Of course, now that I’m thinking about it, holy shit I have a lot to get done around the house so we at least come back home to a somewhat non-disaster of a house.  But at least unlike last year, I won’t be killing myself at work trying to get everything done before leaving, which is a hella pleasant change.

And on that note, I should go clean.  But I’ve also just finished an afternoon beer and a steady rain has started and a nap is calling much louder.

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We made it to another Friday

Posted on June 19, 2020 by A Dreamer

Well done YOU!

And it’s Juneteenth, and I can’t wait to get on Twitter to find white people trying to co-opt it to make themselves feel better.

That being said, I am glad it’s becoming a more widely known day – lord knows we didn’t learn about it in school.  I didn’t know about it until well into adulthood – can’t remember when, it may have even been as late as grad school.  I’m 100% in favor of it being a Federal holiday if for no other reason, they’d have to teach it in school.

The work whiplash of the last couple days has been hilarious.  Everything under control, to “OK, I guess I can work 16 hour days for the next 3 weeks”, then “No, you do not!” and a few points yesterday of “Hey, devs, can you finish this thing so I have something to test?!”  But I should be back in a solid but reasonable stream of work from now until vacation.

Welp, time to go test all the things!

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Thirsty Thursday

Posted on June 18, 2020 by A Dreamer

And payday! And bill pay day! So…LOL.

So, Aunt Jemima is going away. I’m not going to lie, most of my life my dumb ass had zero idea of the crazy racist origins of the brand and just thought it was a friendly lady in old timey clothes. Yeah, we should probably ditch it.

And it’s been decided that all three of us are in for the beach, assuming North Carolina & Dare County are still open. The rental agency is doing enhanced cleaning, and linens already show up cleaned and shrink-wrapped as it is. They did say to bring your own blankets and paper products. Lots of restaurants are doing takeaway, the beach is never “can’t stay 6 feet away” crowded, and even if it is – we have turtle beach in the back of the house. And we spend an inordinate amount of time just drinking beer and reading books on the porch anyway. I can’t speak for anyone else in the crew, but I am desperately in need of a change of scenery and some salt air.

And my god, it’s good to have something to look forward to.

On the work front, my local partner in crime told our boss about the avalanche of work dumped on us from the other side of the world. He sent a note back to them (paraphrased) of, “LOL, no, they have other shit to do, spread it amongst the rest of the team or change the deadline.” So, things are back under control there, and I’m not looking at a repeat of this time last year where I was killing myself to go on leave.

So, good stuff all around this morning.

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So, I had a plan

Posted on June 17, 2020 by A Dreamer

To deal with this clusterfuck of a workload and it was “start early and stay late” but last night right before bed I got a text from one of my buddies – “Can I call you?”  And we ended up shooting the shit for about an hour (it was lovely), and then this morning I hit the snooze button for 30 minutes, and my cold brew is rather weak this morning, so yeah, we’re off to a rip roaring start here.

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Gonna go claw my way over that hump.

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Work Stuff!

Posted on June 16, 2020 by A Dreamer

I haven’t bitched about work in a while which is a good thing.

Last week I piped up in a meeting with the department director and a project manager that the changes they were making were going to fuck up the testing that had already been started – they acknowledged and acquiesced and the target date for the testing for that bit got moved back.

Another feature I was emailing back & forth w/the dev on things I was finding, and cc’ing said director – not to be a dick, but cause this feature is his baby, so I wanted him to know where things stood.  He sent me a nice response about my thoroughness.  It was all I could do not to respond, “AND THAT’S WHY I GET ALL TWITCHY WHEN YOU CHANGE THINGS!”

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But, hey, director’s feature tested and done, other feature deadline moved to 7/15, which is really 7/8, cause my ass is on PTO, whether it is here or NC.  Two other decent sized defects to tend to, but things are good, things are under control.

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And then…  The email from the other side of the world from the person who assigns bugs to test.  “Hey, here’s 9 more bugs to retest before the release just to be sure they didn’t get fucked up between the first test and now – deadline 7/17.”

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By my estimation, I now have 6 weeks worth of work to get done in 3 weeks.  (Their time estimates are far shorter than mine.)  Mind you, I am shit at estimating how long things will take and tend to overestimate, and retesting should theoretically go quicker since I already have a test plan and know what I’m looking for.  But jesus, that was cause for some hyperventilating moments today, and feeling like I’m going to have to stuff 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound sack.

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OK, it’s not *that* bad, but it is a two beer night as I contemplate the next two weeks that will probably be early mornings and late nights, and all at a discount to boot.  (Still. Salty.)

In other news, the scalp massager arrived today, and holy shit, not frivolous, but fucking instant relief with the tension I’ve had in my head and neck.  Mind you, it’s not as good as Micha at the salon, but it’s the best $35.99 I’ve spent in a while.

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HAPPY PRIDE!!!

Posted on June 16, 2020 by A Dreamer

The Supreme Court made it a little safer to be LGBTQA.  There’s still tons of terrible shit going on, but my god, it was nice to have some genuinely good news yesterday.

And 45 is going to sign a police reform type thing today, which I realize will likely be totally toothless, but I’m sure he is really not happy about it, which makes me fucking THRILLED.

Today is grocery pickup day and the theme is COLD FOOD.  Cause we’ve already hit the point where it’s too hot to cook (as though I had the energy, LOL.)  Cold cuts, chicken salad, pasta salad, fruit, and FROZEN FRUIT BARS!  (OK, they’re popsicles.) And they had a variety pack with lemon, lime, and tangerine!  Usually the mix packs are 2 good flavors and one garbage one, so I’m FAR too excited about this.

Of course, the cold food theme hits as the temps drop back into the 70s. The hazard of working up the list when it’s in the 90s.

And these arrived yesterday:  I’m also getting some of her antifascist action dog stickers, too – not sure why I didn’t get those with the first order.  (Aspen_eyes on Twitter)

Black cat with a red bandana mask, with the words All Cats Are Beautiful

In Covid news, as of yesterday, our counties 7 day case count was back down to where it was on April 10th – 489 cases, off a high of 2121 on May 31. But with things opening back up – will we keep going the right direction? If they don’t, will the governor have the guts to close things down again?

Mask up, stick it to the man, be kind, hang in there.

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Oh look, it’s Monday again

Posted on June 15, 2020 by A Dreamer

Weekends are never long enough, but I swear in this pandemic, they’re even shorter. Probably not helping is the woodpecker that has arrived outside the house between 6:20-30 in the morning the past 4 days. It’s a brief visit as he realizes, “Shit, not a tree!” but it will bring you out of a dead sleep.

But, it’s a half day Friday week, so that’s something.

I’ve realized since I had an implant put in on my lower bite, I need a new night guard… The one I got from my dentist was ungodly expensive and I don’t want to go to the dentist right now, so I did some poking around on the internets. Oh look, you can get one from the Amazons – with a mold you do at home and 5 different “hardness” options – for 15% of what I paid at the dental office.

Yeah, that’s winging its way here. And I may have also gotten a scalp massager. Which seems very frivolous, but I’m carrying so much tension in my head and neck it’s not even funny. Putting the shower head on “extra thumpy” mode and letting it beat on my head certainly helps, but you can only stand in the shower for so long.

The LilyMonster is extra yelly this morning, for reasons I cannot figure out. I’d give you a shot of her, but every time I pick up my phone, she runs up and headbutts it.

Wait, she sat still after a head scrubby! (She likes scalp massages, too.)

Headshot of Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, sitting on the couch.

I don’t know what I want today, so I will yell about it.

Alrighty, time to go do the thing, and probably get Lily all riled up again now that she’s settled down, LOL.

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A decent nights sleep

Posted on June 13, 2020 by A Dreamer

And I’m slightly less “fuck the universe” this morning. Being Saturday doesn’t hurt, either.

My only nod to Phase II is getting grab and go at Starbucks. This morning there was a tiny antique car gathering in the parking lot there, a handful of Model A Fords, a Triumph, and a Datsun Z. I think they usually do this on Saturday mornings in the side parking lot at my bar, but that’s been converted to patio seating, hence the relocation. Cool cars, but I didn’t have the presence of mind to snap a pic because I was too distracted by the fact that half the old men WEREN’T WEARING MASKS AND WERE STANDING TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.

In other news, 45 is postponing the Tulsa rally that had been scheduled for Juneteenth. I don’t think for a second they had a sudden attack of self-awareness or conscience. I think poor attendance was predicted and/or the Secret Service told him they couldn’t ensure his safety, given that Tulsa’s cases are going through the roof. It’s not like they can rapid test 20K people at the gates.

I’m writing this morning from my bedroom with the LilyMonster, cause she has a vet appointment in half an hour to get her rabies shot, and it’s going to be far easier to wrangle her into her crate in the hall from here. She’s confused that we’re sort of working, but happy to be chilling on the bed with me. She’s gonna be pissed at me later, so I’m enjoying her happiness now.

The vets office is doing social distancing, so we’ll do a parking lot handoff. She’s very good at the vet, but I’m a bit crushed I can’t be there with her. I am also thinking it would be a great time to have a crate with wheels so I could just roll her across the lot to them, LOL.

Lily, a black and orange tortoiseshell cat, curled up on the bed

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Well, we made it to Friday

Posted on June 12, 2020 by A Dreamer

And the President very much wants to run a tank through the middle of Seattle.

If only he’d been this amped up to do something about the pandemic. Last night I had a big wallop of sad over all this. The Feds just never even really tried. Not on testing, not on containment, not on helping folks to stay home safely. They just never gave a rats ass about it. I’d feel better about it if they’d even tried and failed, but – they just didn’t even try.

And the states… Well, some tried more than others, but it seems they’re just all giving up, too. And when you have no support from the Feds, there’s only so much you can do.

Granted, we’ve known this for a while, but it just went from anger to sadness last night for whatever reason – I suppose like everyone else, I’m tired and I ran out of energy for constant incandescent rage.

So, on we go to Phase II. Don’t get me wrong – our cases *are* going down. But right now, our 7 day new case total is just about the same as it was on April 23. We sure as shit didn’t think it was safe to have restaurants, or salons, or anything else open then – why is it safer now?

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