Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female.

Got a BIG work thing finished yesterday and it’s all working properly, so that is a HUGE load off. There is one thing I won’t be able to start, much less finish before I go, so I am going to be telling She Who Assigns Things tomorrow that it has to go to someone else. I’d feel bad except for the fact that I literally remembered just this morning that I have picked up things for other people going on PTO with much less time to finish. It’s not huge and if I toss it tomorrow, whoever gets it will have 9 business days to work on it.

Of the 4 things that needed to be done, the aforementioned big thing is done, another component of that will be done today, thing #3 should be done before I leave, and thing #4 will be yeeted to the rest of the team. I am not working late tomorrow or Wednesday, I’m not working the holiday, and I’m not sacrificing my Thursday, cause I need that day to get ready to go. I am not leaving on a road trip completely exhausted, goddammit.

I have a feeling the folks on the other side of the world get pissed when I set boundaries and whatnot, but they should be doing it, too, and it sure seems like they don’t. There is no honor and sure as shit no reward for working yourself into the ground.

On the home front, things are in…good enough for my brother’s buddy who is looking after Lily to swing by tomorrow for keys and instructions, with no panic cleaning? That’s a first in an exceptionally long time. Couple deep cleaning bits I hope I can get to before leaving, and I have a fuckton of laundry to organize, but honestly, not bad at all.

And in very silly things – I’ve gotten some webcams for the house so I can peek in on Lily while we’re gone. I always miss her so much when I’m gone, and being able to see her will be awesome. (I have warned the petsitter of their existence and will make sure he knows where they are.) For $50 each for the cameras & SD card – they’re great! Picture quality is really good, they work at night, and I got the motion detection settings right so it picks her up when she walks into frame. Bonus, we’ll be able to tell the petsitter her last known location if he can’t find her. :-D

Welp, time to go do the work thing so I’m not angry and stressed the rest of the week,

(Narrator: She was still angry and stressed the rest of the week.)

Trash-assed, shitassed, racist, motherfucking, christofascist on-the-take SCOTUS. We’ve made discrimination great again, fucked student loan borrowers, cause you KNOW Congress ain’t gonna do shit on it, ever, and there was some other trash decision that I can’t even remember at this point, because I’m so blind with rage. I’m 99.9% sure there was one that fucked the environment on top of everything else.

D’s need to come up with something a hell of a lot better than “give us money and vote harder” – tell me how you’re going to SCOTUS-proof any good legislation you can get out the door. Cause as it stands right now – this country is basically being run by a handful of hateful assholes being paid to be that way. That’s sure as shit not what I voted for, and short of sending them on a fishing trip in Orca-laden waters, I’ve got no solution for this, thanks to lifetime appointments.

BUT – in things that are NOT complete shit – IT’S LILY’S BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! She’s 14 years old and still going strong, despite early stage kidney disease. She sleeps a lot and is generally pretty chill, but she still loves to be brushed, have her treats, and post-work cuddle and nap time. On the whole, despite her age, she seems happy, content, and comfortable – and that’s the most important thing.

She’s staying at home when we go to the beach and one of my brother’s buddies is going to take care of her – I sent him an advance “LilyMonster Fact Sheet” and all I could think was “he’s gonna see just how fucking unhinged I am about this cat” – but he LOVED it.

And with the beach is right around the corner, true to fucking form, guess who is working this weekend and probably Tuesday? I only have two things I’m working on – both of which are a “priority” (FML, if everything is a priority, nothing is) and everything was under control until it wasn’t… Had either app *not* had to go back to dev multiple times…I’d be fine, but every time it goes back to development, I have to start testing again from scratch. And of course, the testing deadline is the day I get back from PTO, so it has to be done before I go or passed off to someone else.

That being said, I have no issue with telling She Who Assigns Shit that these may have to be reassigned to be finished off, because the work laptop is not coming with me. And honestly, there are 7 business days it can be worked on by someone else in my absence. And there is also the fucked up issue of both these apps being in parallel testing and no one else has been finding anything wrong?

One thing I have done is in my personal capacity scheduling going forward (and should have done back in May) – I’ve added pre-PTO padding for every time I’m out. If it can’t be done by the padded date, I’m sending up a flare. I am so tired of this shit of having to work late/weekends/whatever before time off. “Oh, this will only take you X hours” except no, it doesn’t, it’s )(the realistic amount to do it right) * (the number of times it has to go back to development)), and that is never, ever X hours.

But, gotta deal with this current fuckup of not realizing soon enough that there wouldn’t be enough standard work hours to get this shit done first. Onwards and upwards and all that happy horseshit.

You have a fantastic day, and don’t let yourself get overscheduled at work like I keep doing.

Did the marketing and had to pick up some ibuprofin. Store brand is fine, like, less than half the price of Advil proper.

100 count bottle is $2.89. Not on sale or anything, that is the regular price.

So, you’d expect the 250 count bottle to be somewhere in the range of $7.25, right?

Nope. The 250 count bottle is $11.79. What happened to when the size goes up, the unit price is supposed to go DOWN?

I know I’ve learned a few things.

Like, hiring a mercenary army doesn’t guarantee that they won’t turn on you later. Who knew? And the civilians in Rostov have a damn amazing “not my circus, not my monkeys” vibe. Though I am 100% certain there are a handful of middle aged men there watching going, “Yeah, I wouldn’t have done it that way…”

Though someone compared Wagner going into Rostov like Blackwater taking over San Diego. Not really – they took over the SMD HQ. It was a very tight, specific objective, they weren’t trying to “take the entire city” – so, yeah, that analysis bugged me.

And bored rich people are a fucking menace, but we knew that already. I did not realize that the entire “ocean exploration” industry is basically completely unregulated.

A lot of folks complaining about the US news media being shit given the coverage of the Titan submersible vs. the migrant boat that sank off Greece. I have 3 letters for you: BBC. They’re not perfect, but their international coverage is way better that what I’ve seen from US outlets in general.

And bonkers as the world may be, it still spins on its axis and the marketing still needs to be done, the house tidied, and I’ve not won the lottery yet to have other people do it for me – so, it’s time to tend to all that.

You have a fantastic day and try not to stay glued to the news for too much of the day.

Got my shrimp tempura fix on Friday – my brother & I were the only ones in the place other than two folks picking up their lunch orders. So glad they’ve weathered the ongoing pandemic – they kept the dining room totally closed for way longer than anyone around here and have cut their hours a bit, but they’ve got very loyal customers. And one more than one occasion, I’ve popped in for a pickup and they’ve got the to-go bags lined up on the counter.

And between yesterday and today, I’ve walked almost 10 miles, woot! And I’ve got the tan lines on my feet to prove it, LOL. And yet again, it’s been VERY obvious how much exercise/fresh air/sun elevates my mood, and frankly, it’s annoying. I should get this level of feeling great from having my ass parked on the couch watching Instagram reels.

And everything around the house that needs to be done is done. And all just in time for the afternoon Padres game!

And I still have tomorrow off, too. I may actually go into the workweek feeling properly rested for once.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

It’s Friday! You made it! Excellent job, everyone!

I need to start with a message for manufacturers of windshield wiper fluid. IT. MUST. BE. BLUE. Make the labels different, whatever, but THE LIQUID MUST BE BLUE, DAMMIT.

Yesterday, the low wiper fluid light came on in the car* while I was on the way to the market. No problem, they sell it there. Get to little auto supply aisle and all they had was “extreme cold wiper fluid” and IT IS RED. Like, even after reading the label multiple times, my brain wouldn’t agree this was wiper fluid. Like “HAHAHAHA, nice try, I know that’s not real wiper fluid!” (They also had a disturbingly large supply of de-icing materials given that it’s June.)

Hit the gas station this morning, they had the correct blue stuff. BUT THEY ALSO HAD GREEN STUFF. Like, what the fuck? STOP DOING THAT.

I have today off today, and the “it is Friday, not Saturday” challenge has already started – went to get coffee, saw recycling bin at curb and thought “fuck me, was that sitting out all day yesterday?”

Big plans for the day is that my brother and I may go get a sit down lunch at our local Chinese/Japanese spot. I have so missed the shrimp tempura bento lunch special – you can get it to go, but tempura just doesn’t travel well. It’s usually pretty empty in there for lunch hours, so we’re thinking it could be OK. (But prepared to pivot if needed.)

But other than that, I think I’m gonna enjoy my day off with a whole lotta nothing.

You have a great day!

* Love that little feature on my car, even if it did scare the hell out of me the first time it came on.

Found out someone I know through work unexpectedly passed away this weekend. Folks at her company were in shock, as was everyone at my company when they told us. She was only a few years older than I am – not a youngster, but hardly old by any means. I worked with her pretty regularly, and I know she worked so much and so hard for that company, and was just a freakin’ force of nature – and now she’s gone, and I keep wondering what she thought she still had time to do once she was done working for a living. She went to Cape Cod every year – I don’t know if she got there this year or not.

Another reminder that life is fucking short.

Buy that hat.
Drink from the fancy glasses and use the good china, just because.
Go to that museum exhibit.
Take that trip.
Wear that pretty necklace to Starbucks, even if it is with jeans and a t-shirt.
Order dessert.
Use all your damn PTO.
Go to BOTH DAYS of the 2 day arts & crafts festival.

Don’t wait.

This is how the next month looks:

4 day workweek.
4 day workweek.
4 day workweek. (3 full, 2 half, one of which is a dentist appointment, but still, not working!)
2 day workweek.
THE BEACH!!

17th-21st of July is gonna suuuuuuck, LOL. But next 4 weeks leading up to the beach is gonna be sooooo much easier just having that extra time to get things ready around the house and whatnot, and just good for my “I love my job but hate working” brain.

And I just took a quick look at my email and IT tried to phish me and failed! 1. From “my boss” but using his government name that he doesn’t use. The email addresses me by my government name that I don’t use. Says he’s “on the way to the office” – we work remotely. Wants to talk about a “customer complaint” with a “complaint form” pdf link. We don’t have those. The return address was probably wrong, too, but I submitted it as a phishing attempt before I even got that far. HA! NICE TRY, IT!

Oh, and sexpest and general all around POS Berlusconi has kicked it. Grim Reaper is still looking for Kissinger in that claw machine…

And this goober this morning – I didn’t even hit the snooze button once this morning and she wasn’t prepared for it and was still snoozing, and some hunting for the kitty had to happen. She was somewhere in the office – only saw her as she came strolling out into the hall going, “Oh, are we up now?”

Realizing I probably missed the window for walking today – it’s nice now, but I also have to start working, like, now – and it’s supposed to be stormy the rest of the day. Looks like a yoga day.

I hope you have a Monday that doesn’t suck!

Very pretty day today with an AQI of 103/Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups. Sad thing is, I don’t know if that is still wildfire remnants or if that is just normal for my area at this time of year. I’m embarrassed at how little attention I pay to the AQI on a day to day basis – we have a handful of orange/red days any given summer and they are good about announcing it on the radio and I just think “well, no running for me today!” (I do not run anymore.) So I really have no idea what is normal or not.

My lord, this has been a barrage of a news week. TFG indicted, bunch of assholes kicked the bucket, I’m sure a bunch of other stuff I missed or have already forgotten, and just now – Nicola Sturgeon taken into custody for questioning with regards to SNP finances. And for every right winger who was screaming the past 4 days “WHAT IF IT WAS A LEFTY?” Well, if she fucked around with SNP money, it’s time to find out.

Got a bunch of little things I need to tend to around the house today, and I am in full “don’t wanna” mode. BUT I WILL AT LEAST GET ALL THE LITTLE THINGS DONE, DAMMIT! I have split my Tody list into two parts – one for daily/critical little things and then another for all the deep cleaning type stuff. Cause the deep cleaning list is miles and miles long and I found when I had it all in one list, I’d get completely overwhelmed and just shut down and not get anything done at all.

I’m still shit at housekeeping, but by splitting it out, I can actually get the daily/critical stuff done on a fairly consistent basis. And since the Big Clear Out, I’ve actually been maintaining things well enough that if we need a repair person in the house, THEY CAN JUST COME ON IN. Depending on what they’d have to work on, I’d need maybe 15 minutes to make sure the area is clear for them to work. AND THAT IS FREAKING AMAZING FOR ME.

And no small part of that is the Roombas. Gotta keep crap up off the floor so they can run and I AM DOING THAT EVERY DAMN DAY!!

So, today’s plan is work through the daily list and then depending on how much “go” I still have left, hit up something on the long list. And now that work is calming down again, I need to make a more concerted effort to hit one or two things on the long list after work, too. But that is a challenge for tomorrow.

You have a wonderful Sunday and I hope you have nice weather with a good AQI.

It’s a lovely sunny day here with an AQI of 69. Niiiiiiiiiice. And hella better than the 300+ we saw on Thursday. I don’t know how the folks on the West Coast handle this – just two days of that weird apocalyptic haze and it seriously fucked with my head.

I was at the farmers market bright and early and THEY STILL HAD THE SAVORY STRUDELS!! Got a spinach-feta, and “loaded potato” – potato, cheese & bacon. YUM! Plus all the salad stuffs and that great ginger lemonade. Excellent way to get the day started.

And the super friendly dude at the bread stall loved my sunflower market bag, and flipped when I pulled out the matching wallet – connected to the bag handle with the matching lanyard. :-D I am so glad that when I saw that pattern I just said, “Yes, I’m getting ALL OF IT” – it’s silly, but it makes me smile every time.

And I broke out of Wait Mode for my hair appointment later and hit the market for ALL THE PAPER PRODUCTS! Now, I know when you buy a larger size of something, the unit price is usually lower. What I can’t quite wrap my head around was the fact that a 12 pack of toilet paper was $25 and a 16 pack was $21. Regular price, not a sale, same size rolls and everything. Well, we have 16 rolls of toilet paper.

And I also made the mistake of not eating before going and we may have far more cold cuts than we actually needed, but SAMMICHES!!

Saw my acupuncturist this week. Told her “I think I’m feeling loose & relaxed, but I don’t know if it’s real or just way better in comparison to how tense I was two weeks ago.” Folks, it was real, and I mentioned getting out to the arts festival over the weekend with all the fresh air, exercise, shiny things to look at, and wine – and she said, “Well, you should do that every weekend!” IT’S LIKE I HAVE A PRESCRIPTION FOR STREET FAIRS NOW!

Though, I am kinda happy I don’t have anything going on this weekend other than a hair appointment this afternoon. I’ve had something going on every weekend for the last 3 weekends.

But before I do anything else, I gotta go eat so I’m not starving through my hair appointment.

You have a fantastic day!!