SueWorks

Lunching in the Modern Workplace

I planned a lunch with a former co-worker.  And then I invited a current co-worker, after first asking the former if it was OK. 

We had a nice lunch, catching up and doing the gossipy thing.

Now I find out that another current co-worker is hurt that he wasn't invited to the lunch.

It never ceases to amaze me how the little things in the life are the ones that create the biggest bruises.  I had no reason to believe that I was slighting anyone.  Am I supposed to announce, when I make plans, to the office and see if anyone else wants to come?  Isn't the whole purpose of going out to lunch to spend time with people you choose to spend time and not the ones that work has forced upon you?  Like your co-workers?

I would have been fine having the other person join us; I feel bad and then feel bad about feeling bad about something I shouldn't be responsible for.

Also, there is someone in our office who is never a good lunch date.  This person always has to "ride shotgun", we're not 12.  And this person never pays the full portion of the bill.  That drives me crazy!

20 Minutes is a Freaking Long Time

It's not really that long but I have an ice pack on the small of my back.  It's over my clothes and I'm leaning in the chair to hold it in place.  I'm leaning ever so slightly but enough.

I have a hurting back.  The chiropractor thinks it's a pinched nerve, but it could be a strained muscle.  He's still figuring it out.  All I know is that it hurts and I'm walking like a very old lady.

I need to find the Alleve or Advil, apparently the Tylenol I've been taking (which hasn't done anything) does nothing for inflammation.

It's been 4 minutes.  It's going to be along day!

Paranoia or Good Sense

I was looking at articles on H1N1 yesterday.  Two people in China may have died due to the vaccination.  A local medical center is buying gallons of hand sanitizer monthly.  I've heard of schools cleaning door knobs multiple times throughout the day with germ killing chemicals.  To get to the restroom at work, I need to open three doors one way.  That's a lot of germ infested door knobs to touch. 

Pkin and I were at Costco, at check out the family behind us had two preteen girls who were sneezing.  No hands were covering mouths and I didn't see a tissue anywhere.  Pkin moved us to the front of the cart - so there were only sneezing on our purchases. 

Wow!  All this stuff can make you crazy.  Do you wear a mask?  How much hand sanitizer should you use?  How can you not shake hands?  I heard something about elbow bumping as an alternative.  Heck, I'm ready to wave only.

Opposites Attract

 

Yesterday was an unseasonably warm Fall day in Southern CA.  Pkin and I walked out at the same time, I say, "it's freaking hot!"  He says, "it's so nice!"

This is Pkin on his HAM radio, with his laptop.  He's wearing plaid, a baseball cap, and is eating a Spam sandwich.  Yes, I made the sandwich but that is love.

Rugged LA

A friend lives in the middle of LA, like 5 miles from the Downtown/Metropolitan area.  She has a bobcat that is very close to her home and her formerly indoor/outdoor now indoor kitties.

How is that for The Big City is Not-So-City but definitely big?  We get coyotes sometimes, but I'm about 15 miles from Downtown LA.  Apparently miles are no obstacle for Mother Nature.  Have you heard about the bears in Aspen?

The bears are coming into the city proper, they are breaking and entering, and basically having "take in" for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  The bears have learned that people have food, and it's easier to get than fish in a barrel, so instead of going into the higher elevations they are coming in for some take-out.

The residents are all up in arms; I'm kind of on the bear's side.  They were there a lot longer than the humans, and since the humans have offered an alternative, those "smarter than the average bear" bears are taking full advantage.  It's life, wild life too!

It Seems Like ...

Today Fed Reserve Chair Bernanke said that is seems like the bottom of the trough is here and gone, or something like that.  But today I learned that a local DSW Shoes store (I can't find anything on the site, but the store is in the SF Valley) is closing this Fall.  Sure, stores close all the time but not a shoe store!

I love shoe stores!  No matter what size your top is, your feet usually can find something cute, trendy or just plain wonderful to wear.

I don't know what the truth is.  I'm not getting a raise this year, after about 15 years of consecutive annual raises with various employers.  My food bill seems bigger.  I seem to have less cash at the end of week.  I can't keep track of the price of a gallon of gas; it's up, it's down, it's up again.

You just have to wonder!

Springing

This week's entries will focus on Spring.  Spring begins at 5:48 UTC on March 20.  I will find out when 5:48 UTC is in Pacific Daylight Savings Time. 

While I consider that I can tell you that it has already started at my house.  The peach blossoms are bright and full, there are roses peeking through the thick leafy stems and there are irises, both blue and white.  The kitties are fixed but if they weren't they'd be blossoming out all over because, after all, IT IS SPRING!  As it is Buster jumped the wall yesterday.

We have a five foot wall surrounding the backyard; it's cinder block with a red flat brick top for accent.  Pkin believes in open doors (my Father would say that he was born in a barn).  The kitties and Rosey believe in going into any unlocked space and trying harder to get into the locked off areas.  Bob was cool, sitting under the patio table amid leafy plants.  Rosey was minding her own business, enjoying the sun.  Buster was on the prowl.  I happened to be walking to the garbage cans when I should have been about 40 feet closer to the front of the house where Pkin has instructed me to be (it's a longer story than this one.)  Thank Goodness I was walking to the back and saw Buster leap from the cinder block wall onto a garbage can top and streak into the open garage.  He didn't come when I called.  He was trying to be invisible against some cases of soda.  I had to pick him up and deposit him inside, behind locked doors.  Bob got a little freaked 'cause I was a little freaked.  Rosey just wanted to see what was going one. 

It's begun, the constant battle to keep the kitties inside safe and sounds against their desire to roam free like big kitties.  I heard once that the average life expectancy for an outside kitty was 2 years.  I suspect that their Mom didn't make that.  Spikey was nearly 20 and still trying to sneak outside.  Spikey was the kitty before the current heifers.   

Only in LA

Pkin and I were on our way home and the freeway was moving nicely.  We are always happy when that happens.  Pkin, the ever conscientious driver, sees ahead that a CHP truck is driving across the road.  Across all five lanes of traffic which is not the best sign.  Then suddenly the tail lights in front of us and all around us turn red.  It's the middle of the day, near the holidays and Caltrans is doing maintenance and graffiti abatement.  They are painting out sprayed-on paint with a roller.  The kids that do the graffiti do it in seconds without a cherry picker, the Caltrans orange lighted sign truck AND the CHP escort.  This is the only in LA category.

Makes you wonder.

 

I tried to take a picture of the trail of cars behind us.  At least we could see the reason traffic had stopped.  The people in the back didn't have a clue.  There was no honking, just the boom-boom-boom of some idiot who wanted to lose his (they are usually male) hearing and bother the rest of society.

My Literary Energy

Over the past week I've been expending my literary energy in slightly different ways.  First, I've been posting on another site's bulletin board - trying to gain inspiration for the DIE-IT.  It's going pretty well, you need to find a category and then they get to know you and you get to know them and then you need to settle in.  My niche is out there somewhere.  Where is the grumpy, approaching-middle-age place?

Secondly, I've been reading, other people's blogs, published books and even newspapers.  You should take a look at Plotastic; I've been doing the opposite but it's still interesting to read.  I wrote a few days ago about the gray haired women.  I finally got the book (Amazon's no cost delivery costs lots of time), and I'm disappointed.  I feel like the author is name dropping; which is something I really, really abhor.  I'm sure it's my own thing but I'm wondering if anyone else felt the same.  If she's making such a personal statement of empowerment, why do I need to hear about a Genius Grant winner's opinion of said author.  Of course, the author is published and I am not.  Something to think about.  I'll continue reading.  Oh, the book is physically deformed. 

I'll take a picture for you (soon).  You have to see it to believe it.  First the publisher let it out of China or someplace.  The people at Amazon unpacked it.  Then they repacked it.  All of this happened with no one stopping to say, Hey is this defective?  I can still read it, but it looks odd and feels odd in my hands.

Topics for Today

There is a choice of topics for today.  The current leader is "the futility of committee" or "some people's co-workers just s&ck."  Another possible choice is "boobs, not just for milk anymore."

After a bothersome work day I had the pleasure of visiting a Breast Health Center.  All the accents were in pink.  The machine manufacturer even incorporated the pink ribbon into the product logo.  The little pink caplet that covered nothing set off the whole experience.

I guess I'm over the bothersome work day, but if you want to think about and/or get some help if you have a day like that, read Alexander's tale.