I’m back and it’s yucky out – cold and wet and gray. Hawai’i seems like a million miles away. I’ve been nursing a chai and whining to my officemate – P’s great at commiserating.
Speaking of P, she was involved in another atrocious-working-conditions fiasco while I was gone. One of the guys on my team (JR from earlier posts) had to evacuate his office. It’s directly below the bathroom upstairs. The toilet overflowed – onto his desk! They keep saying it was just the tank, but no one believes that. P was in his office in a flash and ended up cleaning everything, top to bottom, with Clorox. Yuck!
I talked to our office manager before I left – I let him know how I [we] felt. He was sympathetic, but basically said, “There’s nothing I can do.” I suggested that he talk to someone who could do something. Doubt he’ll do anything, but at least I’ve done more than just whine. =) I’m thinking that since the petition thing worked so well for the HoHos, maybe we should give that a shot.
13 Nov, 2007 | Written by
Tara | under
life
That didn’t take very long.
A guy from church had someone in his family drop off some fancy-shmancy eco-friendly laundry detergent for us to try. We weren’t home, so I guess the messenger just popped it in our mailbox. Unfortunately, we acted rather too quickly in throwing away the mystery liquid. But seriously - it wasn’t labeled and we live in the ghetto! No label, no note, no advance notice… How were we to know? At best, it looked like something someone tossed into the box because they were too lazy to throw it away.
*sigh*
It was so much more fun as a mystery.
13 Nov, 2007 | Written by
Tara | under
life
Yesterday, instead of our mail, we received a suspicious, possibly sinister item. Did someone steal our mail in order to leave this item? We don’t know.
I got home from work, turned off the alarm, and let the dog out. As is my custom, after I let the dog out (and before he comes back in), I check the mail. I was surprised to find no actual mail in the box – we are quite popular with the folks who offer credit cards, and there’s always an ad or two in our box. Even on holidays, sometimes.
No mail. Just a small plastic bottle containing an unknown viscous fluid. Behold:
Could it be a bomb? Could it, when opened, release gases intended to kill us? Could it be some kind of marker (a tag placed in our mailbox by a would-be thief, saying our house is ripe for the pickin’)? Could it be some bum’s shampoo (it was raining out)? Could it be a message of some kind? Could it be a gift? What does it mean?
We gingerly carried it out to our dumpster, without shaking, bumping, or opening the bottle. The city picked up our trash today. We figured “better safe than sorry” – but now we’ll never know what it is.
To the person who placed this item in our mailbox:
- If this was an attempt to kill or maim us, you failed. Please don’t try again.
- If this was a marker for theives, HAH! We thwarted you! And anyway, we have a big dog and a very loud alarm system that’s connected to the police. You don’t wanna mess with our house.
- If you’re a bum and you’re missing your shampoo, come talk to me. I’ll replace it.
- If this was a gift or a secret message, I’m sorry we threw it away. Next time, leave a note.
- Also, if you stole our mail, please return the bills, letters, and cards – you can keep the rest.
12 Nov, 2007 | Written by
Tara | under
life
I have hit a new level of crazy recently when it comes to organization.
My closet (including the shoes) and my dresser drawers (9 of them) are all organized by:
- type of garment – short-sleeved shirts, dress pants, casual pants, long-sleeved shirts, sweaters, etc.
- size – regular, baby-doll, short, capri, long, etc.
- color – dark to light
It’s not unusual for my clothes to be so organized – what’s unusual is that the organization has lasted longer than one day. Typically, I straighten up and organize, then proceed to live normally (messily). When things are messy enough to drive me (or my husband) crazy, I do another round of straightening. It’s a cycle.
I’m not cycling anymore. I’m stuck in organization overkill mode. It’s spread from my bedroom and clothes to other parts of my house, and even to my office. I’m normally pretty neat, but it’s getting out of control. On my desk, things have to be stacked just so. In the stacks, things are organized. Even the post-it notes, which are typically everywhere (I like taking little notes and keeping them where I can see them – it gives me a sense of accomplishment to throw them away) are organized onto a small section of wall just below my corkboard, which is also organized.
Bethany (my closest girlfriend, who’s studying the DSM right now in her social work masters’ program) suggested to me last night that I’m so anal about organization because I can’t control something (not getting into it here) that’s going on in my life. She says because I feel helpless (subconsciously, of course) in that area, I have to control everything else.
Or, that I’m pregnant (I’m not) and nesting. =)
31 Oct, 2007 | Written by
Tara | under
life
I had this friend in high school – 10 years ago, now, that I graduated! – who used to answer the question, “How are you?” with, “Yellow.” To her, the color yellow represented contentment. All was right in her world when she said she was yellow (much like when, in Firefly, Kaylee answers that things are “shiny” when she’s in a good mood).
I have a new yellow theme. I’m feeling pretty good tonight after a rough couple of days personally and at work, so I thought it was time for a little bit of yellow.
22 Oct, 2007 | Written by
Tara | under
life
… today I saw a car standing on its side. On a railroad track.
A couple of pictures from our family reunion, recently uploaded by Dave’s brother and his wife:
Tara, David, Randy, originally uploaded by rauke1.
Jake and Tara, originally uploaded by rauke1.
I just enjoy the first picture – I love having a big brother! And the second photo… Imagine that dog trembling – he was TERRIFIED of the water. See how taut his muscles are? He was very, very tense, and leaping about from rock to rock so he wouldn’t have to touch the water. =) We had a large audience up on the bank.
Things, I think, are finally back to normal.
I am at home. My husband is at home. My dog is at home. We have no large trips looming in the near future. Dave’s started school again. I’m back into the swing of things at both of my jobs. I even found some time to do a little extra stuff today!
And football season is started, which means I’ll be watching TV again.
20 minutes and counting…
Time off is good.
This is the first real time off I’ve had since I started this job in last June (‘06). I’ve been to Hawai’i several times, been to all sorts of eastern states. I’ve taken a day off here and there. We’ve been camping, reunioning, and beaching, but each time I’ve brought work and stress along. This time, however, I’ve not been working. As much, anyway. A few hours here and there – urgent things tend to come up as soon as I say I’ll be away… For the most part, though, this has been a restful experience. Something new for us. =)
One thing I’ve learned in this past year and a quarter – full-time work plus part-time work plus full-time visiting does not equal vacation. Each time I’ve come home from one of these trips, I’ve been that much more exhausted instead of renewed – and relieved to get back into the “grind” because it seemed like a chance to breathe!
Hopefully, we’ll feel refreshed at the end of this trip (we have most of one more day here, and then 12 and a half hours of driving to do)…
Staying in touch with my scattered-far-and-wide family.
