Short Weeks, Long Weekends

Today was my Friday at work and I couldn't be more glad. Even though most people in my office have to go to work tomorrow...I don't. To me, that makes for a good end to a somewhat tough week in the office.

It hasn't been a tough week, workwise. It's just been one of those weeks where the coworkers who generally annoy you a little, end up annoying you a lot. It's been one of those weeks where even the tiny normal daily hiccups turn into big delays in the daily breath of your working life. My computer would freeze. I'd have to reboot. My software would stop working. I'd have to reboot. You know how it goes. In the end, it turned into one of those weeks that should have been relaxing since the boss was gone but ended up being a bit of a waste of time.

Still, it's my 'weekend' now. It means I don't have to go to bed at a reasonable time if I don't feel like it. Of course, these days, I tend to go to bed at a reasonable time even when I don't have to get up early. Nevertheless, it's nice to have the option. These days, the best part is that I no longer have to blearily find my way out of bed at 4 a.m. because the puppies need to go out. They're now fully capable of sleeping through the night without having to do their business outside. I find it odd that I can relate a little too much to a coworker whose young son is being potty trained and she was excited that he got through the night last night without an accident. I found myself relating to her with the puppies before I realized I was comparing a dog to a child.

I'm seriously becoming one of those old English ladies with the mismatched outfits, big old hats and a high pitched voice that trills on about her dogs. The thought frightens me a little even though I have a feeling, at the moment, it's inevitable.

I did go out tonight after work. A coworker invited me to grab drinks with her and some of her friends from her former office. I like her and hadn't been out for a while so I thought it might be fun. It was fun. Of course, it did get a wee bit odd when our company president showed up to say hi. In a way, it wasn't as out-of-place as you'd expect: My coworker is good friends with his brother and fairly good friends with him and she'd jokingly invited him.

Naturally, it changed the atmosphere a lot. Aside from passing chats about TV shows, I don't really talk to him much. As you know, I'm not always happy with the way things are at work but I mostly don't blame him. He made a point of telling me that he thinks I'm intimidated by him because I never show up in his office to complain like everyone else. While I'll admit, he is a little intimidating because, well, he's our company president, I politely told him that from my past experience, I've been conditioned to approach my manager/boss if I have a problem. Since he's, you know, the company president, I tend to figure he has more important things to do. Then I asked if he'd prefer me to talk to him.

I think I surprised him. He finally said that he wished everyone had that approach because he spends half his day listening to people complaining.

Here's the thing: I do complain about my job. You know that. I do it a fair amount on here. There are things I don't like- primarily the office politics and our stingy PTO policy. However, whether or not it's right, I do tend to think that even if he's an odd man, our company president got where he is for a reason. I do wish he'd take more action after seeing that inaction was not benefitting his employees but, in an ideal scenerio, the reason there are managers in our company is that they're supposed to manage the day-to-day operations of their department.

It was an interesting conversation. I didn't have to say much. It turns out that, as I suspected, he's much more aware of things than people seem to realize. For example, my issue with the 'clique' is not just my issue. In a strange way, it made me feel better.

The danger, of course, is that I let down my guard just a little. I let myself believe that it was ok to relax around our company president. Then again, that might not be such a bad thing. I suppose we'll have to see. What it came down to was that he asked me questions and I answered them. I'm nothing if not blunt although I can be quite tactful when necessary.

In the end, it turned out to be a fun and interesting evening. I met some new people. I heard some bad music and I got out of the house for a bit. In the spirit of me being boring, I intend to have a quiet weekend now with only necessary errands like car services and doctor's appointments to run. Sometimes, though, those are the best weekends: Nothing firm, just open time to spend as I will. I plan to relax with the puppies.

As long as no bunnies are involved.

Happy Friday and have a great weekend. Thanks for reading!

The Lure of the Long Weekend....

It's going on Friday and it's the Friday before a long weekend. There's nothing better, in my opinion. Unless, of course, it's the Friday before a vacation, preferably one that lasts a couple of weeks. Since I don't get those very often- if at all- I'll take what I can get and a long weekend will do quite well, thank you.

My long weekend will be spent hosting my first overnight non-parental guest in my house. My parents both came down one night but it was the night before I was going to have minor surgery so it was really them just being good parents. My mum came down one other time but that was a very quick trip. No, Saz's visit this weekend marks my first real weekend visit I've had.

I have to admit, I'm not nervous per se because it's Saz and she's not going to walk around and judge my house but, in a way, it's my first foray into true adulthood that I actually have a spare bedroom and not a pull out, wire-framed futon that squeaks whenever someone moves, no matter how much you oil it. It'll be nice to be a grown-up host and make breakfast for my guest as well as dinner.

Oh, who am I kidding, I'm just thrilled that I'm going to have someone to feed. As much as I like cooking, it's a little anti-climactic to make something that I, at least, think tastes rather good and be the only one eating it.

But it's not just about the food although, when I'm involved, food usually plays rather a large role because, as you've probably learned by now...I love food. Though, lately, I've been a good Monkeypants and cut back on the junk in an attempt to lose some weight. I've been successful but I'll never be the size four I was in my youth. I'd sigh but, frankly, I think that I might have been too skinny and there's something to be said for some curves and a little more up-top than there used to be. Not that there's much up-top but, in my mind at least, it feels like there's more.

Anyhow, it's also about showing off my house which is slowly but surely starting to look the way I want it too. I still have the 1970's style family room that has the most hideous curtains in the world and is badly in need of paint but the rest of the house is coming along. Of course, this means I have to obsessively clean my house as I did last weekend and I did tonight.

Unfortunately, tonight, I discovered that while I was hoovering, nothing was being picked up. This lead me to discover a blockage in the hose of the vacuum cleaner. I thought it'd be easy to unblock. Silly Captain Monkeypants- when is anything every easy.

I had to find something to clear out the blockage. I tried a metal stake from the garden but that was not strong enough. I tried a broom handle. That was too short. Eventually, after much sweat and energy, I manage to dislodge a solid mass of everything that I've vacuumed up in the past few weeks. Vile, to say the least. Although, I have to admit, there was definitely a feeling of triumph as the blockage finally gave way to my furious attempts to dislodge it.

I only usually say it after incidents like that but sometimes, it'd be nice to have someone else to unblock the hoover. I love my puppies but they don't talk back. Also, their lack of opposable thumbs means they're useless when it comes to installing new TV's or unblocking the hoover. Also, they can't mow the lawn or take out the rubbish. In fact, aside from being hopelessly cute, they're biggest talents involve digging holes in my lawn, eating and bringing the outside...inside.

It doesn't mean I love them any less. It just means that they look at me like I'm mental while I'm doing things like unblocking vacuum cleaner hoses.

Still, they're good company, even when they attempt to run off with the screwdriver when I'm not looking. They also try to eat batteries and change the TV channel. Now that they're good at- all they have to do is sit on the remote control.

I think, however, we're now officially ready for our visitor. If not...well, she's coming anyway. I think she'll excuse a few pieces of grass and a lot of puppy toys everywhere. I'll just make her dinner in return. Hopefully that'll make up for it.

Unless I cook her something revolting.

I better not think of that. I'll just think forward to three lovely days off work with good company and some quality puppy time. I think that's the best approach. I hope you all have great weekends.

Happy Memorial Day!

Mother Nature's Message....

It's really snowing out there. It hasn't stopped all day. I've enjoyed every minute of it. I went out to shovel this evening and now have what I'm calling "Mt. Snow" on either side of my driveway. I still enjoy shovelling. It's fun. The only problem is that I'm running out of places to shovel the snow. Mt. Snow(s) are bordering on four feet tall, no exaggeration. I tried to toss the snow over the mountains but that only worked for so long.

To top it off, just as I was finishing up the mammoth task of clearing my driveway, the city snowplows drive by. Now, I salute their efforts. I know it has to really be awful to have to go out in this kind of weather. However, I do NOT salute their efforts to block my driveway. Yes, dear blog readers, despite my 1.5 hours of shovelling, just as I was finishing up, the snowplow pushed more snow to the end of my drive, thereby creating another ridge to shovel.

I shovelled their mess. My drive was clean. It's now covered with almost two more inches of snow. I'd complain but I can't. It's too lovely. I peeked out my window and the reflection of the stark white earth onto the skies above is so bright that it almost seems like twilight. And not the syrupy, terribly-written vampire kind, either.

It's very pretty out there. Granted, I'm not looking forward to the morning when I realize that I'm going to have to shovel or get stuck. I'm not looking forward to the snarky comments about how I'm so 'lucky' that I live so close. I've decided that if enough people mention this, my response will be, 'Yes, I know. But fortunately, accident lawyers are happy to sue, regardless of the proximity of home to office!"

Sounds bitter, I know. However, there are times when Mother Nature tries to tell us that it's best to bed down and enjoy the fact that she's given us a 'time out' from life. Today was a good day because I got to watch the snow fall without having to go out in it. I managed to sew my sock monkey, make a batch of pea soup with mint for lunch today plus leftovers for lunches at work. I got my novel uploaded to Amazon.com for publishing on the Kindle ($1.99, a bargain ( I hope!). I made roasted Cornish game hen with roasted veggies for dinner, watch Jack Bauer and still have time to blog twice. All in all, it was a wonderful 'bonus' day off.

Long weekends are the best. Normally, a weekend consists of Saturday which, for me- and many others- consists of a day of running errands, getting all the stuff done that's hard to do after work druing the week. Sunday is getting stuff done around the house: Laundry, cleaning, tidying...whatever. That's it for a weekend...usually. But on three-day weekends, you have an additional day...a day to actually relax. For me, relaxing means getting all the things done I can't find time to do normally. I mean, how often do I really have time to sew a sock monkey? Yet on my third day of a three-day weekend, it's no problem. I can multitask: Watch DVD's while sewing. It's a perfect way to relax.

In the end, I have a sock monkey named Frankfurter. I have a book almost published into the e-reader zone. I had a nicely shoveled driveway, even if it's already covered again. I had good food and even better leftovers. And, finally, I watched Jack Bauer do his Jack Bauer thing and take those bad guys down with a flick of his wrist.

I confess, even though my logic and better-judgment prevails, the optimist in me, the dreamer in me hopes that we get an email from our company saying that since the weather sucks and the roads are quite terrible, it's better if we all work from home tomorrow, regardless of how far we live from the office.

Yet, unfortunately, there's a realist in me that knows my company doesn't care that driving is dangerous: We should try to make it in because work waits for no man...or woman.

Still, if I can't get out of my driveway, work will just have to wait. Mother Nature is giving me a message and I must obey...it's my way of thanking for the snow. Poor work...you'll just have to wait.

Happy Tuesday!

It's Bloody Freezing!

It's bloody freezing outside. That is significantally different from it just being merely freezing out- "bloody" freezing means it's cold enough to freeze your wiper fluid as you try to use it to get rid of some of the ice on your window which, of course, means you then have a new layer of ice to scrape.

Bloody freezing also means that if you leave a twelve pack of Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi in the boot of your car, it freezes and then explodes. Naturally, being a somewhat-intelligent Captain Monkeypants, you'd think I would have realized this. I did- after I went to get out a can to take to the office and found my twelve-pack covered in (frozen) Diet Wild Cherry. I suppose the good part about it being bloody freezing is that cleanup will be easy- I can remove the frozen explosion before it gets too sticky.

The freezing temperatures can be deceptive. Last night, I went "downtown" for a belated birthday celebration with some coworkers. We went to this cool German restaurant with good beer and food. Then we walked down the street to another more upscale place for a final drink. Stepping outside of the first building, it was cold. It had snowed but it didn't feel too bad. Then, as we proceeded further down the street, the wind blew. Have you felt a wind chill of -15 degrees? Say it with me now- it's bloody freezing.

The cold blast took our breath away. The snow was thrown at us, ice-cold pellets attacking our faces, no matter how we tried to shield ourselves. The cold got through my coat, my boots. I forgot my gloves so my hands were freezing. For a three minute walk, it was pretty intense. Needless to say, i ordered a nice hot Irish-type coffee when we got inside. Nothing like a spiked cup of coffee to warm the chill off your bones.

This morning, it's not snowing yet but the snow is the dry kind that is easily scooped up by the wind and tossed around, mini snow-tornadoes flying across the road and unexpectedly leaving drifts.

It's supposed to stay this cold all week. I think it's going to be one of those deliciously lazy weekends in which I start a new jigsaw puzzle, put on my little (fake) electric fireplace, make a cup of tea and settle in. After I've cleaned, of course. I haven't had much of a chance to clean other than pick up and it's high time I did more than wipe the counters and run the vacuum round. I figure if I put on some happy cleaning music- often the soundtrack to Rent, Green Day's American Idiot or even some Madonna (older stuff), the cleaning might be fun. It's quite fun to boogie while cleaning the toilet. It makes you almost forget that what you're doing is quite vile.

It's actually a long weekend for many people this weekend, being Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That thought alone makes me cheerful. It's a rather nice feeling to know that come Monday morning, I don't have to set my alarm, I can lie in bed and listen to the howling wind and know that I don't have to get up at all, if I don't want. Then again, sometimes, the howling wind is drowned out by the howling students. Seriously, there are a group of students living below me that have taken to howling and making rather odd noises at night. I'm not going to think too much on that being that they're students. It's probably better that I imagine them being a pack of werewolves rather than what they're actually doing.

Anyway, once more, i seem to have just ambled the blogging time away with no real point other than to just let my thoughts flow. I hope that's ok- since I got my fan fiction rant off my chest, I'm feeling much lighter. However, there's never a rant far away, especially as long as Stephanie Meyer gets to publish new fiction.

Just kidding. Mostly. Happy Thursday. Stay warm (unless you're in L.A. where, apparently, it's been nice and warm all week.)