Thursday This n That

Hey, it's still Thursday!  I meant to post this morning, but I got distracted and then it was time to get ready for work.  

Man, we got slammed at work yesterday.  Thank goodness this afternoon was kinda quiet.  So quiet we were all afraid to say it was quiet and jinx it.  LOL

One of the things I do is collecting on past due stuff.  I figure as of today, I've already paid my wages to this point back to the company in the debts I've collected.  BE for the win.  Go, me.  Okay, so 7 days of work doesn't amount to any huge amount, but it's good to feel productive again.  And hey, it's good to know I'm taking some of the load of the gals who were slammed on a daily basis.

Nope, still not saying where I work.  =op

I had a meeting with the boss.  Kind of an informal, how're things going so far, chat.  He's good people.  They're all good people as far as I can tell.  Funny thing, though.  He asked me about my books and I went all 'deer in headlights'.  I guess I just made a wall in my head between that and this.  I can't think about being a writer when I'm in office worker mode.  

At some point, I need to slip into writer mode and then not think about the office worker.  Maybe this weekend.

It's hard not calling Mom every morning.  I do manage to get a couple short calls into the office first thing before I go to the day-job.  And I'm doing spreadsheets at night.  But the hour and twenty chatty calls with just Mom every day are a thing of the past.  I have to content myself with Saturdays, I guess.

There's an itty-bitty baby bunny who lives by the well-house.  I see it sometimes on my way to work.  It's soooooo cute.  

Okay, well, I'd better post this so it's still a Thursday.  Have a great day wherever you are and whatever you're doing.  :hugs:

Bug-mageddon and Other Fun Stuff

 Is it just me or are the bugs really bad this year?  Not just quantity, but viciousness.  I mean, I'm getting eaten alive even when I only step out on the deck for a minute.  Last night, I went out to see if something was on the roof and came back in with three new bug bites.  I go outside for a smoke at the office and come in with new bites - through my pants.  Come ON.  And these are not just regular bites.  They're nasty.  And nothing seems to make the itch stop - not diphenhydramine gel, not cortizone cream, not calamine lotion.  The aloe gel I have is knocking it back some, but it still itches.  Oak mites, sure, but I saw two of the bugs bite me (you can't see oak mites with the naked eye).  One was pinhead sized and black, the other was grayish and a little bigger.  No clue what they are but COME ON.  

Hubs sprayed most of the lawn yesterday.  He'll get the rest today.  Unfortunately, the spray does little to flying bugs.  They have to land on where he sprayed to die.  Good thing for the butterflies.  Bad thing for these flying biting bastards.  Derp.

Anyway...  I'm pretty good at ignoring the itch during the day.  At night, though... Gah, I need sleep.  Looks like an optimal day to make coffee at the office.  For the first time.  I know, I know... it's shocking that today is my fifth day there and I haven't made coffee yet.  In my defense, it's been hot and I've been trying to stick to water at work.  (I haven't been.  They have a pop machine with Mtn Dew in it.  Gah.)  I think I'll take my big mug that has an old time advertisement for snake oil.  It cracks me up.  

Meanwhile, I'm still doing spreadsheets for the office in Michigan.  Yesterday morning, the big one I do every month came in.  It usually takes me 2-3 hrs.  I did some before work, a little before dinner, and then the rest of it after Hubs went to bed.  I could've taken a couple days, but I hate leaving things lie.  And I promised them I wouldn't let the day job get in the way of what I do for them.  I feel good having it done.  Yay.

And now that I've gotten distracted a dozen times and still don't have this posted, I should probably call it good and be done with it.  How are things in your world?  Are the bugs nasty where you are or is it just me?

Sunday Update - Week ???

Hey Everyone!  I'm too lazy to look up the week number.  It was a busy week.

Unfortunately, not the busiest week for writerly stuffs.  I got 858 words out on Justice Served Tuesday night, though, and I'm pretty proud of that.  Just the two agents talking in the car.  Frank learns Olivia is a closet Cajun and they discuss overcoming other people's perceptions.  I liked how it came out.

I didn't read much this past week either.  

Or get much activity in.  I walked on Tuesday and then last night I watered all the gardens.  Despite the lack of activity, I did lose two pounds, though.  Weight: 179.6

The reason for so little writing, reading, or activity is that I started my full-time job on Wednesday.  I'm loving it and the people are all very nice.  Of course, it isn't easy.  Not yet anyway.  They've been so slammed and without good help for long enough that I was kind of tossed into the deep end.  Good thing I can swim, eh?  Now, it's just a matter of getting used to working 8 hours in a row, 5 days worth in a row, with most of that in a seated position.  I feel like I can do it.  And I feel like I can excel at all the tasks they're asking of me once I get the hang of things.  Right now, the hardest part seems to be remembering to answer the phone as B, instead of my whole first name.  This, too, will pass.  

I do need to find a way to be active while working 8-hr days.  Might be time to start working the exercise bike again.  Twenty minutes in the morning before I go to work or after I get home should be doable.  We'll see how that goes.

Last night, Mama Raccoon finally brought her babies to the yard.  She has FOUR this year!  Wow.  That's more than she's ever brought.  Her biggest litter was 3 and that was last year.  And they're all so cute.  I wish the light had been good enough to get some pics.  

Lumpy brought her twins again.  Also very cute.  I think she's got a mixed set again - boy/girl.  One is definitely larger than the other and I read somewhere that the larger fawn is almost always a buck.  Now, we need to come up with names.  I mean, her last fawns were 2 years ago and we named them Sonny and Sissy.  Speaking of that, Sissy is so tame with Hubs now that he can walk within a few feet of her on the way to the food pans and she just stands there.  Then she follows him the rest of the way so she can be the first to the food.  She only does that with Hubs.  She avoids me like the plague.  And that's a good thing.  It's not safe for her to be too friendly with humans.  Especially during hunting season.

The neighbor I gave zucchini plants to last year started bringing us zucchinis this year.  He planted 6 plants and he said that three of those are ours.  We told him that wasn't necessary, but he insisted.  Anyway, he's probably brought us like 20 zukes so far.  I spent part of yesterday getting those shredded or sliced and put away.  I'm playing with the idea of making pickled zucchinis.  I've left about 6 to take to the office and see if anyone wants them.  If they don't, I'll bring them home and shred or slice those, too.  Tuesday, I finally made bread with the last bag of shredded zuke I had put back in the freezer.  

I think that's about it.  How are things in your worlds?

Saturday Reading Wrap-up - 06/25/22

Not much to talk about this week, but I didn't want to leave you in the lurch.  Since this was the week I started working outside the house full time, I didn't get much time to read.  I took my Kindle with me on Thursday so I could read during my lunch, but I forgot to download the books I'd bought last week, so nope.  I did start a book on Friday, though.  Yay.

No Books Read.

No DNFs.

Currently reading... the third book in a southern mystery series I've enjoyed.  I'm definitely going to do some reading this weekend, so look for a more interesting post next week.

What did you read this past week?

Thursday This n That

So far the hardest part about the job is sitting.  You'd think I'd be used to sitting.  Apparently, I got enough exercise walking from here to the coffee pot and here to the recliner that it makes a difference.  Eh, I'll get used to it.  I spent the majority of yesterday looking stuff up online and entering data into a spreadsheet.  Yep, dream job.  LOL  

They're calling me BE.  Sure enough, it already lost a letter and by the end of the day I was B.  :shrug:  Maybe I'm just 'be'.  To do is to be.  To be is to do.  Doo be doo be doo.  ROFL

The office manager smokes, too.  So I got that going for me.  Just duck out the back.  Unfortunately, we can't both be out smoking at the same time.  Bummer.  I'd like a chance to chat with her.  

Yesterday morning, Hubs saw a single fawn.  There were a bunch of does present, so not sure whose it was.  It had been days since Lumpy brought her twins and I was beginning to get worried.  But Hubs saw them all yesterday afternoon.  Go, Lumpy!  

I made big juicy burgers when I got home.  Oh, yum.  With Ore Ida fast food French fries.  Also yum.  Hubs offered to cook, but burgers are super easy.  Pat 'em up and then slap them on the Foreman Grill.  2.5 minutes is perfect for medium rare.  And Hubs has taken over doing the dishes, so no clean-up for me.  Yay.

And that's about it for me right now.  What's on your list today?

Making It Work

I start my new job today.  I'd like to say I'm ready, but other than showering, I'm not.  I'm nervous as hell.  Not that I think I'll have any problems doing the job, but what if I do?  What if I got the job but can't keep it?  I mean I haven't worked outside the house for 18 years.  What if they don't like me?  Gah, I feel like a 12-year-old stepping into school for the first time after a long summer break.  

Funny thing there.  The office manager and I have the same first name.  To avoid confusion, they'll be calling me B.E.  :shrug:  Makes sense, since I've been going by BE online for like 21 years.  I was BE Meissner, then I got married and became BE Sanderson.  

Anyway, they all seem like nice people.  Friendly.  Hard-working.  Gettin' 'er done.

I have to watch that I don't accidentally take over and start managing people.  I'm sort of a bull.  Or a terrier.  A bull terrier?  A Taurus born in the year of the Dog.  (I don't actually believe in that stuff, but it kinda works here.)  

The other thing I'll have to watch is my potty-mouth.  And my tendency to talk too much.  No rattling on about stuff not related to work.  My mouth has gotten me into more trouble in the past 50+ years - since whenever I learned to talk, which was early by the way.  

The plan is to step into a new persona, of sorts.  Me, but Office Me instead of Hermit Me.  Public Me instead of Private Me.  I'm just a grunt.  A worker bee.  

Anyway, I'm showered.  I packed a lunch last night and all I have to do with that is make a sandwich.  I still have to get dressed, but it's casual there, so no biggie.  A nice top and a pair of khakis.  (They said jeans, but I don't own any.)  In about an hour and fifteen, I'll get in my car and drive to work.  :panics a little:

It'll all be a learning curve.  And I'll do fine.  I guess.  I hope.  Whatever happens, I'm going to make this work.  I have to make this work.

By the way, last night, I wrote about 900 words on Justice Served.  Go, me.

News Update

I got the job.  I'll be a full-time office assistant, with all the usual stuff that entails, starting Wednesday.  And that's all I'm gonna say about that publicly.  

This should not count toward Biden's employment statistics, since I was never formally unemployed anyway, but that bastard will probably take credit.  I wonder how many others, like me, felt the need to go back to work because our dollars aren't stretching to meet this economy.  

Regardless, I'm in this one for the long haul.  It'll be good for me to go be productive in the world again.  I'll write at night and on the weekends, like I did when I first started writing seriously.  And like I did when I was homeschooling because that was the only time I had available.  Hell, even when I don't have anything else taking up my time, I write at night, so this won't be a big change.  

Hubs will be taking over all my chores.  He's already started.  The man's doing my dishes right now.  We're in negotiations as to whether he'll cook meals.  He says yes, I say no.  We'll see how it all shakes out.  I did everything while he was working because after the job he was doing, he needed to decompress after work and on the weekends.  This job will not be anywhere near as taxing as his was.  

Since tomorrow is my last day off for a while, I'm making my last batch of zucchini bread.  Well, the last of the shredded zukes from last summer anyway.  

I'll still try to do posts on at least Thursday and Sunday.  And Saturdays, if I've finished any books that week.  I'll still be stopping by blogs in the mornings.  Any comments to my blogs will be approved when I get home from work.  And I'll respond to emails then, too.  

I'm excited.  And a little nervous.  But it'll all be good.