Pfantastic Christmas

Here we are playing cards..
Denver is relaxing in his pool..
Lulu had a blast opening all her presents..
Here I am with "Santa.."
This is what the living room looked like.. I think we needed a bigger tree. A bigger room wouldn't have hurt either.. LOL

At the Beach..

It doesn't look NEARLY as cold as it is.. :-)

Aeropuerto

So...

Here I am, sitting in the airport waiting to go to the beach, and as usual when I travel, I am feeling highly annoyed.

Why does airport security make you completely disrobe and dismantle everything you own, then move the line along as fast as they can, giving you no room to get dressed again or put everything back together.  They slam everyone else stuff into you as fast as they can, to make sure it is as uncomfortable as possible to get everything together and make sure you didn't forget anything.

Adding to my irritation is that L said there was an ATM in the airport, and there isn't, and then when I went to buy a drink at the newsstand, the sales girl told me to move out of the way so she could walk off somewhere. HELLO.  I AM TRYING TO MAKE A PURCHASE HERE!

Needless to say I do not have a drink right now, and I am not in a pleasant mood.

I don't really know why.  Normally I wouldn't be so very annoyed by any of this stuff.  I guess it's just that I got up early this morning and I'm PMSing and I just feel off.

Anyway...

Nobody is really interested in any of that, so I am going to go read the news or something.  :-P

More Thanksgiving Weekend-Here Comes Christmas!

Turkey Day Weekend!

Blogging from the Student Center..

There is no breakfast in our house. :-\ I had to come to the bagel shop on campus early this morning to get something for breakfast.. but they don't open for another 10 minutes. Luckily there is this nifty computer lab right outside, so here I am taking a few minutes to update my readers (if I still have any! lol).

There has been so much going on that there is nowhere to start. S is feeling sick this morning. I think she ate something that disagrees with her.. but she has already missed the max in unexcused absences for the semester because of her trip to Florida, so I sent her on to school. I will probably have to leave work early and go pick her up (unless her day gets better once she gets to school, which will probably happen) but at least she gets counted for being there today.

This close to graduation, she doesn't need to take any chances of a technicality keeping her from getting final grades at the end of the year... and my experience with SC schools supports my feeling that if they can cause a problem, over any thing, no matter how minor, they will gleefully do so. Just saying.

In other news, here's my to-do list for this week:
1) 4-5 grant proposal reviews
2) I have to take my new employee to meet the folks across campus.
3) 1 more test and 2 final exams for grad school
4) 2 major presentations in grad school
5) Shopping for Thanksgiving and the required cleaning of the house before the big event
6) Finalizing details for my last big event as HOA social committee chair (hallelujah) which is coming up in 2 weeks
7) Scheduling an appointment to get an estimate on fixing the dent in my new car :-[
8) Getting my old car sold! Aaagh!
9) Going to see Trigger.. I haven't been out there in 2 weeks! Aaaaaaagh!

And so much more...

Bleh. Just thinking about all that this morning makes me want to turn around and go back home. But it's too cold to do anything but get breakfast and run back to my office.

Well, I think they have opened the doors of the bagel shop, so I'm off to get my breakfast...

I think this is the longest post I have made without pictures in quite some time.

And so much more...

One last thing at Mom's...

What does this look like to YOU???

A testament to gay marriage, or what? We ROFL'd!

But...

It's beautiful, but...The situation here is unacceptable. But what's the point of saying anything? No one wants to actually make a change. I can't make it happen, so all I can do is buy groceries when I come to visit, take the screaming and meanness, and buy new knives and kitchen stuff. :-\


I ask you, where is the value in this??

Reality Check

Prepare to be depressed. I'm warning you.



At my mother's house.. here we see the slop bucket next to the chemicals and plant food next to the pineapple they are planning to eat. When is a good question to ask, because it was already almost overripe when I got there.

These are just a selection of the knives I removed from the kitchen. There isn't a single one of them that could actually be used to cut something. My mother threw a fit, after she asked me to get rid of them.. because I got rid of them. Ditto the rotten tomatoes.. though she didn't ask me to get rid of them.
If I hear "those are still good, i NEED those" one more time...

Meanwhile here's mom and one of the giganticats. This chair is her world pretty much.
Unless there's someone around to drive the golf cart (and push it, if you need to back up. We didn't find out we'd have to push to reverse until it was too late..)

Weird stuff from the past few days

1) My mother's house is the scariest and most depressing place I can think of. I swear to god I feel like a total basket case every time I come here. I guess that's how I always feel when there is NOTHING I can do to improve a situation.

2) Now that I finally got blogger.com to let me create a post tonight... now I can't think of what I wanted to say.

3) I am amazed that on one here has contracted botulism yet. Let me just get that out of the way. Oh, and don't even get me STARTED on the rusted, bent, dull, or otherwise unuseable utensils in this kitchen. Or the rusty stuff. Or yet the slop bucket.

4) S and I have decided that Jehovah ruins everything. :-\


akjdfhryubvvfdjk! I want to go home and I feel really bad for wanting to go home this much. I never get to see my mother.. but everytime I do, I feel...

...like this. :-[

Sooo Much Going On.

Too much going on, not enough time. So, some Halloween Pics..

And One More.

This one needed a post all its own. Oy.

Lulu's Birthday..

Yesterday was Lulu's birthday and GM&GF's 62nd wedding anniversary. In the morning we ate waffles with chocolate whipped cream, and called to wish GM&GF a happy anniversary. GM says that Lulu is still her favorite anniversary present ever!

The the present-opening commenced... Here is Lulu modeling her new coat (with thinsulate lining so she won't freeze this winter..)
Aaaand here she is with her new hair straightener (because she hates mine with a singleminded passion that defies description. So I want mine back. lol)
Here she is all ready to go out for dinner (this after we did the grocery shopping, picked up her cake, and went to Home Depot to buy s0me of the materials for her bedroom remodel..)

She looks very much like her mommy here..
Here's her cake.. yellow, her favorite.. but only on the outside. It's chocolate with strawberries on the inside!
The unit...

First Look at the New Car..

ANNOUNCEMENT

I has a new car.

:-D

Roundup

He looks good, doesn't he? Too bad I've been too sick to ride for the past two weeks..

Trigger is the prettiest horse ever. :-)
Here's Lulu, practicing her customer service skills..
What? I'm improving my home! YES. With POWER TOOLS.
Denver showin some luv..

Stripes are Good

Duckie has on his Clemson game day outfit..
Monster Head in profile
Duckie is quite proud of his white belly
He is rawthuh fabulous, isn't he?

Tomorrow's Epiphanies..

Ok, Here's the Deal (in a list, for easy perusing:

1) None of it matters anyway. None of the injustices, none of the BS. I have to play the game with the cards I have been dealt. If that includes some challenges I'd rather not have to deal with, well tough shit. That's how it works.

I have tended to hold on to the hurt, because that's all I really had that I was sure wasn't going away. I'm not stuck in that particular padded room anymore. It's time to stop behaving as if I am.

2) Things that have happened up to this point may make me mad as hell, but it doesn't do anyone any good to discuss it. No one can change it, and odds are most of them wouldn't if given the opportunity. What can I change? What I do going forward, and nothing else.

3) The only way to deal with the backbiting and rumor-mongering is to ignore it. The only way to rise above it is not to participate. If that means the climate in the office gets a little frosty for a while, well, the door has hinges for a reason. I don't have to be friendly.. I just have to get the job done. The best answer to a stupid statement is silence. And maybe a Look.

4) I'm not letting this rule my life anymore. I have more important things to do. Like post pictures.

Today's epiphanies

Yesterday I looked through all of the files my predecessor left behind at work. It was quite an eye-opening experience, especially after the number crunching I've done this week regarding performance in our department.

Basically my long-held suspicions were confirmed. I have been doing three times the work for the same pay, while being held to a much higher standard than others in the office. After I vocalized this last year, there was retaliation.. despite my consistent over-achievement, my performance evaluations had lower ratings than the coworker's. I've got the documentation to prove it.

I also found that anything good that was communicated about my coworker was printed out and put in her personnel file. NONE of my commendations were there. Not one.

Then there are the strategic plans for the department. I wrote them, and received no credit. They are in the files with someone else's name on them. I realize that my supervisor was probably thinking that since I was her employee that it was okay to do this... but it's not okay with me.

On the heels of these revelations, I begin to understand that this isn't really about being over-competitive with a coworker, or about a supervisor not liking me. The coworker and I were never in the same arena, and the supervisor felt that the co-worker needed her. I think there was the attitude of a therapist and not a boss there. Besides, no one likes being called out on something, no matter how small, and no matter what the intent.

So.. this isn't about anyone else. This is about me. I'm a capitalist in a communist environment. A square peg. A person who believes that compensation should be tied to performance, and that there should be standards.. the same standards for all employees in a given job that are upheld consistently.

I've learned from this that while universities are great places, I really belong in industry.

Stories like this..

Holocaust survivor prepares for bar mitzvah

..sniff. How completely awesome! :-)

Lulu Eats Breakfast and Discusses Politics

Horribly remiss.. if you missed me

I know I have severely neglected my blog in the last few months. Life has a way of getting in the way. You know.

So, a Sunday morning list:

1) S is doing really well, adjusting to a huge life change with surprising grace. She's a 17-year-old. It's surprising grace for a 17-year-old, all right? But she's doing okay.

2) I have taken up running with her, to help her stay motivated and to help me work off some aggression and stress. It's working.. but I feel like I've spent the weekend in a meat grinder. I am most definitely NOT 17 anymore.

3) I'm learning a lot about boundaries (and lack thereof) both at work and in my personal life right now. It amazes me how far people will go when they think no one will stop them. Wow.

4) I'm almost finished with a major project, almost ready to start graduate school (Wednesday!) and officially promoted at work. Lots going on, for sure. L is handling all of this remarkably well, though date night seems to have become a casualty. I suggested a little date several times this week, to be met with the Look. You know the Look. The Look says I have work to do, I have been taxi-ing our new pet all over town, and I am tired, Leave me alone. So yeah. Next week, though.. and no arguments will be tolerated. (lol)

So now I'm off to work on this project for a few more hours, and hopefully finish another portion before AC comes over to take a look at it.

I'm Too Busy-- The List

The list is out of control!

1) It's Sunday. I worked all day on the major project i have for work. It isn't done yet. Next week, hopefully it will be.

2) I haven't done my yoga today. I can tell.

3) S starts cross country tomorrow. Yeehaw! Hopefully she will be starting school on the 19th with the rest of the kids..

4) I know someone who is getting a promotion. :-) State paperwork is slow, though.

5) S is talking on the phone in the bathroom. I would rather have died than do that when I was 17. Oh well. Times change, I guess.

Well so much for the rest of the list.

onetwothree FOUR FIVE sixsevenseghtnineten eleven twe-e-e-e-e-e-elve!

Ok, so it drove me nuts until I found it on YouTube. I wasn't sure if I really remembered it or not.

Spaghetti, Anyone?

The Blubber Hand

Another science experiment with muffinhead.. This time it involved COLD water, ziplock bags, and an inordinate amount of Crisco...It was quite amusing to say the least..
Everyone got in on the act. S lasted 1 minute with the non-blubbered hand in the water. I lasted 55 seconds. L lasted 2 minutes, 45 seconds. He was feeling very manly about it.

Interestingly enough, the Crisco insulated against the cold amazingly. S wondered if anyone in Colorado in the wintertime thinks about a Crisco suit?

Ick,

Later: Shopping!!

Hot List

1) It was 100 degrees out today. My office was at least 96 this morning when I walked in at 7:15.

2) Lulu learned an important lesson today about sleep deprivation and how it impacts her performance. She also looks really silly sleeping under a desk. She has been invited to a party on Thursday. She can only go if she completes 11 more units on her Felvis, keeps her room/bathroom clean, and doesn't go out for the rest of the week. She's working tomorrow and Wednesday; Friday we have plans for her, and Saturday is her big official introduction to the wonderful world of college.

3) After a while, angst must fade into indifference over certain situations. Whatever. Ask yourself if it is going to make a huge difference in your life. If the answer is no, then who the hell cares?

4) Sometimes it is a bad idea to trust people with your feelings, with the things that really mean something to you, good or bad. Some people can't handle trust. This always comes as as surprise.

5) No matter what you think, you can't control other people. Even if you think you should be able to, or if they'd really be better off if they listened to you... other people don't belong to you. Even if you can intimidate someone into doing what you want for a while, you still aren't really in control. It's much better to accept that you aren't in control, and try to influence for the good when you can. People will follow a path much farther if you show it to them than they will if you drag them down it, kicking and screaming the whole way.

6) I have to say I've learned a lot from all of my current situations. I can't say it's been fun, or that it looks like a barrel of monkeys going forward.. but it's certainly educational.

7) It's too hot to even ride a horse around here. Seriously! The thought of lifting the saddle is enough to make you pass out. Forget actually climbing on.

8) Although horse sweat does smell good.

9) Everyone in the house but me is on the phone right now. I am avoiding the phone at all costs.

and now I'm going to sleep.

La te da, Blah de blah

What makes someone think that they have the right to control the thoughts, feelings, and lives of others?

How can someone think that they are always right, no matter how wrong they are?

What does it take to be able to bury your head in the sand and refuse to face reality and the choices you've made? How can someone stare in the face of the direct consequences of their actions and not recognize what they're seeing?

-----

I really think I have played this particular record until it's warped and no use anymore.
I think I'm tired of this tune.

Independence Day

S and all the "kids" had a great time at the party...
The fireworks were great! (Even the ones that went off too close to the ground)
Here's L keeping a "fatherly eye out." LOL

So.. that was our 4th of July.

On Sunday I went to the attic to get a box down and misjudged the distance when bending over.. got the corner of a cardboard box right in my left eye. I had to go to the ER, where they told me I had cut a triangular flap into my cornea. It really really really hurt. Did I mention that it REALLY HURT? Aaaaagh. L got to look at my eye under a weird light thingie, with the doctor. He said it was cool.

So I can't drive today, so I am stuck at home, wearing sunglasses inside the house and putting eyedrops in every two hours.

Bleh.