In a way I need a change from this burnout scene*

I am at work running a test (attempting to figure out where an oil leak is actually located at).  It's not going well.  We thought we had it narrowed down to the best choices.  The choices are wrong.  Sigh.  I'm not sure where else to start looking. 

And I'm ALL BY MYSELF.  So lonely!  Actually, I'm not really.  I actually kind of enjoy being in the office when nobody else is here (hi- no distractions...I usually get SO MUCH MORE done when I'm by myself).  However, the bad.  I'm stuck in an office with no cell reception.  So I can't listen to my music (again - no mp3 player and rhapsody doesn't work without reception).  The silence is DRIVING ME INSANE.  I am becoming one of the crazies. 

Sigh. 

Also...I looked at the weather forecast for this weekend and I almost cried.  It's supposed to be 99 degrees on Sunday.  I'm trying to figure out how to turn the air on without K knowing it.  Because I don't give a shit HOW EARLY in the year it is...if it's almost triple digits...it's not safe to not have the air on.  And seriously.  I'll pay the extra freaking 20 dollars to have the air on for two nights.  It's kind of ridiculous to be so uncomfortable because you think it's too early to have the air on.  Also.  My bedroom is RIDICULOUSLY hot compared to the rest of the house.  It's always at least 10 degrees hotter than EVERYWHERE else.

We have no idea why...but seriously.  I will probably cry if we don't put the air on. 

I've never been one of those people to not put the air/heat on just because of the month.  If it's that hot...put on the AC.  If you're freezing...use the freaking heat.  Just turn them back off if it cools off or heats back up.  ARGH.  Can't wait to have control of the thermostat again. 

I'm wondering how expensive a hotel for the weekend would be :-P  (Yes...it IS that hot in my room). 

Anyways, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  At least I will be able to come to the office during the day...where I can lock myself in an air conditioned room...just gotta make it through the night. 

*OAR

Nothing's something that's important to me.*

Yeah, so when I don't have a computer apparently I'm not very good at posting.  Go figure.

I get to spend the week in the hotel I will be living in next year (assuming they don't have an issue with me having my dog there for a year...I will be talking to the manager while I'm up there) and getting a tour of my new place of work and doing some weird team building activities with my program members.  They are bringing us all up there since most of us have never actually seen the place.  :-)  Fun. 

The hotel is potentially dog friendly, but I'm not sure how friendly they are to me bringing my dog there for a year.  This is the discussion I will be having with the hotel manager.  If they don't have a problem with it, I have been approved to live in the hotel for the year.  If they DO have a problem with it...I need to figure out what my options are.  Sigh.  Keeping fingers crossed. 

Other than that...there's not a whole lot going on in my life. 

Le Sigh. 

Need some happy thoughts today.  Anybody got any?

*Ben Kweller

I said it's something free that means a lot to me, when I'm with my friends I feel home.*

How depressing is the news today?

• Off-shore drilling.  Yeah.  Brilliant idea to do MORE of this. 
• Goldman-Sachs.  As unpopular as this makes me...I don't think they committed fraud.  The people who bought these investments should have looked into the risks before buying them.  However, having said that, I do agree that it was completely UNETHICAL for them to do this, but not exactly illegal.  I'm not really sure how/what to think about this case. I would like to see some punishment for the ridiculously unethical trading, lending, gambling that the giant Wall Street firms (not just Goldman-Sachs) committed.  So...how do you punish based on business ethics?  Can you?
• Arizona. People really don't think this is going to lead to racial profiling?  Really?  So, if you run to the store on the corner and forget to grab your papers before leaving the house you can be arrested and left in jail for who knows how long.  This actually has already happened to a friend's brother-in-law.  He had been in our country legally for about a month (with all necessary documentation) and got pulled over for a traffic violation.  And spent 3 days in jail because he didn't speak English and they assumed he was an illegal immigrant.  Needless to say they left Arizona less than 2 weeks after he finally got out.  I support the need for illegal immigration control, but there has to be a better way to handle this. 

And that was just what I read about in the first half hour of the day.  So...I stopped reading the news.  I hope there was happier news as the day went on.  :-) 

I'm tyring to get ready for this weekend.  We have a 3 day weekend, but the other two maintenance type people are on vacation, so I'm covering their days for them.  Which sucks.  I'm going to try and take a comp day next week to make up for not getting any holiday days.  Sigh.  But I somehow doubt it will happen. 

Anyways, hope everyone is having a great day today. 

*O.A.R.

These old boots still got a lot of ground they ain't covered yet*

So...last week was late 90s music...apparently this week is country and random Snow Patrol songs mixed in. 

Moving on. 

I really wanted to post about our crappy insurance and how I think I have another cyst and need surgery again but I don't want to pay the ridiculous amount of money required to go to the doctor, but I don't really have a choice because it's kind of really hurting.  Then I thought better of it and deleted it.  But just know I'm thinking it. 

Instead, I will talk about my awesome attempt to get to work today. 

I set a self-imposed arrival time at 6 this morning because I really wanted to try and get out of here early.  I woke up at 5 and got out of bed and my pelvic area was really hurting (see above) and I had to sit back down.  Next thing I know it's 7:30 and maybe I should get out of bed now.  Stupid. 

So I get up and dressed and take care of Oscar and I'm out the door by about 7:50 (yay showering the night before!).  I stopped and grabbed a coffee on the way.  I should have been at work by about 8:15, I'm less than 20 minutes away. 

Until I get on 95N and it was backed up for SEVEN miles.  In fact, MORE than seven miles.  It took me over an hour and a half to go less than 15 miles.  I made it to work by about 9:30, so I wasn't super late by the company's standards...but I was over 3 hours later than I had intended to be.  Yay late day today!  (Except the exact opposite of Yay). 

And, I didn't get a chance to go to the gym during lunch, so I still have to go after I leave for the day.  Sigh.  I'm never getting home tonight. 

Even more exciting...my laptop is completely dead which I think I mentioned earlier.  But then, on Friday, right before my 4.5 hour train trip home...my mp3 player died.  WTF?  Can I please stop breaking shit now? 

So I need to buy a new one.  But, I am a little limited to what I can buy because I need a rhapsody compatible one.  I have really liked all the SanDisk ones I've owned...except for the fact that I've broken THREE in the last year and a half.  So...I'm not really sure if it's me or the player (I think it's me...nobody else has these issues), but I kind of don't want to buy another one because I'm sure I'll just break it in another 6 months.  So, the only other one I can buy that's small enough to work out with but still has enough memory on it is way more than I was wanting to spend.

So as of now I'm mp3 player-less.  Grrr. 

My phone has the rhapsody ap on it, which is nice.  But, it only works if my phone has reception.  And seriously, the train ride home has shitty reception and I kept losing the player.  And our gym and work is seriously lined in lead and I have such reception issues.  SO...not really working out for me. 

Sigh.

I'm just  a bowl full of sunshine today aren't I?

Hope everyone is having a much better today ;-)
*Dierks Bentley

With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl*

This is apparently the week of breaking stuff.  I'm not a fan. 

I came to work on Monday, and tried to log into my computer.  Apparently I was an unknown user.  Did I get fired and someone forgot to tell me?  No...apparently our "secure log on" is SO secure...it wasn't recognizing ANYONE in the company.  The killed a server somewhere and it wouldn't let anyone log onto their computers. 

So...I had a killer workout at the gym and went home.  Go me.

While this is going on, I get a text from my roommate saying my computer "freaked out" on her the night before.  It goes between displaying the blue screen of death and a screen saying it cannot find the hard drive.  WTF?  This computer is not that old.  I'm irritated.  (And WTF was happening to cause this?)

They finally fixed my work computer today, but seriously.  WTF is with me and computers?

I also had to get the left side of my mouth worked on at the dentist today.  Stupid cavities.  As of now, I still can't feel my nose.  But oddly enough, it's the only really noticeably numb area of my face.  And it's driving me insane.  I had to blow my nose...that did not go well. 

All in all...I'm feeling kind of grumpy and irritated and want to go home.

*Paul Simon

But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do*

I have been feeling quite nostalgic with my music choices lately.  I keep getting the urge to listen to music I loved in High School.  Even when I'm not really a fan of that music anymore.  Yesterday, all I wanted to listen to was The Refreshments (Seriously...haven't heard them in about 10 years).  I'm really not sure why.  The other day all I wanted to hear was the Dixie Chicks "Home" album.  Today I'm obsessed with Jim Croce (however, in my defense Jim Croce is awesome and everyone should listen to him). 

On a completely different note, today has been a weird mix of good and bad.  We're having an Eddy Current test done on some equipment and we got some very surprising news.  Which means I have A LOT of work to do in the next few months (blech).  And I apparently need to learn something about different water treatment systems.  Fun.

Other prep work I had been working on that was expected to hit in two weeks has now been pushed back to two months from now...which takes A LOT of pressure off me.  I had been killing myself to do this work in time...and now I have a little more time.  Yay me! 

And then, a lot of the work we were planning to have to do on Saturday is actually getting finished today...so I shouldn't actually have to work this weekend...which is FANTASTIC!  Best news I've heard all day.

So, now I'm making some plans for this weekend.  All I know is that they shall involve beer.  The options are open. 

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

*Jim Croce

Everybody knows, that the world is full of stupid people*

I'm contemplating signing up for a race in the next few months.  If I did I would attempt to use the Galloway method and hope that I'm not a complete spazz that can't run with walking breaks. 

I just find myself completely unmotivated when it comes to working out.  I can pretty much force myself to lift 3 times a week, but I'm struggling to add cardio in there.  My biggest issue is the only cardio I enjoy is running.  But, obviously I can't run as much as I would like, and I just get miserable when I'm forced to use the elliptical or the bike or basically anything else. 

So, is it completely stupid/insane of me to expect myself to be able to complete a 5k or 10k when I can barely finish 2 miles without my knee wanting to fall off? 

Anyways, I guess I have to FIND a race first before I start planning to run one.  Guess I'll start looking. 

On a completely different note, WTF New York?  I can understand the idea behind this plan. I actually think a small amount of rent a month is a good idea.  Helps people feel independent and learns to budget money.   However, rather than 30-40% of the income going to rent, I would think some kind of mandatory savings plan for these families makes more sense and would get them out of the system sooner.  Even if you want to charge rent, $926/month on a 25k/year salary is INSANE.  That's more than I'm willing to spend on rent right now and I'm not even homeless.  Taking out taxes, I estimate $25k/year is about 20k take home pay (if its even that much).  That much rent is a little over 11k/year.  That leaves a whopping 9k for these people to save each year to get out of the shelters.  And most of that 9k is probably spent on food/medical expenses.  Are they trying to keep these people in the shelters for the rest of their lives???

Sadly, this isn't even the stupidest article I've read today.  I need to stop reading the news.  It's pissing me off. 

*The Refreshments

Really, get it over with...and just let me move on...*

I still feel kind of blah from the past week.  Too much happened in a short amount of time and I'm still not entirely sure HOW I should be feeling.  (Other than poor right now.  I feel very poor). And by poor, I mean feeling a lack of funds.  WAY TOO MUCH money flew out of my account in a  3 day period.  My poor credit card was ready to burst into flames by Friday afternoon.  But, hopefully that's the last of the big spending for a while...so all should be good. 

Then, I was paying bills today, and I have too much money in my one account (not a super amount more...just more than I should) and I can't figure out why (I have a checking account strictly for paying bills and I usually only keep enough in there to pay the bills...no extra).  It's actually really bothering me.  I HAVE to be missing something...somewhere.  One of my bills is sitting out there in lonely obscurity not getting paid?  But I checked about 5 different times.  I even checked historical statements to see if I could find another bill that I pay this time of month...and nothing. 

Other than that, I've been kind of slow this week.  I drove back to VA on Monday and went for a quick run (I ran about 2 miles and walked about a mile total...but not all consecutively unfortunately).  I felt like shit the entire time.  I drank too much coffee driving home and my tummy was all sorts of upset and I felt like I wanted to poop my pants the entire run (except I didn't really have to go because I tried three seperate times at the bathroom), my knee was hurting, but only when I was stupid and mis-stepped.  And I was tired.  I just felt emotionally exhausted and could barely work up the energy to lift my legs.

But, the run got done and I felt a little better for missing the gym so much the past two weeks. 

I've been slammed at work (from missing an entire week of work), and I'm working this weekend so I can avoid working next weekend when I'm going back home...AGAIN.  I have a lot of trips home coming up.  I'm looking forward to them at the same time that I'm dreading them.  So sick of the trip. 

Anyways, I'm going to the gym.  I would really like to shake this whole numb feeling I've got going on. 

*The Wreckers

I fall asleep and dream of alternate realities*

Is this not the cutest thing ever? 

I love how tough he looks with his leg all bandaged up like that.  It's like he's trying to be all tough and fighter-ish or something.  (Ok yes...I'm odd...but whatever). 

*Maroon 5

I'm gonna miss that smile*

I think my favorite memory of my grandfather is sitting in the living room with him while he would get so excited telling us stories we've heard a million times in the past.  And how excited he got when JP sat for hours with him taping his stories. 

He passed on his nerdy engineering ways to the majority of his family (which is apparently being passed on for two generations so far). 

He was always able to macgyver a solution for just about anything (even if his "solutions" were only considered solutions by him).  When I (and I believe my sisters as well) went to college, he macgyvered me a toolbox with duct tape and wd-40.  His note said "if it moves and it shouldn't, use the duct tape.  If it doesn't move and it should, use the WD-40."  (and people wonder where I get my awful sense of humor).

I'm so happy he got to see J and JP marry (I swear he loved JP more than he loved his own grandkids after he taped his stories) :-P  I'm happy he got to meet his first great-grandkids.  I'm just so sad there's so much he's not going to see. 

I'm going to miss you grandpa. 

*Toby Keith

Give me my money back, you bitch*

All I want to say today is a big Kiss My Ass to Andy Reid and the Eagles. 

*Ben Folds Five

People call us renegades, feel like we're living crazy*

I've been feeling kind of oddly let down this week, and I'm not entirely sure why.  I think I'm a little stressed from work and stuff going on in my personal life and it's making me feel a little tired of it all.  Then, there's these weird things in the news I'm not entirely sure how to react to:

• This story is more just a random piece of news.  However, I have one question...how the hell do they get back home after going to school?
• Does anyone actually think that the proposed offshore drilling is a good idea?  It makes me curious what "favors" were traded in order to get more drilling?  The timing seems very "convenient" for this to have been announced just a week or so after the health care vote, or is he really just trying to garner more Republican votes for a climate bill.  If that's the case, it seems odd to pass a bill aimed at reducing emissions...while at the same time, developing a plan that CREATES emissions and potentially destroys beaches and wildlife in the oceans.  Ugh.  Actually, I do know how to respond to this.  I am ridiculously annoyed/upset/whatever you want to call it. 
• On a less serious note, WTF is with all the worms at our place?  I swear, every morning I take Oscar for a walk, there is no less than 50 worms wriggling around on the parking lot  (and a couple thousand of dead, baked worms from previous days).  I used to try and pick up worms that were stuck on the pavement and put them back in the grass/dirt area.  But this is insane.  I could spend ALL DAY picking up these things.  I have never seen so many worms in my life and I really want to know where they all came from!  And I would really like little O to stop trying to eat them.  It's so disgusting. 
• The Eagles - I think I will be finding myself a new team to love.  I'm truly heartbroken they are looking to trade McNabb (I have no idea why this is so upsetting to me...I don't know him personally.  I think it's just more to do with losing my Eagles trio).  That is the last of my Eagles love...and I have a really hard time loving a team that is just going to make me think of Andy Reid and how much I dislike him.  In some ways, I really want McNabb to be traded and then be the next Randall Cunningham so that all the haters realize that maybe if he had a team to back him up...he'd be freaking awesome.  But, at the same time...I can't really bring myself to cheer for any other team but the Eagles.  I also can't really see anyone offering enough for us to actually trade him this year.  Which means, he'll probably leave as a free agent next year.  But it's sad.  I love my McNabb. 
• My boss is trying to hook me up with a contractor that we work with.  He lives in NC.  I'm not entirely sure WHY she's trying to hook me up with him and I can't decide if it's sweet or annoying (or possibly both).  At least he's cute :-). 

Anyways, I have a four day weekend and I am SO EXCITED I can barely contain myself.  I feel like I haven't seen my family in forever and I'm excited to go home and see them.  I keep telling myself...just 5 1/2 more months and I'll be back home for good (hopefully). 

Hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend! 

*Kings of Leon