The Shifting Mattress

I don't know why, but ever since I changed sheets, my mattress shifts just off my box spring to the point that, when I get up, I notice that the end and side of it winds up, like, a few inches over the box spring.  Just noticed this now, as I got up.

It happens from time to time, but not all the time.  It seems as though it is happening because of the sheet I'm using.  That means I need to change sheets.  Unfortunately, I think the sheet I sleep on is the only one that doesn't slip off the corner.  Maybe I should just keep sleeping on this sheet ... forever.

OK-OK-OK, My Boss Isn't A Dick

Got a review today, and he didn't bring up any of the issues I vented about.  Maybe he was having a bad week, or maybe this was all a misunderstanding.  Bottom line, maybe I overreacted.  I think I should at least give him the benefit of the doubt until something happens later, and I might re-evaluate then.  But until then ... no, I don't think he's a dick.

I Don't Need My Boss To Be A Dick But, Well, Here We Are

Wow.  Wow-wow-wow-wow-wow.  Yesterday was the second time in as many weeks where my boss has ... uh, admonished me for, according to him, not doing the work I'm supposed to be doing.

Last week, I was scanning applications at the end of the day.  We had a meeting, then I went back to scanning applications, because there were a lot of applications.  Once I got done, I checked my e-mail where my boss sent me a message saying that I should be inputting data from the applications we have instead of scanning them in.  I don't remember how he exactly worded it, but trust me, the tone was very passive-aggressive, very Minnesotan.

Yesterday was the breaking point ... well, I don't know if it's the breaking point, I don't think I'll snap or anything.  But I can't believe he sent me a fucking message like last week's a second time.  For some goddamn reason work dried up and we were scrambling to find other shit to fill up the end of our day.  I had some notes from training I still needed to re-do.  You know, I call that work.  I remember my boss walking past me while I was trying to read my handwriting.  A little bit later I received an e-mail.  He said I should be, like, putting tubes into tubes, or putting boxes together.  You see, those things are "work," and re-transcribing my notes are not.  He actually fucking thinks that.

OK.  Last week I don't get.  The applications are just there, and they need to be scanned in anyway.  Fucking Christ; Tuesday I was about to sit down and so these applications when my other boss (she's my boss when my actual boss isn't there) told me to scan the ones that came in.  So which is it?  Besides, I was told, by my boss, that I have the power to freelance.  I determined that scanning was the thing I needed to do.  And he tells me not to do it?

Yesterday was worse.  I truly resent his inference that I was not working.  I was not fucking off on the Internet.  I was re-doing notes for work that I still don't have the hang of.  And I really, really don't think I needed a second e-mail reminding me I'm "working."  I'm not a fucking child.  Jfc, he needs me to put tubes into tubes and assembling boxes instead?

These two incidents show me that he was looking around and just determined that I was not working, at least not working in a way that suited him.  He may refuse to see it, but I was working, both times.  And I don't know if I can help it if it doesn't "look" like I'm working even though I definitely am.  He empowered me (at least I thought he empowered me) to do what I thought was most helpful, to the department and to me.  And I cannot help any "perception" that I'm not.  I sure as shit am not going to go around like a chicken with its head cut off straining to find work that delights him.  I work how I think I need to, and at my own pace, and in my own style.

What I find most disappointing in him is that I really thought he was cool.  What I thought was great about him is that he didn't take my shortcomings (of which I have demonstrated time and again that I have many) seriously enough to be called out on it.  Until now.  And these are two times where he totally fucking got me wrong, because I didn't do anything wrong.  But now he sees a pattern.  I don't think I can shake it.  So I don't think I'll try.  I'll just continue to be me.  Because I'm me.  I'm me.

I am me.

Now BOTH Of The Cars Have Problems, Maybe

Last night I used the old car to go to the coffeeshop.  Looking down at the dash I see the tachometer was barely above 1,000 rpms and I'm thinking, "Well, I'm coasting -- not revving the engine is a good thing, right?"  And then I accelerated and looked back down and the needle wasn't moving on that meter at all.  That's when it hit me -- the tachometer's broken.

The Internet says try the fuse first.  Then, it'll be a wire.  I'm guessing it's a minor thing compared to, say, the thermostat needle, but it's yet another thing in the old car that's broken.

Meanwhile, this has been bothering me about the new car: I am noticing that there is a longer gap of time between the time I push the ignition button and the moment the car engine starts.  I'm getting paranoid about this: When I first got the car, did the car start immediately once I pressed the button?  Is this pause because of the cold weather?  Is it the fucking starter?  Could something else in the ignition system be broken now?  The car drives fine (well, it drives OK) after I start it, but it's the starting that I'm getting paranoid over.  And now I'm getting the feeling that I just got a lemon.  I know that the model is generally lauded for its reliability, but goddammit, it ain't this car.

Maybe this is all going to my head.  But maybe this shit is for real.  My parents are leaving soon, and I could be saddled with not one but two vehicles that don't work, for God's sake.

The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey

#0: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -4).  It wasn't perfect; since the U. couldn't get a winning Goal by 5x5 Overtime, the Game Sunday officially goes down as a Tie.  But after 3x3 Double OT solved nothing, the Gophers won that extra Point in the Shootout over #1 Wisconsin.  Pair that with Saturday's 4-2 double-up over the Badgers, and the Badgers are #1 no more.  Minnesota is, by virtue of taking five-of-six Points over the weekend.  Yes, there is a lot of season left, and the Gophers have to pay Bucky Badger a visit in late January.  But this is as good of a result as you can get, and that lifts this squad to the top of these pops and above negative numbers.

They have an exhibition Game tonight (Tuesday night) at Ridder vs. Hamline, which has, in my mind, The Most Underrated Logo In All College Sport.  They play for real vs. Bemidji St. two weeks from now.

#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -2).  Beat Ohio St. at home (although they had to go the full five Sets), then defeated Purdue in West Lafayette on a Game broadcast on ESPN2, so I was able to see the end of the Match.  They've won six in a row and currently are ranked 6th in the nation.  Yeah, but can they reach the finals of the NCAA Tournament?  This weekend: At Maryland Friday, at those same Buckeyes Sunday at ... 10 a.m. our time???

#-2: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -5).  Baby steps, I say.  They split a home series versus Notre Dame over the weekend.  They lost the Saturday contest by a score of 5-3, but in Double Overtime Friday, wunderkind (and Sophomore Captain) Sammy Walker scored the 3-2 Game-winner and -ender.  Now, since it went past single OT the game officially counts as a Tie, but Walker's Goal gave the Gophers that extra Point, so I consider that to be a Win.

At Michigan this weekend.

#-3: Timberwolves (Last Week: 0).  This screening week was something I didn't think I could say at all about this Woofie Dogs team: Interesting.  Sure, they went 1-2.  But they won that game at Washington.  Two things stand out.  First, they not only beat the Wizards but blew them out by 22.  That echoes the team's 22-Point beatdown of the Hornets in Charlotte on the 25th.  They have two close victories over Brooklyn and Miami, but those two squads are a cut above Charlotte and Washington.  In other words, it seems as though, at least very early in the season, that the Wolves have their shit together enough to not only beat mediocre-to-good teams, but blow out bad ones.  I didn't think they'd be capable of doing that.

The other thing that stands out of that win over the Wizards is that they did it without Karl-Anthony Towns.  That's because in the first game of the screening week, a 22 (there's that number again -- Qanon, this must mean something!)-Point loss in Philadelphia Wednesday, KAT got ejected for fighting beast-when-he's-not-injured, not-a-dick-only-if-he's-playing-for-your-team Joel Embiid.  And then the NBA stepped in and suspended both players for the next two Games.  (And by the way, without KAT the Wolves lost at home last/Monday night to Milwaukee by 28.)  For a good chunk of Thursday morning, the main headline on sports websites and talk radio (or at least ESPN) is the beef, first on-court and then off-, between the two.  That's when I have to remind myself of a Twin Cities fan's perspective of Towns.  We see him as the burdened, unfortunate anchor of a club that's going nowhere.  But to the outside world, and to NBA Nation, KAT is just the next big superstar to emerge, and it's just a matter of when.  This bitch-fight, then, is thus a squabble between a superstar and a superstar-to-be.  But to us, as much as we like Towns, we aren't rushing to defend him.  To us, he still needs to find his way.  This reminds me that sometimes, a team's fans is more unjustly critical of that team's superstar than neutral fans.

Busy screening week coming.  At Memphis; home to Golden State (which now appears to be an automatic W -- what happened to the Warriors?!), then a back-to-back where they Denver Sunday afternoon and then visit Detroit Monday night.

#-4: Vikings (Last Week: -1).  This is a Game the Vikes should have won.  No Patrick Mahomes and a slew of Bastard Dallas Texans inactive.  A passing game that was lively enough it counteracted the anemic day by Dalvin Cook and the running game.  And a defense that made more than their fair share of stops.  But this was an instance where all facets of the team -- running, passing, receiving, defense, special teams playcalling, coaching -- fucked up just enough that the sum of their mistakes meant a Harrison Butker Field Goal at the gun to beat Minnesota, 26-23.

(Aside: Did you see how many Vikings fans were in attendance?  Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise since Minneapolis and K.C. are connected via 35.  But from the viewpoint of the last Field Goal to end the Game, you could see wide patches of purple amidst the sea of red.  And did you see the four Vikings fans who got end zone seats and held up giant signs that spelled out "SKOL?"  I thought the Chiefs fans are a loyal bunch!)

And so they are who we thought they were -- a team that is good enough to beat the clubs below them, but decisively not good enough to beat the squads theoretically above them.  The team's saving grace is that Green Bay (as well as Chicago and Detroit) all lost Sunday.  Unfortunately, that doesn't erase the perception that the Vikes are between a one-and-done playoff team and just outside the playoff bubble.

They visit Dallas Sunday night.  That could be a bad one for the Purple.

#-5: Gopher women's basketball (Re-Entry!).  The second year under the helm of b-ball legend Lindsay Whalen began this (Tuesday) afternoon, and the 23rd-ranked Gophers ... ay-yi-yi, lost, at home, to Missouri St., 77-69.  This club is going through some transitions, but by God, you would have to think they would at least win their home opener, wouldn't you?  The mulligan season for Whay is over; she now has to produce and/or show improvement and/or competence, and this is a very, very bad first foot backward.

The Goofers have their first six Games of the season at Williams.  Sunday they host Vermont, and I hope, for their sake, they win.

#-6: Wild (Last Week: -3).  An 0-3 screening week, made worse by the fact that they lost at The Bastard North Stars in humiliating fashion: The Mild were up 3-1 but allowed five Goals in the Third Period.  They played competitively in St. Louis the next night but lost, 2-1.  They then hosted the defending world champion Blues Saturday and had a 2-1 lead, but an insurance Goal was overturned upon replay, then a no-call on what many thought was a penalty led to the tying Goal.  Of course, the Blues won in Overtime.

Look, I haven't seen the highlights.  But it's not as if this was the only defeat they've suffered.  As you can see they've suffered a lot already, and they can't blame the officials or Toronto for those.  As much as they were fucked Saturday, they've fucked themselves a lot more, and it looks like this self-fucking shall continue.  And it shall continue because the Mild must embark on a four-Game road trip out west.  The first three come this week: Anaheim Tuesday, San Jose Thursday, Arizona Saturday.

Using Benefits I Don't Necessarily Understand

In my rush to sign up for benefits once I got my full-time job, I signed up for everything.  I skimmed through them, but I didn't think about what comes after -- namely use them.

But since the benefits I signed up for is expiring in, uh, two months, I have to use them.  In particular I need to use two benefits: Vision and Legal.  For Vision I am being pointed to a place in The Mall Closest To Me, so I think I can walk in this afternoon and get an exam.  For Legal, it's different, I think.  I called and was given a list of law firms.  So I know where to go ... I just don't know what I want.  I guess I should ... put my affairs together, is that what they call that?  Do I get a living will?  A -- will?  A ... shoot, I don't know what I'd go there for.  But I paid for the benefit, so I feel the pressure to use it, you know?

I'll figure it out, I guess.

(sigh)

Your day is colored by whether your sports teams win or lose.  My alma mater got blasted last night, and even though I have no reason to be upset, and it's a perfect day in my estimation (fall, cloudy, cool but above freezing), I'm still roiling and how ... much of a bunch of cucks my team looked like last night.

I'm ... at a loss.  I should be happy, but I'm not.

Nope, Can't Change Me

So I stopped by My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Division) last night after seeing my alma mater's football team get their collective teeth beaten loose by a metal bat.  I went up to the stage to see ... uh, this anonymous girl (who I have named in other blog posts, but I'll leave her identity a secret here) and I gave her two bucks, which is what I give all of the girls up there, even though some of the girls up there demand five.

She called me by my name.  I didn't think she cared enough to know my name.  "You know my name!" I said, to which she replied -- and I'm paraphrasing here -- "We all remember you because you only give us two bucks.  You could give us five bucks ... ?"

To which I cocked one side of my head upward.  Five bucks?  The cost of many meals at fast food restaurants?

And I basically invoked Chris Cornell, who is my spirit animal:

Mother Gonna Be Mad? (Can't Live Like This)

Mother insists I renew my parents' LLC right now, even though I have till the end of the year.  Then again, it's understandable because I have a tendency to let things slide.

She thought I would do it last night after dinner.  I thought she wanted to see me do it, so I waited.  But, when she just showed me where the password is written down and insisted that she didn't have to be there next to me when I renewed, I just went to my bedroom and took a nap ... for three hours, if I'm correct.

Then I finally get around to renewing ... then I realize I can't because the password that I have doesn't work.  I really can't make a new one without Mother knowing, so that just stopped that chore in its tracks.  Besides, even if I could sign in, I couldn't renew because I don't have a credit card on which to charge the renewal fee.

Given that she was too eager to get this done right now, I'm afraid I have to wonder whether My Fucking Mother will be quick to anger that I didn't do this last night.  She'll probably understand because of the old password -- but will she?

This should be NBD, but with her, I don't know.  I can never know.  I can't live like this.

Strip Clubs Here Are Closing En Masse

There is one club downtown that's now closed.  Heard rumors about its demise a few weeks ago from a stripper working that house party where *****y finally gave me a handie.  Then, earlier this week I walked by it because I was curious, and yep, there was a note on it saying "Permanently Closed."  The door had big cracks in a couple places.  Heard from a dancer at My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Version) that the owner said the dancers at this place were informed the week before it was shut down for good.  Hadn't been in there in a long time, but I have fond memories of that place.

And speaking of My Favorite Stripclub (Non-Cover Edition): When I went there Wednesday to celebrate the birthday of a stripper who was working that night, she and the other three girls dancing that shift all said that, after all the rumors I've heard but no confirmations, that place will indeed be closing for good at the end of the year.  This one will hurt a lot more, for I consider it to be my home away from home.

One longtime strip bar already closed, and another to be closed soon.  The times, they are a-changin'.