With college football season winding down and my parents away (well, until this week), I turned to an annual "tradition" I wanted to do but thought passed me by: Spreading winter lawn food on the yards before the snow comes in. I am a big believer (or I have fallen hook, line and sinker) that putting down this "fertilizer" will be a massive help for our lawns in the long run because it gives the grass food over our long winter. That's why I've made a point the past several years to do it.
Now, my parents are against the idea because they think it's a waste of money. And since they left too early in the fall, came back at a time where it would have been ideal to buy and spread the food, and then left again just before Thanksgiving, I thought it was too late. Nevertheless, we have had a very good run of mild weather, and thank Buddha that there hasn't been any snow yet. And even though I had the thought of trying to look for grass food before I knew my folks were coming back home, the news brought more urgency to do it this weekend. I was determined the past couple days to find it and buy it.
But my fear that it's too late to find food in December seemed to be fully realized Wednesday and then Saturday, when I went to a couple hardware stores and they seemed to have shipped them all back. And since the forecast called for rain on Sunday (at least the last time I saw the news, which was more than a couple nights before the weekend), I thought it was too late. My parents would be home before next weekend, and I don't need them lecturing me on what I wanted to do.
However, yesterday/Sunday, it did not rain. That, coupled with the impetus provided by my parents invading my privacy by coming back home way too early, spurred me to try again. So after coming back from dim sum with my uncle, aunt, cousin and his ... girlfriend/wife?, I looked on the Internet to see that Home Depot said online that they had some bags of winter lawn food in the other HD that is close to home.
I kind of didn't feel like it, but since I took a bit of a nap near the end of the Vikings' win over Atlanta, I caught a second wind. I felt that if I hurried, I could go there, buy a bag if it was there, and spread the whole thing before night fell. I had to hurry, but seriously, how big of a chore is spreading food?
And it wasn't a big chore. I actually waited until the New Orleans-Carolina game kicked off before I headed out the door, and I bought the bag, came home, and spread it around my back and my front lawns before halftime of the earlier late game, Chargers-Cleveland. An hour to do all that tops, lickety-split, just like that, and I was done and accomplished something that I wanted to do -- and just in time, since there's supposed to be rain as early as overnight.
That's it.
Monday, December 4, 2017
Sunday, December 3, 2017
RIP, ESPNFC.us
Just want to note that I tried going to ESPN FC, whose URL was www.espnfc.us. But I just tried going to what once was ESPN's soccer portal, and the URL apparently was turned into www.espn.com/soccer(some extra stuff). Also, whereas ESPN FC had a slightly different look to it, the soccer section of ESPN.com now looks like the homepage and each sport's splash page.
Don't know what to think of this.
Don't know what to think of this.
The Weekly Minnesota Sports Survey
#-1: Gopher volleyball (Last Week: -5). Feel a lot of ambivalence about this week's survey. Many of the teams had the same record (or at least the same percentage) for the screening week, so it was really hard to differentiate one from the other when I could have just put them on the same level. But since all of them seem to be in the same underwhelming bundle, I bit the bullet and ranked them anyway, for reasons as flimsy as cut-rate tissue paper.
Who takes the top spot is the most clear-cut, even though they really are the club that underwhelmed the least. The Golden Gopher volleyball squad reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the umpteenth time in school history but sweeping the North Dakota Fighting Hawks Friday and beating Northern Iowa last (Saturday) night. I was at that victory over the Panthers at Maturi, and frankly, they disappointed me. The same things that led to their loss to Penn St. to end their regular season seemed to crop up too often in this second-round game: Slow block set-up, no juice on kill shots, an inability to scramble. That's what led the U. to drop the second set, shockingly. They regained their composure late in Sets 3 and 4 to finally eliminate the Panthers, but I have to admit I am now disillusioned: I don't think they're going to win the title this year. In fact, I'm betting against them reaching their third consecutive Final Four in Gainesville next weekend. I just don't think that championship teams drop Sets to competition they face in the Round of 32. Yes, the Nittany Lions, the #1 overall seed and presumptive favorite, dropped a set on their way to winning over Pitt Saturday night as well. But ... uh, that' s different.
The 7-seeded (and thus appropriately-seeded) Gophers play my alma mater next. If they win, they then face either 2-seed and host Florida or 15-seed UCLA.
#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1). So here are two teams that went 2-1. I put the lady icers ahead, even though their wins (Sunday at Lindenwood and Friday vs. Bemidji St. at Ridder) were in Overtime, and then they got doubled-up at home Saturday by the Beavers, 4-2. (They host a pair against Minnesota-Duluth next weekend as part of a seven-game homestand.) I'm still guessing that their record, as frighteningly mortal as it is at 14-5-1 overall, will get them into the NCAA Tournament. Postseason dreams cannot be said as confidently for the ...
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -3). ... which did double up surprisingly good (Las) Vegas and beating St. Louis in OT. But on Monday in Winnipeg they jumped out to a 2-0 lead before letting The Bastard Atlanta Thrashers tie it up at the end of one on their way to a 7-2 ass-kicking. What was most puzzling about that loss was the post-game comment of erstwhile "leader" Ryan Suter, who actually said that the club thought that after staking out to a 2-0 lead, he thought the Jets would just pack it up and quit. Never mind that that didn't happen; who the fuck thinks that way in a hockey game? For that reason I put the Mild behind the U. women's hockey players.
The Mild, who have at least climbed out of the cellar of the Central Division (Colorado's down there now) will be playing the three California teams in Cali. They get the two SoCal teams this week.
#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: 0). And now we get the squads that went .500 last week. Of the three, I put these ballers first, even though their 0 went Wednesday when they lost as part of their contribution to the ACC/B1G Challenge, also by five (88-83) to North Carolina, also on Wednesday, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Frankly, I know jack about this team, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. But they have a fairly adventurous week coming up: Hosting Eastern Michigan this (Sunday) afternoon, then playing a name-brand non-con game, Thursday at Georgetown.
#-5: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4). My alma mater is arranging for some of us to go to a game next month. I used to be hyped up about it, but after another choppy (2-2) screening week, I don't know if these guys are going to make the playoffs. Seriously!
They won a game they should have, home versus Phoenix. They lost a game they should have, at Oklahoma City (although it was close, 111-107). But they also lost a game they should've won -- Washington, 92-89, at Target Tuesday, with John Wall not playing due to injury. And then, in a game they should have lost because they were playing on the road the night following a home game opposing a team on three days' rest, they throttled the Pelicans in New Orleans Wednesday, 120-102. And this was a week where Jeff Teague was battling his right Achilles. Tyus Jones has, by all accounts, acquitted himself well. Don't know if he's a difference-maker (at least not yet), but his confidence and fearlessness should assure fans that this team can run plays without Ricky Rubio or Kris Dunn at the point.
This week: Home to the Clippers this (Sunday) evening; immediately out to play in Memphis Monday; at said Clippers Wednesday.
#-6: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -6). These guys remain maddeningly inconsistent, and this may go the way off way too many seasons past, where lofty expectations are made out to be lies in the face of spotty results. Results such as this weekend's split at 3M vs. dreaded rival Wisconsin.
That's all I've got for these guys. A two-game series at Ohio St. next weekend.
#-7: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -2). Guess I don't feel bad spending ten bucks seeing this game. It was sold out, and the crowd was keyed-up from the get-go. It was an atmosphere I haven't seen in Williams Arena in a long time, and I'm glad I went.
Too bad they lost to Miami by five, 86-81, in their contribution to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday night. It was tied after a very entertaining First Half. Minnesota was protecting the rim with authority then; I think Reggie Lynch got, like, four or five Blocks. But in the Second Half the Hurricanes made adjustments. They got hot from outside enough to break the tie and create the cushion they basically carried till the end of the game. After that, Lynch and the interior defense had to come out to defend jumpers, and thus they were susceptible to the pick-and-roll. Miami had not played anyone of the Goofers' caliber until Wednesday. And if the season spirals out of control, with conference games vs. Rutgers and at Nebraska (followed by a Saturday early evening contest at Arkansas; the entire B1G kicked off their conference scheduled early because the conference tournament [to be held at Madison Square Garden a week before the Big East continues its annual tradition of hosting its tourney there] is a week early this year), the Canes would still have not beaten a quality opponent. Sorry to be cynical, but even with Dupree McBrayer, out, they still should have won that game.
Who takes the top spot is the most clear-cut, even though they really are the club that underwhelmed the least. The Golden Gopher volleyball squad reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the umpteenth time in school history but sweeping the North Dakota Fighting Hawks Friday and beating Northern Iowa last (Saturday) night. I was at that victory over the Panthers at Maturi, and frankly, they disappointed me. The same things that led to their loss to Penn St. to end their regular season seemed to crop up too often in this second-round game: Slow block set-up, no juice on kill shots, an inability to scramble. That's what led the U. to drop the second set, shockingly. They regained their composure late in Sets 3 and 4 to finally eliminate the Panthers, but I have to admit I am now disillusioned: I don't think they're going to win the title this year. In fact, I'm betting against them reaching their third consecutive Final Four in Gainesville next weekend. I just don't think that championship teams drop Sets to competition they face in the Round of 32. Yes, the Nittany Lions, the #1 overall seed and presumptive favorite, dropped a set on their way to winning over Pitt Saturday night as well. But ... uh, that' s different.
The 7-seeded (and thus appropriately-seeded) Gophers play my alma mater next. If they win, they then face either 2-seed and host Florida or 15-seed UCLA.
#-2: Gopher women's hockey (Last Week: -1). So here are two teams that went 2-1. I put the lady icers ahead, even though their wins (Sunday at Lindenwood and Friday vs. Bemidji St. at Ridder) were in Overtime, and then they got doubled-up at home Saturday by the Beavers, 4-2. (They host a pair against Minnesota-Duluth next weekend as part of a seven-game homestand.) I'm still guessing that their record, as frighteningly mortal as it is at 14-5-1 overall, will get them into the NCAA Tournament. Postseason dreams cannot be said as confidently for the ...
#-3: Wild (Last Week: -3). ... which did double up surprisingly good (Las) Vegas and beating St. Louis in OT. But on Monday in Winnipeg they jumped out to a 2-0 lead before letting The Bastard Atlanta Thrashers tie it up at the end of one on their way to a 7-2 ass-kicking. What was most puzzling about that loss was the post-game comment of erstwhile "leader" Ryan Suter, who actually said that the club thought that after staking out to a 2-0 lead, he thought the Jets would just pack it up and quit. Never mind that that didn't happen; who the fuck thinks that way in a hockey game? For that reason I put the Mild behind the U. women's hockey players.
The Mild, who have at least climbed out of the cellar of the Central Division (Colorado's down there now) will be playing the three California teams in Cali. They get the two SoCal teams this week.
#-4: Gopher women's basketball (Last Week: 0). And now we get the squads that went .500 last week. Of the three, I put these ballers first, even though their 0 went Wednesday when they lost as part of their contribution to the ACC/B1G Challenge, also by five (88-83) to North Carolina, also on Wednesday, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Frankly, I know jack about this team, so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. But they have a fairly adventurous week coming up: Hosting Eastern Michigan this (Sunday) afternoon, then playing a name-brand non-con game, Thursday at Georgetown.
#-5: Timberwolves (Last Week: -4). My alma mater is arranging for some of us to go to a game next month. I used to be hyped up about it, but after another choppy (2-2) screening week, I don't know if these guys are going to make the playoffs. Seriously!
They won a game they should have, home versus Phoenix. They lost a game they should have, at Oklahoma City (although it was close, 111-107). But they also lost a game they should've won -- Washington, 92-89, at Target Tuesday, with John Wall not playing due to injury. And then, in a game they should have lost because they were playing on the road the night following a home game opposing a team on three days' rest, they throttled the Pelicans in New Orleans Wednesday, 120-102. And this was a week where Jeff Teague was battling his right Achilles. Tyus Jones has, by all accounts, acquitted himself well. Don't know if he's a difference-maker (at least not yet), but his confidence and fearlessness should assure fans that this team can run plays without Ricky Rubio or Kris Dunn at the point.
This week: Home to the Clippers this (Sunday) evening; immediately out to play in Memphis Monday; at said Clippers Wednesday.
#-6: Gopher men's hockey (Last Week: -6). These guys remain maddeningly inconsistent, and this may go the way off way too many seasons past, where lofty expectations are made out to be lies in the face of spotty results. Results such as this weekend's split at 3M vs. dreaded rival Wisconsin.
That's all I've got for these guys. A two-game series at Ohio St. next weekend.
#-7: Gopher men's basketball (Last Week: -2). Guess I don't feel bad spending ten bucks seeing this game. It was sold out, and the crowd was keyed-up from the get-go. It was an atmosphere I haven't seen in Williams Arena in a long time, and I'm glad I went.
Too bad they lost to Miami by five, 86-81, in their contribution to the ACC/Big Ten Challenge Wednesday night. It was tied after a very entertaining First Half. Minnesota was protecting the rim with authority then; I think Reggie Lynch got, like, four or five Blocks. But in the Second Half the Hurricanes made adjustments. They got hot from outside enough to break the tie and create the cushion they basically carried till the end of the game. After that, Lynch and the interior defense had to come out to defend jumpers, and thus they were susceptible to the pick-and-roll. Miami had not played anyone of the Goofers' caliber until Wednesday. And if the season spirals out of control, with conference games vs. Rutgers and at Nebraska (followed by a Saturday early evening contest at Arkansas; the entire B1G kicked off their conference scheduled early because the conference tournament [to be held at Madison Square Garden a week before the Big East continues its annual tradition of hosting its tourney there] is a week early this year), the Canes would still have not beaten a quality opponent. Sorry to be cynical, but even with Dupree McBrayer, out, they still should have won that game.
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Fuck Republicans. Every Single Goddamn One Of Them.
Especially that turtle whore Mitch McConnell, with that shit-eating grin as he steals money from the poor and the middle class to give to the rich whose dicks he sucks. This motherfucking tax bill Senate Republican whores have just passed has just ensured oligarchy in America, and no amount of moral democracy, in the face of voter suppression, gerrymandering and Russian ratfucking, will undo it.
I swear to fucking God. Republicans are evil cheating, lying rat finks. Every single one of them.
I swear to fucking God. Republicans are evil cheating, lying rat finks. Every single one of them.
Friday, December 1, 2017
Bad Driver: 989 VHR
So there was a slowdown from 694W to 94E, and in my lane (the right of the two) there was a semi that started to back up. So I slow down while putting on my turn lane signal in order to get around this semi. Of course I look to my left ... and out of nowhere there is this fucking car that's coming at me like a bat out of hell. I thought I had room and time, so I started moving left, but then I thought I didn't have room or time, so I moved back into my lane, and I did that two or three more times before I stayed in my lane to let this asshole pass through.
After I finally got over to the left lane, I started stalking him. I had to! It's really hard to do as the car veered over to the second-right-most lane on 94E, but I saw him. And I saw him ... driving further ahead of me. Wait -- that car is in the second-right-most lane, and I'm in left-most lane (presumably the fastest lane), and his goddamn lane is moving faster than mine?!?!
I had to look at what is going on in front of me, so even thought I still had him, I guess I lost him, because after the traffic in front of me finally cleared and I started driving faster, there was no car with the above license plate in the area where I thought he would be driving in. Oh, great -- he's fast, he somehow picked the right goddamn lane, and then he disappears?!?!?! All of that shit pisses me off.
My God, this hasn't been a good 2 1/2 days. And I'm still pretty fucking keyed-up right now at work. This is bad.
After I finally got over to the left lane, I started stalking him. I had to! It's really hard to do as the car veered over to the second-right-most lane on 94E, but I saw him. And I saw him ... driving further ahead of me. Wait -- that car is in the second-right-most lane, and I'm in left-most lane (presumably the fastest lane), and his goddamn lane is moving faster than mine?!?!
I had to look at what is going on in front of me, so even thought I still had him, I guess I lost him, because after the traffic in front of me finally cleared and I started driving faster, there was no car with the above license plate in the area where I thought he would be driving in. Oh, great -- he's fast, he somehow picked the right goddamn lane, and then he disappears?!?!?! All of that shit pisses me off.
My God, this hasn't been a good 2 1/2 days. And I'm still pretty fucking keyed-up right now at work. This is bad.
I Knew I Was I Right To Be Afraid To Do It!
So tonight (and my Buddha, it's December 1 already???) my alma mater is playing for the conference championship, and I hope to have enough time and energy to drive from my workplace to the downtown bar where we usually watch the game.
Since this is a big game, my initial thought (and something I still could do) is to do this 50/50 raffle, whose proceeds shore up my alumni club's scholarship fund. Haven't done it in a while; did it the first three times, then in the fourth game I kind of chickened out. I tried bringing it back for our last game, two weeks ago. There were only, like, five other people then, and I usually shelve the idea for the raffle when there are too few people available to play, but since it was against our rival, and since I hadn't done it in a while, and since the people there were regulars who have played the raffle before, I thought we could do a small one.
"So," I said, "Who wants to raffle?" Crickets. And then one of the guys blurts out, "I'm out!" And that, my friends, was that, even though another of my friends did decide to donate a couple bucks.
We're all friends, so I can't take something like that personally. Still, the rejection was, for lack of a better word, embarrassing. And it affirmed my natural trepidation to hit these guys up for money. I mean, if the shoe were on the other foot, I don't know if I would like to be shaken down for cash, even if it is for a good cause. Now, the shoe isn't on the other foot, so I still have a job to do and I still need to raise money. But doing it tonight? There's a 90% chance I won't. And two weeks ago was ample reason why not.
Since this is a big game, my initial thought (and something I still could do) is to do this 50/50 raffle, whose proceeds shore up my alumni club's scholarship fund. Haven't done it in a while; did it the first three times, then in the fourth game I kind of chickened out. I tried bringing it back for our last game, two weeks ago. There were only, like, five other people then, and I usually shelve the idea for the raffle when there are too few people available to play, but since it was against our rival, and since I hadn't done it in a while, and since the people there were regulars who have played the raffle before, I thought we could do a small one.
"So," I said, "Who wants to raffle?" Crickets. And then one of the guys blurts out, "I'm out!" And that, my friends, was that, even though another of my friends did decide to donate a couple bucks.
We're all friends, so I can't take something like that personally. Still, the rejection was, for lack of a better word, embarrassing. And it affirmed my natural trepidation to hit these guys up for money. I mean, if the shoe were on the other foot, I don't know if I would like to be shaken down for cash, even if it is for a good cause. Now, the shoe isn't on the other foot, so I still have a job to do and I still need to raise money. But doing it tonight? There's a 90% chance I won't. And two weeks ago was ample reason why not.
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Well, At Least I Tried; Well, At Least I Know Now
One big thing I noticed since I shifted my workday one hour later: Whenever I went to my car for my afternoon nap, the sun bakes my head. I didn't notice this when I working 8-5, but then I was parking in a different part of the vast lot. Maybe the sun in my old area was blocked out by trees. And actually, this week it's been sunny when it's been cloudy most of the time before when I started this assignment. Regardless, whenever I get into the passenger seat and recline onto my already-reclined seat, I feel a part of my head start to get really hot, and so I have to move my head and neck to avoid getting burned by the sun that shines through my windows and onto me.
I thought it was tolerable. But today I felt as though I wanted to try something else. If the sun was streaming through my back windows, why don't I park my car the other way, facing the sun? In this job, nearly all the car spaces on the lot are oriented in one direction, and I have always parked in such a way as to face away from the sun in the afternoon. But I have a sun shade, so if I change up my routine and park so that I face the sun in the afternoon, the sun shade should block out the sun completely. Right?
Uh, no, that isn't what happened. The sun is big enough and was in a part of the sky where it went around the right side of the shade, so that when I got into the passenger seat this afternoon I was staring directly into the sun. So I got out and moved to the driver's seat, where, after I reclined my seat, I was also staring directly into the sun. The sun was inbetween my two sun visors, so even though I had them flipped down, it didn't help at all. And the sun shade is cut out so that that part of my windshield is not covered. All the shades do that. That pisses me off so much.
But I still laid down in the driver's seat because I could contort my body in order to avoid burning my skin. But I had to hike my body lower in the seat. Now, the seat in my car doesn't have great lumbar support to start with (I think it's part of the reason why my back is starting to really hurt). But the seat is contoured so that it would arch forward naturally where my back arches forward. When I hunkered down, I didn't have that. Instead, I was sitting so that the contact point on the seat were my tailbone and the middle of my back, where my spine arches back. If you don't have any support inbetween, well, you get me right now, back barking at me for putting it in such bad shape. Add to that that this was the driver's seat, and so I had to rearrange my legs because my feet are too big to fit inbetween the gas and brake pedals, so my legs hurt, too.
So after about 40 minutes I had to get out of the car, and my back hurts and my legs hurt and I didn't get any sleep. And once I got back to my desk of course I felt all tired again.
So no, parking my car the other way was a mistake, and I should have lived with the sun coming through my back window. But hey, at least I tried something else in order to alleviate myself of an annoyance, and now I know better. Right?
Man, this hasn't been a great 36 hours.
I thought it was tolerable. But today I felt as though I wanted to try something else. If the sun was streaming through my back windows, why don't I park my car the other way, facing the sun? In this job, nearly all the car spaces on the lot are oriented in one direction, and I have always parked in such a way as to face away from the sun in the afternoon. But I have a sun shade, so if I change up my routine and park so that I face the sun in the afternoon, the sun shade should block out the sun completely. Right?
Uh, no, that isn't what happened. The sun is big enough and was in a part of the sky where it went around the right side of the shade, so that when I got into the passenger seat this afternoon I was staring directly into the sun. So I got out and moved to the driver's seat, where, after I reclined my seat, I was also staring directly into the sun. The sun was inbetween my two sun visors, so even though I had them flipped down, it didn't help at all. And the sun shade is cut out so that that part of my windshield is not covered. All the shades do that. That pisses me off so much.
But I still laid down in the driver's seat because I could contort my body in order to avoid burning my skin. But I had to hike my body lower in the seat. Now, the seat in my car doesn't have great lumbar support to start with (I think it's part of the reason why my back is starting to really hurt). But the seat is contoured so that it would arch forward naturally where my back arches forward. When I hunkered down, I didn't have that. Instead, I was sitting so that the contact point on the seat were my tailbone and the middle of my back, where my spine arches back. If you don't have any support inbetween, well, you get me right now, back barking at me for putting it in such bad shape. Add to that that this was the driver's seat, and so I had to rearrange my legs because my feet are too big to fit inbetween the gas and brake pedals, so my legs hurt, too.
So after about 40 minutes I had to get out of the car, and my back hurts and my legs hurt and I didn't get any sleep. And once I got back to my desk of course I felt all tired again.
So no, parking my car the other way was a mistake, and I should have lived with the sun coming through my back window. But hey, at least I tried something else in order to alleviate myself of an annoyance, and now I know better. Right?
Man, this hasn't been a great 36 hours.
Oh Yeah, About That
I've been lucky the past several days because, frankly, I haven't done much. Pushing buttons has been my job, especially yesterday (Wednesday). In the meantime I'm waiting for IT to get me clearance to get into this program so I can print stuff. It's been two days now.
I usually check in with my boss just as I am about to leave. He asked me what I had done that day (Wednesday). Seeing that he is my boss, I was kind of confused as to why he asked me what I was doing. I told him the truth: That I was pushing buttons and am still waiting to get this technical bug fixed so I can start printing. That's when I realized, "Oh, shit, I guess I could have called them to see how it's going."
See, if I had more stuff to do, I would be more focused and my mind would be sharper, and thus I would get on this deal with getting this clearance. But because I had very little to do today (thank Buddha, again), the thought I once had during the day of dropping an e-mail and saying, "Hey, what's going on with this thing?" slipped my mind. That's why I sometimes hate being lazy. It's a downward spiral of inertia; if I'm not doing anything, I'm not going to do anything.
My boss told me that while IT is trying to fix the problem, I can ask him to come over and sign me in. That was a thought, but like I said before, he's really busy, and I don't think I can just stomp into his office and prod him into doing something for me. Now I wonder if it's going to boomerang on me, that in my fear of being yelled at for bossing my boss around, he'll just yell at me for not taking the initiative. Saying that, he did warn me before that I could be more proactive in calling IT to get this bug fixed instead of having someone else do it for me, and so this might be, in his mind, another case of me being lazy. Come to think of it, that's exactly what he's thinking. Probably.
I usually check in with my boss just as I am about to leave. He asked me what I had done that day (Wednesday). Seeing that he is my boss, I was kind of confused as to why he asked me what I was doing. I told him the truth: That I was pushing buttons and am still waiting to get this technical bug fixed so I can start printing. That's when I realized, "Oh, shit, I guess I could have called them to see how it's going."
See, if I had more stuff to do, I would be more focused and my mind would be sharper, and thus I would get on this deal with getting this clearance. But because I had very little to do today (thank Buddha, again), the thought I once had during the day of dropping an e-mail and saying, "Hey, what's going on with this thing?" slipped my mind. That's why I sometimes hate being lazy. It's a downward spiral of inertia; if I'm not doing anything, I'm not going to do anything.
My boss told me that while IT is trying to fix the problem, I can ask him to come over and sign me in. That was a thought, but like I said before, he's really busy, and I don't think I can just stomp into his office and prod him into doing something for me. Now I wonder if it's going to boomerang on me, that in my fear of being yelled at for bossing my boss around, he'll just yell at me for not taking the initiative. Saying that, he did warn me before that I could be more proactive in calling IT to get this bug fixed instead of having someone else do it for me, and so this might be, in his mind, another case of me being lazy. Come to think of it, that's exactly what he's thinking. Probably.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
On Being The Errand Boy
So we have a daily meeting every morning at work. These people are ... to be honest, I have no idea what they do. I think they develop software or something. I can't be more specific because whenever each of these people talk about what they've done and what they're in the middle of, nearly all of the lingo goes over my head, without fail.
It's absolutely nuts how I stick out for my borderline incompetence and obvious uselessness in these meetings. Everyone knows it. And I believe the other guys there have made another judgement about me. You see, I attended meetings like this last year. Some but not all of them were in these same meetings last year. And, just like this year, I glazed over whatever the heck they were talking about.
They all know that I work for my boss and I'm coming up at the behest of my boss. Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's too busy to attend. On those days, I feel as though I'm an emissary, there to bring any important news from the meeting to him. But within that partial aspect of my job, I get the feeling that the others feel that I am not just an emissary. No, I'm an errand boy.
You see where I'm getting at? He hired me. Even though I know nothing about what they're talking about and can't contribute to the meeting at all, he sent me up there just in case. I am completely unequipped, even bumfuzzled, as to what is going on. And at the end of the meeting, if he's at the meeting, I follow him down to our floor. That's the skill set of an errand boy.
My God, I am 41 damn years old and I'm following some dude like Lassie follows Timmy. You know, if I just buckled down and went back to school, I could get a job where I don't follow someone around like my life depended on it. Sheesh.
It's absolutely nuts how I stick out for my borderline incompetence and obvious uselessness in these meetings. Everyone knows it. And I believe the other guys there have made another judgement about me. You see, I attended meetings like this last year. Some but not all of them were in these same meetings last year. And, just like this year, I glazed over whatever the heck they were talking about.
They all know that I work for my boss and I'm coming up at the behest of my boss. Sometimes he's there, sometimes he's too busy to attend. On those days, I feel as though I'm an emissary, there to bring any important news from the meeting to him. But within that partial aspect of my job, I get the feeling that the others feel that I am not just an emissary. No, I'm an errand boy.
You see where I'm getting at? He hired me. Even though I know nothing about what they're talking about and can't contribute to the meeting at all, he sent me up there just in case. I am completely unequipped, even bumfuzzled, as to what is going on. And at the end of the meeting, if he's at the meeting, I follow him down to our floor. That's the skill set of an errand boy.
My God, I am 41 damn years old and I'm following some dude like Lassie follows Timmy. You know, if I just buckled down and went back to school, I could get a job where I don't follow someone around like my life depended on it. Sheesh.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Some Initial Thoughts About My New Work Schedule
- Traffic was much better. The big bottleneck from 94 to 35W is totally gone, although today I made the wrong decision, eschewed the connection from 35W to Crosstown and instead thought that staying on 35W till 494 (which had been clear instead of the Crosstown ramp a couple times) and got backed up.
- Today's surprise traffic got me to the parking lot a little later than I wanted. But I was still shocked that in the faraway lot I thought had spaces were down to, like, two spots left. Yesterday there were plenty, even though they were nevertheless far away from the building. But I was, frankly, lucky to get a spot there instead of across the bleepin' street. I think I need to get here earlier, no matter that it might extend my day.
- My walk yesterday from my car to my desk: About five minutes. My walk today from my car to my desk: About eight. Ugh.
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