25 posts tagged “work”
This week has been insane. The month is pretty insane, really, but this week involved two major deadlines, work travel, and another project where multitasking was not possible, but which took up a dozen hours. In addition to the regular stuff-- work and home and nanowrimo and stuff. I had my last letterpress class today, and it's a class I've really enjoyed.
Here's to the last week of the month, when I won't be traveling and will have friends over for feasting!
of the paper done! Yeay! Now for more editing, boooo. But at least the first draft is done. I have a couple more components to finish on this thing, plus editing, and then it will be wrapped, bow-tied, and sent off. Yeay!
Only seventy-eight more things on the list for November. Meanwhile, it's 5:45 AM and my bags are packed, so it must be time to bring art to the children.
Last week I finished up a baby quilt for a friend who just had her first child...
I included some fabric with space aliens on it :)
In the meantime, just back from more work travel, and am ready to not travel anymore.... though there isn't a reprieve coming any time soon (like January, I think). That said, I'm pretty happy to have moved into late October without having caught swine flu at any of the schools I've thus far visited.....
Unlike Willie, I really could wait to get on the road again. That, however, is not among the options. Had to go to DC over the weekend, came back last night, and today I'm heading to the Northern Neck and then, again, to NoVA. Because what's a day without I-95?
As I was driving home last night I heard that William Safire died. I cannot recall ever reading one of his political op-ed pieces without becoming completely infuriated, however, I loved his On Language column. I wonder who will love language the way that he did now that he is gone?
with travel to boot! Heading down into the peanut patches of SoVA for work, then back up to the D.C. for a little Artomatic action and visit with m'parents on top of it. busy busy busy....
So. I am on travel this week. Two days out, one day back, two days out again starting at early o'clock tomorrow morning, followed by many hours of driving. Here is what is news this week:
1) It is rainy. Really, really rainy. Like ten straight days or so. My plants, they are crying now, as they are waterlogged. Sun please. Thank you.
2) I stopped by an antique store in podunk that I have passed a number of times before (it being on a major route that leads to other places I have had need to visit). There were some interesting books, of which I picked up a few. A lot of bottles. No, really, a LOT of bottles. Of different kinds. And some crockery. Why is crockery so popular at antique stores? Anyhoodle. There was a set of shelves that had coke bottles on it. All the bottles looked the same, and still contained coke. Each was labeled with a different city in Virginia. I can only assume that these were the places where the specimens had been collected. In 1947 or whatever. They were in alphabetical order.
3) When I went to look at the books there was a large selection of "inspirational" titles. Lots of bibles, in different languages. Collections of tracks on various topics. And on the shelf across the way, vintage porn. Not Bettie Page vintage, but like Hustlers from the 70s. Not exactly what I was expecting.
4) Still haven't had a chance to get my Artomatic thing together.... hope I can get it done this weekend....
5) Also? The eighties are back. Sadly.
Thing number one: Artomatic registration is open! So go sign up to be part of the fun! I decided to do something completely different for Artomatic this year. If I can pull it off. We'll see.... I'm heading out in a bit to start working on it...
Thing number two: what is the purpose of traffic reports? I guess I get it in some places-- we live on the south side of Richmond, which means we have to cross the river to get home. So I get it when it can help you with choosing an option-- the Boulevard bridge is blocked, I'll take the Lee instead- I can see the usefulness. But when there are no options, is this not just there to infuriate you? I was in NoVa for work this week and spent four and a half hours getting from southern Fairfax Co. to Richmond yesterday, and every twenty minutes a man would come on the radio (tellin' me no-a-no) to say that the traffic was super heavy from Backlick Road to Triangle. I got on 95 at Backlick and had to go past Triangle, so the three hours it took me to cover that distance I knew, even without confirmation, was "slow going." The problem is that if you're on 95 south, you have rather limited options, so it isn't like being warned is going to help me any. Instead, I just sat there, doing 8 miles an hour and rolling my eyes when I was told that the traffic was heavy where I was. It isn't even useful for telling me how much further before there is some relief-- "past Triangle"? There's a lot of space "past Triangle." (Traffic went through the Yeti Siting Cycle, as Mr. Dr. Birdcage used to call it when he was still commuting to Falls Church-- everyone speeds up, then slows down for no apparent reason, speeds up again, slows down again for no apparent reason. He used to say that they all must have spotted a yeti, and this is why they slowed down. This went on until about ten miles past Fredericksburg. Which is a good clip "past Triangle," thank you).
Besides, the traffic report is virtually the same every single day: "Twenty minute delay on the Wilson bridge, inner loop slow going between (fill in one exit) and (fill in second exit), outer loop running with a thirty minute delay between (exit a) and (exit b)." Feel free to add in something about an accident or disabled vehicle blocking several lanes of traffic, along with residual rubbernecking delays. Oh, and metro has reported delays on the Orange line at East Falls Church. Can we just reserve the traffic reports for something really different and/or worthy? Like, you know, "a giant meteor has plowed into the inner loop of the Beltway, Armageddon is making its way up north on I-495, and there is a 12 day backup on the outer loop due to a 983 car pile up at the Backlick Road exit."
So, on Monday, we got a snow day.
Anyhoodle, in these parts, this is like Armageddon. As a result, I got the day off. wheeeeeeee! I spent the day doing crafty stuff and laundry, which was very good, as I've been home so little lately that we were out of clean clothes. Schools around here were canceled for two days-- and in some places three days. Let me repeat that-- seven inches of snow in central VA = three days of no school. In Massachusetts 7 inches wouldn't have gotten you a two hour delay. I have one word, people: WIMPS. All right, all right. I admit, part of the problem is that there are like two plows for the whole area. They never did plow our neighborhood. We have a sharp hill of a driveway, and then a hill to go up to get out of the 'hood, and we spent Monday watching idiots slipping and sliding up and down that hill, almost losing it in the lady across the street's yard more than once. Also, people around here apparently believe that the best way to deal with packed snow over ice while in a vehicle is to race over it at quickly as possible. SIGH.
Now, this is the first real winter weather we had this season. Today, this is being wiped clean with predictions of temps this afternoon in the high 70s. It's meant to hit 80 tomorrow. From 9 degrees to 79 degrees in three days. The snow is gone, all melted.
WEIRD.
I can't decide whether I should do anything in the yard or not. I almost did last weekend... and then was glad I never got around to it with the snow. Maybe I should just take a nap.
Also, I get to go back out to the boonies all next week for work. Oh, joy!
First of all, I must express my disappointment. This:
did not give me instant knowledge of kung fu as I had hoped. Which is a sad sad story. In fact, it tasted just like all ramen does, with a slightly onion-y flavor. Which is interesting since is says nothing in english about being onion-y, but rather is, ahem, "oriental." In both French and Vietnamese, however, it is clear and to the point: Onion Noodles. But not kung fu noodles.
Second, our neighbor is a vampire. (Which I guess means I should have been eating kung fu garlic noodles). Yes, you are thinking of something else... a metaphor. Something like this. But there is no metaphor here. No. Our neighbor is a vampire. A vampyre. The undead. How do I know this? Because it is the only explanation. Here. I share with you my evidence:
a) There are never any lights on in the house. Not seldom. Not rarely. NEVER. We have lived here for a year, and the lights have never been on. EVER. We know, however, that they still have electricity because the doorbell glows in the darkness and their heater/AC unit is ALWAYS on, humming away.
b) We have almost never seen the neighbor(s), and never during the day, though we have lived here more than a year.
c) The neighbors, who appear to be elderly, live in an older suburban subdivision, do not own a car, never leave the house, and do not have food delivered. The closest grocery store is four miles away.
You are already starting to see that the vampire thing might really be true, yes? For months Mr. Dr. Birdcage and I have discussed the possiblity that our neighbors were really desicated corpses. We pondered whether or not we should call authorities of some sort. "Yes? Officer? We think our neighbors have died of natural causes and are currently moldering next door. Can you help?"
But then.... the most damning piece of evidence yet.
d) Recently, on a full moon night when we were in the midst of three days of very very strong winds, Mr. Dr. Birdcage heard a noise coming from our neighbor's back yard. A scratching noise. He snuck over to the fence and peered back there, and lo and behold, clear in the shining moonlight, our ancient neighbor was our in her back yard, in the dark, on a cold and blustery night.....raking leaves. I came home soon afterwards and witnessed the spectacle as well.... Who rakes leaves at night? I'll tell you who-- vampires, that's who!
See? Didn't I tell you? Totally freaky.
In other news, I'm packing for work travel. Again. Another fun week of fun ahead.
Still too deep in (many hours of overtime) work to really catch up with myself and anything resembling life outside of work... like blogging. Which is why I'm rather late on posting the first of these things:
1) I've been meaning to write something about the Lily Ledbetter law being signed. Woot! Just another step closer to becoming full citizens for the mammoried set.
2) Been doing a lot of traveling of late, and not for fun. I spent the night in a hotel room that I'm sure was the scene of a murder in the not so distant past. It was the star and hole scar in the bathroom tile that must have been made by something small, roundish, and traveling at a high velocity and the blood colored stains between the cracks of the tiles that led me to this conclusion. Later, I was in a school where a child was really upset about the idea of taking an imaginary trip to New York City-- seriously, he Did. Not. Want. To. Go. Even in his imagination. He asked if he really had to go like seventy times. And then he wrote his name on his activity page. The name? John Boy. I'm not kidding.
3) Yesterday I spent six and a half hours of my ten hour work day in traffic on I-95 and I-495. That was fun. Because I love sitting in traffic above all things.
4) I finally finished a baby quilt for friends who are meant to be welcoming their second sprog in March.
