turn the heat up

Last week I blogged about being hot.

It was technically not that hot outside, in fact it was quite comfortable. Here in my home office,however, in our un-air-conditioned attic things were a bit steamier.

Today temps are predicted to go into the mid 90's.
Should be interesting up here today.
At high noon - my office temp is 81.

It takes until mid afternoon to really get toasty up here. All that radiant warmth off our Timberline dark gray architectural shingles just swirls in here.

I'll update with a thermometer pic later this afternoon.
If I can stand the heat.


4:40 p.m. update - the sun went in...its only 84 degrees up here. I think I will survive after all.

Re-inventing the wheel

Even tho most of my workdays are spent in my warm, dark home office – I do occasionally put on clothes and take the ride into our corporate office building.
When I come to the office, because we are mostly a work-at-home team, office space is shared. There are docking stations and monitors all over the place. So basically I can come in and pop my laptop in most anywhere for my workday.

Today I am in a new location. It’s quite adequate – although a bit chilly and bright for my tastes.
Uncharacteristically, I forgot my little wireless travel mouse. I love my little mouse.

The mouse I am using today has no middle wheel button.
I had no idea how attached I was to the wheel button.

techy-ness

So... now that I no longer work for a software company - here I am in a hotel room surfin' with my highly secure 'snow' controlled laptop hooked up to the world wide web wirelessly... with a little help from our international 24 hour internal helpdesk whom I called with my bluetooth headset beaming to my Black ber ry Curve.
(and yes... I am watching the Uconn/Lousville game too)

Ain't technology grand.

back in the saddle

Now that's what a first day is supposed to be like.

There were meetings, and conference calls, and some paper work. Introductions, and tours. And of course some requisite down times - you know, where there is really not alot you can be doing and the folks who need to be showing you what to do really need to get some of their own work done. Those times were you read through the intranet site or the employee handbook.

The people are friendly, the environment is tidy and corporate - just the way weese likes her environments.

My new company makes a product... an actual product... you can hold in your hand and buy at a store. This is very unique for me as I have always worked for software companies. Today I met people who had been with this company for over 30 years. I have never worked for a company that's even been around for that long. What is really exciting is later this week I get to spend a day on a delivery truck, to get to understand that side of the business.
I am so excited.
I wonder if they'll let me wear a uniform. :)

Friday

tip-o-day

I got this handy tip from a very helpful woman during my unemployment hearing.

Since over 7% of everyone is currently out of work -- filing your online continued claim form on Sundays has gotten a bit bogged down. So for a quick convenient filing - why not watch a good movie on Saturday night, get a bowl of popcorn and a cup of tea and settle in around 10:00 or 10:30 for your show. When your movie ends after midnight, logon and file. Whala!
Or ... watch a movie Sunday night and file just before midnight.

Tho for me, this will be my last Sunday filing.
I am back to work on Monday at a new job!

when endings can be beginnings or beginnings end up as endings...

Yeah... I quit the new job.
Now I need another new job.

Really I think I just preferred being unemployed. Hey - I am married now, so my wife has to support me... right?

new beginnings

no no no... not about the marriage.
We've been at that a long time, remember.

Oh, but ... thank you all very, very much for your well wishes. And know that we want to have a celebratory cocktail with each and every one of you. Seriously.

ok... about the beginnings.
I am totally wiped out tonight. Why?
I started a new job today.
whew.

My head nearly exploded by the time I came home this evening. My legally- married wife poured me a glass (or glasses) of wine.
I am sipping that now.
I am decompressing.

And I am very, very behind on all your blogs... going to catch up now.

Access Denied!!

Apparently my company has decided to shore up our firewall.
No more blogging from work.
I can't access my blog, and I can't read yours.

Now, I admit to being a person of habit. For example, I just finished paying the bills tonight. I printed the confirmation page, took all the paper bills (I have some I have switched to electronic) and stapled them three times down the left side. They will be filed with last months and the month before that, and before that.
I do it this way every time.

I blog at work. In the morning I draft at lunch I post. I do it this way most times. I have to be a little flexible here as they are actually paying me to do something other than blogging. But generally, it gets done during my work day.

I am going to need some time to adjust people.

While I am adjusting here are a couple shots from our march on New Haven CT on Saturday.

misbegotten

I work in a pleasant enough environment.

I have a little heater under my desk, because my blood seems to slow down to a crawl when I sit in front of the computer for more than 15 minutes at a time.

I was able to turn off all the bright, fluorescent lights over my space, because I feel they rot my brain.

I have several toys (and other fun things) in my warm, dark cubicle.
We have soothing fish to view and feed and tend to.

All the free coffee you can drink, subsidized food and soda, bagels on Fridays... and right now they are having a cookie break, complete with milk, in the lunch room.

Seems nice...huh?

Then why is it our Administrative Coordinator has no choice but to keep sacred office supplies - such as spiral notebooks, in a locked cabinet.

These things confound me.

It's a good thing I peed

On my way home from work last night I was pulling through an intersection in my very busy office complex when my Cabrio decided to stop... all systems shut down... in the middle of the intersection. Just my luck a Semi was headed directly for me. There was a brief moment of panic after I switched on the hazard lights and tried to jump out to wave at the driver of the really big truck hurtling at me... only to be stopped by my seat belt (hmm, safety first?).

The driver was a pro - he had noticed immediately that my car was in distress and even parked his truck across the lanes so no on-coming traffic would plow into me.
He got out and pushed my car neatly to the side of the road and went on his way. The world is filled with nice people.
It was a busy time of evening so I ended up waiting in the car for about an hour for a tow. I had plenty of time to think... it was quiet and really quite nice, except a little chilly. But I was thankful it was not below freezing, I was very thankful I had remember my gloves that morning, and even more thankful I peed before I left work.
Always-- ladies, always pee before you go.

So I am working from my home today. And you know what that means.
Yup... distractions.

I tossed in a load of laundry - thinking this would not really take me away from my day job too much. But then I remember that the dryer seemed to be taking too long, so I stepped outside to peek at the vent on the roof.

Hmm.
Looked clogged.

Ok - welp, in order to get my work done, I clearly need to dry this load of clothes, and in order to do that I clearly need to clean out this vent.

The problem really lies in the fact that its on the roof.

weese doesn't do roofs.

So I needed to devise a tool. Won't take long I figured, I'll be back to my day job in no time at all.
Down to the workshop to gather some supplies.











(the hammer? ...well you never know)








I made this.









Put up a ladder.


Then, using a second pole to keep the weather flap open - I was able to clean out a good bit of lint.


And... no injuries. I was back at my day job in less than an hour. The drying is purring away right now.

Ok... really, now I have to get back to work... right after I...

LOOK!

Look at my new office toy!

Office supplies

I like to keep some cleaning supplies at the office. Also, this time of year(cold and flu season) I keep Lysol on hand as well as that hand sanitizer stuff.

Well, and a couple other things... just in case.

busy busy busy

I am very busy at work today.
So I am settled in for the afternoon in my warm, dark cubicle.

I have a freshly opened Diet Dr. Pepper stowed in my happy fish coozy



my Ipod...turned up loud














and of course a little snack.

In A Meeting

... all freakin' day

sheesh

Friday

tip-o-day

Take Friday's off.

[evidently if you are not in work on friday you are not asked to
work the weekend.
dammit]

.
.

I'm not a felon, but they don't know that yet

Next week, here at the office, we are all going to be fingerprinted.
No one has given us an actual, plausible explanation - tho its fairly obvious... since we work with highly confidential personal data.

As to be expected, many folks are in a nit about it.
Personally, I am excited. I don't think I have ever been fingerprinted.
Well... there was that 'incident' in upstate New York. Tho I can't quite remember if they fingerprinted me or not.

I felt like I was in Mayberry.
The synopsis goes like this:
- around midnight driving through nowhere on our way to Canada, circa 1989
- stopped for really minor traffic violation
- I was a passenger and arrested on an open container charge
- my empty beer bottle was marked as 'Exhibit A'
- almost got into more trouble for laughing at the labeling of my Michelob
- I had to ride in the patrol car to the police station/court house
- the officer and I chatted about real estate prices and rising insurance costs
- the judge was called in from home, he was wearing a flannel shirt
- I was asked if I wanted a lawyer, and again... the laughing
- I pleaded guilty to drinking a beer (technically it was only 1/2 a beer...)
- payed a 20.00 fine to be release into the custody of my giggling wife

This can't possibly come up on my record... can it?
Ha!