I'm not hot shit in a wineglass, more curried goat in a paper cup

In fact I haven't done any walking today, all I've done is post about it. What I have done today is dishes and laundry and taking a dead mouse out of a trap and carrying lots of small firewood about fifteen feet to stack it, and bundle some sticks for kindling. And read a lot of "Thief of Time". Every Pratchett book I re-read, lately, I think, "Oh, THIS one I should send to Eightball, he would like it!"

I got a letter from Eightball the other day, so that was quite nice.

I had written a letter to him because I just felt like some of the things which have been going on for me are just too complicated to talk about it in text. Text messages require too much brevity.

And I want to post about it, here - I have wanted to, but have been avoiding it because it will sound like I'm being cryptic, because the whole thing is just too complicated. The best way I can summarize it quickly is that being a trainer had gotten too stressful, so I decided to drop back to being an assistant trainer. This means I will do training-department things occasionally, but work on the floor most of the time. And the great thing is that since making that decision a few weeks ago, now I get to bid against the floor workers instead of only withing the Training Department. Not only have I just won a bid for a new shift for 1130 to 2000 hours with Sunday/Monday off, I've also had the opportunity ALREADY to bid on another shift for 1100-1930 with Saturday/Sunday off. (And as a backup plan, I also bid on an 1130-2000 with Sat/Sun off, so I think I'll get one of them.)

Weekends off, again! And SLEEP!! Gosh, these 5.5 hour nights have been killing me. Of course I won't get anything at all done in the mornings before I go to work (I'll be really doing good if I can keep up on my exercise) and I'll have to get to sleep almost as soon as I get home - but weekends off... Eor will get my help with all the yard work. ;)

Even better, I'm on vacation this coming week, and I've gotten an extra two days on my vacation because of the shift change. But then I'll come back and probably will work two weeks on the Sun/Mon days off shift and then switch to a Sat/Sun days off shift, and lose a day there, so it all kind of evens out in the end. :)

Oh, I want to ask any bakers out there... I made some cookie-ish things, recipe below. They didn't seem to really cook, though. Got a little browned on the outside but didn't really seem to set up in the middle. Any thoughts on how I might adjust this so it will work better? I don't absolutely need them to stay vegan, for me. (I did leave out the vanilla.)

half-batch apple almond vegan cookies


1/4 c applesauce
2 T honey
1/4 t vanilla
1 C almond meal
1 T psyllium husks
1/4 t baking soda

Heat oven to 350F.

Combine honey, applesauce, and vanilla in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Mix almond meal, psyllium husks and baking soda. Add to applesauce mixture. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Let stand for ten minutes

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten and indent slightly with thumb.

Bake 5-8 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

My calendar tells me I didn't post this Friday that just went by. ( Had flu. MucinexDM is as good as they say. Details below only if you're interested. )

Today is my Monday at work, and we are seriously discouraged from calling in sick on a day in conjunction with your days off. Which I did only a few weeks ago because I had a cold (that I somewhat suspected might be strep throat, but turned out not to be). So, today I trundled my butt in to work, spoke to the manager immediately, she told me I looked like crap, and I filled out a sick slip and went home. Literally drove 30 minutes each way to stay only 15 minutes because of this crazy policy.

Anyway, long short is I am feeling better, but not well yet. Will keep on pushing fluids and staying warm.

Oh, and I DID have the flu shot. Back in September, sure, so maybe it's worn off a bit? I'm actually thinking this might have been much worse if I had not.

A notice about this 3-D printable gun is supposed to have been in our briefing at work yesterday, although typically of where I work the rank and file will probably get it next week and already have read about it on Facebook long before it comes out. Eor read about it LAST week, of course, and I was very annoyed he hadn't told me so I could have the jump on management. :)

Eor's take: "We really are living in science fiction." His example - quite a while back (probably late '70s) there was a sci-fi role playing game called "Traveler" which had different planets you could visit during your campaign. The Lawfulness levels of the planets were illustrated in the game book by types of weapons which would be illegal. A plastic gun would be only be legal on a world one step from complete lawlessness.

In other things I've reposted on FB, today:
Raw sewage regularly overflows in the Black neighborhood in Rochelle, Georgia - and the white mayor screams at Black lawyers, and threatens them with arrest. I felt I really had to pass that one on as I read it posted by a Black lawyer who was my best bud when we were kids. I trust him to know it's not a hoax, and after reading the article I feel sure, but my initial thought was "Whaaat? Preposterous!".

I'm not going to give you the whole FB rundown, today. Too much bother for too little gain.

We worked in the yard and filled the dumpster AGAIN. Still not done with spring cleanup. The pak choy and radishes are sprouting, and I'd better get some mesh up for the snow peas to climb on very soon. :)

My cousin is thinking of selling his house, which has been in the family for almost 200 years and is on ten acres of land with a quiet little river that looks perfect for kayaking in running along the back boundary line. We're looking for just that kind of property, but he lives an hour South. Too far to commute. :( Also, he hasn't decided what he wants for it, so I probably should not have even expressed any interest in the matter. If I offered what we can afford he might feel insulted, or if he sold it to me for that, because I'm family and won't raze the house or parcel off the land, he might feel resentful because he could get more for it.

Today, Derien travelled 1.55 miles on the journey from Bag End to Rivendell.

Continued on the journey to Rivendell

A total of 40.67 miles along the way.
Generated by Eor's Walk Tool inspired by Eowyn Challenge.net

...

And other than that, I read "Dodger" (Pratchett) and Chapter 13 of Post Captain (O'Brian) and did a couple of loads of laundry and dishes. Quite the lazy day.

I really needed it after all last week, where every day was giving tests to people as fast as I could. The days flew by, I barely had a chance to snarf bites of my lunch, and then at the end of the week the person who'd organized the testing schedule was pissed at me because I'd missed a few people. I say it's her fault for setting up an unrealistic expectation that we could do everyone in one week - it can't ever happen. There will be people who are on vacation, out sick, or just can't be spared from the line work. Or, some bonehead like me doesn't realize that there's a specific hour that certain people are available, and gets involved with another project during that hour. It happens. The stupid thing is, she's all stressed and pissed at me (literally wouldn't even acknowledge my existence when I spoke to her directly) and is probably going to blame the failure of her perfect plan on me and throw me under the bus to the higher up managers, but we actually have until next September to complete this testing, so it's not as if she even needed to schedule everyone in one week. *le sigh* And people are, rightfully, telling me, "That's just how she is," and "We can't worry about what people think of us," and I know they're right, but I still hate it when people think I'm an idiot, because I not-so-secretly fear that I actually am an idiot.

...

ETA: Just did another .37 miles, because I was cold, so...

Heard a Black Rider, met elves, and continued on with the elves.

A total of 41.04 miles along the way.

Well, (my not-really-boss) the Ogre's last day is today, but this is my day off, so when I go back again he's gone forevermore. It's sad, it's the end of an era, because he's been there since the beginning. And ever since the beginning people have asked what he actually did. Lately they asked me what he actually did, because Moose and I have the obvious faces of the department to the majority of people we know - we interface with the workers when they are students. And it's true we'd picked up a lot of the slack of things the Ogre should probably have been doing which he'd never been good at, the computer stuff. Only recently I've realized that upper management kind of thought he was doing a lot of the stuff we were doing, probably because his position is the interface with upper management. At first I was incensed that they thought HE produced the monthly report, but then I sat back and recalled that in fact he could put together the report, he would just do it differently than I would. And of course I think my way is superior, so I tried to avoid letting him do it. :) But it still came 'from' him, because it came through his email, because he was our interface to management.

( cut for the boring - ramble about the stressors of being too close to the worker/management line )

ETA: I'm taking that last post down because from the vantage point of an hour later I realize it made no fucking sense. You know what else I hate? People who are cryptic for no damn reason. I should either tell the story or suck it up and deal, and I think I really need to suck it up and deal.

Moose is back from yet another training, and about ready to start his actual work as a Trainer. I don't really know why he even wanted this job. His favorite line/excuse is "I can't fix stupid!" and today he followed that up with, "I can't train these people!"

I said, "Suck it up, it's your job, now!" and started beating him with a rolled up sheaf of papers - "suck!" *whack!* "it!" *whack!* "up!" Heh, yeah, that pretty much is my training style. ;)

Going in to work at 12:30 tomorrow, to attend a class until 9PM. This is the major class I've got to take and then learn to teach. I'm trying to not let The Ogre's stress level affect me, but it does, when he's around, so my mind swerves wildly back and forth between "we have plenty of time" to "how in the hell is all this going to get done?!?" (I don't want anyone to think I hate him, we actually get along okay, but he just chose this nick for himself this evening when he introduced himself to Hawk today in the store down the street; "I'm The Ogre." And it's shorter than 'sorta-but-not-really-my-boss.')

Eor got me out to the woods to go rock climbing for three days in a row, over the weekend. :) The dappled sunlight and cool air, and an excuse to focus our minds on something physical; it was exactly what we needed just then. He claims it's been almost 18 years since we used to climb, but it all comes right back so quickly, and I seem less afraid now than ever. NOT that I'm ever not going to be afraid of heights, mind you - I'm so terrified of heights that I get nauseous watching a movie where someone stands near the edge of something high. And I don't expect to ever have the upper body and finger strength needed to be a good climber. But it's something to do to get us out. :)

( computer virus woes of yesterday become LJ interaction woes of today )

In other news, I went with Eor to hang out while he was starting up the van, in case he needed a push to get out of the snow, but all went smoothly. Then he stopped at the end of the drive and sat there until I came up to see what was going on. He just wanted to make sure I had my keys to get back into the house. :) I've been pretty good about remembering my keys, lately - it's easier when you're wearing the same coat and they can stay in the pocket - but 6AM would be a sucky time to lock yourself out. It's so sweet of him to watch out for me. :)

And while I'm posting, ( have a photo from the Winter Holiday party the other day. )

ETA: Sorry so long and full of mistakes (I've edited three times already). This is what happens when I don't eat or have tea before posting.

Now must go get new tires for the car, if possible.

( making flour substitute mix )
( work restrictions form needs returning )
----------------------------------

*Tapioca is made from casava root - why don't they call it casava flour?? It would make things so much easier.