I tried to think of some cute title for this post, but that seemed like a lot of work, so I gave up. I considered "Yes, I'm still alive" and "Yes, I still have a blog and I remembered the login" and "Hey, mom, here's that post you've been waiting for," but in the end I just went with something simple and true.
Last Friday was my worst travel experience ever, of any kind, and that includes the time I went to St. Louis and got a cab that the driver had to start with a hammer. Somewhere in hour three of the six-hour drive my colleague and I made from Charlotte, NC to Nashville, TN in our desperate bid to get home to Illinois, I started seriously questioning my career choice. And when I had to walk into class after my epic journey without even going home first, wearing clean socks and a clean t-shirt brought to me in the parking lot by my wonderful husband and child, I started seriously questioning my school choice. I have gotten over all this serious questioning, but am left feeling very overwhelmed, very tired, very inadequate as a spouse and mother and very uncertain of how to get myself out of this in one piece.
In case anyone I work with or for has happened to notice that I have a blog, and has somehow found it, I would like to be clear that I do, most of the time, like my job, and I do think I am basically good at it. But the amount of work has reached a critical mass that makes me feel like I'm not doing as well as I could at any of it, and I find that very frustrating. I like to be really good at things. I am a little weary of spending my days running from one meeting to the next, each about a different topic, throwing in a few business trips, trying to get homework done to some reasonable standard and still do a decent job of just being married, being a mom and occasionally cooking food or cleaning the bathroom.
One day last week, I had eight meetings. Eight. And I had a trip the next day (the fateful trip to NC), and I wasn't near being done with what I needed to do, and B had to work late because I was going to be gone the next two days and he wasn't going to get another chance. So I did the only thing I could think of, which is pick the kid up from school and take her back to work with me, at 6:30, so that I could finish my stuff. And she was beautifully well-behaved, wonderful in every way, as usual. But I felt like utter crap about it. I was getting ready to be gone for two days and I couldn't even spend some nice time with my kid watching Looney Tunes or building Legos or who knows what. She sat in a chair in my tiny cube and watched me work while she ate goldfish crackers.
So I went on the trip, then ran into travel insanity, and found myself finishing my homework for school while balancing my laptop on my knees while my colleague was driving to Nashville. I emailed the sorry thing to the professor at midnight that night when we finally got to the hotel. Thank goodness he was very understanding and didn't make me try to present my work after I stumbled into class 3 hours late, having flown in Saturday morning and driven straight to school. He even let me resubmit my homework so I could look it over to be sure it was coherent.
Yesterday was Father's Day, and while B said he had a great day, I wished I could have gotten it together to do more for him. He's been pulling all the weight at home lately, and he never complains or questions any of my travel or homework or anything. He just adjusts his schedule and makes things work, and even knows how to do ponytails so he can do Hannah's hair when I'm not home. He is wonderful. He is amazing. And I wanted to do something really great to show him how much every single thing he does means to me, and I couldn't get it together. I got him a t-shirt. He said, "Well, you've been busy." Which is true. But is it an excuse?
Then today at work was insane again, and I am just tired. And I have another trip Wednesday to Thursday. At least class is over on Saturday and I have the rest of the summer off. Let's not talk about the final project that's due in 5 days that I haven't even started...I guess that's what the plane ride is for.
But I have officially hit the wall. I am trying to do too much. And yeah, I get the next two months off from school, but what am I going to do in September when it all starts up again?
Showing posts with label kid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kid. Show all posts
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Evil peanuts
Even though I typically prefer NEWSWEEK over Time, this is a pretty good article on all the fuss over peanut allergies.
I am a bit peeved by the people who seem to think "all the fuss" is just a bunch of parents overreacting and making it unnecessarily challenging for other people's kids to eat peanut butter sandwiches, but if you're going to have a balanced report, it does mean you have to let both sides have their say.
We have always tried to strike a good balance between being appropriately freaked-out by, and simultaneously reasonable about, Hannah's peanut allergy. We don't have peanuts at home, and we are really good at reading food labels. We picked a preschool that was consciously peanut-free and doesn't allow kids to bring food from home, so we're minimizing risk wherever we can. But we let her eat the cake at kids' birthday parties, and we eat out at restaurants all the time without creating a scene about what's in every single dish. (Besides, nothing on any kids' menu in any restaurant is very likely to have nuts in it, because it's all grilled cheese sandwiches, mac 'n' cheese and pizza.)
Still, having a kid with a food allergy - especially a peanut allergy, which is considered to be the most likely to result in the most serious reactions - means relying on other people to keep your kid safe...even more than any other parent has to do for any other kid. Our lesson on Epi-pens was terrifying, and even after carrying two with us everywhere we go for more than two years, I still live in fear of the day I might actually have to use them. I still catch my breath a bit when she eats a baked good that I have not been able to completely inspect, even if it is totally logical that a sugar cookie should be fine. But I also don't want to be "that mom" who makes a big huge deal out of stuff. I just want my kid to be able to eat without worrying that she's going to end up swollen in hives and unable to breathe.
Hannah's getting to the age where we are trying to teach her more about what it means that she's allergic to peanuts, and that she has to ask about new foods before she tries them. I think she's starting to get it - she at least knows that peanuts will make her "very sick." But I don't want to freak her out, either.
But I also want other parents to understand that peanut allergies are serious, and if you're not dealing with a food allergy in your family you should be grateful, certainly, but you should also be respectful of those who are. We don't want to be a pain, and we hate that we have to ask for special treatment sometimes. But we do it anyway, because we want our kids to be able to go out for ice cream just like yours (so we ask the person at the counter to go wash the scoop before they get Hannah's vanilla, or we just go for soft-serve straight from the machine); and we want our kids to be able to eat lunch with their friends without worrying about anything bad happening; heck, we also want them to be able to fly in a plane without fear, so is it really that big a deal if the airline has to give you pretzels rather than peanuts? We're just trying to keep them safe, and while we don't want to have to ask for your help, we still have to. You would, too, if it were your kid.
I know there are lots of food allergies, and one very good argument is that concessions aren't made for those allergic to those other foods (milk, soy, etc.) the way they are for those who are allergic to nuts. But it's also true that peanut allergies tend to mean more severe reactions, and they're less likely to be outgrown than a lot of those others.
For my daughter, that means that it's very likely that she'll still be dealing with this and asking for special treatment and hating to draw attention to her allergy into adulthood. But that's the way it is, and a little help is much appreciated.
I am a bit peeved by the people who seem to think "all the fuss" is just a bunch of parents overreacting and making it unnecessarily challenging for other people's kids to eat peanut butter sandwiches, but if you're going to have a balanced report, it does mean you have to let both sides have their say.
We have always tried to strike a good balance between being appropriately freaked-out by, and simultaneously reasonable about, Hannah's peanut allergy. We don't have peanuts at home, and we are really good at reading food labels. We picked a preschool that was consciously peanut-free and doesn't allow kids to bring food from home, so we're minimizing risk wherever we can. But we let her eat the cake at kids' birthday parties, and we eat out at restaurants all the time without creating a scene about what's in every single dish. (Besides, nothing on any kids' menu in any restaurant is very likely to have nuts in it, because it's all grilled cheese sandwiches, mac 'n' cheese and pizza.)
Still, having a kid with a food allergy - especially a peanut allergy, which is considered to be the most likely to result in the most serious reactions - means relying on other people to keep your kid safe...even more than any other parent has to do for any other kid. Our lesson on Epi-pens was terrifying, and even after carrying two with us everywhere we go for more than two years, I still live in fear of the day I might actually have to use them. I still catch my breath a bit when she eats a baked good that I have not been able to completely inspect, even if it is totally logical that a sugar cookie should be fine. But I also don't want to be "that mom" who makes a big huge deal out of stuff. I just want my kid to be able to eat without worrying that she's going to end up swollen in hives and unable to breathe.
Hannah's getting to the age where we are trying to teach her more about what it means that she's allergic to peanuts, and that she has to ask about new foods before she tries them. I think she's starting to get it - she at least knows that peanuts will make her "very sick." But I don't want to freak her out, either.
But I also want other parents to understand that peanut allergies are serious, and if you're not dealing with a food allergy in your family you should be grateful, certainly, but you should also be respectful of those who are. We don't want to be a pain, and we hate that we have to ask for special treatment sometimes. But we do it anyway, because we want our kids to be able to go out for ice cream just like yours (so we ask the person at the counter to go wash the scoop before they get Hannah's vanilla, or we just go for soft-serve straight from the machine); and we want our kids to be able to eat lunch with their friends without worrying about anything bad happening; heck, we also want them to be able to fly in a plane without fear, so is it really that big a deal if the airline has to give you pretzels rather than peanuts? We're just trying to keep them safe, and while we don't want to have to ask for your help, we still have to. You would, too, if it were your kid.
I know there are lots of food allergies, and one very good argument is that concessions aren't made for those allergic to those other foods (milk, soy, etc.) the way they are for those who are allergic to nuts. But it's also true that peanut allergies tend to mean more severe reactions, and they're less likely to be outgrown than a lot of those others.
For my daughter, that means that it's very likely that she'll still be dealing with this and asking for special treatment and hating to draw attention to her allergy into adulthood. But that's the way it is, and a little help is much appreciated.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
On pregnancy
I'm not pregnant (sorry, parents, all of you). But one of my very best friends is, and she's due literally any minute (technically, tomorrow). I'm so extremely excited for her, and can't wait to meet the new little one! I have been obsessively checking my phone this weekend, just in case I somehow missed the call that they were at the hospital. Which is impossible, because I have also been obsessively carrying my phone everywhere, so that I wouldn't miss the call that they were at the hospital.
Watching my dear friend go through every step of pregnancy has reminded me how much I like not being pregnant. I've only done it once. It was reasonably pleasant, actually, as far as pregnancies go. I would probably remember more of it if I'd had a blog then, because I could have typed everything out. As it is, I didn't write very much down about it, so I don't remember a lot of it. I do remember that I didn't have morning sickness, but I had something flu-like for pretty much the whole second half of my pregnancy. I had a lot of fevers and coughs and couldn't take anything good for them. Having the flu stuff for the second half worked out, because for the first half my skin was so bad that I was embarrassed to have to go out into the world (in a PR job!!) and talk to people. Again, couldn't take anything good for it. So having them both together would have pretty much done me in...although if I'd had them both together, I suppose I could have just stayed home sick and avoided seeing people. I had a lot of very weird food issues. It was the only time in my life I've been a vegetarian, though briefly. But I had this very textbook delivery, with nothing weird, and a great epidural. And I came home with probably the best little girl in the entire universe (no offense to other mothers of other wonderful little girls). So it was worth it. And I know that I was very, very lucky to skate through as smoothly as I really did.
But you know what? Being pregnant isn't really very fun, and it really feels like it takes forever. (Anyone who says, "I LOVED being pregnant!" is either lying or doesn't accurately remember the details. These are also often the same people who say, "Oh, you forget the pain.") I don't feel this big urge to do it again anytime soon. I may, someday. I don't know. We've decided we're not going to think about having another baby for awhile - at least not till we know we can't live without one, the way we knew we couldn't live without Hannah. I say you know when it's time to have kids, and it has nothing to do with calendars or finances or anything else - it has everything to do with that feeling in your gut that your life is not going to be complete or fully happy until you have a child. That's when you know. And if you don't feel like that, don't do it. That's what I say, anyway. And we are just really happy being the Three Musketeers right now. But if we ever feel like that again, then sure, why not?
But the last thing I will say about watching my friend go through pregnancy is that it goes WAY FASTER when it's not you!
Watching my dear friend go through every step of pregnancy has reminded me how much I like not being pregnant. I've only done it once. It was reasonably pleasant, actually, as far as pregnancies go. I would probably remember more of it if I'd had a blog then, because I could have typed everything out. As it is, I didn't write very much down about it, so I don't remember a lot of it. I do remember that I didn't have morning sickness, but I had something flu-like for pretty much the whole second half of my pregnancy. I had a lot of fevers and coughs and couldn't take anything good for them. Having the flu stuff for the second half worked out, because for the first half my skin was so bad that I was embarrassed to have to go out into the world (in a PR job!!) and talk to people. Again, couldn't take anything good for it. So having them both together would have pretty much done me in...although if I'd had them both together, I suppose I could have just stayed home sick and avoided seeing people. I had a lot of very weird food issues. It was the only time in my life I've been a vegetarian, though briefly. But I had this very textbook delivery, with nothing weird, and a great epidural. And I came home with probably the best little girl in the entire universe (no offense to other mothers of other wonderful little girls). So it was worth it. And I know that I was very, very lucky to skate through as smoothly as I really did.
But you know what? Being pregnant isn't really very fun, and it really feels like it takes forever. (Anyone who says, "I LOVED being pregnant!" is either lying or doesn't accurately remember the details. These are also often the same people who say, "Oh, you forget the pain.") I don't feel this big urge to do it again anytime soon. I may, someday. I don't know. We've decided we're not going to think about having another baby for awhile - at least not till we know we can't live without one, the way we knew we couldn't live without Hannah. I say you know when it's time to have kids, and it has nothing to do with calendars or finances or anything else - it has everything to do with that feeling in your gut that your life is not going to be complete or fully happy until you have a child. That's when you know. And if you don't feel like that, don't do it. That's what I say, anyway. And we are just really happy being the Three Musketeers right now. But if we ever feel like that again, then sure, why not?
But the last thing I will say about watching my friend go through pregnancy is that it goes WAY FASTER when it's not you!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I made something!
Today, I conquered sewing. Allow me to explain.
Yesterday, we went shopping to buy Hannah the few school supplies that she needed to start preschool tomorrow. Because she's still little, she didn't need the standard supplies like pencil boxes and glue; instead, she needed a small travel-sized pillow and a blanket for naptime. We found the pillow (after a great deal of searching), but we couldn't find any pillowcases to fit it.
"Well," I said, "I could probably make a pillowcase if I put my mind to it."
See, I have a sewing machine. I even made something on it once, about six years ago, during a brief period in between jobs. And then I put it away. It's been in a closet in our spare room since we moved into our house five years ago. But I reasoned that I could probably remember how to use it well enough to make a pillowcase, which is, let's face it, comprised entirely of a few straight lines. So this morning, Hannah and I went to the fabric store so she could pick out exactly which fabric she wanted for her special school pillowcase. She quickly and forcefully chose purple (her favorite color) with butterflies.
It turned out that the hardest part was figuring out how to wind the bobbin. My sewing machine has a helpful diagram on the front telling you how to thread it, but it doesn't have a similar diagram for winding a bobbin, and that's what I really needed. I called my mom. She said every machine is different, so she wasn't sure how to do it on mine. She suggested I look in the manual, but considering the various supplies I needed for sewing were scattered all over the house anyway, the chances of finding the manual were (and remain) extremely slim. No help was available online (amazingly). Brock finally messed with enough stuff that he figured it out, which was a little funny.
And soon, I was off and running:
And, only two hours and three calls to Mom after I started, I was finished:
Hannah was really excited about her new pillowcase. She was "breaking it in" this evening by lying on it. And I don't mind saying I was pretty proud of myself for making something for her, even if it was very simple. I remembered why I bought the sewing machine in the first place: it is a great sense of accomplishment to make something yourself.
Of course, I have no free time usually, so the chances I'll be making anything else again soon (besides, maybe, a spare pillowcase for school) are not great. Still, today I made something for my kid. Hooray for me! :)
Yesterday, we went shopping to buy Hannah the few school supplies that she needed to start preschool tomorrow. Because she's still little, she didn't need the standard supplies like pencil boxes and glue; instead, she needed a small travel-sized pillow and a blanket for naptime. We found the pillow (after a great deal of searching), but we couldn't find any pillowcases to fit it.
"Well," I said, "I could probably make a pillowcase if I put my mind to it."
See, I have a sewing machine. I even made something on it once, about six years ago, during a brief period in between jobs. And then I put it away. It's been in a closet in our spare room since we moved into our house five years ago. But I reasoned that I could probably remember how to use it well enough to make a pillowcase, which is, let's face it, comprised entirely of a few straight lines. So this morning, Hannah and I went to the fabric store so she could pick out exactly which fabric she wanted for her special school pillowcase. She quickly and forcefully chose purple (her favorite color) with butterflies.
It turned out that the hardest part was figuring out how to wind the bobbin. My sewing machine has a helpful diagram on the front telling you how to thread it, but it doesn't have a similar diagram for winding a bobbin, and that's what I really needed. I called my mom. She said every machine is different, so she wasn't sure how to do it on mine. She suggested I look in the manual, but considering the various supplies I needed for sewing were scattered all over the house anyway, the chances of finding the manual were (and remain) extremely slim. No help was available online (amazingly). Brock finally messed with enough stuff that he figured it out, which was a little funny.
And soon, I was off and running:
And, only two hours and three calls to Mom after I started, I was finished:
Hannah was really excited about her new pillowcase. She was "breaking it in" this evening by lying on it. And I don't mind saying I was pretty proud of myself for making something for her, even if it was very simple. I remembered why I bought the sewing machine in the first place: it is a great sense of accomplishment to make something yourself.
Of course, I have no free time usually, so the chances I'll be making anything else again soon (besides, maybe, a spare pillowcase for school) are not great. Still, today I made something for my kid. Hooray for me! :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
7 things about me
Thanks to Vic for tagging me! Here are 7 things about me you probably don't know:
1) One of the reasons I'm glad Vic tagged me is that I like talking about myself. I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but it's true. I like talking to other people about themselves, too...but I am a sucker for those emails where you fill out four jobs you've had or what you eat for breakfast or whatever, and then send it on to all your friends. I know no one cares what I eat for breakfast, but there's something fun about writing down things like that. (For the record, this morning I had oatmeal mixed with granola, brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cranberries - a concoction of my own creation that I call "oatnola.")
2) I do not keep liquor in my house. This is because I like it very much, especially vodka, and I am concerned about the possibilities if I had easy access to it all the time. Because I am a comfort eater, I think it stands to reason I would be a comfort drinker, so it's just better not to tempt myself.
3) The top 4 days in my life have been the day I got engaged, my wedding, the birth of my daughter, and when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. The 5th best day in my life will be when Barack Obama wins the presidency. I'm excited for that.
4) I harbor a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian. I won't ever, ever do it, and in fact have never tried, but it's the fantasy job I go to in my mind when my real job really gets on my nerves. Of course, since this is not grounded in reality, in my daydreams I am already wildly successful as a comedian and also never have to travel. :)
5) I think I might only want one kid. I am just so incredibly happy with the amazing one I have, and I really, right now, feel absolutely no desire to expand our family further. (Sorry, parents.) Also, I strongly doubt my ability to handle any more kids - it would require seriously compromising the attention I can give to my husband and my career, and I'm really not thrilled about that prospect. The poor cats are already getting the shaft. This is not to say that I wouldn't adapt if modern medicine should happen to fail me.
6) I have devolved in my organizational skills. I used to be hyper-organized. Now I can't really face filing. Brock does all of it at home, and at work I only do it when the piles of paper on my desk get to the point where I can't remember what's in them. I also haven't balanced our checkbook in approximately 4 years, or maybe more, because banking online is awesome. But Brock handles that too. I never keep receipts. My email inboxes (both personal and work) are muddled disasters of old messages that I will never use, but they're so out of control that it would take too much time to clean them up. I hate this about myself. But I also have to let some stuff go.
7) I am really proud that we moved out of Indiana and are making a life for ourselves here. I will always love the place I grew up, but I really love my home now, too. And when I think about the fact that we moved here when we were 22 and didn't know anybody at all, I am amazed at what we've done since then. I can't believe it never occurred to me to be nervous about moving away from everyone we knew. Now I would be absolutely terrified to move, but I can't really think of anywhere I'd rather live, either.
That's it from me. Now, I tag Robin and Brock to talk about themselves on their blogs, too! This is fun!
1) One of the reasons I'm glad Vic tagged me is that I like talking about myself. I know that's supposed to be a bad thing, but it's true. I like talking to other people about themselves, too...but I am a sucker for those emails where you fill out four jobs you've had or what you eat for breakfast or whatever, and then send it on to all your friends. I know no one cares what I eat for breakfast, but there's something fun about writing down things like that. (For the record, this morning I had oatmeal mixed with granola, brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cranberries - a concoction of my own creation that I call "oatnola.")
2) I do not keep liquor in my house. This is because I like it very much, especially vodka, and I am concerned about the possibilities if I had easy access to it all the time. Because I am a comfort eater, I think it stands to reason I would be a comfort drinker, so it's just better not to tempt myself.
3) The top 4 days in my life have been the day I got engaged, my wedding, the birth of my daughter, and when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl. The 5th best day in my life will be when Barack Obama wins the presidency. I'm excited for that.
4) I harbor a secret desire to be a stand-up comedian. I won't ever, ever do it, and in fact have never tried, but it's the fantasy job I go to in my mind when my real job really gets on my nerves. Of course, since this is not grounded in reality, in my daydreams I am already wildly successful as a comedian and also never have to travel. :)
5) I think I might only want one kid. I am just so incredibly happy with the amazing one I have, and I really, right now, feel absolutely no desire to expand our family further. (Sorry, parents.) Also, I strongly doubt my ability to handle any more kids - it would require seriously compromising the attention I can give to my husband and my career, and I'm really not thrilled about that prospect. The poor cats are already getting the shaft. This is not to say that I wouldn't adapt if modern medicine should happen to fail me.
6) I have devolved in my organizational skills. I used to be hyper-organized. Now I can't really face filing. Brock does all of it at home, and at work I only do it when the piles of paper on my desk get to the point where I can't remember what's in them. I also haven't balanced our checkbook in approximately 4 years, or maybe more, because banking online is awesome. But Brock handles that too. I never keep receipts. My email inboxes (both personal and work) are muddled disasters of old messages that I will never use, but they're so out of control that it would take too much time to clean them up. I hate this about myself. But I also have to let some stuff go.
7) I am really proud that we moved out of Indiana and are making a life for ourselves here. I will always love the place I grew up, but I really love my home now, too. And when I think about the fact that we moved here when we were 22 and didn't know anybody at all, I am amazed at what we've done since then. I can't believe it never occurred to me to be nervous about moving away from everyone we knew. Now I would be absolutely terrified to move, but I can't really think of anywhere I'd rather live, either.
That's it from me. Now, I tag Robin and Brock to talk about themselves on their blogs, too! This is fun!
Monday, September 8, 2008
It's come to this
This is what I had for dinner:
Please allow me to explain how this came to be. This was my day today:
Please allow me to explain how this came to be. This was my day today:
- Get up only 15 minutes late, which is a big improvement over the 30-40 minutes I usually waste trying to convince myself to get out of bed, especially now that it is totally dark at 5:30 in the morning again.
- Get ready for work.
- Go wake Hannah up, who says, "I just want to lay here and cover up and close my eyes." Totally agree with Hannah but make her get out of bed anyway.
- Manage to get Hannah ready, toast her breakfast and go wake Brock up.
- Finish getting dressed for work while Brock brushes Hannah's teeth and puts her shoes on.
- Lug bunch of stuff out to car.
- Come back for Hannah. Drop at daycare very late, like 7:45, despite "early" start to the day.
- Get to work at 8:20. Supposed to be at work at 8:00, but never happens.
- Turn on computer. Get coffee (frappucino, actually).
- Drink coffee while spending an hour and a half combing through 226 (no kidding) unread emails. Do not read all emails. Feel annoyed at email culture.
- Go to meetings from 10 to noon.
- Go for sushi with friend. (High point of work day, to be sure. Spicy tuna rolls are awesome.)
- Go to meeting from 2 to 3.
- Try to get work done from 3 to 4. Not very successful.
- Go for performance review with boss at 4:00. Boss is stuck in other meeting. Wait 15 minutes for boss to show up. Realize that review is going to last past 5:00 now, which starts customary "I will be late picking Hannah up from daycare" panic.
- Have very nice review. Learn that I possibly laugh too much (I do have a tendency to laugh all the time, which I suppose does make it sound like I think what I just said was a joke - even though I've always thought it was charming and disarming), but am otherwise quite capable, well-respected and doing a good job. Need to work on establishing strategy, which is part of the new job and was not part of the old one. All in all, pretty good.
- Get out of review at 5:20. Get to car, in the steady rain, at 5:25. Realize I will probably be late picking Hannah up, and if I'm not, she will for sure at least be the last kid at daycare. Again.
- Deal with slow, annoying drivers for 34.5 minutes. Pull into daycare at approximately 5:59:30 and race to door in continuing rain.
- Feel very happy to see Hannah, who's happy to see me.
- Drive home. Get call from Brock that he has to work late and will not be home till after 9:00.
- Realize that there is not enough time to make the taco casserole I'd planned to make with Hannah this evening.
- Give up and get fish sticks and Smiles out of the freezer. Realize we eat a lot of meals that can be dipped in ketchup. But it has been a long time since we had Smiles, and Hannah likes them, and they are tasty. We like our dinner even if it's sort of ridiculous for a grown-up to eat fish sticks and shaped potatoes.
- Give Hannah bubble bath. Fun. :)
- Watch Dr. Jiggle & Mr. Sly episode of Veggie Tales TV show on DVR with Hannah. Sing along to "The Hole in the Bottom of the Sea" at the end.
- Get Hannah to brush teeth.
- Read two stories, Color Kittens and Goodnight, Little Bear, both of which are really old Little Golden Books and also kind of annoying after the 87th reading. But still enjoyable because Hannah likes them.
- Sort laundry. Start washer, only to realize that there is still a load of laundry sitting in the washer from two days ago that needs to be dried.
- Put laundry in dryer. Put more laundry in washer.
- Blog instead of doing reading for school, which started last week.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Work, schmerk
Today was the third day in a row that somebody cheesed me off after 4 p.m., causing me to do additional work that made me NOT leave at 4:30, which is supposed to be our official "quitting time" but really hardly ever is. But today I really wanted to leave at 4:30, and I didn't get to. Leaving anywhere after 4:45 gives me stress about getting to pick Hannah up from daycare in time...leaving at 5:10 makes me positively twitchy. Leaving at 5:20 means she is for sure the last kid at daycare because I can't roll in any earlier than 5:59 (pick up has to be by 6:00).
I used to leave work by 4:45 or so every day. It doesn't work that way anymore - not with the new job. Today I really wanted to leave earlier because we had no food in our house and I wanted to make a mad dash into the store to buy milk (because we were completely out) and something for dinner (because last night we had fish sticks and today we didn't have any other options). It worked out okay - Hannah and I just made a quick trip to the store after I picked her up - but it's frustrating. And I would have been able to leave on time every day since Wednesday if people would just not give me trouble. Argh.
So we finally got home, and Hannah and I had a lovely time making pizza. We had dinner, she got a bath, we watched Veggie Tales and then we read two bedtime stories. My outlook on life was definitely improving. Then I sat down with the computer to do some mindless reading, and my computer won't load any of the blogs I like to read. I can live without most of them, except for Go Fug Yourself. I haven't read it since early this week and it makes me happy, and I was looking forward to the comfort of noting that, even if work bothers me, at least I've never walked out of the house looking half as bad as some of the people on that blog.
So now I'm annoyed again and there's nothing I can do about it, because my tech support is out of town.
Argh.
I used to leave work by 4:45 or so every day. It doesn't work that way anymore - not with the new job. Today I really wanted to leave earlier because we had no food in our house and I wanted to make a mad dash into the store to buy milk (because we were completely out) and something for dinner (because last night we had fish sticks and today we didn't have any other options). It worked out okay - Hannah and I just made a quick trip to the store after I picked her up - but it's frustrating. And I would have been able to leave on time every day since Wednesday if people would just not give me trouble. Argh.
So we finally got home, and Hannah and I had a lovely time making pizza. We had dinner, she got a bath, we watched Veggie Tales and then we read two bedtime stories. My outlook on life was definitely improving. Then I sat down with the computer to do some mindless reading, and my computer won't load any of the blogs I like to read. I can live without most of them, except for Go Fug Yourself. I haven't read it since early this week and it makes me happy, and I was looking forward to the comfort of noting that, even if work bothers me, at least I've never walked out of the house looking half as bad as some of the people on that blog.
So now I'm annoyed again and there's nothing I can do about it, because my tech support is out of town.
Argh.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Busy busy busy
The last few of weeks have been pretty crazy. I made it through a very rough week at my new job, in which I was convinced I had made a huge mistake and should just go cry in a corner instead. But I came out on the other side of that, and while I'm still kind of overwhelmed and feel like I don't know which way is up, I'm making incremental progress on some things and am starting to feel like I'm accomplishing something.
I had my first business trip with the new job last weekend. Thankfully, it was short - but it also encompassed Saturday and Sunday, so today is my first real day off in a couple of weeks. Also, I came back from the trip with a stomach bug and spent Tuesday lying on the couch eating crackers, 4 at a time, in shifts of every few hours. What was completely bizarre about it was that exactly 24 hours after I started feeling horrible, I got ravenously hungry and ate tacos. And I've been totally fine ever since. Really weird.
Brock is off with some friends this afternoon seeing The Dark Knight, because I refuse to go see it in the movie theater. At some point, I want to see it because it's supposed to be really good - I told Brock I felt like I'd be missing out on a cultural experience if I didn't eventually watch it - but I can't handle it in the theater. Too many scary clowns. And I'm scared of clowns that aren't even supposed to be scary. So Brock's "screening" it for me and when we do eventually watch it together, it'll be on DVD in the safety of our own home, and he can tell me when I need to hide my face.
Hannah has a cold...which stinks...but this morning at 4:45 when she woke up crying we really thought it might be bronchitis, so we'll take the cold. She's been doing all right today. Dimetapp is helping.
And now...I need to go do some stuff for work. Bleh.
I had my first business trip with the new job last weekend. Thankfully, it was short - but it also encompassed Saturday and Sunday, so today is my first real day off in a couple of weeks. Also, I came back from the trip with a stomach bug and spent Tuesday lying on the couch eating crackers, 4 at a time, in shifts of every few hours. What was completely bizarre about it was that exactly 24 hours after I started feeling horrible, I got ravenously hungry and ate tacos. And I've been totally fine ever since. Really weird.
Brock is off with some friends this afternoon seeing The Dark Knight, because I refuse to go see it in the movie theater. At some point, I want to see it because it's supposed to be really good - I told Brock I felt like I'd be missing out on a cultural experience if I didn't eventually watch it - but I can't handle it in the theater. Too many scary clowns. And I'm scared of clowns that aren't even supposed to be scary. So Brock's "screening" it for me and when we do eventually watch it together, it'll be on DVD in the safety of our own home, and he can tell me when I need to hide my face.
Hannah has a cold...which stinks...but this morning at 4:45 when she woke up crying we really thought it might be bronchitis, so we'll take the cold. She's been doing all right today. Dimetapp is helping.
And now...I need to go do some stuff for work. Bleh.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Confessions of a working mom
My new job is insane. It's insane partially because I think that's just how it's going to be, and partially because I am trying to learn it while simultaneously doing my old job (because there's no one else to do it). I had seven meetings today, and there were two times where two meetings overlapped. It's that kind of crazy. I left work late and Hannah was the last kid left at daycare, which doesn't happen often but still makes me feel like a horrible mother when it does. It's been bugging me all evening.
It occurs to me that because I had a child while still on the upward climb of my career, I have set myself up for many years of internal conflict and guilt over pursuing career advancement. I thought I'd already understood it, but with this job I think I've hit the point where it's really going to be something that weighs on me. While my family will always be the most important thing in the world to me, my career is still important, too. I hope that in the long run this will be a really good example for my daughter - that you can do all the things you want to do, and have success in your own right while also being a good wife and mother. But I think the key is marrying well; that is, marrying someone who supports that, and plays an active role in the daily running of the family. I'm lucky my husband supports my ambition, and that he is an active dad who would never, ever refer to spending time with Hannah as "babysitting." But I still have guilt.
The other day, I was talking to one of my friends, who's expecting a baby. I said to her that I felt like the decision to be a working mom is a catch-22: if you stay home, people may undervalue you because you're not "working" and you may feel like you should be doing more (which is a crock); if you work, some will judge your career dedication negatively, and you'll feel guilty for not staying home (also a crock). None of this is fair, but as my mom always said, "Who ever promised fair?" The answer, now as it was when I wanted a Whistle Pop at the grocery store, is "nobody."
I know that I would not be a very good stay-at-home mom. I mean, I'd be okay at it, but I don't think my daughter would be as well-rounded if she were stuck with me all the time. In fact, judging by the few times we've been on our own for a few days when her dad was traveling, I'd say we'd get pretty sick of each other. I've said a million times that she wouldn't know how to do half the stuff she knows how to do, because it wouldn't occur to me to teach her. We're always so impressed when she starts doing something new - and one of us usually says, "Did you know she could do that?" And then we start working with her at home, too...but it takes a little kick in the pants to get us started. I also know I wouldn't be one of those moms who's really good about arranging activities and crafts and things, and I don't think I'd like "mommy & me" classes very much.
At the same time, I wonder about being a working mom and if my drive for success is going to affect Hannah. She's already good about applying the guilt when I travel, and it's awful. It makes me feel selfish - but really, although we certainly need my salary and it helps a lot, the real reason, deep down, that I work is for me. I need it. I need the interaction with people, and the intellectual stimulation, and the ability to feel like I'm accomplishing something that's just mine. I've said before that I was the first person in my family to graduate college, and I went to college for a reason, and that reason was to have a successful career. So I guess it is a bit selfish. But I also think that's probably okay.
What I can't figure out is why there's guilt, anyway. I mean, who ever said I have to be the one to pick up my kid from day care every day? Who said I'm the one who has to get up first in the morning, and get everyone else moving? Who said I'm the one who has to make dinner? Certainly not my husband, who is more than willing and able to share all these responsibilities. Not my parents, both of whom always worked when I was growing up. Even my grandmas worked. Sometimes I think it's a function of moving to a different geographic area, where there seem to be more stay-at-home moms than I ever encountered where I grew up. I don't think I had any friends when I was younger whose moms didn't work. Everybody's mom worked. They had to, and that was that. So you'd think that moms my age would have purged all that guilt and second-guessing, because even their moms worked and they turned out just fine.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just always feel like I should be doing more.
Sorry to be so pensive. I just needed to get all that out.
It occurs to me that because I had a child while still on the upward climb of my career, I have set myself up for many years of internal conflict and guilt over pursuing career advancement. I thought I'd already understood it, but with this job I think I've hit the point where it's really going to be something that weighs on me. While my family will always be the most important thing in the world to me, my career is still important, too. I hope that in the long run this will be a really good example for my daughter - that you can do all the things you want to do, and have success in your own right while also being a good wife and mother. But I think the key is marrying well; that is, marrying someone who supports that, and plays an active role in the daily running of the family. I'm lucky my husband supports my ambition, and that he is an active dad who would never, ever refer to spending time with Hannah as "babysitting." But I still have guilt.
The other day, I was talking to one of my friends, who's expecting a baby. I said to her that I felt like the decision to be a working mom is a catch-22: if you stay home, people may undervalue you because you're not "working" and you may feel like you should be doing more (which is a crock); if you work, some will judge your career dedication negatively, and you'll feel guilty for not staying home (also a crock). None of this is fair, but as my mom always said, "Who ever promised fair?" The answer, now as it was when I wanted a Whistle Pop at the grocery store, is "nobody."
I know that I would not be a very good stay-at-home mom. I mean, I'd be okay at it, but I don't think my daughter would be as well-rounded if she were stuck with me all the time. In fact, judging by the few times we've been on our own for a few days when her dad was traveling, I'd say we'd get pretty sick of each other. I've said a million times that she wouldn't know how to do half the stuff she knows how to do, because it wouldn't occur to me to teach her. We're always so impressed when she starts doing something new - and one of us usually says, "Did you know she could do that?" And then we start working with her at home, too...but it takes a little kick in the pants to get us started. I also know I wouldn't be one of those moms who's really good about arranging activities and crafts and things, and I don't think I'd like "mommy & me" classes very much.
At the same time, I wonder about being a working mom and if my drive for success is going to affect Hannah. She's already good about applying the guilt when I travel, and it's awful. It makes me feel selfish - but really, although we certainly need my salary and it helps a lot, the real reason, deep down, that I work is for me. I need it. I need the interaction with people, and the intellectual stimulation, and the ability to feel like I'm accomplishing something that's just mine. I've said before that I was the first person in my family to graduate college, and I went to college for a reason, and that reason was to have a successful career. So I guess it is a bit selfish. But I also think that's probably okay.
What I can't figure out is why there's guilt, anyway. I mean, who ever said I have to be the one to pick up my kid from day care every day? Who said I'm the one who has to get up first in the morning, and get everyone else moving? Who said I'm the one who has to make dinner? Certainly not my husband, who is more than willing and able to share all these responsibilities. Not my parents, both of whom always worked when I was growing up. Even my grandmas worked. Sometimes I think it's a function of moving to a different geographic area, where there seem to be more stay-at-home moms than I ever encountered where I grew up. I don't think I had any friends when I was younger whose moms didn't work. Everybody's mom worked. They had to, and that was that. So you'd think that moms my age would have purged all that guilt and second-guessing, because even their moms worked and they turned out just fine.
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just always feel like I should be doing more.
Sorry to be so pensive. I just needed to get all that out.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there...including me. :) (I don't think there's anything wrong with giving yourself props for raising a pretty fantastic kid.) Thanks, especially, to my mom for raising me, and to Brock's mom for raising him. You made us both just wacky enough to be perfect for each other. :)
And, especially if you're a mom, check out this blog post on the Cookie magazine website. I just found this one last week, and it does a really good job of explaining why one of my Mother's Day gifts - a day at the spa - is absolutely perfect. Sometimes, moms need to not have to take care of anybody or anything. Time that's all about you becomes this magical reset button that lets you go back to making it all about somebody else with renewed energy.
My family rocks. I'm so glad I get to be a mom, and that I have a husband who appreciates the job I do. He made me a really complicated breakfast just because it's my favorite. How awesome is that?
And, especially if you're a mom, check out this blog post on the Cookie magazine website. I just found this one last week, and it does a really good job of explaining why one of my Mother's Day gifts - a day at the spa - is absolutely perfect. Sometimes, moms need to not have to take care of anybody or anything. Time that's all about you becomes this magical reset button that lets you go back to making it all about somebody else with renewed energy.
My family rocks. I'm so glad I get to be a mom, and that I have a husband who appreciates the job I do. He made me a really complicated breakfast just because it's my favorite. How awesome is that?
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Why did I think this was a good idea?
So, work is crazy. Mostly the challenging-in-a-good-way kind of crazy, but it is causing me stress.
I have a 15-page paper due in less than 3 weeks, for which I have only begun research...meaning, I downloaded/requested a bunch of articles whose titles looked promising. I have not yet reviewed any of these articles. There's also a 10-minute presentation to prepare on the paper I haven't written yet. I'm actually not even 100% sure what I'm supposed to be talking about in the paper.
I have a rather large research project due in less than three weeks, as well, for which I have only just gotten my survey results. (THANKS if you took my survey!!) Again, I need to prepare a presentation based on the research report I haven't written yet.
My fantastic kid is potty training, which is a weird roller coaster of really HIGH highs (hooray, you did it!) and really LOW lows (accidents in the bathtub). It also involves spending a lot of time sitting in the bathroom.
My husband is probably going to have to take another business trip soon. I told him I really didn't mind this (and I don't) because, while he is wonderful and was very concerned about having to leave when I am in the throes of school/work insanity (not to mention the potty training), I don't think I would get any work done any faster if he were here vs. not here.
Luckily, I'm done traveling for awhile...and if I can just get a plan in place for the school stuff, I will feel a lot better. But right now it all has the feel of, "Jeez, I should have started all this crap six weeks ago, even though I didn't have all the information I really needed to be able to do it then."
I had a major stomach ache this afternoon/evening...which I was afraid might be stomach flu, but I think might have actually been from stress. That is NOT cool.
I need it to be May 12. Then I have the whole summer off from school and I can bank some sanity for the fall semester. It's going to take me longer to get through school, but I am SO glad I am taking the summer off.
I have a 15-page paper due in less than 3 weeks, for which I have only begun research...meaning, I downloaded/requested a bunch of articles whose titles looked promising. I have not yet reviewed any of these articles. There's also a 10-minute presentation to prepare on the paper I haven't written yet. I'm actually not even 100% sure what I'm supposed to be talking about in the paper.
I have a rather large research project due in less than three weeks, as well, for which I have only just gotten my survey results. (THANKS if you took my survey!!) Again, I need to prepare a presentation based on the research report I haven't written yet.
My fantastic kid is potty training, which is a weird roller coaster of really HIGH highs (hooray, you did it!) and really LOW lows (accidents in the bathtub). It also involves spending a lot of time sitting in the bathroom.
My husband is probably going to have to take another business trip soon. I told him I really didn't mind this (and I don't) because, while he is wonderful and was very concerned about having to leave when I am in the throes of school/work insanity (not to mention the potty training), I don't think I would get any work done any faster if he were here vs. not here.
Luckily, I'm done traveling for awhile...and if I can just get a plan in place for the school stuff, I will feel a lot better. But right now it all has the feel of, "Jeez, I should have started all this crap six weeks ago, even though I didn't have all the information I really needed to be able to do it then."
I had a major stomach ache this afternoon/evening...which I was afraid might be stomach flu, but I think might have actually been from stress. That is NOT cool.
I need it to be May 12. Then I have the whole summer off from school and I can bank some sanity for the fall semester. It's going to take me longer to get through school, but I am SO glad I am taking the summer off.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Life is a highway...
...and mine has been traffic-filled lately.
I went to California for work last week, which was difficult because Hannah is finally old enough to really miss me, understand that she misses me, and make me feel bad about it without even really trying. She was really excited to see me when I came home, though. :)
Our lives have become quite focused on the challenges of potty training a three-year-old. We seem to be making some progress. I got a manicure & pedicure before I left for California, and the women doing my nails gave me a hard time because my daughter isn't potty-trained yet. Seriously - what is it about having a kid that makes total strangers assume they can tell you what they think about the job you're doing? Meh on them.
Work has been insane, but I am not stupid enough to publicly write about why. Let's just say that I am "between bosses." Work has been really busy for Brock, too...he's had to work quite a few late evenings lately. I don't know how he does it; I just wear out at a certain point and can't think anymore, but he can keep plugging on something until he gets it completed/fixed/updated/whatever. It's impressive.
I only have a month of school left, and I haven't really started rocking either of my final projects. I should be doing that instead of this (or at least cleaning the bathroom instead of doing this), but I lack motivation. But...please take my survey if you haven't already! I am taking the summer off, which I'm sure I'll regret when I'm stuck in school and everyone I started with is finished, but I need a break.
I went for a nice walk with Robin on Sunday, which was good...we hadn't done that in awhile and it was nice to catch up. We walked around my neighborhood, and it made me think about how my mind is shifting into "move" mode. We've always known we'd want to try to move before Hannah starts school. Hopefully the market will recover a bit before then...but our stroll around the neighborhood made me realize that I never want to live anywhere with chain link fences ever again. I love our house so much, but I'm starting to hate the chain link fences around here.
The weekend was beautiful here, which was refreshing after so many cold, awful winter months. We broke 60 degrees for the first time! Wahoo! There's hope for us all.
Okay, enough procrastinating. My ethics paper is calling me...
I went to California for work last week, which was difficult because Hannah is finally old enough to really miss me, understand that she misses me, and make me feel bad about it without even really trying. She was really excited to see me when I came home, though. :)
Our lives have become quite focused on the challenges of potty training a three-year-old. We seem to be making some progress. I got a manicure & pedicure before I left for California, and the women doing my nails gave me a hard time because my daughter isn't potty-trained yet. Seriously - what is it about having a kid that makes total strangers assume they can tell you what they think about the job you're doing? Meh on them.
Work has been insane, but I am not stupid enough to publicly write about why. Let's just say that I am "between bosses." Work has been really busy for Brock, too...he's had to work quite a few late evenings lately. I don't know how he does it; I just wear out at a certain point and can't think anymore, but he can keep plugging on something until he gets it completed/fixed/updated/whatever. It's impressive.
I only have a month of school left, and I haven't really started rocking either of my final projects. I should be doing that instead of this (or at least cleaning the bathroom instead of doing this), but I lack motivation. But...please take my survey if you haven't already! I am taking the summer off, which I'm sure I'll regret when I'm stuck in school and everyone I started with is finished, but I need a break.
I went for a nice walk with Robin on Sunday, which was good...we hadn't done that in awhile and it was nice to catch up. We walked around my neighborhood, and it made me think about how my mind is shifting into "move" mode. We've always known we'd want to try to move before Hannah starts school. Hopefully the market will recover a bit before then...but our stroll around the neighborhood made me realize that I never want to live anywhere with chain link fences ever again. I love our house so much, but I'm starting to hate the chain link fences around here.
The weekend was beautiful here, which was refreshing after so many cold, awful winter months. We broke 60 degrees for the first time! Wahoo! There's hope for us all.
Okay, enough procrastinating. My ethics paper is calling me...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
It's that time again...
...Time for schoolwork to be due! And that means it's time for me to procrastinate by blogging. I have a short paper (very short - 2 pages) due on Monday. It's for my ethics class, which means it will require a lot of Deep Thought in order to come up with the finished two pages, and I don't feel very capable of Deep Thought right now. I also have a pile of reading to do...which I may work on a bit after I finish this. I have started approaching reading totally the wrong way: I do it when I don't want to do the work I actually have to complete for class. So I still feel like I'm accomplishing something, but I don't have to really do anything. The problem there is that nobody is grading me on my reading. But I'll get it done, because I always get everything done.
My ethics class is kind of crazy. I really like it because it's philosophical and interesting and there are a lot of gray areas to debate. Also, it seems nobody thinks marketers have any ethics at all, so it's nice to examine issues as a framework for convincing people that ethical marketing is actually possible. But we spend like the first hour to 90 minutes of each class discussing ethics-related stuff we've seen in the news, which is also interesting but can kind of drag when you've already worked a full day and eaten dinner in your car so you wouldn't be late for class. And the bookstore ordered a newer version of the textbook than the professor had, so our book doesn't match her syllabus at all. (She said all the info is the same, it's just in a different order, but it's confusing.) We never talk about the book in class, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm reading it. My research class is with the same professor and the lectures are heavily based on the book...so I don't think she's like anti-textbook or something. I do really like the professor, so that's good. But I'm having a hard time wrenching my brain between Deep Thought ethics and Grounded in Reality research. It requires two completely different thought processes. Also, neither one is as practical or immediately relevant to my job as my classes last semester, so it's hard to get as excited about them.
The last couple of weeks have been wacky. Hannah's birthday party was a week and a half ago, which was way fun but meant that I was getting ready to party and host 20 people at my house rather than do any work for school. And I took a day off work to get the house cleaned, so that meant I wasn't getting all my work done, either. It was worth it because Hannah had the best time, but it meant that the week after that was pretty...cranky.
Brock has had to work a lot of late hours lately because of the project he's on, which has been a little frustrating for all of us. And work sort of exploded for me, but I couldn't stay late because I either had class or Brock was working - and his working late was dictated by client deadlines, which sort of trumped me just needing to get things off my to-do list. Also, our plumbing got screwed up and it took more than a week to get it fixed because a) we were both super-busy and b) the plumbers didn't do a thorough job the first time they came. (Short version of the story: Plumbers came. Didn't find a blockage and told us to call the Village to check out the main line. Called the Village. Village was very attentive, came out right away, couldn't find a problem but flushed the line anyway. We still had a problem. Village checked the main line again. Couldn't find anything. Plumbers came out again yesterday. Turns out they hadn't checked our ENTIRE sewer line the last time, and - aha! - the blockage was in the part they hadn't checked. This cost a few hundred bucks, a great deal of stress and disgust. Good news is that it's fixed now, and after one more night of mopping with bleach, our basement should be okay. And we can freely run water again, which is good because the laundry was really getting out of control.)
This past weekend was one of my crankiest weekends in recent memory. I was just feeling overwhelmed and helpless to do anything about it. My funk lasted through about Monday afternoon...and was completely gone yesterday when the plumbing was officially fixed. I'm still feeling overwhelmed, but not as grumbly about it.
Oh...and here's another thing. I've been asking for a laptop at work for a couple of years, and they finally approved the request. So I get my new laptop next week, which is cool - but they won't let me have iTunes because it "isn't allowed because it's not work-related." (I have it on my computer now, but I think because my computer is so old, nobody realized I had the permissions to install anything myself.) I know I'm not an IT person and I couldn't possibly understand all the issues they face...but it's not like I'm asking for a stupid game or something. I just want to plug in my iPod and listen to music without running down my battery. I don't even want to put music on the computer! They did, at least, agree to install the software that lets me sync up my calendar with my phone, even though my phone isn't theirs. So I guess that's a small victory. Meh.
My ethics class is kind of crazy. I really like it because it's philosophical and interesting and there are a lot of gray areas to debate. Also, it seems nobody thinks marketers have any ethics at all, so it's nice to examine issues as a framework for convincing people that ethical marketing is actually possible. But we spend like the first hour to 90 minutes of each class discussing ethics-related stuff we've seen in the news, which is also interesting but can kind of drag when you've already worked a full day and eaten dinner in your car so you wouldn't be late for class. And the bookstore ordered a newer version of the textbook than the professor had, so our book doesn't match her syllabus at all. (She said all the info is the same, it's just in a different order, but it's confusing.) We never talk about the book in class, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm reading it. My research class is with the same professor and the lectures are heavily based on the book...so I don't think she's like anti-textbook or something. I do really like the professor, so that's good. But I'm having a hard time wrenching my brain between Deep Thought ethics and Grounded in Reality research. It requires two completely different thought processes. Also, neither one is as practical or immediately relevant to my job as my classes last semester, so it's hard to get as excited about them.
The last couple of weeks have been wacky. Hannah's birthday party was a week and a half ago, which was way fun but meant that I was getting ready to party and host 20 people at my house rather than do any work for school. And I took a day off work to get the house cleaned, so that meant I wasn't getting all my work done, either. It was worth it because Hannah had the best time, but it meant that the week after that was pretty...cranky.
Brock has had to work a lot of late hours lately because of the project he's on, which has been a little frustrating for all of us. And work sort of exploded for me, but I couldn't stay late because I either had class or Brock was working - and his working late was dictated by client deadlines, which sort of trumped me just needing to get things off my to-do list. Also, our plumbing got screwed up and it took more than a week to get it fixed because a) we were both super-busy and b) the plumbers didn't do a thorough job the first time they came. (Short version of the story: Plumbers came. Didn't find a blockage and told us to call the Village to check out the main line. Called the Village. Village was very attentive, came out right away, couldn't find a problem but flushed the line anyway. We still had a problem. Village checked the main line again. Couldn't find anything. Plumbers came out again yesterday. Turns out they hadn't checked our ENTIRE sewer line the last time, and - aha! - the blockage was in the part they hadn't checked. This cost a few hundred bucks, a great deal of stress and disgust. Good news is that it's fixed now, and after one more night of mopping with bleach, our basement should be okay. And we can freely run water again, which is good because the laundry was really getting out of control.)
This past weekend was one of my crankiest weekends in recent memory. I was just feeling overwhelmed and helpless to do anything about it. My funk lasted through about Monday afternoon...and was completely gone yesterday when the plumbing was officially fixed. I'm still feeling overwhelmed, but not as grumbly about it.
Oh...and here's another thing. I've been asking for a laptop at work for a couple of years, and they finally approved the request. So I get my new laptop next week, which is cool - but they won't let me have iTunes because it "isn't allowed because it's not work-related." (I have it on my computer now, but I think because my computer is so old, nobody realized I had the permissions to install anything myself.) I know I'm not an IT person and I couldn't possibly understand all the issues they face...but it's not like I'm asking for a stupid game or something. I just want to plug in my iPod and listen to music without running down my battery. I don't even want to put music on the computer! They did, at least, agree to install the software that lets me sync up my calendar with my phone, even though my phone isn't theirs. So I guess that's a small victory. Meh.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Why I love Backyardigans
Because my sick child, who is stuck feeling miserable with a virus, loves Backyardigans. And they make her giggle, even though her nose is running, and she's coughing, and she has a fever. So kudos to you, Backyardigans, and keep it up. Hooray for Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, Tasha and Austin. You all rock.
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