Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Another outfit change?

Well, we have now had the dubious distinction of going through our first stomach flu with Brandon.

It has really sucked. The flu hit on Saturday morning. It was a nerve wracking experience as the contents of B's stomach repeatedly chose a rapid exit... up until close to midnight. Then Sunday morning, round 2 started in the southern regions.

Needless to say, B has had his ass kicked by the damn flu, I am sure he has lost a pound, and learning how much and when to reintroduce food is a challenge. Yes, he is on the mend, are we fully there yet - nope. There have been times I wished we had hardwood/laminate floors throughout the whole house, and times where I wondered if the laundry would ever be done. He has been a real trooper though it all, but it has been brutal.

I used a call a friend to Nej on Saturday night to touch base about these wonderful bugs, and just to find out if this is truly how much it sucks when it is your baby with the flu. She answered with a resounding yes. It sucks this bad. Checked in with a doc and he said no need to call in the cavalry, but man, it sure would be nice if B was eating like he normally does. Last night he ate some dinner, and then powered through way too much milk and we both wore it again. Ah yes, life teaches about you limits and what is reasonable for an itty bitty stomach that has been shrunk over 4 days with a liquid diet. *SIGH*. This kind of thing is all experiential learning, you don't figure this out until you have walked down the path. Doesn't help that you have suffered through your own flus, etc. It is different when it is your babe, and you know they will eat when they are ready, and all the rest of that... it is hard letting go in that sense and just concentrating on getting the fluids in, and cleaning up the messes when they happen.

So, when I have a chance I will attempt to update the last few weeks...

Or maybe I will quickly paraphrase and if I get back there, great...

Grapples. Stay away from the Frankenfruit. They are gala apples injected with grape juice. Avoid.

Victoria was great - but bloody hell if it wasn't like winter when we were there. When we went up island we woke up with 4 inches of the white stuff the saturday morning we were going to spend on the beach.

New job is good. My presentation went well - stressful.

Man, April has kicked my ass.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Wherefore art thou, spring?

It is snowing.

I perhaps should have worn a sweater.

The upside is, at least I have a window to look out!

Friday, April 4, 2008

Is there a lesson here?

Day 2 of cleaning out my new office.

I have created 8 boxes of confidential shredding, and 6 tubs of recycling, a box of office supplies, unearthed about 200 old diskettes, thousands of paper clips, many many page protectors and dividers, and there are dust bunnies and paper bits every where.

Holy shit. It is weird going through someone else's papers. What the hell, how do you walk away from your job and leave so many boxes of your crap? Who do you think is going to look at it? Each time I have left my jobs in the last few years (between my mat leave, and then truly leaving, and then my recent switch) I left my office spic and span and ready for the next person. I cleared out my crap. Apparently no one has wanted to through anything out.

I found a goal statement paper from 1983. Yup. 1983. I found pictures from the 90s. Was our hair really that big and our clothes that bad?

And the emails. From the dawn of time. And ineligible writing, and half filled writing tablets stuck in boxes here and there. And I have boxes of empty binders. It is mind blowing. I know I am totally going off on a rant here, but it is amazing. There are still 13 boxes in my office, and a completely full book shelf, and a hanging file cabinet and that is just less than half of what there originally was. Some stuff will be archived, other stuff is being picked through. I can't give stuff away. People keep popping their heads in my office, and what started as me trying to look at stuff before it got turfed has turned in to me looking at the date and then either stuffing in to a box for archiving or dumping in to shredding.

The up side is that it helps for ownership, I am hoping that I am not stepping on anyone's toes... apparently there hasn't been the staff, time, or impetus to do a clean out like I am doing. Hell, the last occupant left 10 years worth of desk calendars kicking around. WTF? I am involving some of the people that would have had a vested interest in some of the paper, and we have had some good laughs, some interesting tidbits have surfaced, especially from staff members that haven't been around for more than 10 years.. and a report on which my name was on it from when I was a student.. that was trippy.

So that was my day. Oh yeah - they do white spot fridays - any one who is around from our area and wants lunch, well, everyone grabs some tables and hangs out. It is cool - we have a drama book to write in, and there is some great energy. It is different than what I am used too - this has been a good switch, in a different way than my last job was a good switch from the original one.

Next week will be my first full, 5 day week in forever. The later starts are nice, and I will be happy to have things cleaned up so the days aren't so... well, unstructured. I want to get my teeth in to stuff. I have a presentation to plan for at our AGM in 2 weeks!!!!

It took the dude forever to fall asleep tonight. Ken's at hockey, and I am a little fatigued. I am going to try to dive back in to Love in the time... but it isn't a fast read by any means. It is taking me time - I find the writing convoluted, and for me, the style doesn't flow that easily. It is interesting, the tale that is unwinding, but I am only a 1/3 of the way through.

I am being tempted by a dry apple cider. A blanket, a cider, my book, and the couch. Sounds not so bad. Either that or I have the latest CSI:Miami that I could watch. Thank god for media centre and being able to just program what I want "taped". It makes life so much easier. I do not miss the old VHS. Man, do I keep rambling or what?

Thursday, April 3, 2008

I have a window!!!

I am settling in to my new digs.

Already I am learning new things, or at least reminding myself about stuff I already knew. Time is flying. So much so that I pretty much forgot to eat lunch yesterday. By the time I realized I had forgotten to grab something of substance, it was time to go home. I knew we were having pasta, so I feasted on that an promptly gave myself a queasy stomach, and a roaring headache. The joys.

It was strange walking in to work on the first day - going "behind the counter" where I used to be a student. Some stuff is cutting edge, other stuff blows my mind at how far behind it is.

I am back to cleaning out an office. I am on my 4th recycling bin, and have filled a confidential shredding box. There are duplicates of duplicates, and policy books that go back well in to the 90s. A historical record is nice, and there are requirements for records management... BUT!!! There is a point where that kind of information volume becomes a nasty beast and you just don't want to deal with it - at all. In I come... I do have an amazing view, and I do have 15 boxes that still need to be sorted, plus all the stuff on the book shelf. It feels a little chaotic, but I am feeling very welcomed, and already valued. It has been really cool. That said, a little daunting at times because some of the way that things has been done is really convoluted, and I come at a time they want to make some big changes, which is great, because that seems to be where I am at, and the team that I am with.

Time is flying. I still don't have an office key, or my own access card, and I still need to go to the gym and get me a membership. I am giving myself the week off - I figure there is enough chaos without getting my ass to the gym - especially since eating has been an issue, LOL. I also realized that I only did a trip to the loo once. Can we say, drink some fluids girl!!!

The shorter days and later start time is nice.. as is the 10 minute commute (after a 15 minute walk to the car, which I expected, which is actually quite nice.. me time, to just walk.... and not think). Today I am going to grab the dude, and poppa, and head off to the ducks. Which is cool because it wasn't an option to do that before dinner when I wasn't getting us home until close to 6! It's nice starting at 8:30 instead of 7:30.. mornings are not so hellacious.