Things I've Been Doing

Well I've just passed through another blogging dry spell.  I have an excuse this time, which is that I spent the week in Chicago for work, and what a ridiculous, stressful week it was.  By the time I flew back (yesterday) I literally could not form a coherent thought because my brain was so fried.  Also, my brain sucks and refuses to allow me to sleep in past 7:30am even when I get home from the airport at 2am, so this post might definitely will have some incoherence left over from last night. My apologies.

I could go into what we spent all our days doing there but I really couldn't do so without context.  I've considered for awhile writing a post about what I do for work, but I'm not sure if that would even be all that interesting to read. I get asked about it a lot actually and it requires like a minute-long spiel to explain it.

Came up with an idea to hide tattoos: BOOTS AND CARDIGANS. WIN.

Anyway, work was really stressful. We worked 8 or 9 hour days all week (including a Sunday) and had working lunches every day, and since there weren't a lot of gluten-free options in the immediate vicinity I had to eat salads, potato chips and candy while everyone else ate Chicago-style pizza and sandwiches from Jimmy John's. I don't mind all that, but eating a salad in the face of yummy pizza can be pretty demoralizing after awhile. Plus the very nature of a project go-live is such that everyone's running around like headless chickens and everything feels really chaotic.  It was great to not worry about life at home for awhile, but still, it was pretty exhausting.

The upside to being in Chicago was that I got to meet up with a few friends I haven't seen since college, which was really, really awesome and a great way to end my day.  I ate at the same Mexican restaurant every night, which was yummy but dangerous because at one point they tried to serve me flour tortillas, and I seriously almost ate them.  If my friend Jessica, whose mother has celiac disease, hadn't pointed out to me that they were clearly flour tortillas I totally would've nommed on them and then vomited all over my hotel room.  Can't take that shit for granted I suppose.  I also got sexually harassed on the street so I think I got the full city-living experience.

Rob's been gone since Friday, July 20. The Thursday prior to that we got a call at around 4:30pm from his squad leader saying that they had to go in by 7:30 as they were heading off to Colorado.  I guess I underestimated how burned out I was, since I was surprised at the extent to which I totally fucking broke down.  I cried and I couldn't even look at Rob, couldn't even conceive of the fact that we had a weekend evening ripped from us and were facing yet another 14 days apart with minimal communication, and that led me down the rabbit hole of just being so fucking frustrated that my husband picks "lifestyle" jobs instead of just normal boring shit like everyone else.  Have you ever read the story "The Rocket Man" by Ray Bradbury? It feels like that sometimes. Luckily the call got cancelled, so we had the night together, but goodbye in the morning was tough.  As was the next 5 days we went with one or two text exchanges and one phone call.

But I'm here, and we're on day 7 or 8 or who-fucking-cares-because-it-always-changes of the roll so at least we're on the downward slope.  And let's just say I've earned my Saturday, which will be spent in my brand-new hammock with a margarita and a massive collection of Ray Bradbury short stories.

AND NOW MORE PHOTOS:

Lobby of the hotel we stayed in.


View from the room we spent all week working in.




The aforementioned new hammock. I really can't even describe how excited about this I am.

Things that Make Me Angry

I've done a few of these posts (things that make me happy, jealous, annoyed, etc.) but we haven't really touched on righteous anger.  Since it's Wednesday, and you know, fuck Wednesday, here are some things that make me angry.

1. Anti-gay marriage laws.  I was infuriated that North Carolina passed a ban on same-sex marriage, even though as we all know it's only a matter of time before this happens nationwide.  I spent a portion of my morning arguing with people about it on Facebook (totally a worthwhile use of time, by the way) and honestly, I've yet to hear a coherent argument for why we should make it illegal for gays to marry. It's fucking unconscionable to me that this is still a goddamn issue in my country. 

2. That stupid commercial where the family sings an a cappella version of "Crazy Train." This commercial makes my skin crawl.  Every time I hear that kid go "bom bom" I want to throw the television across the room.  And honestly I had to look up what the hell the commercial was even for because I'm so blinded with rage when it comes on I change the channel.

3. People who don't use blinkers when turning.  It's so simple, and how on earth is this not just a reflex for people? I put my blinkers on in rotaries just because I can't not do it.

4. Cranky dog park people. You're at an off-leash dog park. Dogs are going to run up and bark at you, and if you're walking in the main area sometimes dogs are going to wrestle or try to play with yours. My dog didn't attack you or your dog and if she was likely to I wouldn't bring her anyway. If you're not a fan of other people's dogs, I suggest you find a more private place to walk your beast instead of getting butthurt every time my dog acts like a fucking dog.

5. When commercials are 80db louder than the television show you're watching. Was this always the case? I don't remember being deafened with Super Soaker commercials as a kid.

So there you have it friends. What makes you angry?