We went to our neighborhood Christmas parade yesterday and then traipsed around until we found a Christmas tree. Apparently, we are reaping the rewards of the economic downturn of 2008. Back then farmers couldn’t afford to plant new trees and since it takes about 10 years to grow a tree. Blam! Tree shortage.
Today we are in the middle of a snowstorm and so we decorated the tree and things seem more jolly than usual. The tree is also smaller so we had less time to reach our level of perfection.
Anyone who has read this sorry little blog for awhile knows my father is an asshole. We were at my parent’s for Thanksgiving yesterday and everything was going well. About two hours in, my father asked what time it was (6-ish). That was the signal.
As my mother was cleaning up, my father threw a snit and yelled at my twelve year-old-niece. And, he dropped the f-bomb. The house was clear in less than 5 minutes. My mother, I’m sure, had no idea what happened.
Here’s the thing…you do not get to be a jerk to the grandchildren/nieces. Period. Game Over. Go to hell.
So, how was your thanksgiving?
We went to see Pink Martini on Tuesday night. A very fun show and they sang Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman and here’s how they did it:
We stayed in our seats and sang along. We left after the conga line ended up on stage during the encore.
Millennial employee got to work on time yesterday for the first time in weeks. Was I supposed to say good job or just hello?
Power went out due to Hurricane Micheal and it chafes when the people across the street have power and we don’t. Our lines are underground after a big dang production a couple of years ago. Their lines are still above ground. Ugh. Speaking of big dang deal, we’re approaching 1 year of continuous construction on the gas lines in our neighborhood. Every week we have to move signs and remove trash from the construction folks. I will be so glad when they are freaking done. At least the heavy equipment isn’t parked at our house. I’ve surely just jinxed us.
We’re nearing the end of our vacation and exactly nothing has happened – which means we’ve succeeded.
Sunrise:
Sunset and I worked hard to get those sun flares:
I’ve been moving a deck chair around to hide from the sun and this is mostly my view:
One evening we watched this for a few minutes:
The pace here has slowed down. We are wondering if things will pick up as we get closer to the weekend because of the holiday. I suppose it doesn’t really matter since it’s not like we’re seeking out people anyway.
This week:
A job candidate posted something about my department on social media that basically disparaged the entire work of the department and because we are so small, she may as well have named us personally. The only take-away I have from this is she is a deeply angry person who needs to move on and let it go. Also, don’t tell me that I know nothing about training and development and specifically about instructional design because OH HELL NO. Also, spell words correctly. It makes your story more compelling.
I spent 4 hours in a meeting reviewing and correcting a slide deck. A presentation of less than 50 slides. 4 hours. Exhausted.
How much rain can central VA get in one week? Too much, is how much.
But, how about Manafort and Cohen?
I ran a report on our HR system the other day and realized I have taken less than 3 days of vacation this year. No wonder I’m so tired.
Good thing there is a week coming soon to remedy that.
I have a doctor’s appointment today in the middle of the day. Work was like argharghargh and so I ran out of there while I had the chance.
Got to the appointment early and ate my lunch in the car. In the parking deck. It is August in Virginia. That’s how come I’m at the hottest lunch spot.
I crack myself up.
No sooner than I posted that whine about the street signs and heavy equipment than they moved on to terrorize another part of the neighborhood. Sweet!
Just cracked this open on this beautiful Saturday (low temps and low humidity with a breeze):
Our neighborhood is under the siege of gas pipe replacement. A piece of heavy equipment (or 5) has been parked in front or beside our house for about 9 months (or forever). They hooked up our house about two weeks ago. Yay? The side street is finally patched enough that you don’t worry about popping a tire or losing the car’s undercarriage. The main drag is another story.
I’ve been in a silent, and ultimately a losing, battle with the bastards working on the road/gas lines with the Road Closed signs they can’t seem to stop leaving in the green-way between our house and the road. Really? How many times do I need to move that crap off the grass so I can cut it? A gazillion, apparently. How many bottles and cans do I need to pick up? Easily a dozen. I think they finally got the hint when I and others started putting the trash back on their equipment. When someone treats public space like a baby treats a diaper, I really wonder what their homes look like. Yep, I’m judging.
Now we come to the world’s largest staple or bracket or whatever that was dug up out of the ground. It looks like a horseshoe for a giant horse. It weighs about 5 pounds and is made of iron. I have moved that out of the way several times and today I found it back on the grass because one of the workers is an effin’ idiot. Rather than wrap it around a construction worker’s head, it is now in the recycle bin. I’m not sure I can get away with throwing away the Road Closed signs, but we’ll see.
Locking up children, racial profiling and whatever new fresh hell this awful president comes up with next is not how we make America great again. Because, honestly, America was already pretty great. A confederate sympathizer is running against one of our senators this fall. It really is 2018, right? We’re supposed to be living in the future or at least for the future. Quit looking back because the only path is forward.
Last night we went over to a friend’s place to celebrate her birthday. She put in a lot of work to get the party started in her backyard–twinkly lights, lots of cold beverages, some crazy good potatoes (seriously good potato bites), etc.
Not one person talked about politics. Not one person talked about hate. It was just a few pockets of people meeting each other for the first time or hanging out with people whom we’ve known for years. That is what living in 2018 is like. That’s the real world.
