O, well, outrage lessened. But not entirely gone. Volunteering your employees still ain't cool.

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Any ideas on what I can distract these little munchkins with?

Actual munchkins and other food. Stuff 'em full of sugar and caffeine then send 'em home to their parents who should actually be taking care of their own children on Take Your Child to Work day, in that they should be showing their kids what they do for a living, not what you do, when you are new in town and can't tell them to take their job and shove it.

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But were there mojitos?

No, but there was free beer and food. So not quite perfect, but close. I want to go back, and I want to sit in the bleachers instead of the suite. So. Fun.

Do you at least have the option to opt out of doing this?

Um, yes, but not really. Again with the team playing. Luckily, this is the first really eye-rolly thing I've had to do since I've gotten here. The rest of it - no big.

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Is it just me being a porny pants, or is United's slogan: "Brazil - its different down there" on the smutty side?

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Is it just me being a porny pants, or is United's slogan: "Brazil - its different down there" on the smutty side?

yep, and I'm sure it's on purpose.

I just went off on someone on another board of mine for calling my attitude "disgusting", in reference to my defense of fois gras. You know, i don't care if you have a different opinion than me, but don't insult me, that pisses me off.

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Okay, I realize full well that my supreme crankiness is from a combination of: (a) not enough sleep; (b) too much sugar last night; and (c) these damned allergies, which resist Claritin's might. I get that. I get all of it.

That said, the whammy combination is exacerbating the following, which are annoying in their own right, but not really -- on a normal day -- enough to make me overwhelmed and weepy:

(1) my co-workers won't shut up; it's not just Chatty, either -- co-workers who are several doors and walls away from me have been loudly guffawing all fucking day (this is nothing new -- one woman laughs at EVERYTHING, loudly, all day long -- but it's gotten on my last sleep-deprived, over-sugared nerve today);

(2) stupid work deadlines are asinine and going to screw me SO HARD tomorrow, and *I* can't do anything about it, because it all hinges on other people (like Big!Boss) getting stuff to me on time, and when I've tried begging, pleading, and telling them that if they don't get it to me on time then the journal won't go out on time, they just tell me Tough Shit -- you are GOING to make it go out on time; this is going to lead to me being here tomorrow (Friday, goddammit) until, I'm guessing, at least 7:00, which sucks worse on a Friday than any other day;

(3) freelance work has piled up all at once and everyone wants their stuff right nownownowNOWNOW;

(4) okay, he's a sweetheart, but The Boy has 2 dogs and 3 cats and is as lax about cleaning as I am, so there's pet hair EVERYWHERE, and I adore him, okay, but the pet hair is doing such a serious whammy on my allergies, and I can't really say "Gee, vaccuum your house or I can't come over," because that's just rude and points out his lack of housekeeping diligence, which would be no big deal with anyone else, but it's a big stressful deal for him because of how his ADD leads him to neglect stuff all the time,* and he knows it and feels really bad about it, and maybe my allergies would be a good motivator for him to NOT neglect vaccuuming (and changing the sheets, and don't even let me get started on his sheets -- he sleeps with the pets, and -- ACK), but [see #5];

(5) I don't *want* to be the motivator for him to vaccuum -- and I don't *want* to remind him to do stuff -- because I cannot abide being in the caretaker role, damn it, I do it enough with my dad and I do NOT want to do it with The Boy, and why can't someone be *my* caretaker, just fucking once, damn it?

(6) I'm sore all over from lifting weights.

(7) Can't sleep; clown will eat me. If I don't start sleeping normally -- and enough -- I am going to fall over and turn to dust.

*(The ADD ---> neglecting stuff is NOT me making excuses for him, and he doesn't use it as an excuse, in the sense of "Oh well, nothing I can do about it; that's just the way I am." He's very aware of it, and -- I don't know enough about ADD, but it's a brain chemistry thing just like depression, and it's a real issue, not just a handy excuse for laziness.)

I cannot stress this strongly enough: NO BRACKET HUGS, PLEASE. Seriously. I just needed to vent before I blew up at a co-worker or the nice lady in the deli.

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these damned allergies, which resist Claritin's might.

Claritin does shit for me, and it makes me drowsy, even though it's not supposed to.

Do you know when Allegra is supposed to go OTC?

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why can't someone be *my* caretaker, just fucking once, damn it?

Um, not trying to send you off the edge or anything, and I know you want to be respectful of his ADD, but can you maybe say "You know I love spending time with you, but it's kind of hard for me to be at your place, so maybe we should look at spending more time at my place?"

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That sounds like a big pile of bad stuff all coming together, Tep. Good luck with not blowing up (at the nice lady, anyway. It kinda sounds like the co-workers could use it. Even if they are the wrong co-workers. Someone clearly needs a whack upside the head.)

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these damned allergies, which resist Claritin's might.

Claritin does shit for me, and it makes me drowsy, even though it's not supposed to.

Do you know when Allegra is supposed to go OTC?

Not off the top of my head, but I believe (unrelatedly) that Zoloft is finally FINALLY going generic in June. Woot.

why can't someone be *my* caretaker, just fucking once, damn it?

Um, not trying to send you off the edge or anything, and I know you want to be respectful of his ADD, but can you maybe say "You know I love spending time with you, but it's kind of hard for me to be at your place, so maybe we should look at spending more time at my place?"

Nah, I'm not going off the edge over that -- and I *can* say that to him, I'm just so stressed today that everything feels like a big! insurmountable! problem!

That sounds like a big pile of bad stuff all coming together, Tep.

Like I said, nothing is a big problem -- it's just that my lack of sleep and my thrall to Sweet Lady Sugar Cane and my allergies are making me less able (or willing) to deal with the other stuff.

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