Thanks, -t. I've been a bit absent from the board, working a lot. I like the work itself, but I can't work with my boss. She is smart, competent, and has integrity. Usuallly, when you have a problem with a boss, one of those is missing. The problem is that she's a micromanager and a people pleaser. Except the people who work for her, of course. Not that I don't have my issues, but she drives me crazy.

God luck, Vortex!

I acquired groceries and vacuum,put it together, swam (the first swim after a hiatus is weird and bad times) and came home and vacuumed ( it sucks! Even using the beater on hard floors! And chairs have been defurred!) and paid all the damned bills that came in while I was gone. Fixed and filled the birdfeeder - fatass squirrels broke the wires again.

And now I'm sitting. Skipping dinner, my stomach's been dodgy all day. Had a TJ's noodle salad earlier and there was grumbling, but that's settled down. Honestly, I think the salad I had at Chilis in Trussville yesterday was the culprit. Honestly, I find that place dodgy. Everytime we've gone there during daytime, all the staff have the unhealthy, prematurely aged look of former or current addicts and sorta odd service. But when we've been there for dinner, it's all perky early 20s preppies. I dunno, there are so many problematic isms I crash face first into down there, not sure if I'm perceiving something real or just hypersensitive.

I mean, my SIL threw a house party for her school directors when they were in town for an annual meeting (she's DM for the state) and apparently it was a big deal because no white DM had ever done that for the majority black directors before. And my brother was the DD to get everyone back to the hotel after. And that's the least of it.

Ah, Vortex, my boss has similarities with yours. All the same good stuff, some different bad stuff. Makes work less fun than it might be....

Man, I love New York.

Oof. Good luck to both Vortex and Jesse with the boss stuff!

I am staying at a hotel tonight partly because my flight is super early tomorrow (7AM, so I figure I need to be at the airport at 5:30AM...) and partly because I needed one more night to make status. But I drove all the way out here (about 20 minutes?) from my sister's, after staying later than I probably should have, got settled in, started to try to re-pack all my stuff (I had all the things I've bought and presents and stuff in various bags, not the ones I"m going to check or carry on) and realized I left my toiletries bag at my sister's, with all my medication and stuff (not just like, travel size toothpaste). So had to call and hope she was still awake (she was) and drive all the way back there to get it, and then back to the hotel!

But I am now packed, and it all seems to have fit, and fingers crossed should all work out and hopefully not have anything explode all over my luggage (eep?). Now to charge all my devices...

I'm still considering running away to join the circus.

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Shrift, do you work Friday? If so, would you be interested in meeting up for lunch? I expect that day to be pretty flexible for me.

Ha, I think I am not in good enough shape to join a circus for reals.

Shrift, do you work Friday? If so, would you be interested in meeting up for lunch?

I decided to take Friday off. However, I am thinking about recycling some electronics at the Best Buy in the Hancock Center on Friday, so I easily could time that with lunch!

Actually, if you are interested in any of the leye.com restaurants, I have gift cards and lunch could be on me.

Sweet! Petterino's is easily doable, but Beatrix looks more interesting. What do you think?

Whew. Line just to drop off bags (for people who had already checked in and paid!) was 45 minutes long....but only for Delta?? Thankfully the security line was short and boarding was delayed on my flight (and flight will be delayed, since they are still boarding and we are supposed to be taking off now). The agent yellng at the line was all "you're supposed to be at the airport two hours early!!" And everyone was like "dude, srsly?? Wtf is up with this line??" I suspect a number of people will miss their flights or the deadline to check the bag in---I think I checked mine about 40 minutes before we were supposed to take off? I think 45 is supposed to be the cutoff, there were folks on a flight a few minutes before mine who panicked and the agents started trying to deal with them (which pissed off the people in line ahead of them who were also on flights soon). Ugh. At least I made it--hoping my bag did!

OK, I'm bringing out the big gun -- a full dose of Benadryl. Still dripping and miserable here. It's making my eyes run like waterfalls. If it makes me sleepy, so be it, though it will be fun to see if massive doses of caffeine counteract it to any usable degree.

Good luck with that, Theo. My own itchy eyes and stuffy nose are sympathetic.