Maybe the extra warmth from a beard feels better in the mountains than in Florida?

I just added some pumpkin carving to my weekend plans. Anyone know where I can find a simple Bernie Sanders stencil (just the hair and glasses)?

Why are there morning fireworks? Who thinks that is a good idea?

Oh, maybe it's people hunting. Is it duck season?

I barely managed to stay awake through a little TV watching before collapsing in my bed. Did manage to feed myself and the critters, but that is it for my accomplishments after work. And dinner, leftover meatloaf with green beans, was not as delicious in actuality as it sounded when I decided what to eat.

Sadly, I slept for about ten hours and am still tired. I don't know what I'm going to do about that.

It's apparently bear season in Florida! According to the news last night.

Huh. I am not in bear country, nor Florida. Sounds like target practice, honestly, but I'm betting the targets are birds of some kind.

The thing I thought I had to get to by 8 AM is really between 8 and 10. Whew! Not going back to bed, but that I am a lot less rushed for breakfast, etc.

Oh, maybe it's people hunting. Is it duck season?

Wabbit season!

Sorry, it had to be said.

Accomplished so far since yesterday afternoon: Matilda's new dresser moved in and some of her things transferred into it (moving by me, things by her) (she asked me if she could keep one drawer "secret, just for me," and because I am a crap mom I looked this morning before she woke up, and the secret drawer contains two fun-size packs of Skittles); $30 worth of laundry washed, dried and folded (handwash-only stuff yet to be even touched); kitchen clean(ish); coffee made and mostly consumed; hash browns started.

I am so tired and fried I utterly cannot even. I am all out of can, and all out of even, and I feel like a complete and utter lurker everywhere. I think I may have gotten a promotion at work (assistant to the new division chief, with a small salary bump), which is awesome, but damn is it coming with an exponential increase in workload. I'm disappearing from the non-meatspace world, which is bad because it's where most of my friends are (even the ones that overlap with meatspace I'm still not seeing -- juliana and I work about six blocks away from each other and I've had a bag of treats and knickknacks I wanted to drop off with her under my desk for over a month without a chance to take a full hour's off-campus lunch to go that six blocks and back).

Every week I think, "Well, next week it'll settle down a bit," and then the next week it does the opposite. But I'm lurking, when I can, and racing through the threads and devouring the details of everyone's lives and sorrowing with/laughing with/reveling in all your pixels, just oh so lurkishly.

It did have to be said!

Small bump in salary and huge increase in workload should be reversed, dammit. I mean, vice versa, not undo it. I hope it does settle down at some point, that doesn't sound like something you should be trying to keep up longterm, if you can avoid it.

Oops, wandered off to do laundry instead of hitting post...

Every week I think, "Well, next week it'll settle down a bit," and then the next week it does the opposite.

Here's hoping next week is The Week!

Oh, I'm not even kidding myself about this coming week. There are still the medical staff and medical group applications to complete, and in the process of doing one of them I found out that one of our faculty was never registered with Medi-Cal, which means he also isn't registered with Ca Children's Services, the second of which I'll have to do but can't until someone else, who should have done it long ago, does the first.

And the new chief is spending 10 hours a day in the OR and we're trying to squeeze meetings and more faculty candidate interviews and sessions with all the CMOs of all the local hospitals in around all that, and I'm pretty sure that his predecessor's assistant is going to be sacked and I feel ill for her, and anxious, and guilty, even though it's in no way due to me.

But it does feel good - weird, but good - to be supported at work. Everyone's happy with what I'm doing, and I didn't even ask for the two raises (I was going to, but hadn't yet, when they happened) but someone else went to bat for me and pushed them through. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but also thinking of a song I heard once long ago called "Sometimes There's Only One Shoe."

I'm glad that you are supported and appreciated at work, JZ, and also yay for the raise! I'm sorry about the extra stress. I hear you about not having much time to connect. I feel like that's been happening a lot for me, too.

Bonus for getting to the airport early: I ran into my hairdresser (and owner of my hair salon) who had just missed her flight, and she treated me to a massage at one of those airport express spas! So now I feel awesome!

JZ, I'm happy for the good, and sending slow-down vibes to the overmuch. Your presence is missed.

Is Dana around? Kind of specific-ish question for her, or anyone else who can guestimate.

How low a number of voices for the Barber Agnus Dei would still be effective in a 2-3,00 seat space with good acoustics, or decent mics and sound system? How many would be optimum?