Suela, how are you doing?

Scrappy, ~mas and ~mas and ~mas. Wishing the best to you and your family.

Hello, Consuela. Hello, Topic!Cindy. And also hello, workday full of wonks.

Thanks, Cindy -- I had already negotiated more than their original offer yesterday. And my current pay includes a "temporary" "acting" bump, which I've now had for 1.5 years, which you may be able to tell means I haven't had a proper boss in 1.5 years, which means I am exhausted!

Hanging in there, Cindy. We're done with all the rituals and ceremonies and my brothers have all gone home. So it's back to the ordinary grind, but without the regular visits and management of Dad. Instead I get the toil of getting the estate resolved. Whee.

Congrats on the new job, Jesse!

Instead I get the toil of getting the estate resolved. Whee.

That was my task after Dad died, too. It reminded me of the poem, "Those Winter Sundays," that ended:

What did I know, what did I know/ of love's austere and lonely offices?

However, unlike caring for Dad, if I said "screw it," put the papers down for an evening, turned off my phone and had a few glasses of wine, I knew tragedy probably wouldn't occur before the next morning.

In "hats that would not make me happy in any circumstances, but make me fairly unhappy when worn by aggressive and not very sane seeming people I encounter at work" I give you: 'American By Birth - Sniper By Choice'.

Yikes!

So much continuing ~ma for Buffistas and loved ones battling cancer.

Jesse, not hating your job is a huge benefit beyond any financial consideration.

Over the past 28 years we have gone back and forth between individual offices, open offices, and home offices. It seems we work one way for some time, we get tired of it and long for another structure, and change, rinse repeat.

Trying to focus on the good things in my life and going ostrich on the state of our politics. Still deciding if I should go to Palm Beach for their march on Saturday, or Miami. It doesn't appear that there is one in Fort Lauderdale which I would prefer. Transportation is rather a hassle for either of the other two.

Still not watching most news and decided to try a bit of MSNBC on my radio in the car yesterday. Imagine my surprise when instead of "With All Due Respect" I found Greta whoever formally of FOXNews was in that time slot. Seriously.

Not sure what I feel about the Chelsea Manning news. Kind of a distraction in the midst of some much going on. I understand all sides of the issue.

However, unlike caring for Dad, if I said "screw it," put the papers down for an evening, turned off my phone and had a few glasses of wine, I knew tragedy probably wouldn't occur before the next morning.

This is exactly how I felt right after my mom passed. Though it was whiskey instead of wine.

Congratulations, Jesse. Having a job you don't actively hate is impossible to measure by financial means. If the salary at new job will cover your monetary needs and keep you sane...priceless.

My work laptop is trying to gaslight me. Yesterday afternoon it kept losing my credentials and locking me out of anything on the work servers. I had to contact our IT three times to unlock me and the third time it would lock up immediately after being unlocked and IT was "baffled". It was something on my computer causing the issue but they had no idea what. This morning - it is working like a charm as if the last two hours of yesterday didn't happen. WTF? I mean, I'm glad I can get the work done that I traveled out to Salt Lake to do...but come on now.

My corporate laptop is crazy-making. I can't log onto the network with it, but I can log onto the network on any other corporate laptop. Fortunately, I almost never have any need to use it.

From over the cubicle wall, a general discussion of manliness: "He's eating chicken jerky--with tissues!" followed by a disapproving chorus of "Dude . . ."

In the breakroom downstairs: "I wish I could grow a beard." "Dude . . . you can't grow a beard?" "Dude, I can grow a beard, but it gets so scratchy." "You grow out of that stage!" "Yeah, but . . . my face gets claustrophobic." ". . . Claustrophobic?" "I'm not as tough as you guys, OK?" "We could have told you that."