It's got a sensor to track how much water I've drunk and a light that flashes to remind to take a drink if I haven't in a while. And bluetooth to tell my phone. And throws a little light show party when I make my goal for the day. It's freaking ridiculous but it really has upped my hydration game. I'm kind of dependent on it at this point. [link]

ETA no wheels but it will track it's own location so if I leave it somewhere I have half a chance of finding it again

Oh, Shiny!

3 hrs before I leave on a week NOT FUCKING WORKING my boss lets me know on the dl that reorg of internal teams is being figured & while it is the fucking reason I am taking a week off, none of the options are good. I've been mad because the fundamental structure is bad & frankly, changes don't address this. At all. And I don't know what the solution is except a role I've played without power or authority& argued for- way above my pay grade & higher mgmt just won't create it. Or acknowledge it. Or fucking ask. And I couldn't even walk it off because storms. And I'm not supposed to talk about it yet. But I'm not working next week.

So there is that.

Boo, sara, booooo.

I was looking at cabins on VRBO today. Not sure a vacation anywhere except by car.

The VRBO ads on my podcasts are hilarious. "You can still go on vacation -- by CAR! With your FAMILY you LIVE WITH! But go somewhere ELSE for a while! It's amazing!!!"

Much health ~ma for your Dad, shrift.

Laura, yay for a Camry, those are good cars.

"You can still go on vacation -- by CAR! With your FAMILY you LIVE WITH! But go somewhere ELSE for a while! It's amazing!!!"

So, back to family road trips across the USA, like we did back in the old days.

Wall of Text Emo Dump Incoming: I too am having work drama. There are only 7 people in my whole company, there were 10 but things happened, and now the guy who hired me is quitting next week because his heart condition flared up and he needs to not work anymore. I'm 100% behind him quitting for his health, but jear desus, he literally does 3 jobs and there's no one else to do them now but me, the person who's been there 4 months and never got fully trained on anything. Never mind that I'm getting paid to be a support person, not a director. So he's now trying to teach me everything he does, but his meds give him brain fog and it's hard to keep him on point. I talked to the CEO last week and reassured her that I'm confident in handling job #1 (I'm not but I can fake it), agreed that we need to hire someone for job #2, and we can outsource job #3. I did NOT say that if they'd done that back in January, Dave wouldn't have been under so much stress and maybe he'd be okay and still able to work now. But also he's the kind of person who will just work 60 hours a week rather than say, Hey I need some help here, so maybe the CEO just didn't realize how much stress he was under. So now I need to spend this week picking Dave's foggy brain, because I want to be able to take over his position without any hiccups and impress her (and the Board) enough to get the director's title and salary at my 6-month review in September. I'll be doing the work, I expect to get the perks. (I've also been doing the bookkeeping, which is also not in my job description, because the bookkeeper quit, so I know what everyone makes. So I know what salary to ask for when I shoot for Dave's position.) I'm a little freaked out, just a little.

The last three years since I broke my ankle have been wall-to-wall stress, just one damned thing after another. I'd like everything to be okay for a few months. Or a few years.

Oh, wow, Zen. That's a lot but it sounds like you have a good plan to deal.

Too damn much, Zen. sigh.

Wow, I think knowing what salary to ask for is key!! Especially if you are doing 3-5 jobs!

Yikes, Zen. I have to say you've got a solid plan of action, which is impressive. ~ma for Dave's brain to be up to helping you as much as possible.

Oy, Zen. I'm sorry. It is too much.

Roommate went to the protest tonight (I'm too swamped with school stuff to even consider participation). In the last two weeks lots of artists began to influence the aesthetics and atmosphere in the protests. As a result, orchestras and marching bands are playing in every demonstration ( [link] and [link] we got a superwoman on a water canon vehicle (yes, she was arrested) [link] (all links are to videos on Twitter).

(While the superwoman vid was cool, the part that got me was the other demonstrator with the sign "I am the women that desireth life", from Psalms 34 (paraphrasing 13:15, that so many know here by heart: "Who is the man that desireth life, and loveth days, that he may see good therein? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.")

That was enough break. I'm fixing myself something to eat and returning to write the research proposal.

(Edited to fix a link)