I tried making a new Natter so we can close this one, but I am getting an error message.

Is this thing still on? If so, can I bitch about work?

I have a co-worker who is exhausting. Even mostly working from home and only needing to see her for maybe 2-3 hours at a time once every 2-3 weeks, she is exhausting. The most passive person I have ever met in my life, just a completely floppy boneless cat of a person who collapses into a puddle when confronted with any set of circumstances that varies in any way from what she's been explicitly previously instructed in.

Has mail arrived? She takes it out of the mailbox because that's what someone has told her to do, but she is completely paralyzed at the prospect of sorting any of it (even the items that are clearly addressed to people who either have open-plan cubicles or routinely leave their offices unlocked, all of whom are 6 yards or less from her desk) and just dumps it all on my desk in a panic.

Has someone asked her to complete a totally routine task involving a particular patient but misspelled the name by a single letter? She's completely paralyzed until she has emailed and/or called at least three different people to confirm that Eugenia Whatsit and Eugenia Whatzit, both with the same birthdate, same address, same parents, same insurance, same diagnosis and same referring cardiologist, are definitely the same person.

Is there an Excel spreadsheet that needs a new row inserted between two preexisting rows? She is completely paralyzed until someone else opens the spreadsheet and inserts, labels and formats that row.

Has anyone suggested, however delicately and encouragingly and fluffingly, that she's worked here long enough that she can feel confident in taking just a tiny bit of initiative and going ahead and doing a thing without quintuple-checking it through all the rest of us first? She utterly collapses.

She's a little older than me and has worked here forever but still requires endless handholding and cosseting and cheerleading for every single task, incessantly, and it's exhausting. I had an officemate a few years back who literally drove me to daily thoughts of suicide, and I'm not this helpless! I only have to deal with her for 3 hours every few weeks instead of all day every day like in the before times, but I'm still counting down the days until one of us retires.

Good GOD, I am such a bitch. My only saving grace is that I'm bitching here, not right in her face.

Anyhow, in other news, Matilda continues to fill up my heart and David makes lovely treats (but should really consider continuing to poop; clenching until spring is really not a solution), the guinea pigs are still so cute and I'm endlessly grateful to every lovely human here for simply existing.

My Costco has no TP. Woe.

My Costco has no TP. Woe.

Can you get to Cincinnati? Because I know a guy.

Can you get to Cincinnati? Because I know a guy.

HA!

Do you have Big Lots near you? They were the ones who were never out when everybody else was around here.

There was plenty of TP at the store tonight, but they had put back up the sign about only allowing you to buy however many. I contemplated, but decided it wasn't necessary. I did though buy two pints of Ben and Jerry's, and more laundry detergent. Priorities?

JZ, I feel your pain. I just spent Over an hour with my replacement about ordering textbooks, which was a process that took me 10 minutes.

I'm sorry, Sophia. This is a pain no one should have to share.

My Costco was TP free today. Woe is me! I thought I had plenty of time to score another brick, maaaaaan.

How does the co-worker get away with not wearing a mask? WTH?

If you are a civilian working for the Army, you travel to New York for three weeks with multiple changing of places and two large events that are unmasked including a huge wedding and you come to work the next day and never ever put on a fucking mask or are asked to. Yeah, I told my boss I was shocked that she wasn’t required to quarantine given that her military husband is required to a 14-day restriction of movement.

So in a few days, I am testing, letting them know and I’ll go home paid until I get a hopefully negative result.

My general plans are that I test because it’s a good Public Health indicator and because people can be asymptomatic. And I don’t tell work because if you test, you are sent home. But a coworker takes a three-week vacation across the country, multiple state lines and likely a few super spreader events like the huge unmasked wedding she attended? I’m gonna get paid to wait for testing. I wouldn’t have to if people who supervise us weren’t dumb as shit. Their bosses will likely be angry. And I hate to burn a bridge with my vet because he’s leaving and him labeling me difficult will be difficult for me. But he introduced me to a possible civilian vet to cover for us in a way that doesn’t lead me to think my time there will continue for long.

and I have just compartmentalized all my feelings about never seeing that house again into a little lockbox in the back of my brain, to be opened at some later date yet to be determined

Oh, JZ. I cannot imagine. Well, I can some of it but to a much lesser extent and even that much broke me.

Dog is being barky and whiny again tonight, even though we went to the dog park for almost an hour. So annoyed.

The whiny you can often age them out of but barking requires training but also the right temperament of dog.

Mine has more anxiety when I have more anxiety. Nights we chill and relax a little together are huge.

She isn’t a huge cuddler either so she’s allowed on my bed and sometimes comes in for night nights and stays a half hour or so. It’s probably really calming for both of us. Then she bails to find a couch. On nights I keep petting her, I think she stays until she thinks I’m asleep.

Went to an actual restaurant last night. There were only a handful of people, very far away, and it was outside. Bottom line, I think I like staying home. I used to like going out so very much, but now I think how I could cook that, and my chairs are more comfy, and I could be braless. It just isn't relaxing anymore. Maybe after pandemic I will be able to relax more and consider it a treat.

My attempts (two) at outdoor dining have not been calming. One wasn’t even worth it.

The other more recent was for the Boy’s birthday and it was nice. He’s so social and has MS so can’t work full-time and his stonework gigs have dried up when you aren’t around people and talking. And Covid has locked everything down so much that I determined I need some small degree of socialization. The dinner was amazing, staff masked anytime they approached and gave us time to mask as well.

It did not surprise me to find out my stepmom and step step Aubrey went there recently. Ate indoors. No surprise.

We're as good as can be. The DH took early retirement (at age 50) to get out of this administration, and has been much happier. Mal and I had covid back in January (we were overseas in December) but mild versions and I'd been tracking it for work so we quarantined immediately and didn't spread it.

That’s good that DH got out, Raq. I’m sorry about the Covid but good you were tracking so early and kept others safe.

Would it be wrong to hold his presents hostage until he gets a Covid test?

I hope you either didn’t give the presents or he got tested.

I told him "You can re-schedule the visit with your dad for next week, and schedule a Covid test for Friday." And he replied, "I think that's what I'll do." 

Good job, Tim.

The plan was for me to take Molly to the vet today for some antibiotic and steroid shots in reaction to her loud, snotty breathing yesterday. 

Light pre-sedation for cats is common. Ask about it. It’s easier for everyone, especially cats having breathing issues. They’ll maybe watch her for longer so a longer wait (we are completely curbside for all but necessary compassionate euthanasia and that is one person only) but better than a tooth and claw tornado.

I'm just not going to poop for the rest of the year. That's my solution.

Very male-centric of you. I can not poop ever (and, as a lady, obviously don’t shit) and still need toilet paper. Especially when tracked on a cyclic basis.

Has anyone suggested, however delicately and encouragingly and fluffingly, that she's worked here long enough that she can feel confident in taking just a tiny bit of initiative and going ahead and doing a thing without quintuple-checking it through all the rest of us first? She utterly collapses.

She’s the anti-me. People try to task me and I’m aghast, do you not know me to reliably get all of my and many other people’s work done? Why are you interfering? Get thee far from me, heathen.

My check-in with the boss earlier was, “Do you need anything from me or should I just keep doing my work like I do?” Not probably as cosseting as I could have been. Should be, at least a bit.