I don't get why companies are being so insistent on getting people back to five days a week in-person, when it's clearly not necessary.

In some cases I think bosses genuinely do believe it fosters better collaboration, but in this case (ginormous multinational company with teams split across multiple offices) I think it's just a way to get people to quit so they can reduce headcount without paying severance.

I had a sucky Monday too Calli!

Short version- still feeling crappy from vaxes plus bad sleep, then flat tire, then fly in coffee.

What a difference a day makes. Feel like a human again today.

So for my study of 1 , recovery from flu+covid vax is 2 days with application of Tylenol. Arm is still a little sore, but I did preventative arm movements post shot, and whether that helped or not (who knows) it was never super sore.

I think I will try to get my vaxes on Friday. My doctor also wants me to get RSV because reasons but said to check whether insurance would cover because I don't quite meet the age rec yet.

Peeps, I am happy to report (because I know you've been waiting) that my vitamin D levels are finally in the normal range! And most of my other vitamins and stuff are normal! It's been a minute as my body has recovered from losing so much intestine with resultant malabsorption issues and we've tried to find the right supplement levels. Gold star, body and doctors!

In some cases I think bosses genuinely do believe it fosters better collaboration, but in this case (ginormous multinational company with teams split across multiple offices) I think it's just a way to get people to quit so they can reduce headcount without paying severance

And they may be right, but that doesn’t mean that you should ignore the positives (no commute means more productive work time, people with mobility/anxiety/health issues are more productive if they can take a quick break, minorities feel less “othered,” etc.)

I'm sorry everyone's Monday sucked.

I got all three because I'm behind on my 2nd Shingles shot and they were doing a flu clinic so I signed up for that and got talked into Covid. I need to start carrying hand sanitizer in my pocket again ... I mean I need to do that anyway but especially with cold and flu season and all the germs.

So I slept or was tired most of the day and then couldn't sleep at all until like 4 am. I ordered groceries to be delivered! With stuff for dinner--only 3 perishable things (ground beef, milk, yogurt)--which was good because I set them to be delivered from 11-1 pm. At least I thought I did. I picked from 9 am to 11 am. M was awake and I forgot to tell him and I went to sleep and woke up around 10 am to discover that I had selected 9 am -11 am and the groceries had been sitting outside for almost an hour, in the drizzly rain, when it's 66F outside. I got them in and proceeded to throw out the yogurt, ground beef and milk and M's mom was upset and wanted to know why I was tossing perfectly good food.

She's never had food poisoning and for some reason thinks it's not a big deal because we've gone over this before with food at unsafe temperatures.

I'm also continuing to read about Shackleton and Antarctic exploration and frankly it's amazing that more of the explorers didn't die. On Shackleton's very first trip the leader was Robert Falcon Scott who organized a trip to the literal unknown and didn't TEST OUT any of the gear before hand. Like the stoves or putting up the tents or getting into the special winter gear. The first time they did that was in the Antarctic. In a storm. Also the expedition had almost no one who had ever traveled that far south even though there were people who had experience in those waters --I think ego got in the way of that.

Almost the whole of the British Antarctic expeditions are examples of white men failing upwards.

I've had great success with vaccines in the past (never got more than one at a time). The worst I've had is a bit of sore arm if I poked at it, so I didn't do that. Granted my doctor's office had the best needle wielder ever. I never got a bruise from his drawing blood either. Alas, no longer my office so I have to take my chances when I get the next Covid boost.

Well done, Jen's body!!

Who knew it was vaccine time for everyone? I was at the doc yesterday and got a Hep B vaccine! They gave me a very sparkly bandaid.

I did not sleep well (clenching my teeth all night) and want to go back to bed.

But in other exciting news, Grrat British Bake Off is back on Friday 9/27! New season airing weekly on Netflix again!

I am so ready for the Bake Off!! It seems like forever.

Woo hoo vaccines and vitamin D! I haven't scheduled my double-shot yet, will probably wait until October to get a little closer to flu season.

I had a dream last night that my glasses got flushed down the toilet. It was very upsetting.

I think it's just a way to get people to quit so they can reduce headcount without paying severance.

Cynical but apt. If they reinstitute more lenient work from home rules in a year we'll know it was all driven by reducing the headcount el cheapo.

It's travel day for me and Matilda! First time flying into Burbank Airport and I'm kind of looking forward to that. We're staying in Pasadena since that's near the two colleges we're touring (Pomona, Pitzer - both among the Claremont consortium), Glendale (where my friend Josh lives) and San Gabriel (near where my friend Rio lives).

We're leaving Friday morning so this is a bit whirlwind, but there's a good chance Matilda will be going to college in SoCal so it could be a more regular route.

I'm looking forward to seeing Josh as he's getting close to the end with his cancer. He's lost more than 50 lbs in the last six months (and he was only 185 to start with) and he has to have fluid drained from his body weekly. Really want to be there for him, but also his wife and daughter (who is a senior in HS). He was such a huge help to Jacqueline and me during her treatment.

Lots of mortality in my face in the last week. My niece messaged me yesterday because she's struggling with the anniversary of my sister's death.

I took Pastor Bea to see the mother of one of Matilda's friends who is nearing the end with cancer. (Not Lola, mother of Isabella, who I've mentioned before. This is Astrid, mother of Angelika, who has been dealing with cancer for five years).

Astrid and Pastor Bea are both German and poor Astrid burst into tears when they spoke to each other in German. She's very gaunt and her husband Anthony doesn't have nearly the support that JZ and I did. Plus Angelika has already gone to college.

And the father of one of my closest friends, Alison, died after 9 very hard months of dementia last week.

This is what comes of living into your sixties, I suppose. Though a woman chatting with me at Alembic was shocked to find out I was not in my fifties, so all credit to my sadistic Korean skincare ladies.