All of Me

The other day I realized it was November, and I wasn't blogging every day. I felt a little sad that I had so gotten out of the blogging habit that I didn't even realize November had any special meaning for this little blog.

Yesterday, I went on my Feedly for the first time in a long time. I unsubscribed from a bunch of blogs, mostly those who hadn't published in three to five years (!) but also ones that I couldn't easily identify the person who was writing. I figure if I couldn't remember who you were, I probably wouldn't miss reading you. I really pared things down and I think that will increase my desire to connect. In part I was kept away by the number of people whose blogs were in my feed but I wasn't really reading; I also think the I was being weighed down by the old abandoned blogs in my feed.

Interestingly in reviewing those "dead blogs" I saw how many had returned after an absence. The last post was usually brimming with new optimism for future posts. It made them seem especially sad. None of that for you! Though if things had ended, that Maggie post would have been the best way to go out.

I've had some mental bandwidth for these tasks because things at work are starting to right themselves. I believe I told you back in July that there were happenings--my boss left and I was "interim" director which basically meant I couldn't do anything meaningful but had to keep everything running. I've been promoted permanently--so I can do the meaningful things including hiring a new associate director. Nevertheless, mentally, I'm more present. Still extraordinarily tired at the end of a day, but present.

I finished stitching the dude's anniversary gift in August, but last night I put on the button so it is officially done! This is the 2018 Collector's Heart from Heart in Hand; it's stitched with the kitted fabric and the called-for colors. The dude was especially pleased by it because he likes John Legend. Not for his music. Rather, Legend is a Penn grad and spoke at a graduation the dude attended. (Go on, read it; commencement speeches are one of my favorite genres.) The second anniversary sampler I finished this year! And it's not the first Collector's Heart I've done for him.

Well, I have plans, including bringing this computer in to be looked at. If it were as fast as it should be it wouldn't be so painful to blog. See you soon.

Still Standing

I'm sorry to have abandoned you. This getting up early three days a week to go to work is taking a lot out of me! The campus is beautiful. (It's an arboretum!) I've spent considerable time on urban campuses (since 1991), so it's a delight to be somewhere where you can, say, hear a woodpecker on the way into the office. The people are really nice, and I've come up to speed pretty quickly. I've been enjoying it.

I've also been using getting back to the blog as a reward for finishing the taxes...which I've been avoiding. Rest assured they are completed, and I have settled my accounts with the governments.

Friday stitching was a packed house with a lot of the usual suspects and a couple of newbies. We had two letters from one of the former members, the young grad student who moved home after receiving M.A. in order to fix flutes. The good news (to her) is that she is off to a PhD program. (More power to her, but forgive my cynicism.) They're very supportive of our young friend, but it's funny trying to explain graduate study to old ladies. We settled on talking about the weather the young Georgian will be facing up in Boston.

My neighbor, a widow, was telling me about this couple she used to go to breakfast with. Seems the man is now a widower, who has asked her out to breakfast again. She's not interested. I gave her my mother's advice to her children, "it's just a date, you don't have to marry him." But she thought he might be like this other fellow who bragged to his friends about how quickly he could get someone into bed although "those aren't the words he used!"

I couldn't help but tell her bestpal's mother's (also a widow) words of wisdom, "Women mourn; men replace." Another widow overheard and soon there was much laughter and yet another exclamation of "I love Fridays!"

I've been working on Star Light Star Bright by Little by Little. I am stitching with the prescribed DMC and fabric. I adore the colors on this one. So fun and bright!

Finally Catching Up

I have made it through the 525 posts I had in my blog reader after my short six day vacation. I think that some of my bloggers who hadn't blogged all summer waited for my vacation to return to blogland! You may notice a dearth of comments, and I do hope you will accept my apologies for that.

I have had some small good news on the job front. Although my unemployment has been extended 20 weeks, I have received and accepted an offer to do part-time, temporary, freelance* (could it be any less permanent?) writing for an old employer. I will probably make too much money to receive unemployment for a little while, and I bet it will screw up the whole unemployment offer because that's just how bureaucracies work. In the long run, however, it will be good to have a little work on the resume. I knew that if I put a ton of things on my to-do list for September something would come up to prevent me from achieving them. Fortunately, it's of the money-making variety. It is a good problem to have.

I've made a little progress on Martini while we all try to settle back into our routines.

*This is how universities get around hiring freezes.

Good News /Bad News

So you know how my job wasn't really working out? Well it's over. The whole thing reminds me of when Janeane Garofalo and Jerry Seinfeld broke up. It's really the thing both of us wanted. Only I had to let them do the breaking up so that I didn't get the fuzzy end of the lollypop. The weird thing was how easy it was to take. I mean, I've been working since I was 14--28 years--and I've never lost a job. I thought it might be harder. This isn't the best time to be unemployed, but it's going to be a whole lot easier to look for a job when I am not being drained by the one I have. So YAY. But we're not going to be able to go to New York and see Speed the Plow like we talked about*. Boo!

More good news: Danielle is the winner of the pillow. (Please e-mail your snail mail address.) There is some bad news there. I had intended to make the piping and sew it together tonight, but the dude wants to take me out to "celebrate" or whatever. So I won't be able to send it until next week. The good news is that it's going to be easier to get to the post office. Lots of people who are owed things will rejoice! (I'm looking at you, Lee.)

Finally, one of my many talents is translating American to English, so I'm sorry to report all you Brits who thought you could resist Ina Garten's siren call with the fleur de sel caramels, golden syrup substitutes for corn syrup. You can't escape.

* Part of my 101 things. I've been posting there again if you've given up on me.

Dream Job

Remember when Donna said, "Your dream job involves living on an island where the masses can't bother you."

Eureka!

New Job

I got the job! I'm not going to reveal many details here. Suffice to say my new boss is big on work-life balance and that I am leaving development behind. I start September 2.

In other news, I'm not going to have a computer at home for a little while. The one working computer seems to have a virus. The good news is that we'll finally get off our bums and bring both nonworking computers to be fixed. This may mean I get some stitching done.

Abandoned

The dude took off to a conference in Chicago with the computer which means I will have to blog from work where I am ass-deep in it. My senior and junior colleagues are now long gone, making poor-you faces at me from their new desks and laughing their asses off. The good news is the evil AVP is off on a ten day holiday. The bad news is she has increased my responsibilities to 60 hours a week and refuses to discuss salary with me. The good news is I fully intend to go over her head while she is gone. In fact tomorrow. Hey, I gave her chances. And also, I have only been doing my regular jobs rather than work 60 hours a week. I think that's reasonable. Anyway, now you know why the posting has been erratic. Some days it's all I can do to sit upright at my desk and avoid weeping openly.

So anyway, no pictures til the dude returns*. Just boring old blather and whine, whine, whine from me.

*Too bad for Edgar because I've been working on his round robin. (DD, yours is next, promise!)

Part of the Production Line

I'm not a giant fan of working. I know a lot of people love their jobs. (Love in itals definitely!) I have never been in love with a job, and I can't imagine finding a job I bounce out of bed to go to every day. I've been working since I was 14; that's 27 years of work experience. And outside the first month or two of every job, I have really not enjoyed it (except teaching; in that case, there was no honeymoon period). There have been jobs I liked. There have been certain parts of jobs that I really relished, but there was always something that made the rest of the job drudgery, like a horrible manager, or the fact that most of the jobs have been in nonprofits where incompetents are rewarded, or tedious assignments, or a bipolar coworker who attempts suicide when you're the only one around. So, yeah, like, work not so much.

I've come to realize that I need a new job. Between my boss's new boss changing the environment and the big grand boss preventing us from moving forward on a couple of majorly important projects, I need to be someplace else. So I met with a woman who is a principle in a small business that provides writing and design services to organizations like the one where I currently work; she knows everyone around. She offered me a job, but it would be freelance. I couldn't be a freelancer. I'm the kind of person who needs to know exactly how much money is coming in every month. Besides, I cannot be relied upon to do work outside of an office. I saw how the dissertation writing went until I moved into the library to finish it. That goes for owning my own business too because she tried to tell me that I should make a business out of my hobbies, like owning a needlework shop (HA!) or selling my needlework (HAHAHA). Both my parents have owned small businesses and my mother's was a quilt shop, so I have a lot of firsthand experience with that. Not enough money, too many headaches.

Then she told me that I should find a similar job in a different organization (she's not that impressed with my organization either) and write a book. Because she's been writing a novel and it has Changed Her Life! (She did very nicely say that my writing deserves a larger audience.) I'm skeptical; I've written (though not published) a book, and god that's so much work. And for what? Inner fulfillment? Fame? Certainly not the money. If I didn't want to travel, I honestly would live on a commune of two, living off the land and baking my own bread, bartering to get the things we needed. Unfortunately, airlines really hate bartering, and I'm not so sure the dude shares my interest in bread baking. There are, I suppose, more than a few reasons not to go all Ted Kaczynski. I hate when I get this way, and I get this way every time I need to look for a new job. It’s like my inner critic takes over my whole brain. There are so many downsides to every suggestion that I just want to withdraw from the workforce. I don't think I'm asking for suggestions. In fact, best not offer any. Just offer me your love...



Sorry about that, but I've become obsessed. Stitching content: I started Hillside Samplings' Folk Art Threadkeep. Photo when it looks like something.

Progress Report

Today, as I was basking in the warm glow of my expensive new thermostat (usually the dude changes them--we think there's something wrong with the wiring, and next time it goes, I'm calling the electrician instead of the heating people), I got a flower delivery. From Sissy. Because I'm "wonderful." And I am.

Yesterday, after the heating man left, when I called to tell the boss to say I was on the way back to work, she told me not to bother. So I went shopping! Now I have most of the things I was looking for, which leaves me with the work part of the list. And I have to admit I haven't gotten right on it.

wrap boss's birthday gift; finish-finish Sissy's (new) present; finish-finish "beer;" finish-finish stockings; finish-finish uncle's ornament; buy a point setter*; buy oranges; buy cloves; make pomanders with the kids; clean the house; buy a candle holder for Christmas candles in bathroom; call re lobster (10-12 lbs); buy tall purple pillar candle; put up second tree; buy purple paper plates; see if Home Goods has purple/orange/gold table runner (to match the napkins); paint front door, final coat; put up storm door; hang wreath; paint patches around door and in hallway; get rid of chair; put out all cardboard recycling; find a place/way to display Christmas cards; buy ribbon for presents; buy candle for snowman holder that is on display; pick up gifts from framer; buy pierogis from ladies in Port Richmond; check out progress in human cloning, see how you can speed it up.

These are the pomanders Lala and made. You can see Lala's football on the far right.

* a point setter is very different from a poinsettia (the Christmas plant). It's a framing tool. Okay, it's called a point driver. Sorry for the confusion.

Workin' From The Couch

Today, I worked from home, on the couch. My world has shrunk to one of red microfiber. And the sandy carpet that lines the way between the couch and the bathroom. My major project for today was to proof read a donor report, and I'm so bored, I actually thought it was interesting.

After work, I worked on the Christmas elf fairy. I'll try to get a photo tomorrow morning before I "go" to work. For now, I'll leave you with the napkin rings I forgot that I made for my cousin. I think the pattern might be from the Spirit of Christmas books. I can't run up the stairs and check. You'll have to forgive me...