Alien Spouse

Working Hard for the Moneys.

Last week I was covering the shop during the owners' vacation, which was both nerve wracking and fun.  It's nice to know people can trust you with a whole shop for a week, but equally (OMG) I was in charge! Eek!

Nothing too terible happened, apart from the shop lifting of one pair of $12 sunglasses - which was more annoying than anything else because I knew it was happening, but didn't trust my instincts.  Damn it!  Still I also met some great customers, and helped some people find clothes that they loved or just had a really nice chat with someone interesting whilst they browsed.  Not bad really.

I also pitched an idea to a client for a advertising campaign, and they liked it which was really exciting - I mean they haven't signed a contract yet, or anything but still!  They didn't go off in a strop or go silent on me, so that's pretty good.  We also have a new team member at the studio, who interned there last year; so she knows everyone already, has some fun stories and gossip; AND she's insanely talented - to put the tin lid on it she is absolutely lovely, and I like her a lot.  Ugh.

All in all, I'm enjoying my jobs at the moment.  I actually have job satisfaction again, and I'd almost forgotten what that was like.  It's nice.  It's really really nice.

Better! Back to Work!

Well, someone slept for most of yesterday - and it wasn't Eva!

I feel a lot better today; for one thing my throat no longer hurts and now it merely feels like my ears won't pop, which is a distinct improvement. This morning was a bit groggy from the night-time cold meds so I felt like my head was bobbling around on my shoulders like, well, a bobble head and I'm not sure I was making that much sense before I'd had my second cup of coffee.  Fortunately I could limit most of my interactions with people to e-mail and that meant I could hone my words to make sure they made some sense before I hit send.

One very good thing about working part-time is that I don't feel completely exhausted by the end of the day, so when I got home I still had enough energy to play with Eva and read her a story.  After that I needed to have a quick nap, but then Madam had a nice splashy bath and she went to bed like a little lamb.  I, meanwhile, get to enjoy a glass of wine but I'm sure I'll be in bed well before 10.

The Previous Shop Me and Resuming Knitting.

Last week I popped into the coffee shop next to my (heheheh!) shop, and got chatting with the very nice girl behind the counter.  When I mentioned that I was working two days a week next door, she said "Oh! You replaced me when I left!"

I had heard a lot about her, all glowing, so it was nice to finally put a face to the name and she was just as lovely as I'd heard.  I asked what she was doing now, and it turns out that her main focus is knitting - She's writing patterns and teaching people to knit.  Naturally I was intrigued, and friended her on Facebook the moment I got to a computer!

That conversation has also inspired me to get out my knitting needles again, especially since I retrieved my stash of craft supplies from storage at the weekend.  I have just cast on a lace scarf from a pattern on Ravelry, and I'm going to use up some half-skein remnants I have on an extended swatch before starting on the scarf proper.  I'm doing that because so far I have yet to succesfully knit any lace, and I want to iron out the technique before applying it to the actual project.  I'm really enjoying this already!

 

Exhausted.

I am so tired - I am actually not 100% sure that I'll make it through the whole of this episode of "Star Trek".  Mostly I'm just tired from working and keeping care of the baby, with a dash of still having to unpack a few boxes which is particularly energy sapping for some reason.  

Really I just need to start going to bed earlier of an evening, because Eva is sleeping really well again, but she has settled on six a.m. as the proper time to wake up.  Ugh.  I have no idea where she gets that from, neither Doc C nor myself are that keen on mornings.

Beer City Video.

Apart from moving house I was also very pleased to see the launch of a video that I've been working on for a couple of months now.

 

I am the project manager for production company that made this - which in this case meant I did everything from comissioning custom etched beer glasses; including child-care of an adorable little girl whilst her dad climbed into a beer vat; to sewing a teeny tiny kilt for a beer bottle.

It was a very unusual project I think, and I sort of doubt that anything is going to touch this for the having-fun-at-work factor - I mean really I got paid to hang out in bars and discuss jokes!  How much better could it get?

A Tuesday in Asheville.

I had anticipated a relaxed start to my day, because I was going to a meeting round the corner at 12 instead of going to the studio at 10.  So naturally I woke up with a splitting headache, a vomitting cat and a baby in need of a bath - None of those things were connected, except that they all seemed to happen at once.

Still, my day itself was good.  We are filming in local bars at the moment, and one of the guys in the video has needed to bring his year old daughter with him to the sets.  As project manager I see my role as including taking care of any issues that might delay filming, so I've been the on-set British nanny as needed!  It was actually really nice to play with a toddler and get a glimpse of where Eva will be in a few months.  Apparently there will be a lot of climbing up and down stairs, as well as a fair amount of toothy grins.

Whilst I was trying to source props for Thursday (how hard is it to find DJ decks in Asheville on two days notice?), Doc C was taking Evalyn to her six month check up.  She's very healthy and now weighs nearly 16 pounds, so she's almost tripled in size since she was born.  I'm told she still hates having vaccination jabs, but then who could blame her for that really?

Love Asheville.

On Sunday I was working at the shop, and it was fairly busy which was really quite fun.  I was saddened to see that the clock hand earrings I'd been eyeing up had been sold since Thursday, but I probably shouldn't wear attractive dangly earrings around Eva McGrabby-Hands anyway.

Sundays are a nice day to be working in one of the coolest shops in Asheville, because we get a lot of tourists who are visiting for the weekend and usually by Sunday they are relaxed and chatty.  I really enjoy meeting people when they are happily chilled out, so it's a win-win.  This week I was wearing my new "Love Asheville - Go Local" t -shirt

Even better this week I recognised one of our customers, but I couldn't immediately place her.  Fortunately I realised who she was before she left - It was Go Go Ren of the Appalachian Roller Girls!  Squee!  I, of course, fan girled out, and told her what a great jammer she was.  Go Go seemed quite surprised to be recognised, but she was lovely and didn't skate a lap around the shop at top speed or anything.  She mentioned that she had retired her skates, and asked if I'd considered joining a derby team myself (Don't worry Mum - I'm a wimp, I'm highly unlikely to strap on the knee guards) It was a definite highlight of a pleasant day at work.

Asheville.  You have got to love it.

Shopping/Working.

It was a very, very quiet day at work; so much so tha,t after I'd printed bags and swept the floor, I browsed the racks and tried a few things on.

Long story short - I spent today's wages befoe they even made it into my pocket.  I do have three gorgeous new tops though, so it was totally worth it.  Next week I have my eye on a skirt...  Ooh!  And a pair of earrings made from vintage clock hands...

This job is clearly going to be dangerous to my wallet.

Warm Colour, Cold Shape.

I started off the week helping to build my new desk at work; it is a gorgeous glossy white, it looks like the desk that Apple would make if they made furniture.  It looks lovely with jusy my Mac on it, so I'm going to try and keep it that way, but I did need a coaster (this office is mostly fuelled by coffee) and my lovely Mum happened to have sent the ideal thing for Christmas.

It's a red felt snowflake, and it is exactly the pop of warmth my desk needed.  Perfect for a snowy day in January.

Working/Shopping.

The only problem with working at my favourite shop in town is that it can feel like I'm browsing for the whole of my working day - And then I just want to spend all of the money I'm earning before it's even in my wallet.

Today we got a big delivery, so I was unpacking, hanging and steaming some really lovely dresses, skirts and blouses.  I sent Doc C a phone pic of one particular dress in a gorgeous duck egg blue with a print of penny farthings, and he immediately responded "It's like it was made for you!".  I know.  Damn.

I resisted trying anything on today, mostly because I was super busy steaming everything, but I'm not sure I'll have the self-control when I'm in on Sunday.

Theraputic Bruising.

Today we were out on a video shoot that involved local spas, which made for a lovely day of filming which I very much enjoyed.  It's rather pleasent to have a nice relaxing day at work essentially touring spas.

The last filming location was an acupuncture and pilates studio (which has extremely reasonably priced classes - I'm making a nite of that!), and once we'd filmed the interview and footage of acupuncture, I volunteered to be the guinea pig for a quick demonstration of cupping therapy.  It wasn't actually filmed, but we did take some stills and I have some pretty impressive bruises.

It looks awful, doesn't it?  Which is weird because it felt really nice, like a particularly in-depth massage.  Still, I suppose that it means I shouldn't wear anything strappy for a few days!

A Skirmish.

Today I was at work (on a photo shoot actually!), and I had brought my bottle of water with me as I always do.  I unscrewed the lid, took a sip and something bumped against my top lip.  I looked down at the open bottle and was horrified by what I saw.

There was a stink bug swimming around in my water bottle.

Shudder.

This is unacceptable. UNACCEPTABLE.  It could have been worse I suppose, I mean I could have swallowed it (sh-u-dd-er) but really how far will these damn insects try to push me?

It is my opinion that this is a clear escalation of hostilities on the part of the stink bugs. This, of course, now means that I will exterminate any stink bug I see in the apartment as soon as it is sighted.  I will not suffer any further indignities.

Six Days a Week.

So now that I have two jobs I actually only get one day off a week, but at least I have managed to make that one day a Saturday.  I don't know how well that is going to work in the long term, but as I'm not actually at work for nine hours a day any more (I was working from 8 to 5 with an unpaid lunch hour at the University), and as I am having so much fun with both of them it doesn't seem too daunting at the moment.

Having said that, I am pretty tired and I am going to sleep like a log tonight.  I sincerely hope that a certain someone, *cough*Eva*cough*, got that memo as well.

 

One Thing After Another.

What a day!  

First of all Eva woke up at three again.  This had better not become a habit - Actually I suspect she knew I had a long day ahead of me, she likes to make sure we know who is boss around here.

Anyway after that my nine o'clock (I have "nine o'clocks" now.  Hehehe!) was cancelled at the very last minute - So last minute that I was actually already at the client's office when I heard.  So I came home and had a bit of a nap.

Then I opened the shop and that all went fairly smoothly; it was freezing this morning so the shop was totally empty for the first hour.  I started unpacking a delivery of jeans, checking it against the invoice, pricing the merchandise and putting it out on display.  This is usually pretty straight forward, but today I found one pair of jeans had a hole in the crotch so those had to be kept to the side and I made a note of them.  No problem!

Then Doc C rang to tell me that he'd tried giving Eva some formula, because we were low on milk and that she had found it absolutely unacceptable and was inconsolable.  So he had to bring her to the shop for me to feed - And of course that's when the customers suddenly streamed in.  Fortunately she had calmed down enough that she could wait until we had a quiet moment and I could flip the closed sign on the door for a few minutes.

That crisis over I re-opened and Doc took Eva into the staff toilet to change her, this is just off the stock room which is seperated from the shop by a curtain.  The next set of customers brought a very friendly and inquisitive dog with them, and he was happily and politely  exploring the shop when he suddenly took an interest in the stock room.  I suspect he could smell Eva's nappy, and the next thing we knew he'd nipped behind the curtain to check things out.  He was very easy to get back out though, so again all was well.

Ok.  Then I was running a customer's credit card and the card reader first of all rejected her pin and then seemed to spontaenously void the sale on the next attempt.  So I tried a third time, and at that point it announced it was out of paper.  Good grief.  When I'd sorted that out it became clear that the card reader had read the customer's card twice, so I had to call the owners of the shop to ask how the hell to stop it doing that.

Around two-ish I vaguely remember hearing a distant crashing noise, like slates sliding against each other.  I didn't really pay too much attention - Until the street filled with fire engines and paramedic vans.  I could see where on the street they were focussing their attention, but I had no idea what was going on - until a customer told me a building that was being renovated had collapsed when they removed a load bearing wall.  Fortunately no one was hurt, but the street was closed off to traffic for most of the afternoon.

I started to unpack a delivery of socks, price those and display them.  I'm not sure why I was surprised when the gun that spikes those little plastic hanging hooks just came to pieces in my hand and refused to do it's job any further.  So I arranged the socks on a table instead of hanging them up, really not too much of an issue.

Moving on to my next task I set up the counter for bag printing (This is super fun - It's a hand stamp of the shop's logo, that's satmped onto each bag by hand), and got a stack of blank bags ready to print. I took the lid off the ink pad, and turned to put it on the side... And as I did that I knocked over a display of earrings, they flew off the counter and all over the floor behind the till.  Even better two of them went all the way under the cupboards; I had to get down on my hands and knees, and get my arm covered in dust and spider webs to retrieve them.

Let's recap:

1. Eva's three am snack.
2. Last minute meeting cancellation.
3. Holes in the merchandise.
4. Eva's complete rejection of formula on a day when we were low on pumped breast milk.
5. A dog maurading in the stock room.
6. Card reader madness!
7. A BUILDING COLLAPSED.
8. Tag gun malfunction.
9. Earrings knocked onto the floor.

Can you believe after all of those things that the till actually balanced?  And, whilst I was really tired by the end of the day, I was in a pretty good mood actually.

Doc C came to pick me up and when we got home he made me a nice cup of tea.  Then he ordered us a curry, because I'd had a slightly tricky day and also because it's our sixth wedding anniversary.

As I said - What a day. Still once I'd had a snuggle with my baby (and eaten a delicious salmon tikka with a locally brewed beer) I was totally chilled out and now I'm ready to sleep for, um, the next three days or so.

Job Satisfaction.

I had actually forgotten how nice it is to be looking forward to work the next day.  Tomorrow I have a 9 o'clock meeting about a film project, before going to open the shop at 11.

Um. I am LOVING this.  Is that weird?

Of course this is still week one with the production company and week two with the shop, but it has to be said they are both off to absolutely cracking starts.

Second First Day! Wheeeee!

Squee! First day at the video production company was great, and my new job title is "Production Manager".

Of course there always has to be something doesn't there? Today we hopped in the car with plenty of time to get there... And discovered that a road crew had started to dig a trench right across our street... Which is a dead end, so we had to wait for them to use the digger to fill it in a bit with rubble (it was like watching an enormous mechanised cat scrabbling in a litter tray).

So I was about twenty minutes late on my first day - But I had a really good explanation and a mobile phone photo to prove it should that be necessary.  Because that has to be the worst excuse ever, doesn't it?

Sunday Trading.

It was my second day at the shop, and for the second half I was flying solo; I even cashed up the till, set the alarm and locked up by myself (well, Doc C and Evalyn Alice were there to get me, but they didn't really help with closing up).

And it was actually a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon - How often do you get to say that about your job?

Working Hard for the Money.

Thursday was my first day back in retail, and it was good!  

Well, ok it was raining so hard ALL day that precisely eight people came into the shop & only two of them bought anything.  So not the best day for sales, but actually there was so very much to learn that it was probably no bad thing (for me anyway).

Of course this also gave me a great opportunity to really check out the stock thoroughly, and this has always been one of my favourite shops, so that is really quite dangerous for our budget. There's at least one necklace with my name on it already, and several really nice coats.  I do not need another coat.  Remind me of this.

I was exhausted by the time I got home, because you are just on your feet all day when you work in a shop.  You get used to it fairly quickly, and it's not a problem once you are back in condition, but the first few shifts are quite brutal.  It also hadn't helped that I didn't get much sleep the night before - I tried, I really did but it was not to be.  We went to bed at 11, which was later then intended but not awful, but then Doc's phone rang at midnight (it was the university's emergency broadcast system and it was a bloody test.  At midnight.  On a Wednesday.  Ugh.)  After that I got three hours sleep, before Eva woke up and requested feeding; this is a new thing, and I really don't approve.  She went back to sleep immediately, I dozed and eventually got back to sleep shortly before she woke up again at 5 to be fed again.

Whilst I was earning some money, Doc C was looking after Eva for the day.  She was very well behaved all day apparently, and was perfectly happy.  In fact she didn't seem to notice that I hadn't been there for seven hours; which is great obviously...

On Friday afternoon I had arranged to have coffee with the owner of a local video production company, because they happened to be looking for a part-time project manager.  It was a really good meeting, and reminded me of exactly why I love working with creative people and on film projects.  Keep your fingers crossed on that one, because it seems like it would be a perfect fit for me at the moment and I WANT IT!

All in all, Asheville has just been fantastic to me this week. *contented sigh*

Red Accents for a Pop of Colour.

Tomorrow I'll be starting my new job, and I am super excited about it.  In fact I tried on a whole bunch of different outfits this afternoon, because I want to look stylish tomorrow and, frankly, it's been a while since I felt able to really flex my fashion muscles.

I selected two quite different looks and I'll make the final decision tomorrow morning - It's either a short Mod-ish navy dress with brown boots or black jeans with a black scoop neck top and black boots (I can add my black wool poncho if it's colder than I expect!).  So boots are a given and there are red accessories for both.

I'm also going to wear... MAKE-UP.  How exciting is that?  I am seriously considering a bit of red lippy to really celebrate the novelty!

Ooh! and I get to pick the music tomorrow!  Time to put together a playlist. Dusty Springfield seems highly likely.

Weekend of Contrasts.

The bad news is that I spent the weekend fighting off the cold that Doc C had, and I managed it fairly well - At the cost of needing to sleep for the majority of Saturday and Sunday.  Fortunately the Doc was better so he could look after Eva, and, even more fortunately, Eva doesn't seem to have caught anything.

On the other hand, the good news is that I got a call on Saturday to say I'd got the job!  Squee!  I start my six week trial period in a fortnight's time - It's just two days a week, but it is at my very favourite shop in Asheville!  I cannot believe my luck!  Squee, Squeee, Squeeeeeeeeeee!

 

Sound of Laughter

Today was pretty good actually - I got a call to set up a job interview, and it's somewhere I think I'd really enjoy working.  I was so excited by the phone call that I was dancing around the living room in a fairly silly manner, and that made Eva laugh for the first time!

Doc and I have been in friendly competition over this and I won. According to Eva I am hilarious, or at least my dancing is. We then discovered that if we put Eva on her play-mat and rocked her gently from side to side she laughed again, and we have video of that.

Please enjoy!

 

 

Primary Parenting.

Today was the first day of Doc C's paternity leave!  Woot!

The cats and Eva decided to initiate him into it with a trial by fire; there were multiple pukings, peeings (in nappies, which is fine; and on the floor in front of the litter tray, which is not fine at all) and grumpy grizzling.

We'd already planned to celebrate today by going out for sushi, and also handing in my CV to anywhere we'd missed in our last sweep of down town.  After Doc C showered and dressed he put on his usual after shave (Bulgari for Men - It's a really nice smell), and Eva who had been sleeping in the bedroom woke up screaming apparently at the scent.  Once she had stopped crying she didn't seem bothered by the cologne, and we carried on getting ready to leave.  As I was getting my shoes on I heard Doc ushering Nancy hurriedly outside, because she'd been about to throw up on the sofa.  That disaster averted we left the house.

Lunch was delicious and I applied to a particularly nice jewellers that I've often admired as we went past it.  Eva was actually very well behaved whilst we were out and didn't start complaining until we were on our way home anyway.

When we got back someone, and, whilst  I have no way of knowing who I do have my suspicions, had vomitted on the sofa.  Doc C very calmly took the covers off the seat cushions and took them to the laundrette.  When he got back, Eva decided to demonstrate her exciting new super-sonic screams and it took both of us over an hour to calm her down for her usual evening nap,

I am very pleased to say that my husband did not run screaming after such a day.  Instead he had a shot of whiskey and then cooked dinner.  He's a keeper.

 

****Post Script**** After I wrote this Doc C discovered someone had peed in the bath (Edith is the prime suspect), and whilst we were discussing this Edith jumped up to the bookshelves and knocked off one of Eva's toys.  sigh.

A Weekend in November.

On Saturday morning Eva and I went with Doc C to do the laundry, which is more fun then it might sound because the laundrette we frequent also combines a bar and used bookshop.  Doc dealt with loading up the washing machines (he has a system) and I took care of Eva who slept for the entire time, so I got to browse the books.  

Last time we were there last time I found a book entitled "The Womanly Art of Breast Feeding" which was published in the early 80s if the hair and fashions in it are any indication, it was still there but Eva and I seem to be doing pretty well so I didn't bother with it this time.  Instead I flipped through a much more up-to-date copy of "What to Expect in the First Year", and it actually had some interesting information so I bought it for the bargain price of $2.

On Sunday we took Eva for a drive, because she was feeling a bit screamy and we thought the neighbours could do with a break frankly!  Plus, of course, driving in a car puts her to sleep after about 10 minutes on the road, because she is very much my daughter.  We turned the trip into a lovely Sunday drive on the parkway and picked up doughnuts as well to make it really decadent.

As you know I'm currently job hunting, and so every moment that I'm not taking care of Eva should be spent looking for something that might be a productive means of earning some money.  To help me with this Doc C has downloaded a super fun game that I've wanted for ages called "Quantum Conundrum".  It involves flipping between four different dimensions and the opportunity to actually use my brain to solve some nifty little logic puzzles.  It is really quite addictive, and I am trying my best not to get totally sucked into it.

Non-Black Friday.

As if to make up for the grumble-fest that was Thanksgiving, Eva woke up in a really adorable happy mood.  It was like the extended director's cut of the video I posted yesterday, she only had one proper strop all day but that one was pretty damn impressive.  My word but that little muffin can scream when she wants to.

Americans swarm the shops in the day after Thanksgiving for the Black Friday sales; which sounds hellish to me, so we avoided it.  Instead we walked down to our local artisan video shop, which I joined so that Doc C could borrow their copy of "The Elephant Man" for his class on Monday.  I also took my CV with me, because a part-time job there would be kind of perfect for me at the moment - a video store that specialises in classic and art house films?  Within walking distance of the flat? AND it's next to a really good ice cream shop? I have no idea if they need anyone right now, and it's not something I want to do forever but, for right now, I would like that a lot!

Resuming Broadcast.

Doc C borrowed a lap top for me, so that I'm able to access the internet and blog, isn't that sweet of him?  He is the very best of husbands in my completely unbiased opinion!

To recap the last few days:

• On Friday we took Eva to get her first round of vaccinations - There was, of course, screaming but the nurse was very efficient and got the shots done really quickly.  Eva soon recovered her equilibrium and is her usual (mostly content) self now.
• We went to the storage unit and dropped off the Halloween decorations and picked up warmer clothes, boots and bedding.  I resisted bringing home the Christmas baubles for now.
• Doc C finished "Bioshock", and we found a second-hand copy of "Bioshock 2" for $8 so the adventure continues!
• I've been reading a lot on my Kindle,which is just an absolute necessity for bookworm mothers in my opinion. It is so easy to hold and "turn pages" with one hand whilst feeding Eva, or holding her, or whatever else she needs at that particular moment (although I haven't yet worked out how to read even the Kindle whilst changing her nappy though, that task requires complete attention).
• I considered buying new jeans on Friday, but as I can easily fit into my old jeans now (if you kindly gloss over the slight muffin top...) so I'll wait to buy more clothes when I have a found a job.
• Speaking of which, I updated my CV and Doc C printed off some copies so I can start handing them in to local businesses and applying for jobs.
• The weather is still quite pleasant but it is colder, so I don't like to have the door to the balcony open all day.  The cats have learned to miaow at the door when they want to go out, and then tap on the glass with their paw when they want to come back in.  They tend to want to go in or out every ten to fifteen minutes and are therefore driving me potty.

The Day's Achievements (Plural).

Today we got stuff done!

• Doc C made pancakes for breakfast and we listened to "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" on NPR.
• We bathed Eva and she was perfectly clean for about four hours - Then she got milk in her hair when I was changing her.  That's her favourite trick.
• I reluctantly took down the Halloween decorations.
• I started job hunting (If you know of any weekend work going in Asheville...)
• We had lunch in town - crepes and pommes frites. Delicious.
• Doc C took Eva for a walk and chatted with some of our neighbours.
• I did some hand washing and put away laundry (I have been trying to do that for days now, so it was far more exciting than it should have been)
• We played with Edith to try and tire her out a bit, so she won't chase Nancy around the apartment all night.
• Doc C made banana bread.

It doesn't sound like much, but believe you me it feels like we took on the tasks of Hercules and completed them all.  I am going to sleep SO well.

Public Service Announcement.

I noticed that someone had used the blog's search bar to look up "Not about the baby", which, you know, is fair enough I suppose.  My suggestion would be going back in the archives to before I had the baby, so about 6 weeks; or 10 months ago if you want to avoid all the pregnancy stuff as well.

Honestly though, it is very difficult when you have a new baby to talk about much else because they take up most of your time and demand virtually all of your attention.  It is really difficult to come up with another subject to blog about right now, because Eva just sucks up so much of my brain one way or another.

The plan is that Doc C will be taking paternity leave next semester, so he'll be at home with her from December onwards and I'll be working (with any luck anyway!) so hopefully that will help me get over the worst of the baby brain syndrome - Until then though I think we all have to just accept this is going to be a blog that features a lot of stuff about my brand new kid.  Sorry about that, but I'm hoping it's not a permanent condition.

Girl's Night In.

Doc C's teaching schedule means he has to stay with our friends Randy and Laura twice a week, and tonight is the first time he's been away over night since Eva was born.  I know it was really difficult for him to leave this morning, and I miss having him here, but at the same time that was the deal we accepted when we moved here and I'm certain it was the right choice for us.

Of course, when Doc's away that means that I'm the responsible adult in the house.  

Yikes,

Right now, I am responsibly typing with one hand whilst Edith and Eva are both sleeping on my lap (Eva is actually snuggled under the waistband of one of my maternity skirts, just like she was two weeks ago!) - Let's hope Nancy doesn't try to join them, because there is no more lap visible at this point.

New Routine.

It's been sort of a weird day, because Doc C had to go back to work and I didn't - So I've just been kicking around the appartment with The Bump and the cats.  There has been much napping, reading, watching of quirky detective dramas that were cancelled after one season on Netflix and eating fake bacon sandwiches.

Doc will be staying at Randy and Laura's house two nights a week this semester, because he's scheduled to teach four days a week and this is the first week of that new routine.  It's going to be weird not having him here, but it's better than him exhausting himself driving; I'm also hoping that this arrangement will mean he'll be able to get at least some sleep once Madam gets here (whenever that is, but let's also hope that she chooses not to be born on a Monday night or a Wednesday night - because, oh for goodness sake, that is going to be a massive headache).

 

Last Day = Ice-Cream.

Today was my last day at work until... Ummm... I've had the baby and find another job, so... my last day at work for a while.  Naturally I celebrated with Doc C by going for an ice-cream after work (I had a scoop of cheesecake ice-crem with mixed-in raspberries in a waffle cone; Doc C had amaretto ice-cream with mixed in pecans in a cup) and will shortly be eradicating all the alarms in the house.  No more getting up at 6 in the morning for me (unless the Baby Overlord decides it is to be so)

I don't really know how I'll be spending my time until the due date, I mean obviously we'll be moving house and getting prepared for Eva, but it's more the day-to-day thing.  It's just so unusual for me to have that 8 hour block of time that usually gets devoured by work back at my disposal, and I can't quite grasp that yet.

Let's hope I use the extra hours in the day productively, and don't disappear into a detective novel rabbit hole.

 

Why I have Hepburn's Song from The Buffy Soundtrack Stuck in My Head.

OK... So... I just resigned from my job... Deep breath in... Deep breath out...

Obviously this is the thing I couldn't really talk about before, and I still think it would be foolish to go into the whys and the wherefores on-line, don't you? It's really not that interesting anyway, I promise!

I've given notice that my last day will be the end of this month, and after that? Well, Doc C and I have an interesting plan already partially in motion, but that is a post for another day.

Bib/Cape.

Brittany, the very lovely work study student in my office, is graduating this weekend, and so she's leaving us. This is just unbelivably selfish, but what can you do?

As a leaving gift I bought her a set of Philosophy bath things, because they always smell nice but also because they had a gift set which had especially heart-warming things written on the packaging. I'm not a big advocate of sentimentality, but I think when you are leaving University for your first job that having shower gel that tells you every morning that you are great and that you have a terrific future in front of you would be nice.

What I was totally not expecting was for Brittany to buy me a present, but, like I said, she is lovely and very thoughtful.  Isn't this bib adorable?  Look at all the little fishes with their great big teeth!  Nom, nom, nom! I love it!

In the current absence of a dressable baby I did try holding it up to Doc C's face to see what it might look like on Eva - assuming she looks like him, and has the stubble beffiting a Bearded Lady in training. This was fun, but I felt we could go further with it... Hmmmm... Who else lives in our house and is of the perfect size to wear a bib as a cape? Oh yes, Nancy!

Honestly, I thought that she would only put up with this for a second or two, but she was perfectly happy to wander around the living room with it on.  Clearly Nancy has super-hero fantasies that we were previously unaware of.

Admin. Pro. Lunch.

Yesterday was Administrative Professionals Day (Note to British People : I know *rolls eyes*), so today my college had a lunch for all of the admin staff. This was a lovely gesture, and I really do appreciate the thought and the effort that went into planning it.

But... When we walked into the conference room the tables were already set with individual plates of salad, with a big piece of chicken right on top of each salad. And I'm a vegetarian.

So the only thing I could do, and not be the ungrateful pain in the backside, was to ask if anyone wanted my chicken and then just eat the iceberg lettuce that had been underneath it whilst trying not to think about it too much.  That won't kill me right?

Plus the thing started at 11:30 - So I feel like I had a salad as my mid-morning snack (there was also a sponge cake with a strawberry sauce and a blob of fake cream) instead of lunch, and didn't get my usual afternoon nap on Doc's sofa.

Other than that, it was very nice.

On Returning to Work After a Short Illness.

When you've been out of the office because of a short illness, it's likely you are going to go back in before you are really at full strength. So you really are hoping that the first few days will involve coasting on some simple jobs, the work equivalent of a soft-boiled egg with soldiers, or tomato soup with cheese-on-toast. The reality, however, is invariably an assualt of hard-to-digest 3 course meals of to do lists, spreadsheets and un-read e-mail.

sigh.

On top of that, there is inavariably some piece of office politics that just makes you want to beat your head against a wall (hmmm, maybe that would have helped clear my sinuses - note to self for next time).

First Day of Classes: Spring 2012.

Let us never speak of this day again.

Well, except to note there was no blood shed, which I believe illustrates an almost super-human forbearance and mercy on my part.

I did say "No!" several times though. Crickey.

Oh! There's Just One More Thing.

Today I finally buckled down to the really super boring job of re-organising the contents of five filing cabinets. Ugh. I hate filing. On the other hand I really hate poorly organised data, and so it needs to be done. Double ugh.

As a reward for suffering through getting paper cuts from manilla foldes, I'm relaxing at home with Doc C, Edith Cavell-Cat and a very early episode of "Columbo". I really love Columbo.

Thursday Summary.

It's really annoying when you have news to tell someone, so you e-mail them to say "There is gossip to dish" and then they call you and say "Is it blah?" No hello or anything, just right in there with the correctly guessing your fresh intell. Humph!

Work continues to be very quiet I was pretty much alone all day but David did need to come in so he brought his dog Buster with him and that was a rare treat. I think more people should bring dogs to work with them, preferably those that are hypoallergenic (Not that I'm allergic to dogs myself, but I know that's an issue to be aware of when bringing animals to the office)and like to shake paws. I love shaking paws.

One particularly great thing about being alone at work is sigining into our netflix account and streaming movies that Doc C has no interest in, whilst I also get all sorts of housekeeping tasks done before the spring semester kicks off. Today I sorted the evaluations to be processed whilst watching cheesy 80's horror, it was a productive and entertaining day.

Working Hard for the Money.

It's still a ghost town in my office ate moment; which is great because I have things to do. Mostly these are boring things, but they're fiddly and require some concentration.

To keep things interesting I've been listing to vintage radio plays on Relic Radio dot com. Personally I'm a big fan of Strange Tales, which usually have a ridiculous plot and an imaginative sound effects guy.

Work. Sleep. Sixties Television.

First day back at work was fine, but tiring - I went upstairs at 5:15 for a nap intending to be awake by 6:30. Three hours later...
On the positive side, the cats thought it was entirely for their benefit and very much appreciated me staying still for so long.

Now I'm watching "Mission Impossible" on Netflix streaming. I loved the series as a kid, but Doc's never seen it so we're kicking off from episode one. I was shocked to find that everyone in the team was in place - except for Peter Graves. It's weird to see some other bloke as team leader, but the presence of Greg Morris is reassuring.

The Mouse Returns.

sigh.

So in the early hours of the morning I was woken up by Doc C getting up to go and see what was going on downstairs, because he'd been woken up by the loud squeaks and the sound of thundering paws.

Pinky the mouse was back.

This time we left them to it, because if a mouse really has that little instinct for self-preservation there is really not much you can do for it. We didn't get much sleep though, because it was a pretty lively mouse and they were running around for hours. Anyone who uses the phrase "cat-like" to mean quiet has clearly never lived with a cat.

At one point the noise suddenly stopped, and I came down to see if the mouse was dead so I could stop them eating it. It wasn't dead, it had merely wedged itself under the heater, so Edith was just sitting there playing wack-a-mole with it. It did sneak past her though and then I got to see both of the cats working as a team to corner it; which was pretty impressive, if you managed to ignore the fact that they were toying with a live creature.

By the time we got up (which was something like two hours late because we overslept), the mouse was lying on it's back but still breathing. I scooped it up into a vase, and we detoured on our way to work to drop it off in a wooded area near the river. I don't know if it's going to live, but at least if it does it won't get back into the house and go through all this again.

A Shot of Perspective.

Today I found myself getting a little overwhelmed and tearful because of a spreadsheet.

To be specific, it wasn't actually the whole spreadsheet, it was that the person who had filled in the information had left a column blank right in the middle, and so when I used the sort function it shuffled some but not all of the data. This wouldn't be a huge deal normallyThe reason this was a problem was because I didn't know that had happened, and I've been working with flawed information for a week. I think I've fixed all of the issues, but it was very frustrating, and now I need to have my work proof read before I carry on.

Meanwhile, a student came into the office who I know by sight, but I don't know her name or anything else about her. Well, I didn't know anything about her, until she came into the office today panicking about a course she was being charged twice for. This was a problem because her husband committed suicide a few months ago, and so she's been trying to complete her degree, whilst looking after her kids and coping with the financial maelstrom a sudden death can create. She has hit the limit of things with which she can cope, and I had no idea there was a thing wrong because she is always friendly, polite and smiling. 

And so now I'm thinking that a frustrating spreadsheet issue is actually be a walk in the park. Ok, on this particular spreadsheet walk (stay with me here), I may have stepped in something nasty but it can be cleaned up and everything will be fine.

Busy Morning.

This morning was pretty much laid out for me - I simply had to make alterations to next semester's schedule; essentially tailoring a skeleton timetable to fit the requirements of the registrar whilst trying to accommodate the preferences of the faculty. This is not as much fun as it sounds.

I was about two hours into the data splurge when one of the professors ran in to my office to tell me a student had fallen on the stairs and might have broken her ankle. The tricky part then was to report the accident to campus police and then the emergency services just based on those few words.

Is the patient conscious? I think so,because she was able to say her ankle felt broken. Is there any bleeding? That wasn't mentioned at all, and I think it would have been if there were any blood, so probably not. How old is the patient? Errrr.... It's a student, so, late teens to early twenties is statistically a good bet. Is the patient male or female? The professor said she, so female. It turned out that I had been right on all of that - The patient was a woman who had her 24th birthday last week, and she was both conscious and not bleeding. I'm like Sherlock Holmes!

I was waiting outside when the paramedics arrived, and I took them to the stairwell to accident site and I stayed to help if I could. They were great, and soon had her splinted and in the back of ambulance. I went back to my office, and pulled up her records for the accident report, and I also e-mailed her so hopefully I'll hear if she's ok. Fingers crossed!

Self Motivation.

There are days when you feel like you made a real effort, damn it, and no-one seems to have noticed; so then you start to wonder why you bothered. These are the times when I seriously consider carrying a small banner saying something along the lines of:

"I forced myself to get up today, &, whilst I don't expect a medal for that, I would like to feel like it was worth it. Please be nice to me."

It needs to be a bit more succinct, but equally it's hard to get across that exact set of sentiments in less than 140 characters.

Of course sometimes you have to just accept that your sacrifice may be the more noble for being unremarked, and simply make sure you have something you really like for lunch.  I had one job which got to the point that I was buying Wagon Wheels at lunch to put in my desk drawer, and then I only allowed myself to eat it if I came into work the next morning. The weirdest part about that? I don't particularly like Wagon Wheels (they are large cardboardy discs of biscuit, sandwiched with marshmallow and then coated in cheap milk chocolate), and had never before, or indeed since, eaten Wagon Wheels, so I have no idea why that motivated me.

Also, even though my sinusy head cold thing is much better my period started today. Ha bloody ha Universe! There's nothing quite like feeling like you are on the mend from one thing, only to immediately to find something totally different is attacking your midriff. sigh.

 

Sneaky Office Blogging - Shhhhhh!

Doc C has called Charter and made an appointment for a house call tomorrow morning - So I am hoping against hope that we will have blissfully uncomplicated internet access this weekend.

Apart from that it's been a fairly quiet day in the office, hence the quick blog break, but I am really looking forward to going home because we've got last night's "Top Chef: Just Desserts" Willa Wonka reunion special to watch. Squee!

Also, red lipstick. I don't want to wear it everyday, but, when I do feel like it, I find it makes me quietly confident and happy. Useful to note.

Vote Cranberry.

Brittany, my department's fantastic work study student, adopted a fish today and didn't have time to take him home before she came to work. So we've had a mini fish tank with a beta fish swimming around on my desk this afternoon.

He doesn't have a name yet, but Brittany liked my suggestion of Cranberry. She has joint custody with her room mate though, so there is going to have to be some serious discussion of the matter this evening.

Gathering My Strength.

Wow, the first week of classes is exhausting - And that's just for me, answering questions, scrambling to sort out room mix-ups and giving out permit forms like it's going out of fashion (which it will next week, when the add/drop period ends. Hooray!) If I was actually going to classes as well, I would have been asleep on my feet, which, now I think of it ,might explain a lot about the students this week.

I told Doc C categorically that I would not be leaving the house today. That I needed to sleep late, make toast, watch DVDs, play video games, drink several mugs of tea and take a long nap after lunch; and that is exactly what I did, except for the video games and there is still time for that.

Flowers!

One of the faculty brought in flowers today for me and Amy to show her appreciation of us. That made me happy!

I Don't Like Mondays.

It was a really hectic Monday, which I half-anticipated, but when I found myself quite glad that tomorrow I am having minor surgery and therefore will not be going into the office... Well, I think you will agree THAT is a hell of a Monday.

A Bouquet of Pipecleaners.

One of our longest serving faculty is retiring, so he is clearing out his office and gifting the treasures he finds to his friends and colleagues.

Yesterday I was given this bunch of pipecleaners, which I'm sure have a future as skelatal structures of amigurumi, but for now are impersonating impressionistic flowers on my desk.

I also got several different types of card index, a beer mat and an elephant trunk mask; whilst Doc has scored a giant pair of chalk compasses for drawing accurate circles on blackboard. 

Chaotic Cacophany.

When I woke up this morning I had a headache, but I got ready for work and dragged myself to campus (well, Doc C drove me most of the way really).

When I arrived my heart sank because outside the front door to my building were a number of huge and serious-looking machines, one of which was clearly a wood chipper. My actual office is about ten feet away from the main entrance, so it sounded like trees were being chainsawed and then chipped just over my right shoulder. It did smell lovely, so that was something.

Over the summer there is a new dorm building going up, so I have had a building site right outside the window for a couple of months now. I swear that they have been stepping things up so that the site not only has the usual mixers, forklifts, trucks, beeping reversing alerts, cranes, sledgehammers,power-saws, power-sanders and workmen with preternaturally loud voices, but also what sounds like a bass drum, a lonely wolf and a small rave from 1993. This is directly behind me.

But that's not all - My building is also playing host to the summer school for a local middle school, and so there are young teenagers screeching through the hallways every hour or so. It's odd to hear "GIRL POWER!" being bellowed by what is quite clearly an adolescent male but teenage boys away from the nurturing influence of their parental units are very loud; they also smell, especially when they get caught in the rain. Ooh, as a special treat for today the kids have been getting into the lift in large groups and then jumping in unison, so I can hear the high pitched whine of the lift-doors opening and closing in distress.

Essentially I've been sitting in a surround sound hell for my entire working day, and I already had a headache before any of that started. Is it really any wonder that when people ask me how my summer is going I'm just growling at them?