Displaying 31 - 40 of 141 entries.

5 weeks (minus a day)….and it just got real.

  • Posted on August 19, 2014 at 11:17 am

Yesterday was 5 weeks until we close. I had a long, really long, post typed up, and it disappeared into the ether. Note to self: quick draft does not auto-save.

I was just told that HR is supportive of my request for remote working and it should really just be a paperwork formality from here on in. (It’s subject to review on a regular basis, based on business demand, and I need to be able to come into an official location with reasonable notice for face to face meetings. All of which I had expected.) So yeah. We should now be able to set a move date.

I’m trying to increase my walking. My goal for this week is to do 1 mile a day. And then gradually increase stamina by increasing what I do consecutively. Yesterday I did .5 mile before lunch, another 4/10 in the afternoon, and then 3/10 to top off the day. That’s 1.2 miles across the day. Not bad for me at all. It’s almost insignificant compared to my friends who are doing marathons and the like, but I’m trying not to compare myself to anyone but me. And compared to me last week, I’m doing great!

I’ve done 2/10’s so far this morning; I had intended to do more but the Boss called when I was in the back and I had to race back to the desk to call him back.

I had also rambled on yesterday about trying to figure out the cooking and feeding for once we’re in VT. It’s going to be VERY weird for me to be cooking nearly every day, and not being able to rely on Fresh Direct to delivery every week or two. I also need to figure out what’s going to be kept on hand for the backup plan, in case dinner is a flop. AND I need to figure out what to feed the Husband for lunch every day. So current dinner plan is one night each for: soup (may need to buy the Vitamix for this one), seafood, chicken, stir fry/wok, sandwiches/leftovers, salad  and one night out. Lunches for me are easy- chicken breast with veggies and couscous and salad in a jar should easily cover me for the week. Not sure about the Husband. We’ll have to talk about that. Next thing to do is start gathering recipes in each of these categories so that I’m ready to go. I’ve already started doing this, mostly on Pinterest, with a board for each category/day. It’s not bad, and so far easier than bookmarks in the browser, but I suspect that it may become as unwieldy soon enough.

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O Captain, my Captain…..

  • Posted on August 12, 2014 at 8:38 am

There are no words to express my sadness at the death of Robin Williams. From “Mork and Mindy” to “Dead Poets Society” to Aladdin’s Genie to Comic Relief and everything else in between, his is one of the voices that has permeated the laugh track of my life.

Depression is not something you can just “get over.” If it was a simple matter of choosing to no longer be depressed, I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t choose to get rid of this terrible, insidious disease. And it IS a disease. Just because you can’t see it, just because it’s “in your head”, doesn’t mean you’ve made it up, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It’s an awful, terrible thing. We stigmatize depression and mental illness far more than we should, and that hurts the people who suffer from them- and the people who love them. There is nothing wrong with needing medication to deal with depression. It is an illness. You wouldn’t think twice about this if someone was diagnosed with cancer or high blood pressure or diabetes; if medication were needed to treat those illnesses no one would bat an eye. So why do people think there’s something wrong with needing medication for depression or mental illness?!?

If you think you are depressed, please, find someone to talk to- whether that is a professional or just a friend you can trust to listen. And if your friends or family say that you should seek professional help, please listen to them. They are not saying that to brush you off; they are saying that you need more support then they are able to provide.

There are many more things I can say about depression, having been treated for it with medication myself, but I’ll just leave it at this. It is an illness. You are sick, not broken, not damaged, not worthless, and deserve to be helped, deserve to get better. The first step, asking for help, is absolutely without question, hard as heck but so very worth it; YOU are worth it, no matter how worth-less you may feel. You are not alone. (Worst case scenario, I am here for you, whether I know you in person, in “real life” or not.)

 

Crisis call center: 800.273.8255

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) http://www.nami.org/

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6 weeks (and still counting)….

  • Posted on August 11, 2014 at 3:17 pm

It’s 6 weeks and counting until Closing Day. There’s still been no progress around work, but I’m hopeful that will change this week now that the boss is back from his vacation (and someone seems to have tracked down the stupid form that I may or may not need to fill out!!). I’ve been thoroughly out-of-sorts for at least the last week, probably closer to two, between the migraines and the neuralgia. I’m still hoping that I’ve finally kicked it, but I’m not holding my breath about that, at least for another few days. I am at work today and feeling reasonably ok, but I’ve learned, or been reminded, that I need to take it day by day or even hour by hour when things get like this. And just because I’m ok now doesn’t mean I won’t have a raging headache later.

The weekend was again spent packing. I went through my pantry, at least part of it, and have thrown some things out and put some onto the giveaway table. And yet there is still so much more to do. More small boxes, shoe-box sized and a bit larger, will arrive later this week. The Husband discovered they are perfect for packing knick-knacks and small, fragile things in bubble wrap.

We got a delivery from Fresh Direct yesterday, which gave me prepared lunches for this week. But I think this is the last week for that, as I need to eat down the freezer. Tonight I’m going to portion out some fruit and veggies into bags and containers for the rest of the week to make things easier- just grab and go. The Husband liked the wrap sandwich we got him for lunch.

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Owww…..

  • Posted on August 7, 2014 at 11:03 am

Ow. Courtesy of a massive migraine headache, that is all for today.

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The nature of the beast…

  • Posted on August 6, 2014 at 2:20 pm

Today was what we call “hatchet day” at the office, where the talk around the virtual water cooler is all about “did you hear who got rif’d?” RIF= reduction in force, the Britishism for being part of a group layoff.  Today we lost a lot of good people. Some were happy to get their severance package and move on; others….not so much. So now that all that is done, it’s unusually quiet in a space housing 300 or so people in open cubes.Eerie. The only (selfishly) good thing about today is that there is no longer a never-ending candy bowl across the aisle from me. Getting chocolate now will actually take effort. And I’m ok with that. Self-control is easier when you need to get up and go down the hall (with a credit card no less!) and get it yourself then when you can just grab a mini piece across the way.

Otherwise, it’s status quo around here. Mostly anyways.

Two large waters, one walk done so far. I”m going to try and get a second walk in a bit later. (Edited to add: second walk done; may or may not get a third in.

Breakfast: iced coffee with soy milk

Lunch: Chicken noodle soup, chicken gyro (sauce on the side for dipping, left most of the bread, ate all of the veggies)

Snacks: sm bag potato chips (not my fault, they came with my lunch!); FD nuts and stuff;

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Restaurant update

  • Posted on August 5, 2014 at 6:06 pm

So things in our restaurant world have changed dramatically.

Elements has closed at its current location (boo!) and will reopen in Princeton, in the same building that currently houses Mistral, in early 2015. This means our Cube is gone. Gone, gone, gone. In some ways this is a good thing, because we are spending less on eating out, but……at the same time it still sucks in a colossal way! And we don’t do much IN Princeton, because parking is a pain and it’s just too damn crowded and too much effort.

We started to go to the Ryland Inn which is lovely and wonderful. Except they can’t seem to do poached eggs right to the Husband’s preferred spec (runny yolks, set opaque whites), so they’re out for Brunch. Getting there for dinner on Friday nights has been challenging. Saturdays they have Bruce Forster who plays piano and sings (and takes requests!). So we’ve been down to the bar a couple of times to catch him there.

We’ve actually been back to the Pluckemin Inn and have an absolutely wonderful dinner there. But they get crowded and we’re picky and spoiled, and it’s hard to find a good off-hours time to get there.

So we are eating in more and trying to save money. I’m trying to get back into the cooking groove, which will be a necessity once we move. So I’ve broken out the wok and done a simple stir fry. It wasn’t bad, but there’s definite room for improvement. We need to start a list of things we want to try to cook at home. I certainly have enough cookbooks to give us enough options! I hope the kitchen exhaust fan in the new house works well so I can cook fish and seafood again.

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7 weeks and counting….

  • Posted on August 5, 2014 at 5:11 pm

We close on the house 7 weeks from yesterday. My living room already looks like a sea of boxes. I’m not sure how we’ll fit the rest of them in there!

I think the neuralgia is finally back under control. Which is good ’cause I was ready to start hitting things. I’ve probably said it before but I totally understand why it’s called “the suicide headache.” I can deal with the migraines, I can deal with the fibro, I can deal with the chronic pain. THIS I cannot deal with. The neuralgia would quickly drive me out of my mind. But since the neuralgia has subsided I seem to have a low-grade migraine since at least yesterday. I love waking up with a headache <sigh>. (And my deepest apologies, Husband, for your wake-up this morning!)

This weekend was pretty much all about packing. Most of our books are packed, and that’s A LOT! We went through my kitchen stuff and decided what’s getting packed and what’s getting re-homed. It’s very strange seeing empty space on my bookcases. Ok, empty bookcases. The bibliophile in me wants to fill them. But I am categorically resisting the urge to buy anything that is nonessential and must be moved.

Today I start bringing home my work stuff so it can be boxed up. My desk is getting emptier and emptier, despite the fact that I still don’t have official approval for the remote working arrangement. I can’t see any reason why it WON’T get approved, but these days you never know.

I’m finally starting to get back into my routine. I did 2 hallway walks today, so 6/10ths of a mile. The first walk was non-stop. I’m pretty sure that I’m on my third big cup of water. No chocolate today (just one piece yesterday). For better or worse, the person who stocks the candy bowl (which sits across the aisle from me) is getting laid off tomorrow, so I’m not sure where the chocolate is going to go, but I know it will NOT be on my desk. So I’m hoping that once it’s out of sight, and no one is dropping by for a piece, my temptation will lessen.

 

Breakfast: house iced coffee with soy milk

Lunch: tuna sandwich and mini stack of pringles from the cooler

Snack: FD nuts and fruit; FD almonds; fruit cup.

(For recollection, breakfast on Monday was house coffee and a bowl of Special K cinnamon pecan and lunch was a bowl of raisin bran. Note to self: no more raisin bran, the sugar is too high, but Special K with stuff is good! No walking on Monday, though, and one snack piece of chocolate.)

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29-July

  • Posted on July 29, 2014 at 1:56 pm

Keeping myself accountable is proving to be interesting. On the one hand, why am I doing this if it’s just for me? On the other hand, if it’s just for me, why should I NOT be doing this??

Figuring out yesterday that my there-and-back walk down the hall is actually 3/10th of a mile was rather cool. I managed to get in two walks this morning before lunch, so I’ve already done 6/10th’s! I may try to get an outside walk in this afternoon, probably after my call later. Right now my legs hurt and my calves are achy. I’m hoping that will start to subside as I get more used to doing this.

Another lap, another 2/10th’s done. 4/5th of a mile walked today. But holy heck am I tired! Maybe that’s why I’ve been sleeping better, pure exhaustion.

The countdown to Vermont has officially started. Yesterday was 8 weeks till closing. High speed internet should be available by the start of Sept, so we’ll take a trip up to check and troubleshoot that at some point during the month before we close. I don’t want to have to deal with THAT as well on Day 1. Holy crap- less than 8 weeks till we move. I’m trying to stay optimistic that the HR stuff will work itself out as needed by then and that we’ll be able to really move as of closing day. But that’s still up in the air and I won’t know anything more for another couple of weeks.

I managed to avoid a neuralgia attack yesterday; so far today is going ok too. I’m guardedly optimistic that this flare is subsiding, but I know it’s really too early to be sure. But for my sanity, I need to hang on to that glimmer of hope.

Breakfast: Starbucks venti soy latte; Stonyfield yogurt smoothie
Lunch: Fresh Direct dill salmon; some sliced peppers
Dinner: TBD
Snacks: cherries, FD fruit and nuts (2 serving pack)

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28-July

  • Posted on July 28, 2014 at 2:50 pm

Back to work, back to what passes for normal around here these days.

 

My Monday’s always start with a 0700 conference call, and this week was no different. Fortunately it’s usually quick and innocuous, which it was today. And remarkably, even miraculously, I had a crazy light meeting day. It’s one of the few good things about summer, half the people are out of the office at any given moment.

I managed to get in two hallway walks before lunch. A straight walk is 1/10th of a mile; I think with all the extra bits and turns I do I can give myself credit for an extra 1/10s or so for every loop, so that would mean I did about 1/2 mile before lunch. Go me! Let’s see if I can get another two laps in before the end of the day- AND keep away from the ever-present bowl of chocolate that sits just across the aisle from me.

I’ve got a Fresh Direct delivery (gods I’m going to miss that when we move!) coming this evening with all sorts of fruits and veggies and yogurts and lunch stuff, and fixing for another shrimp stir fry this week. Hopefully it will be a bit better than last week’s- which didn’t suck but wasn’t anything great. So tonight I intend to portion off some of the fruits and veggies into bags and containers so they’re ready to grab and pack or grab and snack. I have to remember that I still have some grapes in the freezer for that purpose.

Third hallway walk after lunch- done. Not sure I’ve got the spoons for a fourth, but I’m good with three. My goal for this week is 3 laps each day. Next week I can get myself up to four.

There are 250 steps in 1/10th of a mile. At least the way I walk. I did a fourth walk today, just straight, and counted. I KNOW that I’ve added at least 170 steps to my walk down the hall, probably more now that I’ve added the nook I found. So I’m definitely adding at least 1/10 to a there-and-back walk, possibly even another 1/10th each way. Will have to count that tomorrow. But I walked more than a mile during the course of the day. I’m rather impressed with myself today. I just have to keep it up during the week, and maybe get outside and start doing a 1/8th each way walk that’s been marked out. I’m still keeping my goal for the week as three walks a day, with all my maneuvering to maximize it. My stretch goals will be to add a fourth walk, either inside or outside, depending on spoons and weather.

Second goal for the week: 30 minutes of self-care- either meditation, yoga, stretching, some combination thereof.

Breakfast: Starbucks venti soy latte

Lunch: Raisin bran with soy milk

Dinner: TBD

Snack: 1 rolo, 1 snack pack of FD mixed nuts and raisins

Countdown to closing: 8 weeks from today!

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25-July

  • Posted on July 25, 2014 at 2:40 pm

Well the last couple of days have been a mixed bag. I had every intention to post on Wednesday, but my computer at the office was having “issues” connecting to here.

Not sure where this is going to go- it’s one of those days and I think I just need to brain dump. Read at your own risk.

So Weds the 23rd I had an ocular migraine. Those are nifty little things! Unlike a regular migraine, they’re not a pain in your head; they’re a visual disturbance, a pattern of swirling in your visual field that gradually shrinks, moves, and goes away on its own and there’s nothing you can do about it. Fortunately this one did not last long.

Today and yesterday I’ve had a massive flare up of my neuralgia, and nothing is helping that. The front of my head is in a vise, and someone is stabbing ice picks into the side- that sometimes hit a nerve and send excruciating pain into my skull. So yeah, it’s been fun. I’ve been trying to watch what I eat and get up and down the long hall a couple of times a day, but it’s been harder on both counts than I would have expected.

 

It’s now Saturday afternoon and I’ve done a whole lot of nothing, as the edge of the neuralgia sits inside my head. That’s not quite true. We packed some more boxes, I sorted through a whole bunch of papers and stuff, and I placed a grocery delivery order. THAT is one thing I’m going to miss when we move- my Fresh Direct weekly delivery. It will definitely be an adjustment, that’s for sure!

I’m hoping this week is going to be easier, both health and work-wise. I’m not sure how well I will deal if the neuralgia keeps up. I can totally understand why it’s called “the suicide headache.”

 

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