snow day and singularity

I got up at my regular time this morning and first thing I did was check my phone. Sure enough, there was a text message from the University – we were closed for the weather. In a word – awesome.

Also – Three. Day. Weekend.
So, I went back to bed for a bit – then got up again had some breakfast. I spent a chunk of the day doing little chores around the apartment. I also spent some time ripping some CD’s and getting them onto my external drive.
This afternoon, I cleared the snow off driveway that had been missed by the plow.
There was also some epic video game time – I played a new game called Singularity. Time manipulation and lots of good “jump out at you”. A really good story and a lot of fun. There was a moment when I’d been following a woman through the facility and we’d just survived a huge fight. I walked into a hidden room and rewound a message that had been erased. All it said was, “Don’t trust her”. I got cold chills – and can’t wait to get back in there.
I’m planning on working on my new desk this weekend and enjoying the days off.

health, weather, mental dislocated

I did an online health survey yesterday and according to that, I’m apparently near death. High risk for like half a dozen serious ailments and conditions. I guess I’d be more worried if the health screening I did recently was even slightly accurate and if the health survey wasn’t so dang vague. I’m going to take this with a grain of salt – which I should be cutting back on – and just keep doing what I’ve been doing.

I got my oil changed yesterday and managed to get out of there without any “add-ons” this time – though they really really wanted to rotate my tires.
The weather has been a little rough here recently – and though I managed to make it into work yesterday, several of my co-workers got hit harder and worked from home. It made for a quiet day around the office – but surprisingly a little lonely.
I haven’t been sleeping well – mostly stress and caffeine. The later of which I had cut out of my diet but somehow managed to creep back in. I guess I need to go cold turkey on soda again. Not sure what to do about the stress.
I’ve been feeling kinda weird recently – even weirder than I’m used to. Just mentally dislocated and not myself. I’m really missing the sunshine – that blip last weekend wasn’t enough.
So, back to work. Webpages to make and the day to be saved.

a sunday afternoon swim

I forgot my swim gear on Friday -and the pool ended up being closed anyway. Based on my rules…

Monday, Wednesday Friday + pool open + at work = swim
…I was in clear – but if I’d had my gear I could have used the other, not as good, pool.
It was closed on Saturday as well – but today was open. So, I got my gear and headed to campus and did 60 laps. I wasn’t very tired, but I was a little bored, so I called it a day.
When I got home, my room-mate was alternating between the Daytona 500 and golf on TV. So, I did the only sensible thing and retreated to the office/media room/armory to play some Batman. I beat the game and only have about 3 more secrets to find.
Been listening to Adele a lot – her new album (which I can’t seem to find in stores) is amazing.
And that’s about it.

giving up on a book and on zinc

Given any kind of downtime and I’m likely to be found with my nose in a book. I love to read and the shelves in my own library at home are full to overflowing. So, it’s pretty rare for me to “give up” on a book – that is, start and then not finish.

I’ve been reading Engineman by Eric Brown. It started off pretty good and I enjoyed the first half – then I realized that the plot…
“Down on his luck spaceman falls for the token sci-fi chick and together they fight alongside the quasi-mystical aliens against an evil corporation that is destroying the environment”
…is the same as every single “grade B sci-fi movie” of the past 20 years. Even freaking Avatar had the same plot. Once the big reveal of the environmental damage showed up, I pulled my bookmark out and closed the book. Enough of that mess. Apparently, Paris gets destroyed later on, but I really can’t be bothered.
I’m starting to feel that way about the TV show “V”. The plot is so freaking transparent – I know how each episode is going to end in the first 5 minutes. And the big reveal of a character from the original series was marred – she just sits in the basement of the starship and has made a lifestyle out of being cranky. Really, Diana? That’s all you’re going to do?
I find myself almost rooting for the bad guys – at least they have a semblance of a plan.
In other news, I’m still sick. Bubonic Halitosis, I think. This stupid cough just won’t quite go away. I read yesterday on the internet (so you know it’s true) that Zinc is awesome for halting cold symptoms. I bought and tried some last night and discovered:
1. It tastes like cherry flavored crap.
2. The taste lingers.
3. It doesn’t do anything.
Now, I guess you’re supposed to take this when you first get sick – but I was still expecting more than just a bad taste.
So, I’m at work – and wearing a tie – already counting down the hours until I get to go home for the day. Not a good sign.

games and work

Last weekend, I went to visit my folks, my sister, and her family for my sister’s birthday. We went out to eat to a local Mexican restaurant and spent much of the weekend hanging out and playing games. I got some high scores in Quirkle and gave the rest of the crew a run for their money in Scotland Yard as the infamous Mr. X.

We also hung out with my niece – who gets more fun and awesome whenever I see her. She’s just over 1 year old and is in full explorer mode.
After a fun weekend – it was back to work. This week has been crazy-insane-busy. It’s really wearing me down. Plus, still sick. Today I tried some zinc – we’ll see if that does any good.
I’m still swimming though – not going to let this cold get me down. I’ve been using my flippers a lot more – so, I go faster and get more tired.
Well, about time for dinner…

hearts, games, sick, test, work, hair

I ended up making 300 hearts for the Hearts for Humanity dinner/dance. I timed myself and was able to make one heart in 50 seconds. You can do the math on that one – then add in time to actually cut the paper to 1/2 squares. I didn’t get any feedback, but I’m still pleased with the accomplishment.

I’ve been spending a lot of time on the PS3 recently. I beat Assassin’s Creed 2 last weekend and I’ve been playing a fun game called Nier – with an impossibly foul-mouthed character. She swears every time she talks and called someone a “shit-hog” before getting turned to stone. I’m hoping she comes back – her word choice is pretty funny. I’ve also played a little Batman. When he’s fighting, he moves like a freaking ninja. When he’s just walking around, he moves like Frankenstein’s monster. I almost expect to hear a “clunk” when he takes a step.
I’ve still sick. The pink-eye is essentially gone, but I’ve still got a bad cough. It’s just enough to be really annoying. If it doesn’t get better, I guess I’ll head back to the doctor. Hasn’t stopped me from swimming, but it does slow me down.
The University is offering an incentive to us to go through a simple health screening and fill out a survey – then reward us with $120 in our paycheck. I was a little… ummm… disconcerted about this – there’s a general feeling of unease with providing medical data that could be then used against you.
But, I reasoned that I’m generally healthy and in reasonably good shape -and the people asking for the data already have it since it’s tied into my insurance anyway. The only potential worry would be my cholesterol – which, last time it was checked, was a little high.
So, I went to the health screening today before my swim and lunch. The BMI and blood pressure were normal – but they couldn’t get the cholesterol test to work. They did the finger stick twice and the machine kept failing. So, they finally just wrote down that it didn’t work and said I’d still get credit for the screening. Which works out nicely.
I had kinda earned a “something going right” – the past few days at work have been insanely busy. Non stop email, phone, webpages, etc – I’ve been in a kind of media overload. I got a lot done, but it wore me out mentally.
This afternoon, I got another “something going right”. I went to get my haircut after work and only had to wait a few minutes. I got my stand “#1 buzzcut over my whole head” – since it’s proof against stocking cap hat-hair. The stylist finished this in no time at all – then only charged me half the regular amount. She said she didn’t think it was right to charge me full price when it only took 6 minutes to cut. So, I gave her a couple bucks tip and was on my way.
Well, back to the video games for me – I’m thinking about going out to dinner tonight.

strep, niece, eyes, salt, heart

I’m still doing battle with the remnants of strep throat – though it’s now reduced itself to a sore throat and occasional cough. It’s rare for me to be sick for so long – and it’s making me cranky. Or at least crankier than usual.

My niece’s birthday was last weekend and my sister threw a party. It was rubber ducked themed and my sister made cup cakes that looked like little ducks. My niece enjoyed the presents – or rather, the boxes they came in and the cards – and had a lot of fun running around. I tried to keep up with her – but she wore me out.
Earlier this week, I woke up with a sore eye – which swiftly turned red and started, well, oozing. Kinda looked like the squishy gunk when you fall asleep – but before it turns to “sand”. There was a lot of it too. I bought some eye drops and an eye patch to try and give it a break. This has been a couple of days ago, and it’s getting better – though this morning the gunk sealed both my eyelids shut until I could get some warm water on them. Gross and weird. My eyes are still pretty red, but getting better. It’s most likely pink eye – which will go away by itself. I’m trying to keep from touching my eyes and I’m washing my hands like I’ve got OCD – so, I should be back to normal soon. Or at least as close as I ever get.
I watched Salt last night on DVD. Good stuff. Lots of action and some nice plot twists.
Finally, I’ve volunteered to make some origami hearts for a fund raiser dinner/dance coming up soon. I’m hoping to get the final count today before I can leave so I can get the paper cut and start folding this evening. It’s not a very complicated fold, but it will take some time to get them done.

sick, birthday, paint, tron

I’m still sick. Can’t remember the last time I was ill this long before. I’m better, it’s just a sore throat at this point, but it’s still bothering me. I finished up my antibiotics over the weekend and I’m still taking cold medicine. Tired of being sick.

My family visited on Saturday for my birthday. We had some cake, went to a Paint Your Own Pottery store, went out to dinner, and had more cake. My niece was there and did much of the entertaining – she’s walking everywhere and with much more confidence.
The pottery store was fun – though as we getting ready to leave, I bent down to pick up my coat and gashed the side of my head on a display table. I didn’t break anything, fortunately, but I was bleeding pretty good. One of the women that worked there said she hits that all the time. I think she was trying to make me feel better, but I just wondered why they didn’t fix it.
Went out to dinner with some friends on Sunday evening. Had a nice time and the food was really good.
I was off work on Monday and went and saw TRON Legacy. The visuals were impressive, but the sound in the theater was really bad and the story could have used some work. Still, the 3D was fun and I liked it overall.
Back to work now with a short week. Just heard the boss come in – I should go look busy now.

very sick

Tuesday afternoon, I conducted two back to back training sessions at work and started to lose my voice. I didn’t think much of it – I’m not used to talking for 3 hours solid. Once I stopped talking, though, it didn’t get better. The next day at work, I had a sore throat and I sounded really bad.

Thursday morning I woke up and felt like crap. Terrible sore throat, horrible headache. I got out of bed just long enough to sent a “I feel like crap and I’m not coming into work” email and make an appointment to see the doctor that afternoon. One of my co-workers had to go to the emergency room with Strep throat recently and I was worried that I had the same thing.
So, Thursday afternoon I headed to the doctor’s office and got the diagnosis – strep. He prescribed some antibiotics and sent me on my way.
I started taking them last night, but before they could do any good, I got much worse. I had the chills, some nausea, and my fever spiked at 100.5 degrees. Kinda scary. I went from sweating like crazy to shivering. All the while, I was in and out of this really messed up dream where I was trying to react to a constantly changing series of disasters.
I was still feeling rough this morning, but I took my medicine and tried to be productive. Got through most of my work email and I’m working on laundry now.
It’s funny how quickly things can go from same old, same old to really, really bad. I’m doing better – though my throat is still sore – and I should be back to work on Monday.
Time to go gargle some salt water and see if that helps.

pothole

This morning, on the drive to work, I hit a pothole so bad it knocked the faceplate off my radio.

Welcome to Ohio.

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