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It's been getting harder and harder these last few days to keep up with my one-a-day quota. Even now, I should be running down to check the dryer again rather than sitting hear typing. (Done.) It's a combination of things. For one, the muggy weather is making me tired. Is this another sign of encroaching age? Trudging across campus today for a colleague's retirement party, I asked myself I used be better at putting up with this, didn't I? Aren't I from Missouri? It was so humid today, that stepping out of an air-conditioned shuttle my glasses actually fogged up completely.
Then there are the preparations for the impending trip. They're really quite modest, given that our chief occupation will be sitting on our asses. (A colleague asked me today, "Who goes to Florida and June?" I told him, "The weather's the same there as it is here--80s, muggy, and thunderstorms--except they have an ocean.") But we haven't had a proper vacation since China--and we've never had one since acquiring the cat--so I'm paranoid about forgetting something.
I'm also a bit concerned about my new hire. Fortunately, she's gotten her SSN and was able to start work yesterday. But it's not exactly reassuring to have someone ask you, "So I can't work weekends?" when that's in the job posting and something I always stress in interviews, and then asked if she can work three hours a week less than the required minimum. There's a lot to teach her and I won't be around to do it. My second-in-command seems eager to handle this, but I know I'll have a fire or two to put out when I get back. And in the meantime, the breakneck training sessions are wearing me out.
What else is there? Oh, yeah. Planning for the trip means talking to my family, which is fine. But we haven't talked in a while, so every call is like five minutes of trip planning and forty-five of strategising. As always, our two biggest concerns are my older brother and our mother. The latter just isn't getting any better. My sister has told us all she needs a break from dealing with her for a while, which after what's she done for her this year I can totally understand. And my younger brother confessed to me that he's been having trouble finding subtle ways to nag her. I told him that the time for subtlety is long past; we need to be as frank with her as possible or her psychological and financial situation will deteriorate further.
What else? Oh, the regular condo nonsense,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
monshu's greatly increased work stress, and some sundry other annoyances. On the other hand, there are parties and happy discoveries and World Cup victories. Maybe I'll write more about those later. You know, when I have time...
Then there are the preparations for the impending trip. They're really quite modest, given that our chief occupation will be sitting on our asses. (A colleague asked me today, "Who goes to Florida and June?" I told him, "The weather's the same there as it is here--80s, muggy, and thunderstorms--except they have an ocean.") But we haven't had a proper vacation since China--and we've never had one since acquiring the cat--so I'm paranoid about forgetting something.
I'm also a bit concerned about my new hire. Fortunately, she's gotten her SSN and was able to start work yesterday. But it's not exactly reassuring to have someone ask you, "So I can't work weekends?" when that's in the job posting and something I always stress in interviews, and then asked if she can work three hours a week less than the required minimum. There's a lot to teach her and I won't be around to do it. My second-in-command seems eager to handle this, but I know I'll have a fire or two to put out when I get back. And in the meantime, the breakneck training sessions are wearing me out.
What else is there? Oh, yeah. Planning for the trip means talking to my family, which is fine. But we haven't talked in a while, so every call is like five minutes of trip planning and forty-five of strategising. As always, our two biggest concerns are my older brother and our mother. The latter just isn't getting any better. My sister has told us all she needs a break from dealing with her for a while, which after what's she done for her this year I can totally understand. And my younger brother confessed to me that he's been having trouble finding subtle ways to nag her. I told him that the time for subtlety is long past; we need to be as frank with her as possible or her psychological and financial situation will deteriorate further.
What else? Oh, the regular condo nonsense,
monshu's greatly increased work stress, and some sundry other annoyances. On the other hand, there are parties and happy discoveries and World Cup victories. Maybe I'll write more about those later. You know, when I have time...