31 July 2013

go live

Hoo. Man.

I spent the last two, three days crawling under 100 desks.
Hooking up meters. Finagling network data ports. Sneezing at dust bunnies. Bribing cleaning ladies to open doors after hours. Making frantic calls to data & voice services and my LIS buddy Weldon. Answering no less than 20 pages. Walking countless nurses through the steps. Troubleshooting every issue that could happen. Activating ports. Stealing ports (shh). Literally running to and fro. Training a few of those that just didn't quite get it yet. Dealing with snotty people. And happy people. Addressing computer & database problems. Directing helpers. Clocking tons of overtime. Taking care of every little detail because we couldn't compromise patient care and in reality, we could get a visit from TJC  at any time and everything has to be proper, even in the middle of a massive go-live.

My feet hurt. I'm tired. I got a little punchy, then I got a little crabby. Then I got punchy again. I learned a LOT. I did a little dance when we hooked up the last one right before lunch today. I celebrated by buying myself a bag of m&m's. Oh, and I ate lunch today.

This was truly my baby, and I knocked it out of the park. I had amazing support from all over. Really, a bunch of team players here. It was a success, but I can't take all the credit. Just a lot of it.

The huge part is finally over. It came and went, and now everyone's got a shiny new meter and there are a pile of old ones sitting by the door. Still a few things to fine-tune, but overall I'm very pleased with the outcome.

Not to mention, I have some SERIOUS point-of-care street cred right now. Baller.

28 July 2013

weekend pics & blurbs





1. That little chunker munker is just the cutest thing I've ever seen.
2. Efforts to provide shade on A/C unit. $200+ electric bills are not fun. Bonus: it looks prettier.
3. Cat naps on the window seat
4. Projects


Yesterday I missed a bridal shower and I'm starting to wonder what's wrong with me. Well, not starting to. I have a really cute gift, too. Something like this

I purposely saved up a bunch of projects to occupy myself with after I became tootless again. Too bad I haven't done any of them yet.

So. I rummaged around and figured out how to assemble and use Christopher's sander. Started sanding down the surface of the nightstand that's been in the garage for 2 weeks, waiting to be painted.

Next I'll figure out how to use the drill. Manly stuff.

26 July 2013

sniffs

This keyboard is dangerously close to being taken over by a cat.

I keep getting whiffs of something funky. Kinda like old & moldy or something. I can't figure out what it is. I even sniffed the cat. She smells fine, and is currently trying to eat an eraser shaped like a snowman.

I did sweat at work today, but I don't think it's me. At least, I hope it's not me.

I'm going to have to resort to playing, "What's that smell" and sniff around the house. I'll report back if it's anything interesting.

stressed

Really hoping that the problems I found yesterday can be resolved by the time I leave work today. We go live Monday, and I don't want to spend the weekend stressing out.

Damn port speeds and all that other IT stuff. I know what the problem is but I need someone to fix it for me.

23 July 2013

pound

I've had one of those on & off massive headaches for about 2 weeks now and I'm pretty darn tired of it. I think I'm going to take one of my Tylenol 3s and go to bed early.

21 July 2013

minimalist

As I continue to try and organize things that continue to be shuffled around, it is appearing to me that I have entirely too much stuff. I'm sitting here trying to organize a bunch of useless crap. Even though I got rid of many things before I moved, there are still things that just sit there, in storage or whatnot, not being used.

For instance, I was sitting on the couch watching tv and I glanced over at the bookshelf under the window seat. The objects in that bookshelf have not been touched since they were put there. They're simply not used. Another case: The entry closet has a few small piles of things that are ignored. Another: sewing patterns & fabric scraps. Another: I have three dresser drawers full of underwear. Don't even get me started on how I cram my plethora of pajamas into a single drawer. Yet another: I have six pairs of workout shorts, 3 pairs of workout pants, and 2 pairs of workout capris. Do I work out? NO. Do I need that many articles of clothing, even if I worked out every day? NO. I have an entire shelf in the closet full of t-shirts. That's like, 30 t-shirts.
Not only do I not have the space for this stuff, I'm boggling my mind trying to figure out how I fit it all into the size of a 2-car garage.

Why do I have so much stuff? How did I get so much stuff? Some of it are gifts that I kept because I didn't want to offend the gift-giver. Some are sentimental. Some are seldom-used. Some I keep thinking might be useful some day. Why do I keep Cranium? I don't even like that game. I have 8 vases. Even on the best floweriffic day, I only have use for probably 2. I also have enough pens, highlighters, and erasers to probably last me the rest of my life.

I love it when I'm in my get-rid-of-clutter moods. I'm bringing home a big box from work tomorrow and getting rid of whatever I feel I can live without. And I'm going to repeat that until I'm out of the mood.

bills & doors

This morning I rolled out of bed after a good night's sleep determined to 1. Pay bills. and 2. Install a cat door.

I paid some bills, and then crunched some numbers.
84% of my total debt is paid off. Almost there.

Then I started looking online at doors.

Since the back door to the house is a very nice door, we will not be cutting a hole in it.
The plan is to put a cat door in the door leading from the house into the garage, then leave the big garage door cracked so she can go in and out. Once we move out, we will have to replace the door that we cut a nice big hole in.

Also, since we'll be cutting a hole in a door, we'll need to consider insulating it properly. The garage gets super hot and we certainly don't want airflow.

So I called my dad to see what kind of door we'd need once we replace it (to make sure it won't be super expensive) and he's all, "Well let me and Uncle Joe come over and we'll take a look at it and we'll do it for you."

I mean, I intended to do it myself, but if he's offering... okay! Supplies and the cost of beer will more than pay for itself if I don't have to struggle with this.

So my plans for the day have been fulfilled and it's not even noon. Nice.

20 July 2013

Professionals

So yesterday was a good day for both me and Chris. He got promoted to Corporal (and looked real cute doing it)



 and I was awarded Employee of the Quarter. (There were no pictures taken.)


His thing was expected, but mine came as a complete shock to me. I didn't even know it was a thing, as I've only been there for 8 months. I was sitting there doing my work when my boss pokes her head in and says, "You need to come with me right now."

So we walk across the hall to the conference room where they are doing service awards, like for people who have been there 5 years, 10 years, whatever.

Then my boss walks up to the lady presenting and they're like, Ok it's your turn. And she proceeds to tell everyone why I was awarded Employee of the Quarter and how I've been doing a great job.

Then they pull me into the middle of the room and everyone's staring at me and I'm like, Holy crap thank you I'm so surprised I think I might cry thank you so much. It was awkward and I had no time to prepare myself mentally for a crowd staring at me, haha.

It was over quickly, and the head of the department handed me an envelope. Inside was a note saying that I get 8 hours free paid time off next month. Hellz yeah! So, after we go live with these new meters I'll try to take myself a nice 3-day weekend.

I'm just doing my job and I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary, but I am proud of myself and it was really nice to be recognized for all the crazy work I've been doing.

18 July 2013

FAIL

So I ended up looking like an asshole tonight.

But let's back up. I went as a sub for mom's bunco group. It was fun, and at the end of the night everyone gets to pick a gift, in order of how many points they got, etc.

Well one of the gifts was a handmade quilt with mustaches on it. (It was a mustache themed party)
Anyway, mom really wanted the quilt. A few people picked, then it was my turn, and I jokingly picked the quilt but ended up picking a plant, because I knew mom wanted the quilt. Then the lady after me took the quilt. Son of a bitch. I completely forgot that other people could pick before it was her turn. To top it off, mom ended up picking last and got a kind of lame gift.

And the whole party witnessed it. And the whole party talked about it and joked about it afterwards. I felt like such an asshole. If I was a good daughter, I would have picked the quilt and given it to her. I think everyone expected that to happen.
I didn't really want the plant, I just really didn't think that anyone else would pick the quilt before it was her turn. And THEN, I voiced that I didn't think that anyone would pick the quilt, trying to defend myself, and I think I offended the lady who made it. Jesus.

Anyway, I got the lady's number and I'm going to pay for her to make another quilt, but everyone at the party saw me jokingly pick it up, put it down, and pick a damn plant and they were all probably wondering what the hell I was doing. Ugh. I suck so bad. I wish I would have just picked the damn quilt.

15 July 2013

blurbs

I am quite pleased to find out that my sister started blogging again... although a lot of it's about her insecurities about her body. Girl, you had a baby 4 months ago and no one can even tell. You're gorgeous.

I'm hesitant to blog because I have nothing to write about except how unhappy I am with my current husband-less situation.

Worked late, so I could catch up on some work, and so I could delay coming home to this empty house. It's back to being eerie and lonely. The cat is dying for attention. Chris gave her attention all day for the last few weeks and I'm sure today she was wondering what happened. That, or maybe she just figures he's gone again like normal.

I miss the foot shelf on my old desk. I keep absent-mindedly trying to use it, but it's not there! I'm happy that Ashley's using it. It would have been a shame to see it go in the trash.

I finally succeeded in throwing away the trash cans. There were two that came with the house that were holey, missing wheels and handles, and have just seen better days. We tried to put them out last week, but the trash men left them. Today, I put them out with a sign and although I was doubtful, it worked! Yay for small victories.

I'm really thirsty and my contacts are drying out and the cat just can't handle not being pet right now. Peace.

14 July 2013

cling

Next time it'll be a one-way ticket.
That's the thought I was clinging to as I hugged him, watched him walk into the airport, and drove the familiar route away from the departures area this morning. Every time I do it, I still don't know how I do it.

I got a glimpse of what normal life could be like these past few weeks and it was awesome. It was more than awesome.

Work has been incredibly busy and stressful and even though I made the same mind-numbing drive home, I had something to look forward to at the end of it. As soon as I'd open the door, he'd be there smiling and coming in for a squeeze. Work problems? Whoosh- gone. Instant renewal.

Every moment was bliss and I couldn't take a single one of them for granted.

We had fun. We worked and played. We were busy. We got a lot of things done. It went by too fast. The house looks so different now. Most of his stuff is here, and I can't decide if that makes it easier or harder regarding the feels and the missingness. The garage in particular smells like memories; a haunting, comforting combination of racing smells & laundry detergent.

I'm trying to stay positive and think about how there are no more deployments. How every day brings us closer- even if there's still a lot of time left before anything changes. How I'm thankful he was able to be here this long.

The first day he was home, he walked into the kitchen and startled me because I wasn't used to him being here. Now, I catch myself wondering which room he's in before I remember he's not here. Even though all of these reminders are still here. The empty shampoo bottle in the bathroom trash. The beer bottles in the recycling bin. The pile of clothes on the floor. The half-full gluteny cereal boxes in the pantry. His smell will linger on the towels and sheets, but I know from experience in a day or two it will fade. Everything will be thrown out or stored away, waiting for his return.

As for me, I suppose it's back to wine & chocolate. Good thing Snickers ice cream bars were on sale this week.