"You gonna get another job?"...

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
Let's play a game. Let's play a game called "How much crap can you pile on someone before you crush their spirit and make then quit trying".

You start out by roping your friend into a job he doesn't want, promising it will only be 1-3 months. Then, at about 6 1/2 months, IT (or HR or whoever) will temporarily disable his account--right at the busiest, most crucial time of the month--and when all the regular IT staff are on vacation. Have him call the help desk so he gets some random guy in Moldavia who only manages to totally lock your account, just before the weekend.

Then, on Monday, when he has to work a full 8 hour second shift factory job, spend all available time getting the account unlocked. I mean, now the user has 2 different passwords and possibly a different, case-sensitive e-mail address for one other system (to say nothing of the random alphanumeric username that is sometimes used to access something AND the app he has to have on his phone that sends him 6 digit codes for secondary authentication.

Have him in a half-how long 8:30am meeting the morning after working until midnight--all so he can say "nothing to report." Then, when it is time for him to release a deliverable, and he finds that he no longer has access to one of the files he needs (he did take a nap for an hour or two after the meeting) get on him because he just sent an old graph along with updated data. Tell him to drop the 152 unread e-mails he still has to get through, confirming none of his month-end tasks got missed, and the various other things he's supposed to be doing--to say nothing of having breakfast and coffee (at Noon) and getting dressed--so he can chase down another network problem while he still hasn't resolved the problem of multiple e-mail addresses and passwords.

Because he'll definitely do that instead of stopping any work while staying on the clock and going to make coffee and breakfast.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
He's like, "check with Blah Blah to make sure you have the right link." And I'm like "I don't need to check with Blah Blah. I just sent you the link. Click it. If it opens right for you, then the link is correct." Instead I waste my time and Blah Blah's time--who is in Ireland, so God only knows even what time it IS there.

Or I could eat breakfast and maybe play a couple games of solitaire.

Heh. Years ago I had an idea for a sitcom about a guy who wins the lottery and doesn't quit his job. But he does a shitty job so the boss will fire him. Only the boss refuses to fire him out of spite--that's kind of where I am right now: "Look. I don't care about any of this. I'm not interested in any of this. I'm annoyed and frustrated and want to get back to my life."

On the other hand, the one house is vacant right now, I'm worried about the renter in the other house, and they may still implement the Covid mandate on the other job, so while I could live off savings, I'd rather not burn any bridges.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
In other news. as mentioned earlier, I've gotten soft and weak, with a little round belly. Need to lose 10-15# to get looking and feeling respectable, 20-25# to be in top shape. Managed to diligently exercise over break--at the cost of getting anything else done. Yesterday I got a little under 1/2 of my workout done. Today I barely started and I feel like I've been dragged down a flight of stairs. Getting old sucks.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
I figured out why this contracting gig annoys me so much--I mean, apart from that I didn't want to do it in the first place, was promised it would go no longer than September, and am not qualified to do it--I have a certain amount of bandwidth for problems, and frustrations. Even if I have enough hours in the day to tackle the shit of this job and still work on my stuff, I've got no energy too. I'm exhausted from fighting with people and systems on stuff I want nothing to do with so that by the time I am free to work on my own stuff I don't feel like it.

(This message brought to you by the drama of trying to get a credit card payment made over a smartphone app into a checking account with a bank that is stuck in the 1980s--and I've still got to figure out how to make the accounting make sense in QuickBooks.)

[edit: at least the unpleasant person who jumped me for doing what I was told to do apologized when I forwarded her the e-mail that told me to do it.]
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
...and I'm stuck. And also screwed. Stuck and screwed.

Today's my day off. But it's Month-End. And I only have 2 deliverables: Be in an 8:30 virtual meeting and post an 11:00 companywide status update. So I clocked in for a bit. Done and done. Getting ready to go bang out my tasks. Literally standing up to leave the computer...and the virtual phone rings. And now I'm in a call because it doesn't look like the Tableau Dashboard is showing up any pre-close tasks.

That means as much to you as it does to me.

So now I'm sitting here while the girl in Ireland is sharing her desktop and they're figuring out how to unhide columns. Of course I'm back on the clock.

OH! Forgot the screwed part: Been very hard to accomplish anything the past week or two--everyone getting ready for Christmas. Then everyone recovering from Christmas and getting ready for New Year's. Then I got busy with close stuff. Thursdays are my day to TCB. Except there's about an inch of snow on the ground with more falling. No idea how Louisville deals with snow. This would be akin to the Apocalypse in Portland. So it will be interesting to see if anyone I need to talk to will be in the office--if I ever get away from work.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
For someone who grew up in rural Wisconsin, and once drove from Western Oregon to Wisconsin, non-stop, through a blizzard all the way, there are few things that rankle me more than having to miss a meeting because it is snowing lightly. I know how to drive in the snow. I can do it--in a rear wheel drive car and probably not in significantly longer than it would take me on a sunny June day. The problem is, no one *else* knows how to drive in the snow. So it took me 7 minutes to go a block. Then I was behind a bus that proceeded to get stuck on level pavement. Looked at how long I had to get to where I needed to go and the row of stopped taillights as far as the eye could see and the police cars dealing with something at the intersection in front of me and I resignedly turned around and headed home.

(And to be honest, it was awfully slick (20 degrees with 1-2" of powdery snow that compacted easily into ice on the roads) and the car isn't as nimble as she used to be. I'm not able to get the stock tires anymore and no rubber since then has had anything like the traction of the factory tires, so I didn't mind having an excuse to turn around.)
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
I am fucking STARVING. That's maybe not bad, given my latest weight revelations, but still not any fun. Ran outta bread yesterday so I settled for a packet of Ramen with an apple, yogurt, and a glass of milk. Now I'm freaking DYING, waiting for dinnertime.

Sadly, at this point, adjusting my diet and increasing exercise may be having an effect, but it is not visible. Still about as heavy as I've ever been. Still can't see my dick without leaning forward/sucking in my gut/getting hard. :(
 

Loktar

Pinata Whacker
I am fucking STARVING. That's maybe not bad, given my latest weight revelations, but still not any fun. Ran outta bread yesterday so I settled for a packet of Ramen with an apple, yogurt, and a glass of milk. Now I'm freaking DYING, waiting for dinnertime.

Sadly, at this point, adjusting my diet and increasing exercise may be having an effect, but it is not visible. Still about as heavy as I've ever been. Still can't see my dick without leaning forward/sucking in my gut/getting hard. :(
Stay strong. I just had a doctor's appointment yesterday where I found out I gained 8 pounds since June and now weigh 290 pounds. I think I'm finally ready to try and make some sort of attempt to eat healthier and exercise more. I'm going to start by cutting out chips and cookies and replace them with fruits and vegetables.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
How tall are you, if I can ask? I can only imagine how rough that must be. I'm blessed with good genes and metabolism, (relatively) healthy eating habits, and being active from a young age. I've wrestled since...3rd grade? Dunno. But through to college. And I was a US Marine. So I have lifelong exercise and conditioning habits and it is amazing how fast your body comes back if you started from a good starting point. Even so, only 20# or so overweight and it's miserable, trying to lose weight and get back into shape. But I guess the trick is to just do it and take it 1 day at a time. There are...really don't want to say "plenty"...stories of people losing 100+ pounds without anything but self-discipline. So taking action is the important thing.
 

Loktar

Pinata Whacker
How tall are you, if I can ask? I can only imagine how rough that must be. I'm blessed with good genes and metabolism, (relatively) healthy eating habits, and being active from a young age. I've wrestled since...3rd grade? Dunno. But through to college. And I was a US Marine. So I have lifelong exercise and conditioning habits and it is amazing how fast your body comes back if you started from a good starting point. Even so, only 20# or so overweight and it's miserable, trying to lose weight and get back into shape. But I guess the trick is to just do it and take it 1 day at a time. There are...really don't want to say "plenty"...stories of people losing 100+ pounds without anything but self-discipline. So taking action is the important thing.
6 foot 0 inches. You'd think I'd get scared thin before this......scrolling past shows like My 600 pound life....plus I have a friend that is shorter and fatter than me and has a meat flap hanging like in the Adam Sandler movie "Click".
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
Well, on the plus side then, you're not, like, 5'6". 6' and 290# is very do-able. You shouldn't have, like, bags of skin if you lose weight. You could drop 100# to be in insane shape, but if you work out and bulk up, you could look damned fine (just not in drag) losing a lot less. That's kind of like me. My upper of not being disgusting, I have to lose 15-20#. To be an absolute monster, I'd have to lose 20-25#. A lot narrower window because I'm a bit over 5'9" (used to be able to say I was 5'10", but that thing about shrinking as you get older--it's true. :( ). And a good thing about being 6' and a dude is that you can pack a lot of muscle onto that frame. Women can't build as much muscle as men and shorter people have proportionally smaller muscles. Muscle burns calories even when it isn't doing anything. Put on some brawn and it will help you lose weight even when you're sleeping.
 

Oerdin

Active Member
I am fucking STARVING. That's maybe not bad, given my latest weight revelations, but still not any fun. Ran outta bread yesterday so I settled for a packet of Ramen with an apple, yogurt, and a glass of milk. Now I'm freaking DYING, waiting for dinnertime.

Sadly, at this point, adjusting my diet and increasing exercise may be having an effect, but it is not visible. Still about as heavy as I've ever been. Still can't see my dick without leaning forward/sucking in my gut/getting hard. :(

Try a handful of nuts. As long as you limit quantity they make an excellent nutritious snack to tide you over.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
I might have to try that too--more smaller meals. Smaller breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with little snacks in between. Spread out the calories more like I used to back in the day.
 

Oerdin

Active Member
That would work well so that you are never feeling hungry. The only downside is if you are diabetic but if not I see no downside.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
Just need a bloggy-blog post to put a cap on the week.

Not a bad week.

Managed to get all my chores done Saturday--and still have time for fun. Fun turned out to not be fun, but that's OK. At this point I know I can rule that activity out. Slept in later than I planned. Dreamed a bit. OH! Need to update the Dreams thread too!

Planned to skip church. But it looked like I had time. So I persevered. Made it.

For some reason I think about my Dog in church. Partly because it was so hard to make it to church when I had her. Also one of the guys from my old neighborhood is an usher. He and his wife have a dog a bit like The Dog. He actually talked to m after Mass today and I let him know she died. They said their Dog wasn't doing too well and that they'd gotten a new pup. Said there were more from the litter and asked if I wanted one. Poodle/Blue Heeler. That's actually probably a pretty good mix. And a lot less exhausting than a Border Collie/Lab. But I kind of need another Border Collie/Lab.

Got home. Lunch and a nap. Considered going...Oh! I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm trying to "keep holy the Sabbath." It's a good idea--having a day to just relax, reset, and unwind. I don't do it as often as I should and it was nice to do it. Oddly enough, even so, I still had plenty of time in the rest of the week. OK. Caught up. Considered going over to the rental to work on drainage/landscaping. Instead decided to tackle certain deferred "when I get a round tuit" chores. Then headed off to the Sunday Dog routine. This was mostly because I heard a taco place I've driven by every week for years does California-style carne asada burritos and I needed an excuse to check it out. And since I wasn't going to work, I couldn't go for a run today--or otherwise exercise--but my tubby ass needs to burn some calories (especially if I'm having a nice burrito).

Now I've made good progress on moving through mourning my Dog, but I'll admit I was walking around on the edge of tears this evening. She was with me 1/5 of my life--longer than most marriages. Only people I've been with longer were my family. And for some reason that bond isn't as close as the one between a person and a dog.

Any--Oh! After church I stopped off at Wal*Mart. I realized I needed a floor lamp by the back door. Wal*Mart had one that wasn't exactly what I wanted, but it was $15, so I picked it up and set it up. I also set up the new printer (the old one of 12 years started getting flaky and unreliable). Anyhow, on the way back after my walk, I stopped at the burrito place. Very good. 8/10 stars. Had a nice talk with the counter guy. Isn't a West Coast Mexican place, but it is as close as you'll get in Kentucky. Got home. Enjoyed my carne asada burrito with a brace of fine margaritas while watching Dr. Who. Oh, and I tuned up my Mom's guitar. When I lived in Hawaii I got her a decent ukulele, so after she died I got it and mostly taught myself to play it--before getting busy and forgetting how to play it. Since I'm caught up on my reading, I started relearning how to play the uke (and solve the Rubik's Cube, but that's another story and I'm not going to "Inception" recurse that far) but I decided to also tune up the guitar. Now I just need to learn how to play it.

So yeah. Feeling OK. Still a lot fatter than I should be. But got to do some things that were good for my soul today--even if some of them involved being sad. Actually almost feeling ready for the week.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
Well...shit. Friend/boss called. Missed the call. Decided to call him back. He has the 'rona. Is worried he is going to die tonight. As much as I've drunk, I think I managed to not say anything too stupid. I'd really rather he didn't die. I definitely don't want to be in charge of a 12 year old girl and 4 semi-feral cats (1 of which is incontinent) in Wisconsin.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
I try not to get political here--and certainly try not to use a friend to make political points, but I just have to say that my friend who called to tell me he has the 'rona and expects to die is double-vaxxed. He'd have gotten his booster but his appointment was cancelled because his clinic is shorthanded after having to fire all their non-vaccinated staff. He wears a mask pretty religiously. He also thinks he had the 'rona back in March 2020--but they were rationing the tests so they didn't test him. I guess this is a kind of long way of saying that I think the CDC guidance on preventing the virus is about as effective as the TSA's screening efforts to provide airline safety.

On a lighter note, (no pun intended) I'm officially down below my "HOLY SHIT, YOU REALLY LET YOURSELF GO, YOU FAT FUCK!" weight. I mean, I've still got 10# to go to the high end of a respectable weight, but after 2-3 weeks of seeing no progress, I look better. And I'm not waking up at 4am every night (still waking up at 6:30, but it's an improvement. And I'm able to get back to sleep after a trip to the bathroom instead of laying awake for hours. I figured this was either the added belly fat, drinking too much, or both. Initially I cut both back, but I had a burrito last night so I had a couple margaritas before moving to Manhattan's so it looks like it was mostly the weight. Still going to try to drink less though.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
OH MY GOD. I'M TIRED ALREADY. Only got on my contracting gig for 45 minutes yesterday--long enough to catch up on my e-mails--before I had to leave for work. Planned on putting in maybe 3 hours today. Of course the mailbox is full again. After deleting out all the totally automated ones that I don't have to look at, I'm down to 105 unread e-mails. And they're all exhausting. 10 minutes on this job and I need a break. I was going to post an excerpt of the gibberish in these e-mails, but the last half-dozen or so have been surprisingly cogent.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
I just realized: This must be what it feels like to be illiterate--or dsylexic: You look at the letters on the screen but none of it makes any sense. With a great deal of effort you can kind of figure out if it is something that applies to you or not.
 

Volpone

Zombie Hunter
And now I'm stuck. Because my friend I'm working for has Covid and he's scared so he's called me to make small talk. And that's OK--especially since his boss is paying for it, and it is the sort of thing friends are supposed to do, but dang, I kind of want to get something done. I'm not getting any work done for him and I'm not getting any work done for me and I'm using up hours I won't get back .
 
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