EXCHANGE INTERFACE

Once again, the universe has thrown the dice and come up sixes for me.

The unfortunately timed show ticket has be reassigned to Thursday night, same seat, PHEW.

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I'm not sure that I like this trend of my early 00s fantasy authors going back to their old series.

I just finished the "Queen's" series by Anne Bishop, which...IDK. It kind of took all the things I liked about the tying-up of the series in 'Twilight's Dawn' and unravelled them again.

And now it seems Jacqueline Carey has a story out about Josselin's childhood in the Brotherhood of Cassiel.

I mean, I do want stories by authors I enjoy, but I am lately finding that after the first series, I'm not enjoying them as much.

cf. Nalini Singh's Psy-Changelings - the Trinity series are enjoyable but somehow lacking. Also, I read Carey's first two Naamah books but never managed to get into the third. The 2nd Naamah was slow-going.

It's not that they're bad, it's just that they don't feel as good as the original series. Or maybe they don't speak to my id as much. I enjoyed Bishop's Invisible Ring, and the (kind of) sequels of The Shadow Queen and Shalador's Lady; but that might be my id speaking.

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Tonight, I am trying to do some actual crafting: the backing on my show quilt. Which is due on the 25th. So, twenty days to quilt, bind, sleeve, and label it.

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I'm neaaaaaarly finished the last chapter of the last story in the 30 days of OTP. Looks like we're about to hit 10K on the full story.

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Counselling was good. I just explained out all the stuff going on in my life and in my head, and the counsellor reiterated the tools I'd been using to parse things out. I think that was most of what I needed - to be able to say this to someone who didn't know the other side, but could say that my feelings were valid and provide practical structures on how to deal with everything going on in my life and the concerns I have.

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Had lunch with a couple of friends today - his dad is in hospital, they don't know that he's going to come out of it. They live 12 hours drive away and spent yesterday driving up. It was a simple lunch - they just wanted a break from the hospital and a chance to see me. She can probably be classed as one of my oldest fannish friends - we met in SG1 fandom when she responded immediately to a short fic I posted at lunch, and I punted a bet that she lived on the East Coast of Australia. I think that was 2002. She met him a few years later, they lived together, married, had kids. The kids are now nearly teenagers.

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B1 comes back from her holiday this week. One of the cousins returns to Sydney for his Aussie wedding lunch. And Aunt Flo has turned up in full murderous glory, just in time for my birthday.

It's 6:30pm and I think it might be time for bed.

Well, not quite. They're sending me to Tasmania for a week. Next week, in fact.

I guess it'll be a practice run for the holiday - out of home, away from my medical assistances, and dealing with the hand and the foot and the health while on the move. Although the working will be...interesting.

I'm trying to sort out the issue with leave; I'm thinking the simplest option is LWOP, although that will dock my payslip something fierce in August. Ah well, I did have savings - note tense.

The stress will not be fun, however.

The one in the arcades? Where you try to whack the sharks/moles/creatures that pop up out of the holes. No sooner do you get one then another pops up.

And sometimes I think this guy believes I'm doing this to spite him. He certainly behaves like I'm actively sabotaging the system.

I'm dealing with someone insidiously nasty at work. He makes small jibes of the kind that might be joking once or twice, but which never come with an apology.

Over time, such things build up, and there's also the risk that others in the office will take their cue from him. At least one person is showing such signs. Sadly, confrontation and reformation isn't an option with the ringleader, he'll just say I'm being too sensitive and make a joke of it - probably a gender-related one that's gently derogatory to women, because that's something else he does with clockwork regularity - and I'm fairly certain things would get worse.

Just to note: there's an essential difference between teasing and being mean. There's someone else in the office who walks the jokery line on the teasing side - and he apologises when he goes too far.

At any rate, it hit breaking point this afternoon. It was get out of the office or cry.

So I phoned saramund and we chatted for about 20mins, only the first few minutes of which were about the situation at work. And, God, I needed that conversation very badly - just something encouraging and familiar with a member of what jenndavis calls my "tribe".

I guess Miss Cornelia would have called it "of the race that knows Joseph", while Anne Shirley/Blythe would have called it "kindred spirits". They're simply people that you can laugh with, be silent with, be silly with, and with whom you can trust your heart.

Over the years, my tribe has changed as tribes do - members come, members go - some people drift to the outskirts, while others stay in the core. They're not defined by geographical location but by soul location - how close our spirits are.

I was so very grateful for saramund this afternoon, and I'm glad of those of my tribe who've been around when things were down as well as when they were up, and offered encouragement, prayers, and/or hugs as necessary.

Thanks, guys.

Last night I got home to discover the parental house's powerpoints weren't working. The lights were fine, but the powerpoints weren't playing ball. I checked the fusebox and...discovered a lot of switches. Flippy things. Without instructions. And definitely not intuitive. Call me an electrical dinosaur, but I like the old ceramic fuses with their wires. So much simpler to deal with!

Anyway, I tried to flip the 'Power' switch back on...and it promptly flipped off again. Couldn't work out how to reset it, so I left it.

Result? All plug-in-electricals have been off in the house for the last fifteen hours, including the fridge/freezer, the TV, and the modem.

I just hope they don't find themselves having to eat all the meat in the freezer in the next 2 days!

I've discovered that I don't sleep well at the parental house when the parentals aren't home. Too busy fretting about the cats I'm minding and what they might do while I'm sleeping...like pee in my clothing. Thank heavens it's only for a few days and the parentals are back this morning.

Still, the result is that I'm pretty much exhausted after the weekend and am looking forward to going back and sleeping in my own bed with my kitty.

This is the point at which I could probably use a Nikola Tesla icon, right?

Rain and traffic jams make for bad behaviour in drivers. Everyone gets frustrated and annoyed and people act even more stupid than they usually do.

I got into work this morning 30 mins later than I usually do (having left 5 minutes later than I usually do) and wanted a coffee and something to hit.

At least I got the coffee.

I'm beginning to hate this job. Email from user:

Yes I suppose technically I did not follow procedure.

Unfortunately it is sometimes necessary to find ways around the roadblocks that [system] likes to throw up, in order to provide a timely service to our paying customers.

I make no apology and would do the same again. The customer comes first.

Things I got from the email:

1. Fuck you. Backwards and in high heels. Note the use of the mantra: "the customer comes first." A useful justification for any action in the marketplace!

2. Roadblocks: I don't know what roads he drives on, but the ones I use have roadblocks to keep me from driving into things like parked trucks, roadworks, and other slightly inconvenient obstacles on the road.

3. Not following the procedure means the ordering document wasn't created. The lack of ordering document means there's no delivery document for when we receive it. The lack of receiving document means there's no billing document for when we need to charge the customer. Are we a business or a charity?

MEH.

Oh wait, I already hate it.

I think it might be unwise to start singing "Kiss a Wookie, kick a droid..." in the middle of my workplace, even if I'm listening to the credits of Raiders of the Lost Ark on my iPod...

Also, there's a riff that sounds suspiciously like "Luke and Leia's theme" from Star Wars - not completely, but quite close. I wonder if it isn't the Indy/Marion love theme?

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And, because I can't post it in the Childfree thread without being jumped upon ("but those parents and their children have it easy, making my life hell every time I turn around! Why shouldn't they be inconvenienced for once?")

( entitlement in the childfree is just as offensive as entitlement in parents, IMO: just less socially acceptable )

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Dopey business analyst is still dopey. You actually have to give me the data to look at so I can work out the problem, let alone fix it.

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And because this is not something you put in a work email:

( I know this system very well )

Crap. Senior Developer just made a joke about looking for a new job.

It was just a joke, but prompted by the sheer intransigence of management in integrating our business processes to the new system (instead of trying to modify the system to our current business process) and all the problems its causing.

Pretty much he's the one bashing management's head against the wall right now - with limited success, unfortunately; their skulls seem to be made of titanium. He's the one with the extensive knowledge of how the system we worth with works - the whole grand master plan of it - and who works out consequences that most people don't have the vision for.

He's good at what he does, he enjoys it, and a company should bend over backwards to make sure he doesn't escape their clutches.

Me? I'm a peon programmer and a fairly average one at that. I enjoy this work (sometimes), and I'm reasonably good at it.

This guy? Is brilliant at his job, has an excellent work ethic, and is generally okay to get along with.

And I think he's beginning to entertain thoughts of skipping out. (Not that I can blame him, exactly.)

Crap.

Dear co-worker sitting next to me,

Pls not to be a nose breather. I'm trying to concentrate and it's near-impossible with you doing your wheezy thing just next door.

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Dear person-who-keeps-calling-to-check-that-I've-received-your-mails,

Yes, I have received your mail. Yes, I am presently doing what you asked. You only sent that mail a minute ago, I have had just enough time to see the inbox notification pop up and I am working on it.

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Dear business-analyst-who-never-reads-his-emails-properly,

READ THE FRICKING EMAIL I SENT YOU. I have not only put the details you asked for in there, but have also laid out the process by which we're going to get this authorised. And this isn't the first time you asked me something I've already answered.

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Why is the world full of oblivious people? They're not even stupid - they're just insensate. Crusted-over to the fact that they inhabit the world with other people. Inured to the possibility that the universe doesn't exist to babysit them.

ARGH.