Month: November 2005

I’ve never been good at being the squeaky wheel. I’d rather do my best to get along and pitch in to help. When I need to stick up for myself, I make a reasoned case in my behalf. I don’t like losing or being overridden, but I try to accept things gracefully.
Apparently not everyone thinks that way. I have a co-worker who is literally making a federal case over being asked to work three times on the weekend in the month of November. It’s a complicated story, so I’ll boil it down to saying that the schedule is SUPPOSED to be set up so that each person only works one weekend a month. This was complicated in November for this person by the combination of our annual Big Library Event (on Saturday) that everyone had to work and the Thanksgiving weekend, which this person worked to clear her schedule for the December holidays. She almost made arrangements to switch for Thanksgiving with a non-squeaky wheel type who was glad to switch, but then changed her mind at the last minute. I’m not sure what to make of this. If you squeak enough to get out of the work that SEEMED to be the problem, why then would you go back and work it anyway? I can’t figure it out. I think sometimes people complain just to complain. Unfortunately in this case there is an official system for complaining, and she’s working it to the best of her ability.

*Le Sigh*

This lady is talking to me on the phone right now. She is relating a long story about “unusual things going on”. It’s quite fascinating. She gets “aggravated by government things” has been arrested several times in several states, has to keep moving, and has a medical condition in her legs that is bothered by the military guys and police who have arrested her and entered her information into the “system” that is tracking her from Maryland. Apparently she wants me to make a record of her call and the two vehicles with military stickers which are parked outside her hotel room. I told her that if she has a problem, she should probably call the police, but she didn’t want to do that because they’d enter her information into the system and it would do spiritual things to her. She is convinced that the library keeps records of all sorts of things to do with the military. So I’m listening and making sympathetic noises.

I just got her off the phone. I think she really just wanted someone to listen to her story. I feel bad that this lady is out there with this tremendous feeling of paranoia. I hope she finds some help.

“The State Game Commission of Pennsylvania is drafting regulations to allow hunters to use atlatls, wooden spear throwers first utilized by early man.”

I love this story. It was also picked up by NPR and used as a limerick on “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” As those of us who have read the Earth’s Children books by Jean Auel know, the atlatl, or “spear thrower” was invented by Jondalar, sexy, sensitive, pouty caveman guy, in between bouts of fantastic, satisfying sex. It will be interesting to see if the PA hunting community will be as successful with the spear thrower as Jondalar and prehistoric superwoman Alya are. I’m not a big hunting person, myself, but this seems a lot more sporting than a rifle.

Mom is pretty rough looking, but lively and STRONG and anxious and exasperating. She does have lung cancer which they diagnosed apparently at the same time as the pneumonia and other things. She broke her tailbone this week, but as she already has a broken pelvis there’s not much else they can do except treat the pain and try and keep her from moving around too much (good luck).

On the $$ front, brother Mike is playing things day-by-day. He’s moved the house out of mom’s name, and as long as she is in the status she currently is in (doing therapy), she still qualifies for 50 or so more days of Medicare. She’s ineligible for Hospice, because she needs special oxygen and 24 hour care and Hospice doesn’t provide that.

The doctors have no way of predicting how she will progress. She’s surprised them at every turn. She’s tenacious and she has a natural energy and hardiness that is not beaten by a long shot.

We don’t know much more than we did, but she seemed happy to see us. We’re going back to see her early tomorrow before we leave.

Well the state border, anyway.
We’re off tomorrow for PA.
Driving up is usually OK,
the slog back is a PITA.
We’ll be back late Sunday.
Looking forward to seeing the PA friends.
And the family.
And Panera Southwest Turkey sandwich. Just one. *YUM*
Have a good ‘un.

There are five of them in the library right now, two female and three males. The males are alternately making short charges at the females one at a time, then wheeling around to regroup and concealing themselves behind the library furniture and peering out behind and under it at the females. The males are also making a soft surussus among themselves and calling out to the females with a cry of “Do-you-have-a-brother?”. The females started out by feigning indifference, but have changed their position to bring them closer to the males. There was some mutual admiration of backpacks. The encounter ended when the females withdrew from the area in response to a call from an adult. The males have returned to a homework behavior.

Total encounter time 23 minutes.

Feeling much better after my “sanity day” yesterday. And tiernen was extra-nice to me too. He’s such a sweetie. I cleaned up the papers in the bedroom (well most of them) and dusted. I watched some Arrested Development on DVD. Then I went to Girl Scouts and then to FSU for a workshop on storytelling for some lateral entry teaching students.

I’m mostly ready to be back at work. Lots of paperwork to catch up on. My only nagging thing right now is that I can’t find my 3 hole punch at home. I wanted to put tiernen‘s papers into nifty binders for him and I wasn’t able to do so. I’ll keep looking.

Gosh.

Everything is peeving me today. I think it may be PMS or tiredness/run down from long weeks of work with little time off.

I’m having bad dreams about tiernen leaving me for other women. I’m snappish and irrate. I feel like things are looming over my head and I can’t get out from under them. I’m going to try and take tomorrow off as a sanity day. Maybe if I stay home and clean up and do something constructive I’ll feel more able to handle things (and I won’t make Tiernen late for work for at least one day) and less prone to yelling at people.

Now I just have to get through to the boss and tell her.

*SIGH*

Also, we are planning on going up to PA this weekend to see the mom and hopefully the friends as well. It’s a lot of driving, and it may be a trip we’ll be making again soon, but Tom’s mom asked him to come up, and you just can’t say “No” to a request like that.

Hope everyone else is having a better day than me.

Fun SCA meeting last night. We went out for Coldstone ice cream after and stood around talking in the parking lot for a long time, as they say, Time flies…

I’m going to try and get all of the Gold Key stuff in various stages of repair together for fighter practice this week so we can inventory it and decide what to do with everything. Hopefully Saturday evening. *crosses fingers*

Hey LJ’ers. tiernen has abandoned us for Kings of Chaos. How DARE he! Let’s talk about him until he is compelled by the buzzing in his ears and the itching of his nose to come back to us.

I’ll start. Did you know he’s been in the SCA for almost 15 years and still doesn’t have his AoA or anything. He’s not one to toot his own horn, and tooting on my part is viewed as partisan tooting, so I’ll be partisan. Here’s a list of his many accomplishments:
–Atlantian rapier marshal and deputy to his Canton’s Knights’ Marshal
–Deputy Seneschal for Canton of Attilium
–Has taught 6 rapier fighters from Attilium who have subsequently gone on to authorize in the past two years.
–Maintains, mends and replaces the Canton of Attilium loaner fencing gear
–Helps out setting up tents and carrying loads at almost every event he goes to
–MIC’s for Rapier at Attilium demos
–Marshals for rapier at Baronial demos, and fights as well at these demos
–Acted as deputy seneschal and deputy chatelaine for the Western cadet branch of the Barony of St. Swithin’s Bog in Aethemearc
–Assisted with Pennsic Land Grab for St. Swithin’s Bog in 1998 (the actual Land Grab official was a one-legged guy, you see, and he had trouble getting around by himself, so Tiernen went along in an unofficial capacity to help out…there’s more to the story, but it needs to be told in person)

Like I said, he’s too modest to go around telling everyone about all this stuff. But he’s active and responsible and deserves a little recognition, don’t you think? A great holiday gift for him (he won’t get it until the spring, but it’s the thought that counts) would be to take a minute and write in to Their Atlantian Majesties an recommend Tiernen for his AoA.

Ok, who’s next? Say something. Bring Tiernen back to LJ.