luminousone

OMG, that guy mowed my lawn again, 3 days after I did! I came home yesterday to the diagonal stripes. So weird. I think I will throw some organic fertilizer on there, since it is mowed so frequently...

My hand is healing nicely. Almost done with the antibiotics now. Had a good weekend - I went to a "murder mystery" dinner Sat night, so I had to hunt up a costume for my character. the dinner was so much fun and we laughed so hard! In the end none of us guessed the killer. Yesterday i.mowed my front lawn. I found that I had to pick up several dog poops in my front yard. I don't have a dog - my neighbor has 2. You know, the neighbor that mowed my lawn because my mow stripes didn't match his.

Oh, I love your paintings! I do think the first one is the best.

My sister ended up in a long and successful financial career. Her most recent job was at a company that was very ethical and made sound decisions. During the economic downturn, their clients did not lose money. They hardly made any money - the investments were just slightly in the black, bUT still, they didnt lose any. But that was remarkable at the time - so many people lost so much then. And when their firm was investigated by the SEC, they actually passed inspection with flying colors! Being a mainly male dominated field, it was difficult for my sister to gain respect among her male colleagues. But she is scrappy and she held her own. She quit of her own accord. She had dreamed of starting her own business - something completely different from the field of finance. The business is doing well, but she is working so hard. She now has 25 employees and she doesn't take many days off. It sounds like so much work, but she said she is still happy she quit. I'm glad she is happy.

This antibiotic is harsh and brutal with my digestive system. But it seems to be working.

Thanks for asking, Jib. None of the doctors were concerned about rabies aND we did discuss that. But if I was near due on my tetanus shot they would have given that to me. But I'm up to date on that for another 4 years. After I wrote that last post, I got a great night sleep. My fever broke sometime in the night. Swelling went mostly down. So I went to my doctor's appointment and the hand was doing well. She said to continue as I have. And then I took the rest of the day off of work. Today I went back and I got a lot of reports done but not my main job. Just mostly low key. There was a consultant doing some training, whose daughter is good friends with my older son. (They've known each other since second grade, they are adults now). Anyhow, the consultant mentioned that my son might be transferred to Seattle. Well that was news to me. Lol. I think I need to communicate with him more often, so I don't hear things second or third hand.

Not really, at least not right now. Just weird. Paranoid and controlling. But that could change. I know the owner of his rental house, and he knows that. If I need to talk with her, I will. I am wondering if he is a veteran.

I went to Urgent Care about 8 hours after I was bitten. I've been on antibiotics since, but I see little improvement. So I'm going in to see my doc today. I decided to take the day off to allow my body to fight this. I had a slight fever of 100 yesterday, and that is with taking the antibiotic.

Oh my goodness! You need your hands to pick up the little ones, and feet to chase after them. Hoping you are able to allow those injuries to heal.

Careful avoidance needed; dogs yipping! CHIRP

He just couldn't stand it. I mow, and I'm done. Passable job. He mows one way first and then does the diagonal for the stripes. It really really bothered him that our yards didn't match. At least his wife is normal. No, I'm not going to pay him. I don't think it is about money for him. It's the need to control. And as far as your mower, RN, I killed my gas one somehow so I bought a Greenworks battery powered mower. I really like it and I don't feel so guilty like I did with gas powered. Reviews were good.

Regarding the lawn - he wants to continue doing it, so the stripes/lines match up with his lawn. He admits he has some OCD. He also is very paranoid. I had mentioned that his landlord (the owner of his rental house) lives a few blocks away. She started using a rental management service, so that is why he does not know her. So apparently he got real paranoid and thought she had followed him to the ATM. From his description it didn't sound like her. Anyhow, it turns out this person lives or works in our neighborhood. He thought she was going to rob him, since she was standing in line behind him. He turned around and glared at her, and as he walked away she changed her mind at the ATM. I'm guessing she got spooked by him and he was spooked by her. Then he started showing me pictures of a truck that parks for 10 minutes in the street before driving off. So he followed the truck and turns out it is an employee of an adult group home in our neighborhood. But my neighbor thinks he is scoping out houses to rob. He is probably just texting before driving off. Anyhow, this neighbor is a true nut job. I'm guessing he is on disability because he does not work. So if he mows my front lawn, maybe that will keep him busy and out of trouble...

Yes, this cat would not back down. Glad I thought of the vacuum, as that did work. So, the rest of the story is that the wound became infected, dedpite the fact i leg it bleed abd thoroughly washed it and used triple antibiotic ointment. It seemed just fine the next morning so I went for a five mile hike. Afterward it swelled up. I took cookies over to the neighbor to discuss the lawn situation and he is a former EMT and his wife is a nurse. They told me to go to urgent care, so I did. I got a shot in the butt for the first time since I was a kid, and a 14 day prescription for antibiotics. Feeling somewhat lousy today but I had obligations at church then took my neighbor shopping then had to type up minutes for a committee meeting. Then early to bed, but of course now I can't sleep. I skipped the committee meeting and asked them to find a new volunteer to do it from now on. The swelling seems to be going down on my hand, so that is good.

Part of my job involves organizing certain recurring projects that involve periodic deadlines. We had several new personnel this year, so I did a training. During the training I mentioned several times about the deadlines and advised them not to wait until just before the deadline to gather their data because in my experience glitches sometimes happens and the deadline arrives, and now they have incomplete data. All of the employees got their data in a few days early. For one employee, the entire field was blank. No data. So I sent a few gentle reminder emails and offered my help if needed. No response to the emails. I ran into his assistant (a seasoned employee) and asked her how things were going on that. She was very stressed about it and said she had reminded him several times and he kept saying he would get to it. So I thanked her for her support and told her not to worry about it anymore and I would handle it. I went to speak with him in the other building - in a nice way. I mentioned that I didn't see any data in the computer yet, and asked if he had any questions about the process. He told me he hadn't started yet. This was Tuesday and the deadline was yesterday.He had all kinds of excuses. He wanted to wait until some other things were done, and he had to go observe somewhere, and blah blah. I cut those excuses short and just reminded him of the deadline and that I was available to help now, but preferred not to have to help him at the last minute. Yesterday afternoon I looked in the system. A few pieces of the data were missing. So I went over to his building and went to talk with him about it. Apparently he had problems with one because the person went home sick, so no chance getting that data. And the other one he simply made a mistake on and did the wrong test. The deadline was midnight last night, so he missed the deadline. I really really wanted to say I told you so. I had even said during the training to get it done early because people get sick or go out of town unexpectedly or the computer is glitchy when everyone is entering their data. And one of those happened to him, so he missed the deadline. But - what he didn't know (and I did) was that the deadline was extended due to system difficulties. So - after he explained his reasons for missing the deadline, I simply told him that normally the data cutoff would have been midnight but he lucked out that the deadline was extended. So hopefully he will button it up on Monday. Honestly, he is an adult. I should not have to babysit him. I am really hoping that this was simply a one time thing -that he was overwhelmed by his new job and duties, and that he'll be on top of it in the future. If this happens on the next go-around, then I am not going to babysit him. He will have to answer to his supervisors and peers. He is just so lucky that the deadline had been extended.

Work is so much better this year. I'm still traumatized from last year, but we have different personnel and one is a new supervisor for me. She has been sometimes pushy or dictatorial but I am really hoping that was just her, trying to assert herself into her new position. My former boss was more collaborative. My new one seems to be showing a zany side. Anyhow, the next boss up is her boss (and ultimately my boss too). That higher boss is calm and composed, somewhat tightly wound with a formal demeanor. So employees address her in a professional manner. I was working late one evening and most people had gone home. I heard "Marco" called out down the hall, so I responded "Polo?", slightly amused. It was my new supervisor, who said "Wrong Polo. I'm looking for Julie" (the big boss). Lol. I would never choose to address Julie in that manner. New supervisor is a bit of a character.

Sheesh. A stray cat found its way into my cat door. And so I had quite the ruckus in my dining room when he and my cat were having a standoff. Usually when I show up it's enough to scare off other cats, but this one wouldn't budge. I was able to scoop up my cat and put him in the bathroom and shut the door. But the stray would not go any where. I tried to pick it up but that was a bug mistake (and I have the scratches to prove it). I tried guiding it out with a broom but all he did was attack the broom. So finally I got a brilliant idea and got the vacuum out and started to vacuum. That worked. He ran out. This was an hour ago. So eventually my cat went outside, only to enter another loud standoff right outside my bedroom window. And neither would back down. Eventually I went out there with a flashlight and a broom, and I was able to convince my cat to back off. Which he has never done before. So I brought him inside with me and gave him treats. I don't think this is the end of this problem.

I laughed out loud when I read this, and then reread it to confirm that you actually did say that. You cheeky one! Glad you are happy with the move and glad you have a chance to dispell the negative misimpressions. But - it is frustrating that Catherine is still affecting you from the grave. I hope in time that will be proven false as people experience your work. But sometimes it is difficult to shake those first impressions. For my sister, she started out at a (financial) firm right out of school. Actually she worked there as a young intern during school. So people there viewed her as the young puppy with no experience. Five years later she couldn't shake that, so she moved on to a job at another firm that recognized her talent and experience. Hopefully, in time, people will begin to recognize your talent and expertise. I actually think that Mark was acknowledging it by his talk with you.I also think you now have a fan in Paul and Melissa. Lol. And, of course, your buddies in the copy room. You must be so glad that you had covered your rear with that Excel sheet.

It was also such a day where I live. I took my son to preschool then drove home with my infant. I heard something on the radio on the way home, so I flipped on the TV when I got home. And the horror unfolded. My husband's cousin across the street from there. I never talked with her about her experiences, but I'm sure everyone is scarred. She lives in Oregon now. My sister worked in the building that was bombed during the Boston Marathon some years ago. She ran out of the building without her shoes or purse and kept running for a mile. She finally got on a city bus and explained to the driver why she had no money so he let her on. And when she got home she didn't have her keys or phone. She no longer works in the financial sector as she started her own business. But she was so traumatized and I bet that played a part in her decision to take a different path in life.

Oh my, I hope there are no more things to come! Lol on your neighbor - some people are just obsessive.

I know you had your share of that with your former neighbors...

This made me LOL: Yes, at first I recognized a mutual friend that was helping her move. And then I realized who they were helping out. They stayed there for a few years, then bought a house, and they were nice neighbors. But they are long gone It has been about 9 years, and when clearing out the blackberry bushes this summer I found a baseball with her son's name on it. So that was funny.

Thanks everyone. I just felt a bit violated. I don't think he is a creeper, per se. But I think he is full of himself. Acyually, i know he is full of himself. Anyhow, I take this as a "hint" that I am not taking care of my lawn properly in his eyes. Which is actually true. Anyhow, I saw it in daylight today and it does look nicer than when I do it, lol. The thing is my neighbor on the other side could really use that kind of help. Her husband died a few years ago and now she was diagnosed with mild onset dementia. So one neighbor goes over to mow her lawn once in a while. I take her shopping. (Which is why I ran out of time to mow this weekend). My cousin's husband worked for a company that sent him and his family to Japan for about 4 years. My cousin said that if she didn't get out to sweep her walkway and steps each morning, her elderly neighbors would come and do it. She had 2 small children so it was hard to get out there to get it done so early in the morning, but she learned that she had to do that. I'll get him a Starbucks card but make it clear that I want to mow my own lawn.

Still in that life rhythm these days. Work is going so much better this year! I'm so relieved. Last year was so horrible and I seriously thought of quitting. We've had chilly Fall weather the past few days which is nice. I went for a 5 mile walk on Saturday morning and was going to mow the lawn after but when I got back it started raining. The next day I had church and in the afternoon I took my neighbor shopping. By the time I got back it was raining again. Today was a decent day, but of course I was at work. I figured I would mow after work one day this week. But when I went to take the garbage out, I noticed the lawn was mowed. All in neatly diagonal lines. I have a strange neighbor. He and his wife moved in a month ago. He is, apparently, very picky about his lawn, because I had a service working on my back yard (cutting out blackberries) and they had to go through my gate - which is right by the edge of his yard. And I guess they walked on part of his yard in the process so he yelled at them. I was out of town at the time, so when I returned, he told me that he yelled at them for me. At the time I really wondered if he had gone into my back yard because he was telling me what terrible workers they were and describing their wor habits. Anyhow, the last time I mowed, I did a quick job. I know I needed to trim better around the trees but didn't have time. Last Sunday when loading up my neighbor (on the other side) for shopping, I noticed that the trees looked like they were clearer around them and I wondered if he had done that. And then I just thought it was my imagination, because who trespasses into someone else's front yard to do yard work without asking? Now that my lawn was mowed, I know it was true. He likely doesn't like how I do things so he did it himself. This guy is a renter. I own my home. I am acquainted with his landlord, who actually lives up the street. (And, the landlord was thrilled that I was getting the blackberries removed. And I told her -and the tenants- they would be using my side gate). Some people might say I am ungrateful for his "help". But he crossed a boundary, doing my yard work without asking permission to go on my property. It just feels uncomfortable. I guess it could be a lot worse - in fact it has been worse. Tenants come and go at that house. The last ones were quirky but nice enough. The ones before that had a passel of kids that were loud and unruly and not cared for. And they moved out abruptly in the middle of the night. One year there was a police officer living there - and the house was robbed! One year, some acquaintances moved in and we were both surprised. Anyhow, I am hoping these renters don't stay long...

What a shock - I know you are so close! I'm glad you are spending as much time as possible with her. The journal sounds like a great idea.

Yikes! You have from all sides! You, your dad, and especially your mom! Prayers for healing and comfort for all of you. So sorry about your mom's diagnosis.