Lisa’s (Old) Place

Today, I worked a 12 hour day (I know.. there have been longer workdays in the world).   It seems putting computers up is really more painstaking (and painful) than taking them down.   Or maybe it’s just that taking them down one day and putting them back up the next is the painful part.

All of us are in pain.   Even the ones under 40.   Even though we are [semi-]tough IT people and can handle long hours… and pain.. for the sake of our connectivity and happy end-users.    I live for this job.   Ok, I just want a day off.       (actually, I do like my job and love the new building!)

Tomorrow, we get to do a live test of the network with the people who intake our business via the telephone.     The only thing I’m not entirely sure of is whether or not we have the headsets hooked up right.    We’ll find out tomorrow.   We would have tested them, but the phone vendor said, “Don’t use the phones right now.   I repeat:   Do NOT use the phones” ….over the overhead speakers.  

Needless to say, everytime we passed the phone vendors in the hall, we had to ask, “Can we use the phones now?” just to see the expression on their faces, which said, “Dammit!   Are you deaf?”   

It’s only fair after dealing all day with staff asking if the network was up yet.    It was fun to see them *try* to get into the network, though.   “I know your PC is turned on and you’re logging in [with your local profile], but actually, you’re NOT going to be able to do anything with your computer right now.”   

It’s nice that we can make things look functional when they are really not.  

Geek speak.

Off to the bath to recover.

This week is moving week at the office.   The heavy work started today.    My coworker and I were charged with disconnecting all PC’s and bagging up phones, keyboards, mice and power cords.    We had to walk through the office entirely 3 times to ensure we had everything done the way we were supposed to.    The last thing you want is to have a big move go haywire, and have them able to pin it on YOU.

We were ahead of schedule all day long (thank God).    I even left ealier than I thought I would be able to.    I don’t have to be at work at the new office, which is 5 minutes away from my flat, until 9am.    

I am so sore.   I took a bath, I took an Ambien.   I’m about to doze off.

Tomorrow… hook all those PC’s back up.    ugh

for a meme.

by GemmaK.  

Here we go..

Here are the Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Let your tagger know when your entry is up

Random Facts:

1.  I have a strong sense of curiosity.  Even about stuff like, “How does snow form?”    I like it when I don’t have to read to find out the answers. 

2.  I used to smoke (cigarettes).   I quit 16′ish years ago.    No, I was not a toddler then (thanks for asking).

3.  I like art.. I like to draw and make pottery and would love to take painting classes (with my honey) someday.    Art galleries?  Count me in.

4.  I love horses.   Sorry, but I do.    I never met anyone who didn’t like a horse until recently.  (No, not “nom nom”.)   I don’t really like to ride them, though.  I just like to stand around and pet them/talk to them.   It’s ok.  They don’t talk back.   Much.    An occasional whinny every now and then. 

5.  I’m not the best housekeeper in the whole world, but I’m trying.    At least I won’t cook in my kitchen until it’s clean!     Before anyone comes over, the house has to be spotless (or reasonably so).

6.  I like computer hardware.   I like taking things apart and putting them back together (this is not good news when dealing with telephones and live telephone jacks, mind you).   Sometimes, I have extra screws.   I throw them away or put them in my container of extra screws.

Those all seem rather useless and random.      Oh, tagging is fun….

   Ian, Jenny, Tan, Jennifer, Cady

Last week, I decided I finally needed a way to make coffee (and tea), so I shopped Amazon and bought an electric tea kettle and a french press.  

My boyfriend was nice enough to finish setting up my domain for me tonight.   I may be moving my blog in the near future, when we have time to get it sorted (it IS moving week, after all… office moving… not house moving.. and I’ll be working some long hours, supposedly).    Anyone who’s been around me for awhile will be used to my blog address changing.       Now that I have my own domain, you should be able to at least readily find me.

My job for office moving week is helping to pack up computers at the current facility and unpack them when they arrive at the new facility.    The new facility is ULTRA nice.. it will make all the other non-profits jealous, I think.     My cubicle is the best.. it’s on the aisle and has a glass wall facing the help desk.   The surface areas and cabinets are all new-looking and I have a paper sorting thing on my wall.  

I can’t wait.  Three more days of working in the leaky building 1/2 hour from where I live to working in the nice building a few minutes from where I live.   No more interstate driving.  

This has become “Ian’s Dog”.   Why?   Because she is getting ornery in her old(er) age.

This morning, I let the dogs outside on their leads.   Miss Ginger requires a run at least once a day, but since we just got a newsletter saying “keeping your dogs on a lead is required”, I thought I would.

She was having none of this.  She wouldn’t pee.   I told her, “Alright then.   Let’s go inside.”   She stood there,  defiant, really, and stared at me.

“Let’s go”, I instructed, as I gently tugged on her lead.   She pulled back.   “Oh really,” I said.

Understanding that she probably DID need to go to the bathroom, I took her for a walk around the backyard, hitting all the areas where she loves to pee or poop.

Nothing.

“Let’s go, then.”   She followed me this time.   I made the mistake of letting her off the lead just outside the door. Can you say, “Goodbye Ginger!”?   I thought you could.

She took off running, hundreds of yards away.     A few minutes later, she came charging back, like a mad hatter, and ran inside the house.

This was all after I lost my balance in the yard and fell down in the mud.

You can laugh now. 

Later, I talked to Ian on Skype.    “I have a bone to pick with you…   Your dog is being unruly.  Yes, it IS your dog. ”   lol   

I have a potential web design job and I found my name on a list of the state treasurer for money or property which needs to be returned… twice.     I think is more than one person with my name living in Nebraska, but it’s worth a shot to find out if it’s me.    Both instances are marked “less than $100″, but, hey, I’ll take it.  

More collections for the “flight ticket fund”.  

Some of the most memorable moments involved visiting Ian’s family.   I’d heard so many good things about Ian’s family already, that meeting them was like meeting people I already knew. 

They were all lovely.

One afternoon, we spent awhile with Ian’s sister and nephew and the infamous Bouncer, their boxer, whom I thought seriously about stuffing in my bag.   We admired the garden, the paintings on the wall done by his mother and talked about what we’d been doing since I’d arrived and jetlag and round-a-bouts.

I felt really at home and happy.

Btw, evidently, Fletch knows some sort of Crocodile Dundee move with dogs which calmed Bouncer down, after which he sat down at his feet.

Another afternoon, we visited Ian’s mom and step-dad.  We went through family photos and we talked about various news-worthy items and had tea.  I admired more art on the wall and the beautiful woodwork throughout the house.

Ian’s mum and I talked about making Ian’s tea (when I thought I’d messed it up, she said, “Tell him we both did it”.)      We talked about what would keep Ian and I on the phone for 5 hours at a time, which we have done.   And we talked about their trip to Florida ages ago.

I was touched that Ian’s mum sat right beside me and narrated all the family photos.

Ian’s step-dad is actually Polish.   Actually *from* Poland, not a derivative of some distant relative from Poland.   He’s a master builder and I saw some of his work in photographs, as well as around their house.

When we left, his mum and step-dad gave me a hug and kissed me on the cheek.

It was really nice.  

Next trip, I hope to meet Ian’s dad and maybe some others…  :)

Roast dinner, cooked by my personal chef

Yes, those are mushy peas. No, I did not eat all of this.

Update: Replaced roast dinner picture with the gravy included.

The song in my head

(although the conversation is always clever, IMO)  ;)

Ian is coming to America … just in time for Christmas!   I’m excited to have him here, in the place that I’ve been telling him about for so long.     We’re busily plotting our Christmas dinner and where he wants to go and things we want to see.  

This will be the first time TLK has met Ian, and I know they’ll interact famously.    

And I’m sure the dogs will not be willing to let him out the door.  I can see us coming home, and they’re jumping on him instead of me.  hehe