after

after,
originally uploaded by tiredcynic.

tah-dah!!!

before

before,
originally uploaded by tiredcynic.

"some assembly required"

rah.

Today is Facebook's Game Day. Ten teams wearing their team colo(u)rs, playing things like dodgeball, tug-of-war, and so on. Ever since the teams were picked, the offices have been inundated with team propaganda: "Purple Reign" signs, oranges appearing on desks, red poster paint on the bathroom mirrors, the social email list deluged with "<color_of_team> rules!" messages, and so on. This week has been "spirit week", so the shenanigans and trash talking have escalated.

And today is the day.

Me? I'm not so much the "rah rah, drink the kool-aid" type [go fig], so I'm going to be cranking away at my desk, trying to get through the pile of additional stuff the auditors need. I'll head over in the afternoon for the company photo, but will mostly be heads down at my desk, taking advantage of the silence.

Go team.

[okay, that came out a bit sarcastic, but I actually meant it...have fun, you guys.]

some assembly required

Productive lunch...found a new stepper machine [complete with resistance bands for the arms!] and an elliptical machine [smallish, so hopefully it won't dominate my living room]. We'll see how they hold up...they aren't big expensive models, but I figure if they hold up for at least four months, it's the equivalent of a gym membership [and I'll be more likely to use these, with the added bonus of being able to watch BSG or Dexter or Torchwood or Doctor Who whilst working out]. With luck, I'll get out of work soon so I can get home and get them put together and tested out... <crossing fingers>

whoops

My stepper machine just broke in the middle of a workout. Another out-of-pocket expense, to go along with the Facebook formal, rising gas prices [cost me $48 to fill up my tank tonight], and the increase in rent. When it rains, it pours...joyfulness. This is an expense I'll suck up and take, though...I enjoy my workouts [usually while watching Dexter or Battlestar Galactica], and I don't want to stop.

Guess I'm going shopping for exercise equipment at lunch tomorrow...

sigh

My rent is going up again. Second year in a row. Grumble, sigh, harrumph, poo monkeys, damn it.

a much needed break

This weekend was good. Friday night was shopping for a dress for Lawrence [yup, "for" him...he did a "Red Dress Run" with the Silicon Valley Hash House Harriers on Saturday. Can't wait to see the pictures.]. Good times, lots of laughs, awesome sushi, then we saw "Forbidden Kingdom" [it was a little campier than I had hoped, but seeing Jackie Chan and Jet Li together was worth it]. Saturday was tux browsing with Brian...found an awesome one that I can't wait to see on him next week. After that was a very chill weekend [though only in attitude, since the temps were in the 90s all weekend], with movies [the Robin Hood trifecta: Mel Brooks, Disney, and Errol Flynn], good company, naps, lying on the grass watching the stars, playing on the playground, and just generally enjoying the weekend.

And now it's back to the grind. It's getting a little tougher each week; the stomach flip-flops on the drive in, tossing and turning at night, playing the whole 'pros/cons' game. It's always tough when you aren't doing what you really want to do, especially when the times are hectic. And though I've been promised some time off "when the dust settles", the reality is that the dust won't be settling for at least another two to three months. Which doesn't sound like too long, until you realize that it's been pretty much solid 'go-go-go' since last September...

Okay, enough whinging. Grindstone, meet nose...nose, meet grindstone.

[bonus fact: the opening song from Disney's "Robin Hood" is the source for the classic internet meme "HampsterDance".]

shoot me now

Heading into hour two of a six hour meeting [there should be a short break for lunch in there somewhere at least]. It's a little painful [okay, a *lot* painful], though necessary...testing our Oracle implementation prior to full roll-out in less than two months. It will be good, but right now, there just isn't enough of a framework to hang everything on, so it's a little like listening to a Charlie Brown adult going 'wah wah waahhh' sometimes. It doesn't help that the day-to-day is piling up while we are in here...

not so good

still feel like crap, but i'm keeping food down, so i'm at work. wish i weren't, but there is just too much to do. and the hell of it is, i really don't want to do it. i gave fixed assets a shot because i'd never done it before, and it was a way to stay at facebook...but the finance world isn't for me. i know my dad was excited because it meant i could have a chance at making more money in my career path, but the money isn't worth it if i'm sick so much, stressed so much, and just not finding satisfaction in the day-to-day. i'm committed to my manager through the current audit...after that, i've got some hard thinking to do.

more anxiety

I just remembered that tomorrow starts two days of all-day meetings for the next phase of the Oracle implementation...which means I won't be at my desk during the day, so I won't be able to catch up until after the meetings are over.

Shit. Lousy effing timing for stomach troubles.