work

Elevator recall tests

I had some kind of weird dreams last night, starting out in a video arcade-slash-hotel (where I think my wallet was stolen), and then having a conversation of sorts with my grandfather. I think it might have been going to the funeral home last night, which as it happens was the same one where we waked both of my father’s parents in 2005. (Separately, in March and October. And I was shocked, when I went to double-check that against the blog, that it was five whole years ago.) It wasn’t a particularly sad dream, but it was pretty odd.

Meanwhile, they conducted something called “elevator recall tests” at work today, and I have absolutely no idea what that is supposed to mean. They announced it by saying they would be testing the building’s fire alarms, which is something they do, like, every seven seconds where I work, but I guess they changed their minds midway through. Whatever. Aside from that, it was a pretty quiet day at the office. Our e-mail server seems to be clawing its way back to life, and I managed to finish proofing those PowerPoint slides I was working on yesterday.

Pretty much just your typical Tuesday.

I did take this short video on my way home this evening, mostly because the car I was in emptied out and I didn’t feel too weird pointing my camera at the train’s window. This is the view from the dirty windows of the Long Island Railroad, between Merrilon Avenue and Mineloa. Enjoy.

Scrambled eggs

My father called me at work this morning to let me know that an old friend of the family (and one-time neighbor) had passed away and was being waked this evening. This now makes three wakes I’ve attended in as many weeks, and I think I’d appreciate if people we know would stop dying for a little while. It’s all getting to be a little too sad.

In this case, he’d been sick for quite a long time, and it was largely a mercy at the end. My mother, who sees his wife more often through church, is going to the funeral tomorrow morning.

Otherwise, not much to report. I spent the day wading through PowerPoint slides that I agreed to proofread on Friday. And I’m rediscovering why I hate proofreading PowerPoint slides, and moreover just how time-consuming it can be. I never thought I’d actual miss Microsoft’s grammar check. (Seriously, why isn’t there a grammar check in PowerPoint? And, while I’m on the subject, why can’t you “close group” when multiple PowerPoint files are open? Or Excel files? Or open two Excel files of the same name? Or open another Excel document if you don’t first save the first? In other words, why is MS Office so dumb?) These slides also have lots of notes attached, so I have to read through those as well. I think I can finish by tomorrow, after which I’ll forward them to the UK…assuming our e-mail is still working at that point. It’s been pretty iffy lately, thanks to some kind of problem on the server end in Florida. As the IT guy told me this morning, the server is still “scrambled eggs.”

At least I got to leave at 5 this afternoon instead of 5:15. (I got in at 8:15.) These summer hours are a whole lot less fun when it isn’t Friday.

Friday on my mind

So today I finally got a chance to make use of the good part of these summer hours at work, namely leaving the office at one o’clock. Naturally, I was busier this morning than on any other day all week.

I don’t know if I’d characterize leaving early on Friday totally worth it, but on on a Sunday Friday afternoon, it as a lot of fun.

Meanwhile, my sister and her husband were woken up this morning by an earthquake of all things, which you don’t really expect in Maryland. The epicenter was right in her neighborhood. Supposedly a Canadian earthquake was felt in New York sometime last month, but nothing that woke anybody up at five in the morning. (No doubt it was too polite for anything like that.)

I didn’t do anything more exciting with my afternoon off than go buy some clothes, buy some groceries, and get caught up re-watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on cable as I trimmed some steaks for dinner and sliced up some watermelon for afterward. But in a choice between that and a full day at the office…

And my back, while far from perfect, did feel better today. So there’s that.

Yeah, I remain unconvinced about these summer hours, but half days are very nice indeed.

This must be a Thursday.

Not much to report. The first week of summer hours, arriving early and working late, is at an end, with the half-day reward tomorrow. Already, I’m not entirely sure that it’s been worth it.

Meanwhile, I’ve been getting issues of Kaleidotrope ready for mail over the weekend — and, as I periodically do, thinking about going the online route with the zine. I love the process of layout and the physicality of a print zine, but going digital would open up some interesting possibilities — and, moreover, would free up some money that currently goes to printing and postage. It’s just a thought.

And, also meanwhile…well, my back hasn’t been so great lately, with the return of pain that had been pretty manageable (if not negligible) for quite some time. The pain is pretty minor, as these things go; I have friends who’ve been bed-ridden or had to visit the hospital because of back pain. I don’t have any trouble walking, or moving, or even bending — just increased discomfort when I do so. The most worrying has been some minor numbness and weakness in my right leg today. I’ve been starting up with the stretches again, which I’d been too lax about, and trying to lose some weight anyway. But if the pain and numbness keep up, I may have to revisit my spinal doctor and talk about options. It’s hard to tell if the steroid injections helped much the first time, though I think they did a little. I don’t even know if that’s something we can discuss trying again.

Something tells me I’d have to get another MRI, and man, I do not enjoy those.

Anyway, time for bed. I need to rest up so me and my back can get to work tomorrow. We’re not allowed to take vacation days and use the summer hours — if you’re off a day, you work a regular week the rest of it — but nobody’s said what happens if you’re unfortunately sick, especially at the end of the week. It would suck mightily to work those extra three hours all for naught. So, bed.

Wednesday, or so they tell me

The summer hours thing sure aren’t making this week go any faster, I can tell you that much. I have this weird fear that on Friday morning they’re going to tell us that it was all a hoax, or that they’ve decided to call it off, and we’ll have worked nine extra hours for nothing. Of course, our e-mail server has been pretty unreliable the past couple of days, so I guess I could always claim that I didn’t get that announcement. Either way, I’m looking forward to leaving early on Friday, but I’m definitely already feeling those extra forty-five minutes each day.

With the exception of conferences, I haven’t really worked any “overtime” in years. (And even conferences include a free trip somewhere.)

This evening, I took a different train out of Manhattan, to meet my parents at the eye doctor and drive them home. Which is about the extent of the excitement here for this Wednesday.

I did, however, finally decide to close Kaleidotrope down to submissions starting August 15. I’ll re-open on January 1. This will hopefully ease some of the pressure at my end, since I’m already at least two or three issues ahead; while the slush pile is pretty manageable, a break is always nice, as is being able to publish stories less than two or three years after acceptance.