Areas of Unrest

QOTD: "The reason worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work." - Robert Frost

Reading: Douglas Mawson, The Home of the Blizzard

Listening to: Phil Ochs, A Toast To Those Who Are Gone

Decluttering accomplishments: gave away four magazine holders and four jigsaw puzzles

23 June 2002 - Just a Bit Stressed

Highlights of the week:

1. I finally talked with someone who I've been playing phone tag with at work for weeks. The actual conversation was less than one minute once I did get a hold of her.

2. I locked myself out on Wednesday morning. I usually lock just the deadbolt, which requires a key. For no apparent reason, I pushed the button for the lower lock, pulled the door closed, and then realized that what I was holding in my hand was not my key case. It worked out okay as my meeting didn't go too late so I got back here while the building office was open. But I still felt stupid over it.

3. The traffic coming back to my apartment from Azusa to get my keys was a mess, as was the traffic down to the airport after I'd gotten them. I had no real trouble making my flight, but I was stressed over it.

4. I had to drive from the airport to Boulder through a bloody monsoon. The thunderstorm would have been wonderful had I been inside a nice cozy hotel room watching it. Driving through it was less pleasant. The mixture of being unable to see lane markings in heavy rain (why, oh why, hasn't Colorado heard of reflectorized lane markings? I know they can't use raised ones because of snow plows, but there are recessed ones available.) and being blinded by lightning every few minutes was not a driving experience I wish to have again. On top of which, it was late enough that the only dinner options available were various boring chains, which is a total waste of a trip to Boulder. I blame all of this on the Source of All Evil in the Universe, who beat up badly on the Rockies that night.

5. My meeting on Friday was somewhat productive, but took longer than it should have. The two other people on my side of the telecon contributed nothing but kept me from hearing things by talking incessantly. I'd planned to get out of the office by about noon, but ended up staying until after three.

6. The traffic to Dodger Stadium on Friday night was a mess. It didn't help that Penny was late, as usual. What annoyed me more was that she kept second guessing which way I should go. If I'm driving, my passengers should either direct me up front or just shut up. Then she talked non-stop about her problems throughout the game. On top of which the Red Sox lost.

7. It took ages to find my car after the game. It would have been easier had Penny not insisted we go the wrong way. But what irritated me more was that she whined about how much we walked to get to the car. And then she complained all the way home about my having the temperature too low. (I needed the air conditioner to keep the window from fogging and I like cold air blasting in my face when I drive.) She could have just closed the vents on the passenger side.

8. Derek Lowe is human, alas. At least, Saturday's game was better in terms of traffic and company. And it was a very exciting game to watch, made even more so by the large number of fellow sufferers there. (Going to see the Red Sox play is sort of like New Englander's support group. I shouted myself hoarse.) However, I underestimated the sun. I put on sunscreen before leaving the house, but didn't take more with me so my arms got burned.

9. Lonny and Lauren had a going-away game day for me today. We played Chez Geek, which was quite amusing, even though I lost badly. We did misinterpret some rules, so I shouldn't have lost the "sleep" card I'd already played to Gene's "moron with a chainsaw" card. But Lonny should have been able to play an activity card, as well as going shopping one turn. And I'm sure we made mistakes that hurt nearly everyone else. That's inevitable the first time you play a game. I'm going to have to get the two expansion packs, since this was fun. We also played Medici, Jenga (which I won), and Nuclear War (which everybody lost, as usual).

10. The Red Sox lost again today, sigh. They're now half a game back from the Source of All Evil in the Universe. Aren't they supposed to wait until at least the All Star break before they rip my heart out?

I'm actually reasonably cheerful, but I do feel a bit stressed. An obvious sign of that is forgetting little things. For example, today I realized that I never had gotten around to picking my my dry cleaning. I'll be off to D.C. this week to start getting oriented and to start looking for a place to live, so it will have to wait until next weekend.