The Pajama Pants are a Lie

I don't know how many years I've been wearing these pajama bottoms, but it's been a while. The elastic has lost most of its oomph, so last night I finally decided to employ the drawstrings.

... and learned the drawstrings, for all of these years, have been cosmetic only. They are just two pieces of string sewn to the front of the pants.

And I never even noticed.

Fake drawstrings!

What nonsense is this?

First you give us fake pockets and pockets that are too shallow to do anything, and now you give us fake drawstrings?

These things have been hanging down in front of my crotch for years. I didn't use them. They were an annoyance. Most of the time I flipped them up and tucked them into the waistbamd to get them out of the way.

And now, when I actually want to employ them, you're telling me they have absolutely no function whatsoever?

O.m.g. Women's clothing makes no sense.

.

3 Things Day 28

Something that went well 

- At a library event this evening, I had an unexpected and meaningful conversation with another woman who I had considered only a passing acquaintance. She and I were both a little surpised 😊

- Yesterday I asked a skip level manager if I could have access to an analytics tool that he subscribes to, and he said yes. When I had asked a manager at a lower level for the same access last week, she told me, "No, you can use the free version." (The free version is a worthless piece of crap.)

I'm not always good about asking for things, and I'm especially not good at asking a second time after directly being told no. I'm proud of myself for trying again. I just had to ask the right person. 

- speaking of asking for things, today I gracefully asked a coworker to add a task to her to-do list. Yesterday morning I'd been afraid to approach her about anything; today it's going much better.

Something to look forward to 

- books to read

- library yarn project to work on

- Friday off from work

- visit to yarn shop on Friday since I have the whole day free

- gonna treat myself to a color analysis on Friday, too

- camping trip with friends later this month

What's the best that could happen?

- I might be able to convince some coworkers to join me for an upcoming social event at the library

- I might make some progress on the yarn shop website on Friday

- Oh my. I might actually achieve a full month of positive thinking without skipping a day!

3 Things Day 27

Something that went well 

I managed to have a successful written interaction with someone at work. Before today, our IM conversations had sometimes been confusing and frustrating leaving me with the impression I had bothered her and wasted her time. It made me hesitant to ask her for things I need.

But today I saw an opportunity to introduce a request and also ask her how she prefers I ask for help going forward. She was gracious and cooperative, and now I know a little more about how she likes to communicate. 

Something to look forward to 

- there's a social event at my local library tomorrow 

- there's a social event at the yarn shop later this week

What's the best that could happen?

I could get a lot of work done on the yarn shop's website this Friday if the owner is there for me to talk to and ask questions. 

3 Things Day 26

Something that went well 

- The Husband drove me to four fun destinations on our way home from the nephew's reception. He's a good and patient husband ❤️

And then we managed to do our weekly grocery shopping before calling it a day.

- On Facebook, someone had reached out to the yarn shop owner offering to help with her website. Over the weekend, the owner responded that she's already hired someone (me!). So, it's confirmed; I'm her person, and she's not looking for other options. Nice 😊

Something to look forward to 

- Excited to start working on yarn store website

- I've got a full month of no-work Fridays ahead of me!

- I'm planning to spend time each of those Fridays working at the yarn shop rather than remotely 

- library yarn project in progress

What's the best that could happen?

- Shopify websites really could be as easy to build as I've been lead to believe.

- Yarn shop owner brings her puppy to the store on Fridays while I'm there 🐾

3 Things Day 25

Something that went well 

Table assignment had Eldest Brother, his wife, The Husband, and me at a table to ourselves at nephew's wedding reception. So, that was nice. There was a 5th seat reserved for Youngest Brother, but he chose not to come, which is a little sad.

Something to look forward to 

Might make a couple fun stops on the way home tomorrow 

What's the best that could happen?

We get home early enough for The Husband to do activities he'd like to get done and I have time to work on yarn shop website.

3 Things Day 24

Something(s) that went well 

- In a work meeting today, a skip level manager not only agreed with something I said but also cited me for having said it first when he repeated it later. What?!?

This is HUGE for me, a person who has often been overlooked and undervalued.

- The yarn shop owner set me up with website access today. I managed to successfully publish changes on a platform I'd never used before. And it only took me 30 minutes! 

I is very smart!

Something to look forward to 

Road trip with The Husband tomorrow to go to nephew's wedding reception.

What's the best that could happen?

I could have a lovely visit with two of my siblings tomorrow. 

3 Things Day 23

Something that went well 

An SEO vendor gave a presentation today. Even though I had specifically told them I wanted to see the standard package, they launched right into a pitch for the higher priced option. Ten minutes in, I interrupted and asked to see the standard option. They complied, but the presentation sounded like "here's this festure, but it doesn't do X; and here's another feature, but it doesn't do Y or Z." So I interrupted again and asked them to please show me what the standard package CAN doand not so much what it can't do.

Was I kind of a jerk? Maybe. But, I had set expectations before this demo, and they weren't giving me what I'd asked for.

I'm proud of myself for speaking up. That's not something I'm always comfortable doing.

Something to look forward to 

- Being Friday tomorrow, I get to work from home. Then I have PTO every Friday in June. Short workweeks for a whole month!

- Got a stack of books to read.

- Eldest Brother called me last night to see if we'll get to nephew's wedding reception early enough so we can visit. Nice. Now I'm looking more forward to this event than I was yesterday. 

What's the best that could happen?

- Yarn shop owner gets me set up with access to her website over the weekend

- Work atmosphere continues to be mellow and positive 

- Have a nice visit with Eldest Brother this weekend and maybe even get a few nice moments with Army Sister and her hubby

3 Things Day 22

Something that went well 

Nothing in particular, really.

But I did manage to talk to several people at work today without feeling like I said the wrong thing afterwards, so that's kinda something.

Updated to add: I made The Husband laugh out loud this evening. That was pretty cool. 😊

Something to look forward to 

Tomorrow, being Thursday,  is my self-proclaimed Treat Day. I'm looking forward to snagging an ice blended chai latte on my way to the office.

Also looking forward to the yarn shop owner setting me up with access to her website sometime soon.

And... though I'm not technically looking forward to it, The Husband & I will drive to the wedding reception of Army Sister's son this Saturday.  There's a good chance both of my brothers will also be there. So, this is a rare opportunity to see all my remaining family members together.

What's the best that could happen?

My eldest brother and his wife will want to hang with The Husband and me at the reception, which means we'll have someone to sit with in a room full of strangers.

Army Sister will be busy hosting, and my youngest brother is a social butterfly who will probably not sit still. We will know few other people there.

3 Things Day 21

Something that went well 

Moved into new workspace today. I arrived first, so I got first pick of cubicles. Yay, me!

Something(s) to look forward to 

Still looking forward to working with the yarn shop website. The owner is busy and hasn't been able to set me up with the access I need, and that's okay. She still wants to work with me which is very nice.

I have 4.5 days of PTO to burn before the end of June, so I'm going to request every Friday off that month. Yeah, four 3-day weekends in a row! w00t!

Also, library yarn project.

What's the best that could happen?

I keep working full-time making good money and also get to work with someone who is simply grateful to have my help.

3 Things Day 20

Something that went well 

Nice visit with boys today.

Told Younger Son about my current work situation and remarked that I wasn't sure if I needed to quit or just change my attitude. 

He thought for a short moment and said, "Change your attitude first."

He described his own work situation and explained that he no longer bends to poor management decisions. He'd rather be fired than compromise. So, he says no, that's not my responsibility, or no, I don't have the bandwidth to add that to my plate, or if you want me to do this, which of these other things you've asked me to do should be delayed/eliminated?

Granted, he has high-demand skills and can find another job easily if he gets fired. Not everyone can follow his lead.

But I can because The Husband and I are in a position that neither of us needs to work full-time anymore. The health care coverage is nice, though, and we just haven't wanted to pull the trigger yet.

However, the more nonsense my employer deals out, the itchier my trigger finger gets.

So, this was a delightful point of view, and I appreciate my son's wise insights.

Something(s) to look forward to

- New work space reveal tomorrow.

- Version #2 of my library yarn project seems to be going better than V1. Looking forward to seeing it continue to develop one stitch at a time.

What's the best that can happen?

I've been sleeping well for several weeks. I think part of it can be attributed to this exercise of positive thinking each night for 20 straight days now. (Yay, me!) But I think another part of it has to do with working from home since May 5th while our work space was under construction.

So, the best that could happen is that I continue to sleep well even though in-office work begins again this week.