A Big Week

Monday

It was a big day because I had a session with my therapist for the first time since June. She suffered a tragic personal loss in July, and I had been concerned 1) truly for her, and 2) how this life altering event would affect her practice.

She is doing well. And aside from meeting virtually instead of in-person, our session was closer to normal than it should've been.

So, even though that session took up only an hour of the day, it was a huge event. And Monday was a big day.

Tuesday

It was a big day because it was volunteer training day at the library, and I am now an offical volunteer. I've been given a recurring shift in the library's used book shop. This is my first step toward building a life outside of employment. It's a good one: sustainable and fun and something I believe in.

Training took only 30 minutes of the day, but I'd been looking forward to it for a full week, so Tuesday was a big day.

Wednesday

It was a BIG day because I'd double booked extracurricular activites.

First, I'd arranged to meet with a small business owner over my lunch break to talk about her website needs and how I might be able to help. Very exciting but stressful as I'd had to drive 20 minutes to her store, have the consult, and drive back to work in as close to an hour as possible.

(It went well. She really wants the help. Our biggest challenge is figuring out how to connect as we both work during the day, and she has family time to protect outside of those hours. But it'll be good somehow.)

Second, The Husband and I had been cast in a radio production with rehearsal Wednesday evening. While an exciting and fun event, it was a lot after a full day at the office. Plus, it ran late, but that was expected.

And THEN The Husband and I stayed up even later to watch the Brewers win the World Series! 💙💛💙⚾️

So, I had a full day of work plus two exciting personal events and a statewide celebration. All of that made Wednesday a big day.

Thursday 

It was a big day because after just the one night of rehearsal, the radio production was broadcast live Thursday night.

(It went very well. This is the 4th live radio play I've had the privilege of participating in. Very cool experiences, all of them.)

Also, at 2:30 Thursday afternoon, my skip level boss announced she's leaving. Her last day will be the end of November. She will have had lasted 10 whole months at the company. Goodbye and good riddance. Shortly after she arrived last February, my therapist started encouraging me to look for another job, if that tells you anything.

So, yeah. Thursday was a big day.

Friday

Fridays are work-from-home days. I slept till 7:45. Blessedly I had no meetings on today's work calendar; this gave me all day to knock out tasks that had stacked up all week. 

Enjoyed a leisurely mid-morning breakfast with The Husband. Pet the cat whenever he requested it. No after-work plans. Just quality time doing absolutely nothing starting promptly at 5pm.

Friday was a big... relief. 

I bid you all well. Have a good weekend!

The One with the Apple Core(s)

I took an apple to work today so I could leave the core for the ground squirrel that lives under the Culver's fence. 

During my lunch walk, I left the core next to one of the critter's entrance holes.

During my late afternoon walk, I spotted my core untouched (phooey), but a little farther on, next to the other critter entrance hole, was a second apple core 😲

There's someone else on staff who loves the wildlife, too! 😍😇

It Was a Very Good Morning

This morning I met with two folks from a small local company to present my SEO findings with them. They were attentive, accepting, and grateful. They also handed me a check for my time before I even thought to ask.

It was a very, very good morning. It was the kind of experience that makes you think you're smart and can do amazing things that help people. 

The Little Things

There's a delightful walking track on the grounds where I work. Meadering for a half mile, it takes its travelers past lush lawns, mature trees, and a chain link fence overlooking a Culver's parking lot.

While passing the fence last week, I heard a tiny critter barking. Had he been silent, I'd have never noticed him peaking out of his ground squirrel hole. I made mental note of its location, and I check for him now whenever I walk by.

Earlier this summer, some of my coworkers had commandeered a couple of landscaping pots on the company terrace and had planted cherry tomatoes and peppers.

It's late in the season, and their mini garden has been mostly forgotten,  but some of their tomatoes are still holding on.

This week, I started collecting a tomato or three from the terrace before taking my walk breaks. And I drop them at the entrance of the ground squirrel's home. The tomatoes are always gone the next day, and I drop a few more.

Today, I discovered a second hole and dropped my offerings there on my first lap. On my second pass, I was rewarded with the sight of the little guy enjoying a fresh 'mater.

Made it worth going into work today 😍🐿

Just 1 Thing 10/15/2026

Something that went well 

I went to bed at 9pm last night and slept till 5am. After I visited the bathroom, the cat followed me back to bed where he curled up on my chest until my alarm went off 90 minutes later.

That is all. No other things needed.

3 Things 10/23/2026

Something that went well 

A weekly work task that had been mine for the past five years is finally off my plate. It was a simple task to do but a stressful thing to be responsible for. Today I showed someone else how to do it because it was exactly like another task he was already doing. It made no sense for two different people to do these two very similar things. He was happy to take it over, especially after he saw how easy it was. "I'm already doing this anyway," he said.

Oh, and I got a side gig doing an SEO consult for a friend with a small online business. Just need to write up my findings and present it.

Something to look forward to 

I didn't have an appointment with my therapist this week like I thought. Wrong week. It's not next week either. It's two more weeks away. Geez. How could I have gotten the dates so wrong?

I applied to be a regular volunteer at my local library. That makes it official: I'm becoming a bona fide old person.

What's the best that could happen?

I could keep finding enough small SEO gigs to keep me pleasantly busy in retirement.

3 Things 10/7/2026

Something that went well 

- Found and fixed a bunch of search terms that had been producing poor results on my employer's website. 

- Had a training session with a vendor and my skip level boss. Afterwards, the SK boss asked if I'd gotten anything useful from the session. I told her I'd already been doing all the things they showed us, so that must mean I'm on track, right? And she agreed. Which was nice.

- Something had changed on my phone last week that prevented it from automatically connecting with my car's Bluetooth. I figured it out today all on my own. Stupid technology.  Smart me.

Something to look forward to 

- Chiropractor appointment on Friday! My shoulder has been off for weeks, worse than its ever been. Really need this.

- Got a coffee date with a friend after the chiropractor 

- Have a session with my therapist next week for the first time since June. Might be the last one. We'll see how it goes.

What's the best that could happen?

If I lose my job, I will have an extra 45 hours a week to do whatever I want to. 

My Two Sons

Elder Son, who has gone back to college to learn computer programming, passes his laptop around the room so family members can play a game he created just for fun using the knowledge he acquired this semester.

Younger Son, who builds software for a living, uses his turn with Elder Son's laptop to modify the game program to include a cheat code.

Like a Boss

I do not wish you to dance like no one's watching.

I do not wish you to sing like no one's listening.

I wish you to live your life with the bold confidence of the coworker in the bathroom stall next to me who sat down and immediately dropped a loud, unapologetic deuce like someone wearing shoes no one else would recognize. 

Take Your Germs to Work Day

Tuesday: Attend a 3-hour-long meeting with ten people in a small room.

Wednesday: Announce to your staff to keep their distance from you because you are experiencing mild flu symptoms", and you don't want to get anyone sick.

Thursday: One of your staff chooses to work from home because he doesn't feel well.

Also Thursday: Keep working at the office while feeling flu-like for no decernable reason even though you are welcomed and encouraged to work from home any time you like.

Why?

Why do people insist on hauling their germs to the office when they are allowed to work from home where the soup, hot tea, and cough drops are?

Why?