Circadian Woes

You know what's really fun? When you've just traveled a couple of time zones westward after a trip on which everybody went to bed stupidly early, you now have to switch yourself over to night shifts, and Daylight Saving Time is ending.

My life really is a ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff, and it's making me very, very sleepy.

[ETA: Apparently I initially typo'd "night shifts" as "night shits." I was almost tempted to leave it.]

Well, Really, There Had To Be At Least One Post This Month Complaining About My Sleep/Work Schedule

Yeah, I got nothin' today. I'm switching from a weekend of night shifts back onto days (briefly), I've had less than five hours of sleep, my circadian rhythms are screwed up, and there is not enough coffee in the entire world. Man, the older I get the more I find myself thinking that there may be a limit to how long I can do this rotating shifts thing. At least on the crappy, short-handed schedule that's now our permanent status quo. Bah.

Not A "10"

So, my verdict on Windows 10, for the record, is that it'll be pretty nice if they ever get it to actually work. In the meantime, my desktop is now back to Windows 8.1, and Microsoft owes me back the day of my life I spent dealing with that crap. Gaah.

Two Not At All Great Tastes

You know what's even more fun than contemplating having a root canal tomorrow? Hoping that the plumbers I just called will be able to get my sewer line unclogged before my root canal appointment tomorrow. Yay! There is nothing more fun than having your tub back up when you flush the toilet! (Fortunately, I think it's only a partial clog, as this sort of thing is not happening every time. But it did happen last night, and today when I tried to take a shower my toilet started gurgling, so, yeah. Something clearly needs to be dealt with here.)

Seriously, life, do you just think it's funny to pile the most cliched imaginable awfulnesses up on me all at once, or what? SIGH.

I Think I'd Look Good With A Giant Sci-Fi Brain.

Gaah, being a responsible adult is annoying as hell. I'm actually doing quite well at it at the moment. But I'm never, ever gonna love it. When are we gonna get that sci-fi future where robots take care of all the annoying crap involved in living and leave us alone to develop our giant brains?

(This post is brought to you by me dealing with the fact that my house is still not quite as water-tight as it ought to be.)

How Not-Dry I Am

For more than a decade, I've used a clothesline to dry all my laundry, or, occasionally, when I really needed to, I've gone across the street to the laundromat to use their dryers. I tell myself that it's cheaper and more environmentally friendly, which is true. But finally -- finally -- I decided I'd had enough. I'm tired of planning my laundry schedule around the (often highly unpredictable) weather, and then having to wait hours for it to dry. I'm especially tired of it this month, when we've had rain, or the threat of rain, pretty much every single afternoon. And, for various reasons, I had a goodly amount of extra cash in the ol' checking account this week. So I finally said "screw it," and went out and bought me a dryer. Yaaay!

Except... Except, while the thing comes on just fine, and air flows through it just fine, there's no heat whatsoever. Sigh. It's possible the machine is defective, but I strongly suspect it's an issue with the electricity supply, especially as I've never had a reason to use the 240-volt outlet before. So now I'm going to need to call an electrician. Which is going to be fun, because I'm just about to start on two weeks of night shifts. Why is it every time I try to make an improvement to my house and/or life, it just ends up causing me extra headaches? I think the world is extremely unfair this way, and someone really ought to have a word with it,.

A Difficulty

Help, I think I have forgotten how to sleep.

Whining And Linkage

Ugh. I'm finally approaching the end of a long, looong week of night shifts, the last couple of which have involved dealing with some annoying middle-of-the-night problems. I've been getting even less sleep than is usual for me when I'm on nights. And this chest cold, while not as bad as it might be, is showing no signs of departing. Basically, it's been a bit of a rough week.

So, clearly, it's time to share a silly link that made me smile: 14 Classic Novels Rewritten With Clickbait Titles. Although, honestly, #9 just tells the simple, unvarnished truth.

Please Send Cough Drops.

Gaaah, never mind blaming my allergies, I think I'm actually kind of sick. Which is just... not acceptable. Seriously, it isn't. I have another 40 hours' worth of night shifts still ahead of me, and there isn't anybody who can easily fill in for me if I'm sick.

Sigh. This is what comes of going out and doing things and being social. You just expose yourself to other people's germs. Hermit mode is much better. How else am I going to avoid that end-of-the-world plague when it comes?

Dear Immune System: Stop Hitting Yourself!

Here I was, going around telling people how great the Flonase I'm using has been working, because my allergies hadn't been bothering me at all this year. Then we got a few days of rain. Yesterday, it stopped. And, suddenly: PLANT ORGY! HUGE PLANT ORGY! And the inside of my nose has become an ugly, ugly place. The Flonase, it does nothing! Or at least not enough. Fortunately, I have some of the good decongestants hoarded from last year. Unfortunately, they're not doing a whole lot either. Clearly the only remaining solution is to move to Antarctica.

Although They Do Say If You Eat A Live Frog Before Breakfast, Nothing Worse Will Happen To You (Or The Frog) For The Rest Of The Day.

Hoo, boy, has today been One of Those Days. I think there should be a rule that says, if breakfast involves discovering your bagel is moldy after you've eaten almost half of it, you should just be allowed to go back to bed and blow off whatever you were supposed to do for the rest of the day. Because, somehow, it just never gets much better from there.

Sigh.

After all that money to fix my roof, it is leaking. Again. Around the skylight. Again. Also, either the ants came back or never entirely went away, because there is a giant, crawly mass of them living in the wall behind my bathtub.

These things can be dealt with. I hope. But, man, I am tired of dealing with things. I am tired of adult responsibilities and long lists of things to do, and my inner child just wants to throw a whiny-brat tantrum about it. "I don't wanna! I don't wanna! My life is so haaaaaaaaard!" Shut up, inner child.

Well, at least I have this woman telling me I shouldn't feel guilty about having so many unread books:



Although I can't help thinking that maybe she really doesn't mean this many.

Glasses Update

...Except now I have a crick in my neck from trying to watch TV while lying down, because I practically have to point my chin at the floor to properly make out words on the bottom of the screen. Apparently the solution to this is, "Yeah, don't watch TV lying down, 'cause your glasses aren't made for that." DO NOT WANT.

Today's Annoyance

Yesterday, I got a message on my answering machine saying my new glasses were ready. It was too late to go and pick them up that day, but I called the office that evening to listen to the hours given in their answering machine message so I could be sure they were open this afternoon. (Since the 21st century has not yet reached much of New Mexico, they don't have a website. Or even a Facebook page.) Then, after working all night, I shorted myself on sleep today so I could be sure to have plenty of time to walk there -- I didn't want to drive home in unfamiliar eyewear -- and for them to make any necessary adjustments. I spent the walk trying to psych myself up for the change, and saying goodbye to my familiar one-focus-fits-all view on the world.

Then I get there, and there's a sign on the door saying that, since they're short-handed, they're closed Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons until further notice. Thanks so much for updating your stated hours, jerks. And, of course, they're closed tomorrow. Screw it. It's gonna have to be Monday. I'm not doing this again on Friday, especially since I'm not going to get much sleep on Saturday, when I'm switching back off nights.

SIGH. I really, really want those two hours of sleep back. One pot of coffee is not remotely enough.

Behold, The Christmas Yo-Yo!

It's not really the holidays unless something goes hilariously wrong, right? This year's example:

I bought a present for a family member on ebay, early in the month. The seller mailed it off quickly, and the estimated delivery date was Dec. 12. Just enough time for me to feel fully confident I could get it, wrap it, and send it along to its distant recipient in time for Christmas.

Allow me to share with you the tracking info for this package, as of today. Keep in mind that Albuquerque is the correct place to send it; that's where mail usually comes before being sent out to my local PO. Note, also, that Austin is about 700 miles away from me.

Friday, Dec 19, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Processed through USPS Sort Facility
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2014 ALBUQUERQUE , NM Departed USPS Facility
Wednesday, Dec 17, 2014 ALBUQUERQUE , NM Arrived at USPS Facility
Monday, Dec 15, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Departed USPS Facility
Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Arrived at USPS Facility
Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Arrived at USPS Facility
Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Out for Delivery
Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Sorting Complete
Saturday, Dec 13, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Arrived at Post Office
Friday, Dec 12, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Departed USPS Facility
Friday, Dec 12, 2014 AUSTIN , TX Arrived at USPS Facility
Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 CITY OF INDUSTRY , CA Departed USPS Facility
Wednesday, Dec 10, 2014 CITY OF INDUSTRY , CA Arrived at USPS Facility
Sunday, Dec 7, 2014 CLEVELAND , OH Departed USPS Origin Facility
Saturday, Dec 6, 2014 CLEVELAND , OH Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
Saturday, Dec 6, 2014 UNIONTOWN , OH Departed Post Office
Saturday, Dec 6, 2014 UNIONTOWN , OH Acceptance

Yeah. Anybody want to place any bets on how long it's going to do this for? Or whether the Post Office will actually respond to the help request I submitted on their website?

I wonder who they tried to deliver it to in Austin...

(Also, the kicker? The item's ebay page said it was going to be sent FedEx. Probably the seller thought it wouldn't make a difference. HA.)

This Post Is Brought To You By My Chilly Feet

Why is it getting so cold? It cannot possibly be winter yet! I'm not ready for winter! Bring back fall!

In Which I Whine A Lot About Being Broke

Good news! The roofers are here today working on my roof, and if all goes well, at least water leaking in on me from above is one thing I shouldn't have to worry about again.

Bad news! Once they actually took some of the roof panels off, they discovered even more things that the previous roofers fucked up, and to repair everything properly is going to cost more than initially estimated. Rather a lot more. Which, considering that it was already going to cost me pretty much everything I had in the bank, is not so good.

But it does mean a new 10-year warranty on the whole roof. And they are going to give me 90 days, interest-free, to pay them the balance, which will be doable without too much problem if I put a good chunk of my regular expenses on the credit card. Again. Along with the new orthotic inserts for my shoes, which my insurance is probably not going to pay for, but which I need in order to, you know, walk. Unless I find a way to enjoy stabbing foot pain. Oh, and the new eyeglasses -- hello, bifocals! -- which I have been putting off for two years.

God damn but I am getting tired of digging myself deeper and deeper into debt. I am clinging hard to the knowledge that I should actually have some money coming in soon -- an inheritance from my uncle who passed away earlier this year, for which I am deeply grateful. We're not talking about a life-changing amount of money, or anything, but at least enough to help with this stuff. But I still don't know exactly how much that's going to be or exactly when it's going to be, and in the meantime I sit here hoping nothing else is going to fail catastrophically. (As opposed to the slow, gradual ways everything currently seems to be failing, that is.)

Bah. Now I've whined so much I'm even annoying myself. It's going to be OK, really. I could be way, way worse off, as far too many people are. But that doesn't make me any less tired of it all.

Man, the Doctor Who finale tonight had better be awesome. I can really use the cheering up.

Sources of Stress

Aargh, there are way too many sources of stress (not to mention expense) in my life right now.

First, there's the cat. A couple of weeks ago, Nova took a giant pee on the bathroom floor, right in front of me. Which is unheard of for him. Fearing it was a symptom of some urinary or kidney problem, I took him into the vet, where they did a bunch of expensive tests and said he seemed all right but had a slightly elevated white blood cell count in his urine, so there might be a touch of infection. They gave him an antibiotic shot, which wasn't quite the antibiotic they wanted to use, but I was worried about being able to get pills or liquid into him, because he can be... difficult. I brought him back in for a follow-up last week, and apparently his bladder actually looked worse, with crystals in the urine and still a higher-than-normal white cell count. So I had to give him pills, anyway. Also, new prescription food. Then, last weekend, he started throwing up all over the place and barely eating. So I took him back in first thing Monday morning. At which point, of course, he suddenly appeared to be absolutely fine. The vet figured his tummy probably didn't like those antibiotics, plus he was throwing up giant hairballs, so they gave me still different (and even more inconvenient) antibiotics, plus hairball medicine. Right now he's sitting here looking all innocent, happy, and fine, but who knows what's actually going on with him? I'm not even 100% convinced the peeing incident had anything to do with his urinary tract at all. I think, at 15, he may be going a little kitty senile. Sigh. Cats. I never asked for any cats, you know. Never.

And then there's the roof. Damned thing has been leaking off and on pretty much since I moved in here. I keep calling the roofers who installed it, and they keep coming by and doing things to it and swearing that this time it's fixed (probably), and it keeps coming back. Now it's also leaking in a new spot, and worse. I finally called some different roofers. They're supposed to come out to look at it and give me an estimate tomorrow. We'll see what they have to say. And, of course, the forecast says it's supposed to rain here pretty much all week.

Also, I have ants nesting under my floor. Or had. I'm not sure if I've managed to finally kill the damned things or not.

Basically, being an adult sucks. Even if it does mean I can eat pizza for breakfast and cereal for dinner whenever I want, some days, I really do not think it's worth it.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho

Here I am in the middle -- well, mercifully, slightly past the middle -- of what is essentially a 56-hour work week. The one before that was 64 hours. (That's without overtime, of course, since these long stints inevitably straddle two different weeks for payment purposes. I'm not even counting the meeting on my day off that I did get overtime for.) Sigh. I miss the good old days when we had an extra person, and one person (or even two people!) needing to take off or switch their shifts didn't inevitably screw over someone else. In this case, I confess, I kind of did it to myself, by being far too nice when people ask me if I can swap schedules. But it's not like this sort of thing is entirely unusual.

I'm just getting tired of sitting in that chair. Well, mostly I'm just tired, period. These early mornings don't so much agree with me. I've got more of those ahead of me, too, but the good news is that come Wednesday I have three days off, without having to spend any of it adjusting my sleep schedule around. Luxury!

*sneezes pitifully*

Dammit, I have a cold. Again. And no matter how much tea I drink, it never, ever manages to be enough.