I’d love to know when I’ll be getting paid for doing three people’s jobs — that being my own, plus my coworker’s who runs the printers with me, and that of our graphic designer, who, it’s apparently been decided, I get to stand in for whenever he’s out.

I can’t really gripe at our design guy being out since he’s down with a bad flu, but the other girl…it just seems like the moment anything starts “going around” she catches it and skips work. Generally speaking, she’s ok — she’s actually pretty cool to work with — but this is not the first time I’ve been left in this situation, and it probaly won’t be the last. She didn’t even bother calling this morning (and that’s not a first either). She was out yesterday too, so she must have just figured we’d assume she wasn’t coming in. It makes me want to call her and say, “So…you’re sick, huh?”

It’s good that I can help out with the design stuff when I *need* to, but the stuff that’s been coming in since our designer’s been out is way outside the realm of simple typesetting.

*sighs*

I know it’s not that they don’t appreciate the work I’m doing now, or the stuff I’ve done in the past. Hell, I got a $200 bonus check a few months back when I stood in for the designer during a week-long cruise with his family. I think it’s just the fact that it’s expected, and nobody bothered to ask what I thought about it. And it doesn’t help that I want to take a day off on Monday (for some Bacchanal festivities! :D) and my supervisor/Production Manager is hemming and hawing over it because “we’re so busy” — which isn’t exactly true, and is a direct result of the fact that I’VE BEEN DOING THREE PEOPLE’S JOBS FOR TWO DAYS.

DX *explodes*

Ok. That’s all. I’m done. I just needed to get it out of my system. It’s not gone, but I can move on to other things now ;p

Guess who got a $1/hour raise yesterday! Nono, go ahead, I’ll wait *plays Jeopardy music* January was apparently our best month on record, so I’m not incredibly surprised that the raise came now. I’ve been here for almost a year and a half, and other than the occasional nerve-wrecking period, it’s been fantastic. Hopefully the rest of this year is great too. It’d be nice to end up with a big Christmas bonus to match my shiny new paycheck :D

Eddy and I had planned to start using the fitness center at my complex yesterday, but because of some incredibly dumb decision making, the only access to the gym is inside the “clubhouse,” which is only accessible through the leasing office. So the “brand new fitness center” they’re touting as one of the great reasons to move into the complex is only open 8am-5pm each day. Granted, we could still go use it on the weekends, but honestly? Who the hell wants to work out on the weekends, and only the weekends? Anyone who’s got a regular job (yanno, to pay that pesky rent) won’t be able to use the gym. It must be nice for them, that they never have to go in and clean anything, since nobody can use it. This makes me want to put on my shit-kicker boots and go stomp some sense into these people DX The complex itself is not bad. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not bad, and I really do like my place. But some of the policies and decisions make me wonder if the management has any clue what they’re doing, outside of taking our money.

So, in an attempt to start up some sort of exercise routine, I’m hunting Craigslist Atlanta, and various places online for a recumbent bike. Kelly has been getting great results from hers, and while, granted, I won’t be able to have the same awesome setup as she does (spinning and computer gaming at the same time!) I’ll be able to work out at home, while I’m watching tv or reading. Sounds great to me! I may go out and run a couple miles every now and then once I get back into the groove, but I don’t see that happening often. But I bought the first new pair of tennis shoes I’ve had in like…five or six years, I think? Yeah. I’ve been wearing the ones I had since about a year before I sep’d. I used to do unit runs in these things for cripes’ sake! :p It’s amazing how happy my feet are now now that they have nice springy new kicks. New insoles and everything *bouncybouncy* And New Balance still rocks the casbah. I’ve loved their shoes since I was issued my first pair on boot camp.

FridaySaturday is gaming with the boys (DJ Weasel and Metalepsis) & co. for the first time since December. I definitely think I’m way overdue for some purple-dreadlocked-halfling-ninja goodness, and it’ll be a nice change of pace from the usual Friday “come home from work and veg out on the computer” gig. Went and hung out with them for a bit last Friday. Watched the two Grindhouse movies On Demand. They were…weird. But very fun. Kinda makes me wish I’d gone and seen the double feature when it was in theaters.

And that’s pretty much it. Tweaking is mostly done on the website, though I think I may actually add static info pages for the handful of characters that I mention occasionally *shrugs* It’s my blog, right? Might as well have some junk up here that’s pretty much solely for me :)

The last two weeks have been absolutely crazy. Apparently everyone in the world decided all at once that they needed to make up for lost time over the holidays, and we’ve been working almost non-stop. I don’t think we’ve been this busy in the year and a half that I’ve been here. I worked both days last weekend, more than making up for the two (unpaid) sick days I took recently, and worked til 10 Wednesday, and 7 last night. I am so ready for this week to just be over. Yay, Friday. I think our machines would probably agree.

I’ve been working on the site whenever I get a chance to sit down long enough. I’m really pleased with the way it’s coming along so far. I’ve been resisting the urge to post a million asides in lieu of actual entries. It’s so easy to just make quick little two or three line notes about interesting stuff I find or hear. I’ve got a few plans in the works, though to encourage myself to update more often.

Love-life has been full for months, and a little turbulent more recently. I can only hope it continues to settle. Life in general has been good though. Money is still a little crazy sometimes, but things finally seem to be evening out. I have no idea how taxes are going to end up this year. I’m crossing my fingers, but not holding out any great hope. I’ll probably up my witholdings this year to be on the safe side. Been getting out of the house a little more than I’ve been used to lately. Trying to find a happy medium between hanging out with people, and getting my “me” time so I don’t go nuts. (Heh, is there an opposite of “stir crazy,” where you feel like you don’t get to do nothing enough?) Even having Eddy playing video games, needing no entertainment from me whatsoever, is distracting. It’s funny to notice, though, that working out code for this place drowns out almost all outside influences though. If I could just make that happen with drawing or writing, I’d be golden :D

Speaking of drawing, I got a late Christmas present from the Hippie. He got me a Wacom Bamboo Fun, one of the line of tablets that’s replacing the Graphires. I haven’t gotten a chance to really just spend an evening messing with it, but as soon as I do, I’ll be posting about it. It’ll be so nice to have a working tablet again. And the best part? It’s Tachikoma-blue! XD See for yourself!

This weekend seemed unusually long. Spent a good portion of it with Lankylad. Saw the new Harry Potter flick for the second time (his first) on Friday. I’d have to say that, like the books, they’re getting better with each one. I think one of my favorite single parts of this particular movie was Gary Oldman. I have yet to see a movie with him that I don’t like. His performances are always riveting, and he does make such a pretty Sirius Black.

Had a minor freakout Saturday night when I had trouble getting ahold of the roomate to put together final rent/utilities. Turned out I was stressing for no reason as, apparently, the leasing office is “open” (by appointment) til 4pm on Sundays, rather than til 12 or 1 as I’d thought. So our last rent payment has been made. The knowledge that I’m moving out of the place I’ve lived for almost 2 years still feels strange. I would’ve liked to stay there, but they’ve apparently decided to jack their prices up since I had my old one bedroom, and weren’t as willing to keep me there as I was to stay.

The great packing adventure has finally begun. Saturday night found Lankylad at me at my place packing up books. I’m sad to say it took much less time than I expected, but I suppose that happens when you actually have help. Cleared most of the junk off my desk and deskside-bookshelf too, and boxed up the stuff I wanted to keep, and yesterday Prometheus and I did laundry for the first time in ages. I started going through everything to sort out what’s going to goodwill, what’s getting packed away for winter, and what’s just getting tossed. I have more clothes than I’d thought, though a sizable portion are years old and way too small now, or stuff I just don’t wear on a regular basis. And even after sorting everything out, I’ll probably end up with two big bins of stuff. Ah well, it’s still less junk than before, and that’s kinda what I’m going for. All the book boxes are in my car waiting for my to drop them at the new place after work, so I suppose I can say the moving part of the move is actually beginning (finally).

Been a little while. Things are still going well. The new place is coming along nicely. Lankylad and I painted the living room/dining area last weekend, and it looks great. I haven’t actually started moving in yet. Been trying to clear out a bit of a bug problem that apparently came with the territory. They supposedly sprayed a couple weeks ago, and I’ve put out bait, but (lovely little bug carcasses notwithstanding) they seem reluctant to let up. I need to pick up some caulk and a little plastic sheeting to seal up a couple holes under the kitchen sink to reduce their points of access.

Packing hasn’t exactly begun in earnest, but it’s getting started. I’ve managed to purge a bunch of junk and consolidate three plastic storage bins into one. I’ll probably be packing books and going through clothes tonight to sort out winter stuff and things I don’t want, or that don’t fit anymore. That should hopefully clear up a ton of space by itself.

Lankylad gave me a fantastic idea for something to do with the dining area. See, the thing is, I’ve never really eaten in a dining room since I left home. It’s more efficient to eat at my desk, or sitting on the couch, or wherever I happen to be working. I don’t even own a dining table or chairs. So I don’t particularly have use for the dining area in the new place.

But.

It’s been suggested that I could turn it into a book nook or “study,” and I’ve kinda taken the idea and run with it. Sometime next month probably, I’ll be buying some lumber and some nice looking brackets to build wall-to-wall (or nearly) shelves for my books. It’s unlikely that I’ll be able to fill them with what I have, but then it’s just potential book-space :D When I can afford it, I’m gonna see if I can find a comfy old loveseat for sale somewhere to put in the corner, and maybe a papasan or two, or some other manner of comfortable seating. And I’ll find a low table at some point, or just use the coffee table I have now (that’s currently serving as bedside table/altar) for the times when I actually DO want to eat there. Dining surrounded by books? How decadent!

And speaking of books, I picked up/read the final installment of the Harry Potter epic. I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite in the series. It ties up a LOT of loose ends and mysteries, and that always has a nice feel to it, though I didn’t particularly like the type of ending Ms. Rowling decided to use. Seemed kind of tacked-on to me. No spoilers from me, really, but lemme just say, Hermione ftw, like all through the book. Hell, the series! Harry and Ron would’ve been dogmeat long ago (in some cases, literally) if it weren’t for her. But yeah, that’s my two cents on that subject. Started reading The Golden Compass. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie. And I’m building a queue of books to read. The stack just keeps growing, and I may never escape! I really need to get the hang of this reading-multiple-books-at-a-time thing. Then again, I <3 good stories, so no big :)

Work has been a little hectic this week. Monday through Wednesday, I was the only one in my “department” (in quotes because we have a grand total of nine people that work here, but we each have specialized positions). The other girl I work with has been out taking care of her daughter, who’s got some sort of stomach thing. Yick! And yesterday, our owner, our production manager, and our graphic design guy left for a convention in Las Vegas, and won’t be back til Monday. So I get to fill in with graphic design stuff, as well as working my department, alone.

Yeah. Fun.

At least it’s been relatively quiet yesterday and today. Tuesday I wanted to strangle people. Hopefully the other girl will be back tomorrow, and save me at least a little bit of headache :p But anyway, after work I’m off to Lankylad’s place for a fun-filled evening of avoiding my own packing by helping him with his unpacking (having just moved, himself) :)