Monday & Tuesday

-MONDAY

I have this wooden chair mat at my desk It’s great but it slides sometimes and requires me to pull it back into place. Yesterday evening I came down to get my post out and I was barefoot, which doesn’t happen often. In any event I wound up getting a splinter in my heel from the damn thing. I had to dig it out using a mirror and it wasn’t pleasant. Today my heel is sore and the opposite leg the muscles are still stressed from the fall. Apparently, my legs are stronger than I thought they were. I am giving some consideration to going back to a regular chair mat. This was a gift from my late spouse. He had it but didn’t’ like it and I have used it for years. It’s kind of neat but the splinters are a problem.

I finished up my evening last night by watching the rest of the Kenny Rogers documentary on A&E. That made me kind of depressed because I kept thinking of my late spouse and departed cats. I so miss my family. Losing all of them is something that I knew would happen but it’s something you think will happen someday, but that day grows closer and it’s not something you can put off like a task. I am stronger because of what I have been through but at the same time I am not pain free.

Today started off a bit rocky from the computer. My sound was all distorted and crackly, which makes me think that my sound card is getting ready to bite the dust. Perhaps the new keyboard was just a coincidence or what push things a little further. I did have to reboot to fix it. I also opted to roll the drivers back and change from the sound output on the back of the computer to the headphone jack. I want to see if this will make any difference. Thus far things sound normal. Time is what will be my guide. I can get a new sound card from Amazon either a PCI card which is standard or they make a USB adapter so you don’t even have to crack open your case. If I have to order I am tempted to go the USB route but it would depend on availability as to how I make my decision. I know for a fact that one of the many boxes that are in the house have a Creative Labs sound card in them, I think it’s actually one of them that I am using as a leg to support my desk. I have searched every available box and no luck thus far. I am not pulling out the two that I am using for legs on my desk because that would be a nightmare and I would probably wind up doing much more harm than good. If I need one, better to get something new.

My co-worker lost his dog today. I got word over the weekend that she fainted because she had been out in the heat. They got her back and she started drinking water. However, I think this might have proved to be the straw that just broke everything. I don’t have any details but I do know that they got 5 to 6 months longer with her because of drugs and an early diagnosis. That is a long road to haul. I only got around a month with momma and it flew by. I feel bad for him and his wife. He told me that he would still do work tasks if I texted him and I told him to take the day – he needs it more than he thinks and his wife needs him as well. They still have 1 dog left.

It didn’t help that my co-worker was next up in the on-call rotation. That means essentially that I am covering things for the day time until he gets back tomorrow. It actually falls to my boss but yeah, he’s not going to do the day to day stuff, he’s got his boss duties. It all rolls down hill and here I am at the bottom. The bright or upside to this is that it will make for a fast-moving day. Hell, it’s almost lunch time and the cats are sobbing for me to come upstairs. I am tired and still very much sore, so looking forward to grabbing lunch and hopefully a nap or at least some quiet time.

-TUESDAY

I managed to have a late night, most of it spent in front of this blasted machine. I kept trying to make improvements and changes with the sound until I really got things messed up, to the point that the software/drivers for sound were no longer on my machine. I didn’t think much of it because I backup. Well my backup program doesn’t backup data in the program files, I wish I would have known that up front. In any event I have an image backup of the machine when it was in a “perfect” state and booted to it I didn’t know about the program files issue then. I could have easily copied the data to an external drive and then copied it back but that didn’t’ happen. I had to scramble and find drivers online and hope & pray they worked. Needless to say, I have things back to a functional state. I am missing Beats Audio not that I used it but it came with my machine and I would like it back – doesn’t look like that is going to happen. When I bought this machine, it shipped with Windows 8 and the manufacturer doesn’t have Beats Audio listed on the download page.

I can’t believe the lengths I am going to for a stupid keyboard, but it’s more about the challenge and trying to make everything work. Thus far the audio is fine. I am waiting to see if it depredates or if I have stumbled on a more stable version of the driver. If all goes well, I will install the keyboard back, funny it feels odd typing on my old keyboard.

I had a difficult time rolling out of bed this morning. My shoulder blades were sore from being hunched over the screen. My leg is better, not 100% yet but were getting close. Today is the big day for car service. They finally called, came and got the beast. Left me with a pickup truck to use and said that if I use it to put $10 worth of gas in it. I won’t be going any place but it’s nice to know that I have transportation if I need it. Now I wait for the call on how much its going to be and when to get it back. That will probably be later this afternoon, which is fine. I just hope it doesn’t break the bank and they find nothing else wrong, unless of course it’s covered by warranty.

Yesterday I got a request to summarize all of the work from home warning emails that were sent out because one of the big wigs is evaluating things and the path forward. I’m like the dumb son of a bitch can’t go to his sent items and look at what he sent some 3 to 4 weeks ago, how pathetic is that? In any case I have made an assumption on the request and that is that we will be working from home longer, no one has officially said that but it kind of makes me think they are leaning in that direction. I know there are lots of places opening up but people are hesitant to just jump back into life and rightfully so. The only thing I really want to do is go out to eat and I’ve made it this long so a little longer won’t kill me. I would personally feel more comfortable if we delay getting back to normal until June or July based on what I am seeing now. Of course, that is subject to change.

My co-worker that lost his dog is out again today. He said they had a rough night and couldn’t sleep plus they have to finish up arrangements today. This sort of sounds more like a person than a dog. This is his and his wife’s first brush with death of any kind. I feel so sorry for both of them and wish there was more I could do for them. He said he would be back tomorrow and he hardly ever takes any PTO just because he is new so it’s no big deal to me. I totally understand and hope that time will make things better for them. Saying goodbye is never enjoyable or easy when it’s a member of the family.

It’s a cold rainy day here and great sleeping weather. Gator and Marvin are doing that upstairs. I on the other hand am counting the moments until we get closer to lunch where I can eat and take a nap. Thank goodness for Belvita biscuits they are the only thing that is powering me this morning. I do plan to finish up the pizza for dinner tonight. Last night I had a burrito and a piece of cake it was a nice change of pace.

Well back to the old bump and grind of work. Hope your staying safe and doing well. Talk with you all again soon.