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Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Hi, Pixies!

I hope you are enjoying the lack of political frenzy in the media, and the fall weather.

What aren't you enjoying? Let the whining commence!

35 comments:

kathy a. said...

in recount news, the
major blues involve clothing.
new wind is blowing.

not that i'm personally following such things. no siree, i can step away from the internets at any time.

antiwhines: i got this wonderful jacket, which is a miracle because i am so cheap that i have not bought a non-professional jacket in many years.

and, i get to wear it to visit daughter next weekend! and to see the marching band's dads perform at halftime during the football game! [bonus: the Dancing Dads will be performing to an elvis tune. you cannot get quality entertainment like that just anywhere.]

whine: drama continues with SILfH, including an ER visit and something with lawyers, etc. breathe, breathe.

Liz Miller said...

Whine: What'll I do now that I have to stop obsessively checking Daily Kos, Raising Kaine, and Comedy Central?

Liz Miller said...

Whine: Now I'm obsessively checking Wednesday Whining and the whiners have gone missing? Is it time for a conspiracy theory?

Anonymous said...

I'm too whiny to whine: if I started I might never stop.

But the dog is well - thanks for all your good wishes last week, Pixies.

kathy a. said...

redzils -- go for it, sister! glad your dog is well.

Madeleine said...

You can file me under "too whiny to whine" but I'll try anyway.


Whine: cold weather. My self righteous choice to keep the furnace off when I'm the only one home all day starts to seem less worthwhile.

Whine: I have a space heater and I'm not using it.

Anti-whine: but I could.

Whine: Big annoying work project that has been dragging on for years is getting on my nerves, as ever. The cycle being, love the project, poke at it, have hardware problems, hate the project, avoid it, get whacked out on stress of avoiding it, poke at it, hardware problems, avoid it again, etc.

Anti-whine: hitting the end-stage where I just need to face it and move on. Made a decision this morning to put off hardware problems and try to get to Home Office in a few weeks and deal with them then.

Whine: some other things I can do in the meantime. Must do, I could say.

Anti-whine: they don't involve hardware quite so much, so should be less painful. Which should reduce procrastination. Also, simply no choice about finishing up with Final Report due at the end of December.

Anti-whine: potential for actual impact from this project! Legislation filed by a supportive legislator! Industry folks might have to pay attention!

Madeleine said...

Hooray for a healthy dog and a wonderful new not-for-work jacket!

esperanza said...

Exhausted. Another trip for Sweet Baboo's treatment. Good news is that she's growing so slowly we don't have to go for another two months, instead of just one. Bad news is well, she's growing so slowly. But she's growing, so we're not complaining. Other bad news is that we still have to go to the same area for Thanksgiving and Christmas visits. Esperanza and Mr. E are tired of driving.

Other related whine: being gone for three days does not get any work done, nor any housework, nor any nappage. Even the Baboo is tired.

I think that's about it this week.

Sue said...

I'm glad the doggie is okay redzils.

Anti-whine: My Long Term Disability (temporary - which is kind of ironic, yes?) has been approved, so I'm still half time and don't have to sweat the money side of things TOO much.

Whine: I attended the funeral for a two month old baby this morning. He was the grandson of a good friend. So sad.

Whine: It really annoys me that I can preside at the communion table in my own church, but I'm not welcome at the RC table. Sorry to all you RCs, but dudes, that's just freakin' wrong.

Whine: Having to say no to work that on some level I feel I should be doing. Someone in our church died and someone else is doing the service because it's not part of my return plan yet. Still, it's hard to keep those boundaries without feeling guilty or incompetent - or both.

Anti-whine: The condo is great.

Whine: I'm so tired at half time, I honestly don't foresee a time when full-time will be a reasonable option. I'm trying not to look too far ahead, but I am just SO. TIRED.

Wah.

JenR said...

Glad to hear about the doggie redzils.

Esperanza ... at least you're saving on baby clothes, right? My son went through the 9 month clothes so fast I might as well have skipped them entirely. He's just too tall and skinny... 8 months old and in 12 month clothes that are falling off his skinny behind. But at least the long pants reach his ankles.

Other than that - too much headache to whine today.

kathy a. said...

madeleine -- you have permission to plug in the space heater. and great news about potential impact for the good! hardware whines always get a vote from me.

((( esperanza ))) good growing, baboo!

((( jenr ))) begone, bad headaches!

and the sizing of baby/toddler clothes is, ya know, arbitrary -- actual babies grow as they will. my son skipped the 9 mo. size altogether, and wore 4T shorts for 2 full years, as he progressed from short and round [shorts near his ankles] to taller and skinnier.

many hugs for sue. xoxo how very hard to bury a friend's young grandson. and to be working out what you are and are not doing during the transition -- but i'm glad you get a transition.

Elizabeth said...

Whine: hands are aching a lot these days.

Anti-whine: Doctor seems convinced it's not anything that will cause permanent disability.

Jenevieve said...

Antiwhine: I like you guys, even though I only can make it over here every few weeks.

Whine: HBP has some sort of sad mystery bug. Disgusting, explosive blowout diarrhoea amd zero appetite for the last 4.5 days. Poor wee bairn.

kathy a. said...

fluids award for jenevieve. hope the wee one is better right away! xoxo

elizabeth, so sorry about the hands.

KLee said...

I'm also in the "too whiny to whine" category.

I have my demon-possessed student still, who is not getting any better, but at least we've started the process that will get him the help he so desperately needs. His parent is still not on board with us about What Needs To Be Done. (sigh)

The mother of all anti-whines: I no longer have a hole in my roof! I was woken up yesterday by men arriving in my yard to patch the hole of two years' duration! Praise be! I can no longer see daylight through a hole in the roof!

Argh, but now comes the clean up and the refurbishment of the room that has had its own natural waterfall for the past two years.

Further whine: the plantar's fasciitis is now acting up again, in BOTH feet. Oh, joy.

Further anti-whine: I've lost 5 pounds in a few weeks, and a total of 25 over the last five months! remind me of this when holiday baking begins to ramp up...

And the whine, like a river, flows on....

Unknown said...

Another for the "too whiney to whine" category here. But a few updates:

daughter's mood is improving with a slight backwards slide on Tuesday.

Son is still doing well on his meds, which I give him every morning.

Worthless Pet is still peeing under my bed but has rediscovered the litter box and actually used it a bit.

Worthless Pet has evidentally forgiven me for bringing Pepper the kitten into the home and has snuggled atop me twice this week.

A client has graciously given our family an entire Thanksgiving dinner including pies so I do not have to cook. WOOT!

Got important paperwork done today, finally, after months of procrastinating. I rock! :-)

Still no money for rent. This is getting SO OLD.

And lastly, went to Walmart for the first time and was astounded at the cheapness. I had been to one in CA for sporting goods, but never to shop. It wasn't as bad as I thought, and I ended up getting a lot of stuff CHEAP.

Anonymous said...

I've been either too disorganized or too whiny to whine. Mostly, I feel like by whining, I'm not appreciating what's good in my life, like a new baby. I mean, it sucks in so many ways, but hey - I got a baby!

The one W/AW cycle that has stayed with me the last month is this: nursing. It's hard, but I'm so glad to be able to nurse this baby. (My daughter was a preemie who never nursed. I pumped and bottle fed.) But, the boy practically chewed my nipples off, and for a long while I had the scabs to prove it. Then, I looked for a Lactation Consultant and stumbled into a fantastic one and she figured out that he was tongue-tied. So, we got it fixed, but he still eats non-stop all night long. But, at least I can nurse him, and for that I am grateful.

On the list of things I am grateful for is that not only did the LC diagnose the baby's tongue-tie, but she also figured out that my daughter is significantly tongue-tied, and that could be a major contributing factor in her eating issues all her life. I'm simultaneously relieved that we might be able to help her and saddened that it took this long, that it took having a baby to figure out how to help my girl.

And that is pretty much where I'm at. Oh, and I'm probably fireplaced for getting any sleep tonight because my daughter has a fever and the baby is sleeping when he shouldn't be. Maybe if I'm lucky, I can get a nap tomorrow.

Sue said...

Votes and hugs for all the Too Whiny to Whine pixies. That is seriously harsh. Really.

Special award for jenevieve for using the words 'wee bairn'.

Votes for amy for remembering what it's all about. Remember the words of Corndog - "come for the pathos. stay for the pathos." (or something like that)

Whine: Hate crimes against a lesbian couple in Toronto!! People - this is Canada!!! WTF??????

Anti-whine: my therapist. She rocks.

esperanza said...

Jeni gets an award for "explosive diarrhea." Except I can't spell it that fancy Scottish way. It's gross, in any language.

And amy, too, for babies who sleep when they aren't supposed to and are awake when they are supposed to be sleeping. We have one of those as we speak.

KLee said...

Sue, it was "come for the pathos, stay for the nipples." But, that's what you really meant, right?

My fingers sometimes think before my brain does, and I end up typing stuff that looks like it might be Greek in origin.

Hooray to Amy's LC! Yay for Tater and Tot for getting help that they need! Better late than never, as the old wags say.

Hugs to everyone -- we need them this week.

Sue said...

Yes KLee, that's what I meant. Duh. It's been a looooooong day. Seriously.

I'm off to hit the pillow in the hope of NOT waking up to the 7:00 a.m. Fight Club that the cats have started since we moved in to the condo. It's almost like they want to get us kicked out of the building or something. I think they're forming a union too....

Did I mention the milk incident? After Fight Club ended this morning, hubby got up and started getting his morning coffee ready. He looked away for a moment and the canned milk (I know - Teh Ick, but he likes it) was on the floor. One of the cats knocked it on the floor, both licked up the mess.

Conspiracy? Oh yes. No question.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Liz Miller said...

Hugs to everybody, I mean it.

Anti-whine: I had occasion to quote They Live today. Always a good thing when you can say, "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum."

kathy a. said...

nominate liz for chief of the cluestick posse. she has what it takes.

Sue said...

Yes, a vote for Liz. Do you think I could get away with saying that at my next Board Meeting?

Liz Miller said...

You might have to change "ass" for "tush", but otherwise, I don't see why not?

Anonymous said...

I never seem to get it together to whine until WW is over, but I lurk assiduously.
Ongoing whine so old I’m tired of it already: My job situation. I have had the same 2 PT positions at my school seemingly FOREVER (which≈3 years). Neither one has benefits or pays enough to do as a single job, but both take enough time/energy to closely mimic full-time employment. Doing both helps me make it (barely) but it also means I work the equivalent of 1.5 jobs, which makes me constantly tired and causes serious strain with Bert. I feel like I can’t quit either one because to do so would drastically reduce my chances of ever getting FT employment in either area- not to mention the fact that I have a serious affection for eating and keeping a roof over my head. And, of course, Dancing Girl’s tuition at Ruinously Expensive Private University don’t help either. So I keep plugging.
Recently, they re-opened a job search for a position I’d applied for last spring. The guy who took the job last spring quit shortly before the start of fall semester, leaving not enough time to do a revised search. So they parceled out his classes to part-time people (including me) and planned to re-do the search this fall. I put in a fresh application last month and was told that the reconstituted committee was really eager to get things moving and hire someone. Then radio silence started, and persisted until yesterday when I screwed up my courage and called HR to get a status check. At which point I learned that they’d suspended the search and would not be moving forward at this time.
They still have 6 or 8 sections listed as being taught by Instructor Staff. Soon the dept. head will come around and try to get instructors for those sections, and I will be pressured to take on more than I can realistically handle. Meanwhile, my OTHER job was supposed to be coming up for grant renewal this spring, and they were considering revising the grant to make me FT there. I don’t trust them to actually follow through with that plan, but that’s a whine for another day. In any event, that has become moot because the department of education has decided to postpone the re-write cycle for another year, leaving everyone frozen in amber at the status quo. Another semester in limbo. AAARRRGH!

Votes for everyone dealing with sick babies and/or terminal exhaustion. I’m fresh out of babies, but I feel your pain nevertheless.
NUD

kathy a. said...

NUD, that sounds dismal. is there any way of negotiating with administration to at least recognize you are full-time and qualify for benefits? i know everybody's strapped right now, but i wonder if the way they are handling your employment is even legal, on accounta you are not working just part-time.

Anonymous said...

My whine is that we have a disgusting smell of sewage in our house. But not in any of the bathrooms, or any room connected with, you know, water or anything. No, it's in our spare room! Thinking maybe a dead mouse was to blame, my husband and I ripped out lots of the tiles (of questionable composition) in the dropped basement ceiling, and I cautiously, squeamishly probed my hand around on top of the cross beams trying to find a little critter. Despite all teh drama, no offender found. Meanwhile, room smelling worse, and plumbers not returning call to set up an appt, and see if it, you know, *actual* sewage. Do we think a smell so disgusting is likely to be dangerous?

Also, son with pneumonia, back to back with the strep that was so last week.

Probably more, but that's enough for now, don't you think.

Hugs to all the pixies,and apologies for the late whine, but much thanks for the thread and place to vent!

--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

neighbor lady -- at the risk of being redundant, that stinks! i hate to think of where the stench might be coming from. so sorry about your son, and am sending quick recovery vibes.

Sue said...

ditto that for neighbour lady - that really does stink. Hope it all gets sorted soon.

Anonymous said...

Actually, Kathy, my situation is incredibly common in higher ed. In fact, the sole reason my primary job is not full-time is that the school did not feel they could afford to pay benefits. When they first started writing the grant that funds it, it was a FT job, but the numbers wouldn't add up, so they cut it to 3/4 time (without cutting any responsibilities, of course).

The school gets by with it because the 2 positions are in totally different departments.

Thanks for the kind words anyway.

NUD

Anonymous said...

Whining is going to remain open until tomorrow, Pixies. Awards are a'coming, eventually :)

kathy a. said...

huge, huge antiwhine: following her transplant 10/8, annika finally gets to go HOME on saturday!

kathy a. said...

huge, huge antiwhine: following her transplant 10/8, annika finally gets to go HOME on saturday!

Anonymous said...

Yay Annika!!!!!!!
Thanks for the well-wishes.
Neighbor boy is much better, back at school today. Now just with a eczema-y rash (Hopefully, actually ezcema)
Smell determined by plumbers to be actually a dead thing, not sewage. Not sure if this is a whine or anti-whine. Cheaper than plumbing, but we have to wait it out. Peeyew!!
Thanks for all the good thoughts--I think they're helping!!

:)

Neighbor Lady