measi's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- riiiiiiiiiiii-cola! Pardon me for that jog down "weird and dumb commercial" lane. I've had no caffeine today. This was not by choice, mind you. But by the way things have worked out today. I didn't expect to be denied caffeine all day. Today started bright and early at around 4:30-5ish (not sure of the exact time, but it was God Awful Early) with a wrong number phone call that jolted me out of a deep sleep. Grrr... Hung up the phone and went to use the bathroom since the need was required due to gravity taking hold after being in a horizontal position for hours on end. Climbed back into bed and tried to get back to sleep as soon as possible. Of course, my movement around the apartment caused Fizzy to start his movement for the morning, since it was fair for him to assume (being that he has a cat-brain and all) that I was starting to get up for the day. The little guy is currently NOT interested in cuddling up with either his mommy or his big brother in bed, so he's sleeping on the other side of the room on the computer chair these days. That gives him a perfect viewpoint for exactly when my head rises from the pillow. BAM! He's instantly on the floor, finding one of the omnipresent fuzzy toy mice that rattle as he bats them around. At 5:30 (I know this time for a fact, since I looked at the clock), Fizzy was in full-tilt, tearing across the apartment, batting around mice, and finding every piece of cellophane-wrap this side of the Fenway, and making a point to make as much noise as possible. *sigh* Thankfully, his older brother was uninterested in this crap and wanted to sleep as much as dear Mommy did. Colley loped off the bed, gave Fizzy a few good bats, which seemed to subdue the young Walking Feline Hormone, and then he hopped right back up to his spot on the corner before the mattress had even lost its warmth. Appreciating this wonderful gesture by my eldest feline son, I crashed back out within minutes. I woke up at 9:15. Damn. [erich] usually picks me up just around 9:45 if I'm driving. So it wasn't horrendous. I've pushed it to the very last minute before, and done fine getting ready for work. But the problem today is that I desperately needed to iron, and there wasn't the time or the mental capacity to figure out what to wear. Found something, threw it on... was just tugging out the last severe wrinkles that couldn't be excused by leaning against the back of a seat when Erich arrived. Grabbed my stuff, out the door, dropped Erich and Tone off, and then swing around the Hancock building to get onto the Pike. As I was driving down the Pike (I-90 in Massachusetts for those of you non-residents), I realized how this annoying little sore spot was developing on the back of my throat. Great... just great. *sigh* Two days before Arisia, and I'm getting nailed with something. Well, to see if I could delay it at all, I popped over to CVS before work to grab some throat drops. Ricola cherry and honey ones. I swear they taste like slightly less-sweetened Jolly Ranchers. Quite yummy. I also decided that rather than get coffee to start the morning, I'd get a cup of Chai, which would undoubtedly be more soothing than coffee on a sore throat. Well, the Great Demon (that would be Starbucks) was right across the street. I was running late, and the nearest Dunkin Donuts was on the other side of I-95 and a lot of lousy morning traffic. I chose to go to the Demon. Their chai is okay. I just hate their coffee. And honestly, it was just what I needed. By the time I was at the office, the throat WAS feeling better. Maybe it was just a scratchiness. *shrug* Anyway... as luck would have it, the entire department has been in sheer panic all day. First of course, are those dreaded reviews that I talked about earlier. Mine IS almost done, by the way. I just have to figure out objectives for next year. Then there is "the sky is falling" review meetings about the design and content of just about every textbook we're doing this year. Everything that was agreed upon yesterday is now a horrendous disaster, and who would EVER have thought of trying it this way. Plus all of the design managers have a cross-site meeting tomorrow that they have to drive to Hartford, Connecticut to attend, so they're trying to get their projects in shape before they leave. And on top of that, Linda's stressed because her husband and two kiddos ALL have strep throat, so she needs to leave early to get a prescription for them because she'll be in Hartford until Friday evening. And guess who got to listen to all of this today? Eesh. It was bad enough that I forgot my OWN meeting at 2... which I now have to make up tomorrow with one of the big VP's in the afternoon tomorrow. *wince* Other than that meeting, I'm Duct-taping my cubicle off. Got work todo. And I'm bringing a six-pack (of caffeine, not beer) in with me tomorrow since absolutely NO pop machine in this building is stocked with any sort of caffeinated beverage. Grrrrr... I think I need to stop at Dunkin' Donuts on the way home. Otherwise I'm going to be a very pissy Measi when Erich sees me at 8... --Mel. 5:09 p.m. - 16 January 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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