Rats!

I made the mistake of watching Religion & Ethics Newsweekly over the weekend. I've been avoiding the news. I do know what's going on with the economy but I don't want to know. You know? I'm grateful that I have job I hate. That's as much economic reality as I want to face.

Instead, I have been happily focused on my need for an iPhone. I wasn't planning on rushing into the purchase either. Nope. I was going to wait for my tax refund and spend only a small part of it on my new technological marvel. Since I didn't have the little wonder yet, on Sunday afternoon I decided to watch TV and turned on PBS. Dummy. Why couldn't I have watched an infomercial for the Total Gym instead?

The segment on food banks broke my heart. It reminded me that I have an obligation to others - something that I had been trying hard to forget. So I'm putting the iPhone on hold. I figure the service would cost about $25 more a month than my current cell phone. For the next six months, I'm going to donate that money to local charities including Gleaners Food Bank, the Michigan Humane Society, Detroit Institute of Arts, and Detroit Public TV. This may not be as cool as an iPhone but I'll bet that in the long run I'll be happier about my spending.

Technology Lust, Part 2

It's crazy how fast time goes by now that I am working full time.

Here's my day. I drive to work, work, drive from work, eat and sleep. I spend what feels like half an hour taking medications and supplements. For the sake of my general fitness and mental well being, I should add exercise to this mix but that would mean giving up some of the time reserved for eating. Like that could happen.

I figure I have two hours from the time I get home from work to the time I have to be in bed so I can be awake enough to go through the cycle again the next day.

I could exercise in those precious two hours thereby increasing my general fitness and mental well being. I could write more. But when would I find the time to read?

The technology thugs at work limit web access to things they think are appropriate. Apparently, this means you can track your brackets during March Madness but not read blogs. Seriously. Even trying to click on Compensation Force - a blog featured on the HR site Workforce Management - gets me a warning. And while I'm happy to be able to follow sports (Go Blue!), I miss following author blogs, fibro blogs and, yeah, even HR blogs at work. (All blog following would take place in my limited downtime. Like during the 15 minutes I take to eat my sandwich every day. Really.)

So, I'm lusting after an iPhone. Just thinking about music, web, camera, notes, and electronic planner all in one small device that would be accessible at work makes my heart race. Now Amazon has announced an app to connect the iPhone with the Kindle. Oh my. (Side note...the Kindle seems magical...books falling from the sky in less than 60 seconds...like manna from heaven...must have...)

So there you have it. Technology Lust, Part 2. Part 2 (a) Kindle...books falling from the sky...magic...and Part 2 (b) iPhone.

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Don't worry, MacBook. You'll always be number one in my heart on the technology lust list.

Tell Me Again Why I Have To Work

I hit my one month anniversary at my new job yesterday and, as of today, I'm offically over it.

I'm counting the months (only 11 to go) until I can quit without having to pay back my sign-on bonus. Yup, I'm a physical mess but that's the least of it. I'm used to being rewarded for trying to change processes, having open discussions with managers, and working as a team. Today I was told "I don't know why we do it this way but that's the way it's done and we shouldn't try to change", and "we don't have conversations like that in front of managers" and, when I asked for help, "I'll send you an article". My day ended with one of the HR business partners who has been with the company over a year and a half asking me, the person with a month's experience, to explain why people hired in March 2008 won't be getting a pay increase this year. (The company lost over $100 million last year - nobody is getting a pay increase this year.)

That's right. All this and eleven hours at the office. Plus a two hour commute.

One of my new co-workers said something the other day about becoming a Stepford employee. Maybe he's got the right idea. I wonder if I can find a clinic that performs weekend lobotomies.

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By the way, I'm totally grateful that I found a job in this economy. Really.

Fibro Update

Stupid fibromyalgia.

I'm feeling the effects of added work hours (how do people work full time???) and the damp (Michigan weather - ugh!!!) and non-restorative sleep and the stress of starting a new job and wanting to be super-employee (dummy me!!!).

I had been doing OK pain-wise. In fact, I was surprised that I wasn't in more pain until yesterday when the burning pain started.

Instead of spending the weekend resting on the couch, I did stuff. After two days of riding, running errands, doing laundry and trying to catch up at home, I'm about done in and facing another full week of work. Great.

But here's the thing. I've decided that no matter how bad it gets - within reason - I'm not spending any more weekends on the couch. That's too much life wasted and I feel so much happier when I see something of my bit of the world that's not work related. I'm not sure how long I'll survive like this but that's the plan.

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The one good thing about my new commute is that I have more hours to listen to audio books. I just finished a good one - Christopher Moore's Fool - a retelling (mostly) of King Lear with Pocket the Fool as hero. The first lines warn that it's bawdy (it is) but it's also funny and swashbuckling and has some twists. Good stuff.

The View Outside My Window

My favorite thing about my new job (aside from working with my friend P and getting a paycheck - can't forget the paycheck) is the view from the office window.

Every morning the light reflects on the church across the street and I am in awe.

This is the view from the window at my old job. Even without the snow, the warehouses in the industrial park weren't inspiring.

I'd like to say that the view makes up for the doubled commute and full-time work schedule. I'd like to say that but I can't. Still, if I have to work full-time, a little awe in the morning is not a bad thing.

Blocked and Busted

My cousin C busted my chops today because I haven't been blogging. I wouldn't call it a nag-fest exactly but she did mention that I had written that I would be posting at least three times a week. And oh, by the way, did I remember saying that?

Then M, my brother, piled on and said he didn't read my blog very often but last time he looked the post was old.

Ouch.

I forgive them both. M because he passed along a brilliant new collective name for the doom and gloom blogs he does read daily (purveyors of pessimism porn - both alliterative and funny) and C because she fed me (including some of her mom's nut roll for dessert - yum).

The thing is I've been blocked. I don't really know why but I guess between the stress of the lay-off, major car repairs, the new job, the cold/flu bug I caught from the plague carriers at my new job, and the immediate return of pain and fatigue with my new full-time work schedule, I lost any smidgen of creativity that I may have once had.

But today I learned something new. Guilt and harassment from family are a sure cure for writers block. Who knew?