---
Me: "All the calls and emails today have caused me to turn to ice cream (as opposed to drink)."
A: "If you overdo it we may have to take you to a clinic to thaw out."
---
I took some time owing this morning and came in an hour late. I spent the extra hour mostly playing with the cat. I think she appreciated it. We played Catch Mr Spider, and then we looked out of the window for a while, and then she had some cat milk, and then we played Catch Mr Green Fuzzy Thing That I* Keep Trying To Eat And Then Have To Regurgitate Because It's Nearly A Foot Long And Made Of Feathers And I Get Yelled At Before I Get More Than An Inch Or Two Down.
It's kind of a disgusting object, by now, but she loves it.
* Kat, that is - not me. Hopefully that was obvious.
( C25K )
( Katana. )
---
I rewatched Solitudes, the end of Singularity, Point of View, and the end of Learning Curve yesterday, thanks to
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holdouttrout and her rewatching from the start. I realised that I'd accidentally put together the Sam Cries A Lot, Jack Calls Her 'Sam', They Stand In For Each Other's Spouse, And Then They Rescue A Little Girl viewlist. I think watching all those in succession would give someone a misleading idea about the show. I love Solitudes. See Trout's post for more coherent comments.I think the characters in my head are veering away from the characters in the show. If I want to write more fic - which I don't have time to do at the moment, anyhow - I need to watch some eps again. It's funnny how that happens, isn't it? Although I guess the ones in my head are closer to how they are in the later seasons, because I've been more aware of them through
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redial_the_gate - but I still feel like I've kind of lost their voices and bodylanguage.---
Okay, that's what's in my head right now.
( Yet more wittering about my kitty. )
Done 2/3rds of Week 3 of C25K. Last one tomorrow (schedule got thrown by a late telecon on Weds). I'm enjoying it. Keep picturing this scene from Past The Bleachers, and all those fanfics where Sam goes for a run to shake off her problems, when my legs threaten to fall off.
Rewatch of Avalon pts 1&2 tonight. I'm trying to think of how I'm going to do my own recap (for Babylon). Hm... *eyes The Art Of War*...
p.s. Buy me,
help_japan.( I've quoted this before, but I just love it. )
---
Someone at work has me so angry. I don't generally do angry.
---
ETA: Am at work, can't reply to comments right now, but a) yes, there were lilies involved - and red roses, aw. I knew about cats and lilies, but unfortunately A didn't. He does now! And b) The Unadulterated Cat is awesome and here is another excerpt:
It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17% of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family effort goes into selecting one at the start ("She looks like a Winifred to me"), and then as the years roll by it suddenly finds itself being called Meepo or Ratbag.
...
The chosen name should also be selected for maximum carrying power across a busy kitchen when, e.g., a bag full of prime steak starts moving stealthily towards the edge of the table. You need a word with a cutting edge. Zut! is pretty good. The Egyptians had a catheaded goddess called Bast. Now you know why.
We selected Katana in the full knowledge that 'Kat!' is what we'll probably remember/yell in moments of crisis. *g*
God I love working here. The sooner this trainwreck of a campaign is over, and the incompetant assholes running it leave, the better.
Porn Battle X: Ten Big Ones is now taking prompts!
In case anyone's curious, mine are here.
---
Icon applies sarcastically:
Dear Person Who Sent Out That Email About The Website:
Websites duz not work the way you think they work. Making the address up from a combination of the old website, the new website, and a touch of moonshine will not actually work. Further fictions about usernames and passwords will only serve to layer the confusion until everything is excitingly murky and no one believes anything we say.
Pls to check your sources before sending these things.
In bafflement,
Me.
Still, they taste lovely. Maybe I'll use them in a trifle.
---
Twilight continues to be unbelievably moronic. I'm reading it slowly because, frankly, I have better things to do with my time than spend it with a self-absorbed brat and her 108-year-old idiot boyfriend who, in all that time, hasn't come up with anything more interesting to talk about than "Uh, so, like, what's your, um, favourite colour?". It comes to something when I'm missing the Anne Rice vampires. Or Lestat, anyway - he knew how to spend an eternity.
---
Between now and next Wednesday I have 9 meetings. Send help.
---
Captain Sensible is surprisingly tall in person.
It's a delight and a pleasure. It's a delight and a pleasure. It's a delight and a pleasure...
What is even more delightful is the people from my office offering "helpful" suggestions, such as "have you checked if it's anything to do with the website?" and "my husband thinks it could be a wire come unplugged in the server." DELIGHTFUL, I TELL YOU. I HOPE THEY KEEP OFFERING ADVICE BASED ON THEIR OWN EXPERIENCES AND/OR THE THOUGHTS OF FRIENDS, RELATIVES AND LOVED ONES.
So going to come in handy.
(Prompted by some genius replying to all ~500 recipients of the email I had to send out yesterday, to say something completely irrelevant. ETA: Okay, not to all ~500 recipients, because I BCC'd most of them, but to all the core members, at least.)
---
I watched 'Up' (finally) yesterday, and would just like to say OMGDOGGIESOMG! Can I have a Dug? Can I can I can I can I?
Her (picking up apple and orange leftover from lunch meeting the other day): I took these out of the meeting room because I thought they looked a bit untidy - okay?
Me: O...kay. (Thinks: But I took them out of the meeting room, about a minute ago, and put them right there! That was me!)
Bizarre. I don't think she's trying to claim undue credit or anything - and I don't care; it's fruit - I think she's just being random.
So, shall I start a fight over Who Moved The Fruit this afternoon? *g*
(On the other hand, SG-1 are currently having a completely bizarre conversation in my head, which keeps making me smirk like a loon at entirely inappropriate moments. Perhaps it's a sign that work has finally driven me insane, but at least it's a fun species of insanity.)
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moonshayde! Hope it's full of sunshine and nice things!---
I just tried to phone someone, but accidentally got through to Pinewood Studios instead.
...
So, yes. I guess they're in the phone book, but still. That was the exciting moment of my day.
---
We're enduring an IT migration at the moment. The end result should be wonderful, but so far I'm on the third iteration of my email address, and so no one can contact me, and I don't dare send out "This is my new address" emails, in the fear they'll be wrong. Plus, the auto-response I put on my old email is giving everyone the email address I thought I was going to get, and I can't stop it because I can no longer access that. Le sigh. Still, the end is in sight, and the new stuff is much better than the old stuff.
But if my co-worker doesn't stop going on and on every two minutes about how DIFFICULT it all is, how much she HATES the new system, and how she's HAVING A BAD DAY, blah blah blah, etc etc, I may beat her about the head with my lovely new keyboard. And then I'll go to prison, and that would be sad. But they're migrating the entire system. And it's Windows. What did she expect?
I like having the IT guys around, though - we've been talking about BBC computers with their cassettes and their 10 PRINT HELP I'M TRAPPED IN A COMPUTER FACTORY, 20 GOTO 10 (that's from memory, so may be wrong), and solid old Amstrads, etc. Ah, the old days... at the time, it all seemed so exciting. :)
---
I think I need to do some more screencapping of RDA-things-that-are-not-Stargate. Lots of MacGyver, for instance. In sloooo-ooo-ooow motion. It's a hard life. :)
So, what'm I up to? Well. Working, mainly (such is life). Saving up money for trips to cons / a new camera + some good lenses / various other plans. I keep picking up digital SLR magazines and looking at the camera porn. *wants*
I've watched a lot of Stargate recently – but not S10. I'm staying in my comfort zone at the moment. :) I've seen most of season 3 recently, although I'm trying to resist watching the ones we're due to rewatch on Redial (Urgo, Shades of Grey, Crystal Skull, and Nemesis), and several of season 6. Paradise Lost, mmmmm. What is it about Jack running around unshaven, with bare feet and a gun? And that scene between Sam and Teal'c is just so good – Daniel gone, Jack missing for nearly a month, and it's just beginning to sink in that they may be the last surviving members of the original team, and Teal'c goes to tentatively put his arm around Sam (unsure if she'll accept it? Unsure if it's the right way to comfort her?), and she just flings her arms around him and clings... *sniffles*
And I'm reading a lot of old fanfic that I'd saved to my computer, and trying to take note of episode-related fics to rec for Redial (I have a Foothold rec! I'm so going to leap in there with it, before anyone else has the chance. *g*). Thinking of such, I was trying to find a fic recently. I swear I didn't imagine it, but I can't for the life of me remember author, title – anything useful like that. It was a brief, tragic little thing, with Sam going to visit Merrin (the little girl from Learning Curve) after Jack has died. Anyone on my flist know of, or in fact write, it?
Hokay. Back to work.
...
Sanity prevailed, though, and the question was dropped. So was the one about mediaeval castles.
No news on the job front yet – next interviewee isn't due for another couple of hours. But oh, I didn't tell you about the little incident before my interview. HR Assistant presumed that she'd booked a meeting room for it, but had in fact cocked it up completely (I like the girl, but it was an utterly stupid mistake). When I was running around trying to find a room last-minute, with my bosses waiting, I saw HR Assistant in a gaggle of other HR bods by the lifts and tried to let her know the problem, and to see if she might be able to help. HR Middle Manager gave me a dirty look, and said to HR Assistant, "Oh, that's what happens when you come out of HR - they all try to grab you." And they all hustled into the lift and made their escape. Fuck you very much, HR.
From some people, that remark would have been a joke. From this woman? Not so much. She was just being nasty – as usual. I came very close to saying, "I beg your pardon?", not being in the mood at the time to take it lying down, but fortunately I don't have the impulsive confrontation gene.
ETA: Still don't know. 5.15pm now. Don't know whether to hang around or not. Don't know where bosses have disappeared to, whether they're discussing it, or stuck in other meetings, or what. Argh.
ETA2: Not going to hear about it today. Which sucks for my evening, but they did say they wanted to get it sorted "this week". And both bosses were very busy after the interview they conducted today - I know, because I can see their calendars. And and and... oh, anyhow. Just in case you were wondering.
That's enough, thanks, this week.
The latest round of bigoted fuckwittery * wins hands down, of course, and I really, really hate how it's hurt some of my friends. That's my angle on it - it's not just that it's offensive to a larger group of people (that's wrong, but harder to connect with), but it's offending people I like. They have been really upset by it, and that kind of makes me want to go around with my Doc Martens and kick the offendee until they're sorry. Fortunately, wiser and more educated heads have done the talking thing, instead, and have explained just why they're upset by it, and I've been reading their entries, and it just makes me so sad. Why would anyone want to make my friends (or anyone) feel like that? Okay, that's overly naive of me. But sometimes I do just want the world to be rainbows and flowers, and sometimes I really don't understand why people go out of their way to make it not so.
Personally, I've had morons on Monday, a dentist visit on Tuesday (and, ow, she was brutal - normally I don't have a problem with dentists, but just, OW! When I'm involuntarily squeaking in pain, that means STOP THE FUCK WITH THE PRODDING), and further moronage today, with an additional meeting mix-up, and the sort of phonecall that goes, roughly:
Them: "Where do you want the lunch?"
Me: "What lunch?"
Them: "The lunch for 50 people for your meeting."
Me: "What meeting?"
Them: "...."
Me: "....oh god."
ENUFF already. I get the point. There better not be anything Thursday and Friday, I'm not sure I'll deal very well with it.
I'm swearing a lot this week, and I do apologise if I'm offending people. Sorry. I will cut it out again soon.
Now I'm off to eat my own bodyweight in unwanted sandwiches.
Subject: FOR FUCK'S SAKE.
Okay, since your managers are too wishy-washy to decide for themselves what time you should be invited (not ORDERED, but INVITED) to go to the staff conference, here's a couple of voting buttons. They read 'morning' and 'afternoon'. Answer by, oh, today, as I need to pass on the information asap.
You might find that you don't get your choice, because no doubt you'll all want to go, en masse, to the same session. Our customers might find that there's no one to answer their queries, because, rather than make sure there's enough people from each department to cover, they've instead let you choose, and - as mentioned - you'll all go in departmental clumps. Apparently you're too scared to go on your own. So much for that customer satisfation initiative, eh?
Other department managers have simply sent me a list saying 'morning' or 'afternoon' beside each staff member they manage, and if someone really can't make the session to which they've been invited, they'll be allowed simply to switch. Don't let that bother you. Similarly, don't let the endless emails I'll send out, chasing up the answers I've still not recieved, bother you. If the servers seize up once again, hey - at least you got a choice, right?
Regards,
Me.
Other department managers have simply sent me a list saying 'morning' or 'afternoon' beside each staff member they manage, and if someone really can't make the session to which they've been invited, they'll be allowed simply to switch. Don't let that bother you. Similarly, don't let the endless emails I'll send out, chasing up the answers I've still not recieved, bother you. If the servers seize up once again, hey - at least you got a choice, right?
Regards,
Me.
High-context and low-context, in case you're wondering, is about how people talk. High-context people, when asked a question, will give you the answer, and all the surrounding reasons, plus the history of the building, what they had for breakfast this morning, and how their mother's operation went. Low-context people will give you the exact answer to what you asked - nothing more. Both can be difficult to deal with - sometimes you just want a simple "yes" or "no", and not all the reasons for that decision, because you just want to get the email sent and go home, please. And sometimes you need to know a little more than "yes" or "no", and having to drag every bit of information can be like pulling teeth.
It helped me deal with certain people at my previous work - one woman in particular would only give a direct, brusque answer, and I used to find her incredibly rude. But I learnt to see it as just the way she talks, and I could deal with it without taking it personally. (She was, actually, kind of rude, but I think some of that was in response to how other people reacted to her - she probably lived in a world of bad attitudes, and didn't realise she was bringing a lot of that upon herself.)
I started out with a point... Oh, yes: written communication is just as bad, if not worse, as most people aren't trained to express themselves emotionally through their writing. People on LJ are pretty good, but I think that's because it's pretty writing-centric. But people day-to-day don't necessarily know how their writing makes them appear.
I still think this guy is being rude to me, though.
---
See y'all later for the AIM
redial_the_gateHathor rewatch, eh?sg1_by_handfic is finished and gone to beta! *does dance* In fact, for all I know, it's back already - I haven't got access to my email at work (bah). Now I just need to do my reel_sg1and my ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
apocalypse_kreefics, and I'm golden! ...Hmph. Okay, but it's progress. One down, two to go. The Labyrinth fic is about, oh, half finished, I'd say (knock on wood). The apocafic is anyone's guess. Oh, but go read
surreallis's apocafic! OMG. *gets teary yet again*HR here are useless. I have worked in HR, cretins: I know the processes, and I know my managers. Stop trying to bullshit me that it's difficult to get my timesheet authorised. It's not difficult; it's just that you're not trying, because the usual person who does it is on holiday. Keep on doing that, and I won't get paid this week. My empathy as an ex-HR person myself only extends so far. If it's not sorted by mid-afternoon, I'm going to stand behind you and glare at the backs of your heads until you get it done, m'kay? And I have a killer glare. Srsly.
And woo and yay, for
trustno1_reduxis up and running, and there is a very funny recap of the first X-Files episode up for discussion. "That's why they put the I in FBI." *hearts*Oh, and thinking of such, there's another AIM chat this Friday for
redial_the_gate- rewatching Hathor. After that, there won't be one for about a month (next one up is, I think, TBFTGOG - wow, are we really that far through already?). ETA: Word's thesaurus suggestion for a search on 'insight'? 'Nearby'. FFS.
You know those days when things just keep going wrong? And sometimes it's because other people are being a pain, but more annoying are the times it's your own damn fault?
Yes.
*throws tantrum, refuses to be reasonable about it*
I feel like swearing, LOUDLY, or throwing things, but I will probably startle and possibly offend the very nice ladies sat opposite me.
( Cut for language )
*grumbles*
---
Okay, I'm done. I just needed to blow off steam. Nothing interesting, just a series of little things that have been steadily grating on my nerves.
1. Go to here.
2. Put in Username: nycareers, Password: landmark.
3. Take their "Career Matchmaker" questions.
4. Post the top ten results
Thus...
1. Historian
2. Animator
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
5. Interior Designer
6. Multimedia Developer
7. Computer Animator
8. Artist
9. Graphic Designer
10. GIS Specialist (Geographic Information Systems. Which, hmm, interesting.)
I'm sensing a theme.
ETA: *snips pathetic whining*
