Domestic Geek

Heh, I totally did what I said I wasn't going to do yesterday. I racked up almost 5 hours of OT today. I had a project that was kicking my ass and I wanted to see it through to completion. Partially because I love a challenge and didn't want it to beat me and partially because it was a real learning experience. What sucks is the files that were submitted shouldn't have been allowed. They were everything that a PDF for print shouldn't be (RGB, missing fonts, low resolution images), but we were told to make it work. Frustrating.

I did make it to the liquor store to get the orange liqueur I needed for my cranberry recipe. I also splurged and got myself a six pack of Michelob.

I've baked my pumpkin pies and am in the middle of a cheesecake. Marcus is going to put the turkey in the oven for me while I'm at work. I'm not sure if I'll put in my full shift tomorrow. Turns out the supervisor working is not one of my favorites. We'll see how busy we are and how crazy she makes me.

Yep, that's me...a glutton. I've put in a lot of extra work this week and I'm going in tomorrow, as well (I haven't had time this week to perform much of my archiving duties). Depending on how much of a tax hit I take, I'm hoping the extra in this check I get next Friday will cover most (if not all) of my holiday shopping. I'm really wanting to get all my shopping done online and finished the first week of December. Last year I was one of the fools out shopping on Christmas Eve. I hated it. There was even point where I started bawling in a store because last year's money situation sucked so bad.

I'm really starting to get the hang of being a prepress operator. Fortunately, there are plenty of people with whom I work that are willing to share their knowledge if I ask the right questions. My supervisor today told me he is thrilled at how quickly I'm picking this up and proud and appreciative of the work I'm doing. It's really nice when a supervisor will take the time to praise someone he feels is doing a good job.

My knee popped today when I walking to my car after work. Joy. I sure hope it feels better in the morning. Unfortunately, I need to stand and walk around when I work in the archive room — there's not much I can do back there sitting on my butt.

Note to self: Something is up with my moblogging module. Must look into it.

Whew, I am so glad I bought the domain DomesticGeek.com when I did, even though I haven't taken the time to move the blog over yet (it'll be soon). I was putting random search terms into Winzy and Blingo today trying to win some stuff and found out that as of this last September, someone is now blogging at DomesticGeek.net. I wonder if she was as upset when she saw the .com domain was gone as I would have been. Of course, she's being more of a DG than I at the moment. I'm not doing much domestic or geeky. She's also doing way better on her 1001 list than I am. Must dust that off and get cracking.

I got in another couple of hours of overtime in today. I would've stayed longer, but the girl I sit by was really grating on me today. By 5, I'd had enough. I need to find some headphones this weekend. My supervisor gave me a replacement keyboard today. I've been stuck using one of those old iMac keyboards because the girl that uses this particular computer on the weekends has a habit of dumping her drinks. So help me, if she (or anybody else) destroys this one, they will feel my wrath.

I'm hoping I can sneak away and get some work done in the archive room tomorrow. I've got tons of stuff I need to file away. It's amazing how quickly it accumulates when the presses are going 24 hours non-stop.

I was feeling a little blue this morning when I got up. I finally put my finger on why once I got to work. I didn't have a chance to kiss Marcus at all yesterday. That hardly ever happens. He was asleep when I left for work and I was dead to the world when he finally rolled in after 11:30.

When Marcus got home, we noticed a horrible burning smell in our house. Not sure if it is the furnace or the newly repaired washer I had just used (or something worse). It's making me incredibly nervous since we can't pinpoint the origin.

Just realized it's been weeks since I posted a Thursday Thirteen. Whoops.

Lots of blogs today now showing a PR of 0, including this one. w00t. Not. I realized that this whole thing is reminding me of why I don't work well in offices or as a teacher in a school system. To succeed you have to play the game and I hate playing games. This whole PR thing is a big game (except you don't get to look at the rule book). Popularity contests and game playing. Not my thing.

Sorry I've got nothing profound to post. My carpal tunnel is acting up again this week and this little post has been excruciating. I think I'm going to go ice the wrist and then head to bed.

I was hoping for extra work at my job and it is finally materializing. I pulled a 13 hour shift at work today. So far that's about 16 extra hours total for this pay period. WooHoo for over time! I also put myself on the Thanksgiving Day schedule. Since I'm full time, I'll get a day of holiday pay plus time and a half for the hours I work that day. There was also a note posted that the company is providing a meal at noon for those employees that work. I'll try not to eat too much since I'll be fixing my own feast here at home for Marcus and dad.

I'm hoping that this kind of work keeps up and that my supervisor keeps allowing me to stay extra (preferably without putting those hours in on the weekends where I'd have to drive across town an extra day or two). Since I'm learning more every day and being able to complete lots of the odd tasks that come up, it seems that will be the case.

One thing I am going to purchase with my next paycheck is a new set of headphones. I was using mine today to drown out the girl I sit next to when mine broke. Man, they were cheap, flimsy plastic. When I tried to take them off, the cracked plastic got all stuck up and tangled in my hair. I wish I could get a nice pair of noise canceling ones, but unfortunately I still need to be able to hear when my supervisor calls out my name.

Speaking of being late at work, it's 10:30 and Marcus still isn't home yet. The hard drive in the computer of the owner's best friend and longest client took a dump today, taking all of the projects he and his wife were working on. Marcus is trying to recover as much of their data as he can. I know he hates this kind of stuff, especially when someone is running a business without an adequate backup scheme. Hopefully, he doesn't get stuck there too much longer.

OK, with that I'm off to bed. I'm exhausted.

I've put in two 12-hour days in a row at work. Yay for OT!! I hope this keeps up for a bit. I need Xmas money.

I stopped in at Starbucks today to get a frappucino while on a break from work (to go run to make my car payment) and they had all their holiday stuff up already. It was like 70°F today, so it's really hard to feel the holiday spirit. I don't see how people who live in warmer climates get in a holiday mood. I wish people and businesses would refrain from holiday decorations until after Thanksgiving.

So, I've been at my job a whole year as of yesterday. It's the first job I've had that I didn't absolutely hate after a few months. Don't get me wrong...there are days when I can't bear going to work, but it's not the job itself, just my desire to not work. Since the great Lotto God hasn't seen fit to pick me, I'm grateful to be working.

Alot of my online friends are in Vegas and I'm jealous. I was so down about that yesterday. I'm better today, but still wish I could've worked out a way to go.

Tomorrow is Payday Friday. w00t! I sure hope I get some time to work on my site design this weekend. So, that's all I've got today. I'm mentally exhausted, so I guess I'm off to bed.