Dreamer's World December 14 2015

    

     Another Monday is here, and the weather is rather dreary, almost as if to match the mood of things. This will be the last full work-week of the year for me. I am not taking any extra time off, just Xmas and New Year's Day, so the next 2 weeks will be 4-day weeks for me but most likely they will also be extremely boring with most people away. That is good because I also deserve some down time, even though I will be at work and on-call to deal with any crises that might erupt with any of the non-existent people who are on vacation anyway.

    For today, my goals are modest enough. Make sure that things are ready to roll for later in the day when the meetings start. Get tomorrow's briefing in order to present, meet with my supervisor for my 1-1 for the week and generally keep ahead of the game here. Hal (cat) is keeping me company in the bedroom/home office as usual. I enjoy his presence because he is so good-natured.

     

     Hopefully, the day will progress smoothy, but Hal (cat) is here to help me through the tough times at work. Hal (person) has gone to the store. He has been gone for a while now, and I suspect that he might be doing some Xmas shopping. That is OK with me, I already told him that I am tapped out for the year after the medical expenses with Maxwell drained my savings account nearly dry. I told Hal to not spend any money on me this year, but I am sure that he conveniently didn't hear me as well.

    Since I am going to work a little late today in order to catch up with my team lead, the afternoon will be a much slower pace. I have about 90 minutes to play with on today's schedule since I don't want to get into the hours worked arguments with HR at this time of the year. I will just shuffle the hours around and stay at 8 for the day.

    A big event just happened. Stevie Nicks and Hal (cat) were almost touching noses without lots of hissing and growling just as I walked back into the bedroom/office after hearing Hal (person) arrive at the front door. He bought wrapping paper and will probably begin wrapping presents today. I don't know if we will go anywhere after I finish work, perhaps a nice dinner nearby. I will bring the subject up with Hal (person). After a quick consultation, we are going to Reynolds Street Bar and Grill after I finish work this evening for a nice dinner. Reynolds Street Bar and Grill is less than a block from us so we will just walk over there. No sense driving when we don't have to.

    It feels great to actually have an evening plan for a change. We have become homebodies over the last several months and we deserve some time away from here. So our evening plan is all set. Now I can take it easy for a while here without feeling any guilt whatsoever. My next meeting isn't for nearly 2 hours. I hope that no unexpected events cause chaos and confusion this afternoon, and that things will stay nice and calm for a change.

    I am glad to report that things are indeed calm this afternoon. I am ahead of the game once again and looking forward to this evening. I am all ready for my meetings with the team lead, and expect no problems with either meeting. The only drawback is that I will be working until 1900 ET since team lead is on the West Coast. Things like this happen from time to time, so I never think to complain too much. The first meeting went extremely well. Now I have to pass the time until the second meeting begins in about 90 minutes.

    As luck would have it, rain has started falling rather heavily at around 1730. This is not supposed to end until after midnight and effectively kills us going out. It is too much trouble worrying about getting soaked on the walk to the restaurant, and far too complicated to get the car out to go less than a block. We will go another evening. I am waiting for my last meeting of the day in about 20 minutes and after that we might just order pizza and relax at home together. I will definitely be glad to see the end of this day which has stretched to nearly 10 hours by the time it is over with.

The meeting ended early, which isn't a surprise. The rain has subsided so Hal (person) and I will be walking to the restaurant after all in just a few minutes. I am glad that things have worked out for the best and I am glad that the workday is finally over with!