The Case of the Giant Mess

When I am tired - really, really tired - you know what I like to do? Move furniture. That's right - I like to make a complete mess of my house. It's so relaxing.

We decided to move our TV/Stereo cabinet from the living room into our back room. There are so many cords in there it's like an electrical Medusa crawled inthe cabinet and died. It's all disconnected and the big pieces have been moved but everything has to be reconnected. So, I'm sitting on the couch blogging while Luisa does mysterious and magical things with our media stuff. How long do you think I can sit here on the computer while she toils? She hasn't called for me yet. Maybe I should get some cookies and milk and settle in for the night. Maybe she won't notice my absence. I have a feeling I'm supposed to be doing something else while she's dealing with the cords. Like maybe I'm supposed to be cleaning the big dusty spot where the cabinet was and then moving the leather chair into that corner. Or maybe I am supposed to vacuuming or dusting or organizing. I don't know. Right now, I'm hiding out.

I'm not sure why we had to do this tonight. I blame Luisa. And Haiti. For some reason, I think this has something to do with Christmas trees and the fact that Luisa is leaving for Haiti in a week. All I know for sure is that the house is a disaster when we were supposed to be cleaning in preparation for our Thanksgiving guests. I'm hoping that no one minds eating turkey and potatoes surrounded by dusty CD's and DVD's because I might not get the table cleared in time.

Update 1: Things are reconnected and the cable is not working. Uh oh.

Update 2: We pushed the cable cord down the hole in the living room floor and nailed the trim back in and everything has been moved and reconnected. There is no going back but the cable doesn't work. I have a vague recollection that, when the addition was built, I told the guy to put a cable outlet in the wall but not to connect it. Luisa would like to know what I was thinking when I made that decision. Me too.

Update 3: Seriously. Why would I tell the guy that? Rather than embrace the possibility that I made a poor decision, I'm going to blame the guy. He didn't connect it and he should have. It's so hard to get good help. He probably failed to connect my cable and then ran away...to Haiti.

Fly Fishing

I don't talk about my job very much here. I hear you all asking, "Vikki, why is that?" Who doesn't want to hear about bed bugs and elderly people without pants? Right? I don't write about work because of confidentiality and because I've found that people outside of the field don't always appreciate the gallows humor. More than anything, however, I don't talk about my work because people inevitably say things like, "You're a saint" or "I could never do what you do" or, in rare circumstances, "Thank god for people like you". I honestly don't feel that any of those things apply. I make a lot of jokes about my job and call myself the Jovial Slacker. I wasn't always this way, though. I remember a bygone era when I enjoyed going to work and felt like I could actually make a difference. Today, I went to the mailbox to get an elderly woman's mail and it felt like the most productive thing I've done all year. That's really sad. The truth is that my job is hard and I'm sometimes quite good at it but, mostly, I wish that I was doing something else, like fly fishing. I don't know how to fly fish but I'm a quick learner and am willing to give it a try if someone will pay me. I'd also be interested in the position of Coffee-drinking Internet Chatter. Sadly, I already have that job and it appears to be a volunteer position. I've been doing Adult Protection investigations for almost 13 years now and, finally, I know what burnout is because I'm living it. People try to dress up burnout in fancy clothes. They call it "compassion fatigue" and other such things but, no matter what you call it, it ain't pretty. Intellectually, I know my job is a good gig. I'm paid well and have good benefits. That has always been enough. Lately, I'm not so sure. So what's a lowly public servant to do? Well, I'm not sure just yet but I started with taking some time off. I'm off all next week for no good reason. That makes me pretty damn happy! That makes this the best Friday ever! Exclamation point extravaganza! You know what else makes me happy? Good people in really bad clothes. Thanks to Kelly, I have that too:

The 70's were such cruel years. Have you ever noticed that nearly everyone wore some version of the color rust back in those days? If no one was wearing the color, the room decor had it. Sometimes, you hit the rust jackpot - like in this picture.  There were black and white photos in the 50's and 60's and rust-colored photos in the 70's. Go look at your own family photos from that time - I guarantee that rust will be well represented. This family portrait is priceless and, of course, I covet Kelly's jumpsuit. I'll let her tell you what she was wearing under it.

Have a good weekend! I know I will - I don't go back to work until the 30th!

End of Days

Quick! Look out your window! You just might see the horsemen of the apocalypse...or a middle-aged woman lumbering to the gym. Yes, my friends, it has come to this. Once again, I have decided to get in shape. "Once again" - that implies that all those other times it didn't really work...which is true. And kinda sad. I want to be in shape. I want to see little muscles here and there. If I ever do get muscular, I'll make you look and touch and show appropriate awe. Then, after you are thoroughly impressed, I'll probably rip a phone book in half or pick up a car just because I can.  Don't worry about the looking and touching, though. It's a long shot. I can pinpoint the reason for my prior gym failure - I hate to exercise. I don't get that "high" that everyone talks about. It doesn't do anything for my mental health. It doesn't help me manage stress. It's simply a time during which I sweat (which I don't enjoy) and breathe funny (which I don't enjoy either). Luisa enjoys exercising and feels like she needs to do it to combat her moodiness. I think she said that second part or maybe I just say that in my head and it has leaked out onto this virtual page. Time will reveal the truth. Luisa is playing in a women's soccer league right now. Miguel loves to exercise. One time, he'd been quietly in his room for awhile (quiet doesn't happen very often with him) so I went upstairs to check on him. I opened the door and he was shirtless doing push-ups on his bedroom floor. I was like, "Oh...he's going to be one of those guys". He's also in winter training for his soccer team. Zeca is still a wild card. She is very strong and capable but she doesn't always have the drive to push herself. I wonder where she gets that from? Well, let's not dwell on that. Recently, however, she has showed an interest in martial arts. She took a little sampler class and loved it. So, we signed her up. How cute is she?

Knowing Zeca's love for color, I'm pretty sure she'll stick it out long enough to earn a different colored belt.

I felt like it was time for me to get my ass off the couch and go to the gym. We'll see how it goes. If I continue to hate it, maybe I'll just quit and lay about...waiting for the horsemen to give me a ride.