A Twist of Things to Come

So, I basically told them I would move to Inquiry if they offered it to me, and spent the weekend regretting it. I LIKE only going to the office once every two weeks, and going in almost every day would effectively be hefty pay cut, in gas and time spent just getting there that I would not be paid for.

So, I was much relieved to get the email this morning saying that they thought I would make a good Inquiry specialist (I would) but they decided to give it to the newest hire who basically doesn't audit much yet. I audit a BUNCH of stuff, and they need me. So, yay. I don't have to give up my walking desk or anything.

So I'm quite relieved. :)

***

In other news, I am in New Orleans with my family. This is great. I got to go for a run in my favorite park in the world, and eat at one of my favorite restaurants. Also, we went to see The Hunger Games, which I really enjoyed (despite not being able to tell the white blond boys apart unless Katniss was actively kissing/saving one of them).

Tomorrow, we go to lunch with one of my favorite moms from the homeschool group (and her kids, whom my kids love), so that will be fun. Thursday we're going to visit with another family and then Friday we're going to the West Bank (sometimes called The Wank) to play Nerf War with a entire old gang. (Including Crazy Woman, but she's pregnant now, so either she'll have mellowed or she'll have a better excuse.)

I love this stupid city. I do. My buddy the folk artist has some work in an installation at the Jazz and Heritage... place. I must go see it and also go by her home and get some video of her work. I've been wanting to get it on video in a very specific way so that I can use it (with her credit and permission, in something I want to make.

( I have the one she made me, but it isn't as creepy as the ones I want to use. )

The bad news is, there is not a lot of time for the writing I wanted to do, but even that has been going well up to spring break. So, I can't complain, really.

At some point I'm going to meet a bunch of my Beloved's new friends from work, too. He says things like, "We need to go for drinks with Bob and his Horrible Wife. She will glare at you disapprovingly for not having accomplished as much as she thinks you could have." This is hi way of encouraging me. LOL. Oddly enough, it works. :D

So, okay. The department I work in is QC/Inquiry, in which QC means Quality Control. I edit reports and check them for consistency and compliance. That means I copy edit the text, make sure nothing in the report directly contradicts anything else in the report (I also ask questions to clarify if needed) and make sure that the person filing the report followed guidelines.

I Inquiry, if the client has questions about a report, they investigate the details and make decision based on some of the same criteria, but they have much more time to do it. People in Inquiry are paid hourly and at the same rate of pay as Auditors, but they are not timed.

Today I was asked if I would be interesting working Inquiry. I would be working a problem client, so there would be pressure from that, but Inquiry would play to my strengths. As an Auditor, I constantly have to battle against over-thinking, which slows you down. In Inquiry, my natural tendency to over-think would actually be an asset. It would also put me in a position of contact with clients, increasing my FUBAR potential by about five points. So, not timed editing, but other stresses are involved.

It comes with fewer weekend hours and slightly more office time after I'm trained. (During training I'll be back to driving in to the office every day for 4-6 weeks.) I told them I was interested, though I am of two minds about it because of having to go in every day again. Even though... well, working from home every day has made me feel isolated and weird, some days.

There is only one opening and I am not the only one interested in it, so there is no telling whether they will pick me. That's fine, because I am basically content with what I'm doing. So I guess I'm good.

***

Now I guess I'm going to go get ready for a road trip. Heh.

This whole DST thing is KILLING me. I'm so tired, and it really isn't just an hour's worth of tired, either. Hope I'm not coming down with something.

***

I'm also frustrated. I worked today, my long day, just fine. I was able to put in long chunks of time without stopping, which is neither here nor there, but I rather enjoy doing it, when the work allows.

But the hubby is getting weirdly obsessive about the idea of making a Walking Desk for me. He's bough the keyboard and monitor and track ball, and is now scanning Craig's List for a treadmill. Which is fine. When he's not working or preparing for work, he's mostly alone and tends to get a tad... odd. He really wants to do this awesome thing for me, to the point that he called his brother to go with me to the other side of town (during rush hour) to look at a treadmill that is an excellent brand at a good price.

But the drive would be three hours for teh whole trip at rush hour, and the kiddos were just getting home from school and... basically, neither I nor the BIL wanted to do that. I think he was frustrated with us, and he's still not really feeling well. Poor lamb.

I would like the walking desk, I think. The worst thing about this job is the requirement to sit all the time. But I'm tired and it's rush hour and it's raining.

***

AND THEN... Remember the writing group that I loved from my college days because all teh people in it were awesome, and there were a couple of twin transsexuals who were just OCD enough to catch teh tiniest of punctuation errors? Remember how their OCD got progressively worse, so tha they couldn't read anything containing spiders, vomit, paganism, gods or goddesses, sex of any variety but especially even a hint of homosexuality... and a list of other things?

Well, that sucked, because they more or less won't even be able to read teh sequel to the novel I'm writing, because of the whole gods thing. There is a god in this story, and he is not very nice (analyze that all you like), but he isn't really part of the story until the second book (which I have a draft of already, but that's all).

Well, the twins just read my story Emergency Chocolate, which I wrote as a gift to the world at large and have no intention of selling, anyway. They emailed me to say that they read it but hadn't given feedback on it because it really bothered them that the character semi-deliberately poisoned her roommate.

O_O

These guys have written torture scenes and stuff. Nothing beyond the pale, mind you (not like mister 40-page rape/skinning scene from the Writing Group From Hell). Up to this point, anyone who has mentioned it at all has said that part of my story made them laugh out loud. Because, yes, I played a near-homicide for laughs.

So, I'm sad and frustrated that I'm probably not going to be able to quid pro quo the writing with them any more. :( I hate the idea of my writing causing them discomfort, and it's frustrating that the rules seem to be changing as we go.

Since I tend to gravitate toward people with interesting and atypical perspectives, it's only natural that sometimes the atypicality will become inconvenient sometimes.

But it's still frustrating. :P

At work, we are in "closeout mode" which means there is not a lot of work coming in, but we have to work fast on what's there.

I am going into the office tomorrow, for various reasons. One is to pick up my first check! :D Who knows? Maybe I'll even get my name badge/security pass. That would be nice.

***

I'm having a bit of the famous post fic drop for my passive-aggressively homicidal math major in love story, Emergency Chocolate, but the cool thing is I got some nice comments and things on it today, which helps. I don't often have a story come to me like that, in a rush. Complete with a fairly clear idea of who a character is and all -- at least not and have it be that short. Like, really short story sized.

But it gives me hope. I think I will make something every year, like this. Something nice, and give it away. :)

Next year I hope it's a video. :D

***

The win for Best Song has had me listening to the Muppet soundtrack on YouTube. This one has been good for my mood. Though it wasn't the Oscar-winner, all the songs were written by Bret McKenzie, and they're awesome.



I think I'm going to need to buy that soundtrack.

***

MMmm. Baked chicken, mashed potatoes and strawberries with a sprinkling of powdered sugar for dessert. Life is pretty good.

I've been working and writing and working, and driving to visit family and driving to work.

Oh, yeah. Also moving. Sort of. We rented a place just before Christmas, and came back from visiting my family to move in. Mostly we've been fixing things and getting utilities turned on and such. The landlord has had the carpets cleaned, so we didn't move any real furniture in today. I cleaned shelves and windows and baseboards, hung a shower curtain, put frosted plastic decals on the bathroom windows in place of the awful lace curtains.

Basically, the house is 100 years old, with an addition in the 80s and some remnants from a redecoration in the 70s, I reckon. I bet it's haunted. After living in cookie-cutter neighborhoods for so long, though, I LOVE this house. It has nooks and crannies and weird little cupboards under stairs that don't go anywhere but the attic. There is a stained glass window and an honest-to-god mechanical doorbell.

The electric, plumbing and windows are all modern. It's well-insulated, too. The best part is that we've rented it for the same rent as a tiny two bedroom apartment was going to cost us. Plus, we didn't have to sign a lease and the landlord cuts the grass.

Also, we won't be changing school districts in teh middle of the year. :) It's just off the main street of this small town, so walking distance to cool shops and restaurants. Also walking distance to a park and the lake, both with bike trails. The library is across the street. It also faces the train tracks that run through the median between the roads downtown, BUT the house is so old and well-built, it really isn't an issue with the windows closed. I was amazed, but we could talk normally with a train going by 50 feet away.

I will post pictures. Honestly, it is perfect. I could write stories about how creepy and cool this place is, and probably will.

There hasn't been enough work to make my hours this week, so it is actually a good time to move. The workflow will pick up next week, probably meaning overtime again.

***

I'm on chapter 23 of the re-write of Form and Void, which is now at about 300 pages and all that remains is the final act, once this chapter is over.

***

He said we'd have a place by Christmas, and we did (at least put the deposits and all down before we left for Christmas). So there we go. My husband is magic. ;)

Is what my truck has. At some random point in the future, it's going to stop working, and we won't know until we try to use it. :P So we're considering replacing the engine, or else buying a reliable used vehicle to replace it. This means the hubby doing research, and me trying to focus on the minutiae of this option vs. that option and yadda, yadda.

My brain tries to shut itself down rather than absorb this kind of information. It's kind of funny to see how amazingly reliable talk of car parts and features is as a soporific. Oi.

***

One of the other temps who started when I did was made a real employee today. O_O They said it could be a few weeks more for the rest of us, depending on how many hours were on our contacts and such. But it has made us all slightly suspicious.

I did get my first report card at work, though. Apparently, I exceed expectations. I do auditing at 150% of expectancy and bank auditing at 100% of expectancy. And they are about to get slammed with bank stuff, so they need me. :P They want me to work 5 hours overtime this week (which means they will be paying the temp agency through the NOSE for my time) so they must be desperate.

Next week I get to change my work schedule to be in the office two days a week and the rest at home. That will be fun, and save money on gas.

***

I've been listening to Cabin Pressure on my commute, and am finding it quite enjoyable.

I had a horrible headache and crippling angst on my day off. I made some notes for my chapter, but really couldn't much stand to look at a computer. My Beloved fed me and petted my head and generally did his darnedest to help, but not writing on my day off filled me with angst and FAIL.

I think I'm over it now. Once I realized I just couldn't open my eyes and let go of my preconceived idea of what was supposed to happen, it was better. I mean, it still sucked, but it sucked less once I accepted that I am not always going to be in control of every little thing. *sigh*

***

My littlest Big Guy has a friend over now, and one on the way. They are both going to sleep over. Tomorrow I take them home and we all get to see Jack for teh first time in several weeks (for me) or nearly two months, depending.

I miss my cat.

It's really frustrating that I'm not any closer to getting him back than I was in August. Well, that's not true, but it feels true.

***

I got up with the hubby, who had to take the bigger Big Guy to ROTC orienteering this morning. I worked my four hours in my dressing gown. The hubby brought me my smoothie up, and one of the party guests arrived before I had my shower, but it didn't seem to bother anybody. (This is one plus of having a son with a slight social impairment -- he gets on with other kids with slight social impairments, and they don't seem to think twice about seeing a grown up in a bath robe at noon. LOL)

I made cupcakes, and the hubby watched a bit of Luther with me. He really enjoyed the first episode, but felt the second was full of plot holes. (He was right, but I was hoping he hadn't noticed on account of I like watching something with him.) He will watch the third episode, he says. The entire show is six episodes, but I don't think he'll watch it all with me. :P He's such a perfectionist when it comes to media. Everything, really, except for me. He's apparently convinced himself that I'm perfect. (I do not mean to sound like I'm complaining, mind. It's just... odd.)

But, it worked out all right. I had Saturday off because I went in on Friday. So, I mostly slept all day. I did get dragged out to the free family movie at the local theater. It was Rango, which we had rented but thought would be fun on the big screen. And it was, you know, FREE. :)

Got up and got my hours in on Sunday, then wrote. It worked out well, because I went from having about three pages of chapter 18 to having 12 pages of fixed content and another five more of fairly solid stuff that still needs to be retro-fitted. (Chapter 18 is a FrankenChapter, in which something that happened in the last third of the first draft is moved to near the beginning of the novel, so all the little details have to change.) I really like the way it is turning out, because I get to introduce a really cool character, like 200 pages earlier than before. And, like most of my secondary characters in this draft, she's much cooler than she was.

***

My Beloved made Taco Feast. *breathes shallowly* I ate too much. It's been a while since I've done that.

***

He also has a like on some contract work. My new employer also offered him a job, but he didn't take it. He has a minimum threshold that they couldn't meet. BUT he also had a meeting with a tech employment agency, and the guy there knows he can place him quickly at his required rate of pay, so it's all good.

Did I mention that he's decided to change industries? This man who has been modding Xboxes and rigging home networks to answer our phones and stuff in his spare time for fun, has finally clued into the fact that maybe he should be in IT. :P This was not as good an idea a few years ago when I suggested it. :P

***

They've added a new product to my list at work, because I had done EVERYTHING there was to do on all the other products they had for me. If they will just start letting a approve some of these things, I will stop annoying them with my constant presence at the end of their desk, like Oliver Twist asking for more. :P

Tomorrow we have a client visit. The client is MontBlanc, and we have to dress business professional. We also cannot leave until half an hour after they leave the office, so I am likely to be caught in traffic hell. Perhaps I should go prepared to stop off in Alpharetta at a short story/novel writing workshop that is just forming. That's not until 7pm, though. What to do between 4:30 and 7pm... Perhaps I will pack my computer and plan to write. :P

I know that my shampoo is in Seattle and my son's music stand and violin book are in Texas, because i have the tracking numbers.You probably shouldn't ask why my shampoo is being shipped from Canada. Just FYI.

***

My hours are still short for the week, but I'm actually getting a feel for this quality control thing. I suspect that I'm uniquely suited to the work by temperament and inclination. However, this X hours in the morning, X hours in the afternoon, X hours in the evening, plus X hours on teh weekend thing? Getting really old. Gives the impression that I'm always at work, or about to work. Or thinking about work.

But I think that will be better when I start just coming in on two days a week. It will remove the hour and half to two hour commute (45 min on a good day, one way). Though it has been nice to hear my radio plays and things on the trip, especially these last few days with the weather cool enough that I don't have to change and roll down the windows for the drive home.

Fun Boss was in today, and she will be coming back every so often and after her Current Project is over. She's training people for Inquiry, because the Inquiry department is empty and swamped.

***

So, this one Amazon Marketplace store refuses to give us a refund or replacement for something they sold us that we never got. It was just a thumb drive, but it's annoying. It's in arbitration with Amazon now. *sigh* I gave my thumb drive to the Big Boy because he needed one for school, and I needed one back up my writing. I also use Dropbox, but I'm old and I like to have something tangible to point at and say, "My work is there." Just give my thumb drive I paid for or give me my money back. Is that so hard?

***

The automated attendance at Big Boy's school has sent us two attendance alerts today. One said he'd missed seven days and one said he missed ten. He registered three days in, because they wouldn't see us before school started, but he has been there every day since then. The hubby will take care of it, but Oi.