Chat with friends and revelations

It's raining right now. It's nearly 2 am.

Yesterday, I had a great time hanging out with a few friends in the afternoon. We chatted, and sipped on teas and shakes. The laughter and conversation were much needed.

For the first time in a while, I could talk about my nearly eight-year relationship with my ex with others. 

I made a few statements that I hadn't said out loud until now:

• I hate the ex's guts
• We work at the same company and have never seen each other since the breakup
• It has been three years and I'm happy not being in a relationship

Hate is a strong word. It's fitting for how I feel.

The ex hurt me, which caused sadness and anxiety for months until I was okay. He came back to ask for sex, but without the relationship. It made me angry. He wanted a free hooker to put out. It wasn't my style.

I also said to do you to my friends. That's exactly what I have been doing. I am doing what feels best to me. I am okay being on my own. Sure, I miss companionship and cuddling, but I'm not ready to be in a relationship again. 

It's all okay.

Skype and the ex-guy

I don't use Skype as much as I used to. I have it installed on my work laptop. I used to chat with my ex-guy when he was on the road.

These days, all I do is upgrade my Skype app. 

He has two Skype accounts. I used to be connected to both. When he broke my heart, I removed both accounts from my contacts list.

I still have our chat history. I went there and he had sent me a contact request.

I don't know when he had sent it. I made it clear to him that I want nothing to do with him.

He remains unconnected on Skype.

Amazon locker, parking, and minivan mixup

Yesterday, I decided to get some air and pick up a couple of packages at my local Amazon locker hub. It happens to be inside a Whole Foods.

Unfortunately, a large, white minivan decided to park super close to my car in the parking lot. It was a Chinese female. I just stared at her as I left my car to go into the store. I was not impressed.

When I came out with my packages, I got to my car and slowly squeezed myself into my car. A woman came over and asked whether it was a tight squeeze. She offered to move her vehicle.

Wait a minute. This woman wasn't the same Chinese female. I asked her whether she had the correct van. I made her laugh when I said that she didn't look Asian and I knew that I had given that woman a dirty look for parking ridiculously close to my car.

She owns a white minivan, but the sun in her eyes made her believe that this vehicle was hers. I said that it happens. I wished her a good day and she reciprocated.

She was nice. I liked chatting briefly with her. I appreciated her kindness and humanity.

Wine, Pusheen, and joy

Last night, I went out to pick up a couple of bottles of wine that were a perk. I had the nicest chat with the woman who owns the store.

I then went to a mall close by and spent more time that I had anticipated looking at Pusheen and other plushies. I was in heaven. There was so much joy!

I am looking forward to drinking the wine. I was told that the white can be consumed immediately. The red wine will be even better in a couple of months.

Long weekend catching up with friends

This long weekend has been great. I met up with three different friends on three different days. I spent Labour Day at home, resting!

It was great catching up with them. I hadn't seen one of my friends for two years. It was long overdue. It was like no time had elapsed when we chatted.

Thank goodness it's a shorter workweek.

A colleague saying hi and sending a virtual hug

On Friday, a colleague whom I haven't chatted with for a few months pinged me on Teams. She said hi, wanted to know that I was good, and sent me a hug from afar. It was so sweet of her.

On the whole, our working relationship has been decent. I've been at this company for nearly eleven years and she was there when I started.

We had some rough waters when she transitioned from a quality assurance team lead to a program manager on my team. She was so stressed out that she took some of that out on me and I wouldn't have it.

Eventually, another colleague took over my role on those two teams as I moved over to reviewing everyone's work on our writing team. When this colleague resigned, I had to step back in and complete the work that she hadn't done. That's when the program manager realized how valuable my contributions were and our working relationship went back to what it was before. I completed everything that the previous person had left behind and the program manager was thankful.

Late last year, she was involved in a serious car crash. My manager let me know about it because he knew that we had worked closely together. I sent her e-mails of encouragement and let her know that I was pulling for her.

It's great when you have a lovely chat with someone on a Friday afternoon. She is doing much better these days, which is wonderful news.

Seeing and chatting with my neighbours on Father's Day weekend

I haven't talked to my neighbours in over a year. I had the nicest chat in front of our houses on Saturday.

I was taking my groceries and takeout from my car onto the steps of my house. The woman next door waved at me. It was nice seeing a human being and chatting with one.

We both didn't have masks on. We were definitely far apart that it was safe being outdoors. Her husband and daughter came out of their house to chat.

I was thrilled to chat and see them again. Her husband has long hair. It was wavy and looked nice.

The daughter got her first vaccine shot earlier in the day. We all have our first shots. I get my second shot on Monday. The husband and wife get their second ones in August.

It bought me great joy that they are doing well. They were going out for a Father's Day dinner. We are allowed to dine out on patios.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Training and a shift to my workday start time

Training is over for my colleague in India. I actually liked starting my day early. I let my manager know that I'd like to start my workday at 8 am (I typically start between 8:15 am and 8:30 am, so it's not a huge shift), and he was okay with it.

By starting at 8 am, my quitting time becomes 4:30 pm. He said that I'd be missed at our daily chat at 4:45 pm. I actually don't mind missing it, as some of the chatter with my colleagues is downright boring.

It's nice that I'm missed. I tend to be the one who sparks conversation. Take me out of the picture, and it's not as interesting because you have men who talk until the cows come home.

It's the weekend at long last. Yay!

Meeting up with a friend

On Saturday, I met up with my friend for a late lunch. It was the first time that both dined in a restaurant since the pandemic.

It wasn't on a patio or in a tent. We were sitting in a restaurant. It was great and we felt safe.

It was a bit different, but I was thankful to have spent a couple of hours with my friend whom I haven't seen since last September.

A break from the boss

I am pleased that my manager is taking a vacation day today. We all could use a break from him.

Our team has a daily chat at 4:45 pm. I start my day at 8:15 am, so I technically am done for the workday by then and say whatever is on my mind before I sign off.

Yesterday, I joined in three minutes later than the start time. I'm always punctual. I wanted to break that cycle.

All I heard was our manager talk about work. When I decided to chime in, he changed his tune.

"I don't want to talk about work. I want cheerful stuff," he said.

"You've been doing that this entire chat," I pointed out.

Such a hypocrite.

Luckily, he had to go to a meeting, which was a nice way to end my day at 5 pm. 

Friends

I spent Saturday afternoon with a friend, who is also a colleague. In our department, I used to be the farthest from the office. However, she moved further west this summer and now she is. 

We met at a central location and ordered Thai takeout. We then went down to the beach to eat and chat. It was a great outing and it was wonderful seeing her again.

We both talked about having friends who are battling cancer. I talked about my friend and how I don't want to bug her during her chemo, but have let her know that I'm thinking about her. Tonight, I got an e-mail from her. Her first round of chemo was promising. The second round set her back to square one. It was almost as if she had heard my conversation.

She is currently going through a trial in Houston that targets the chromosome that is causing her cancer. I hope that the trial is effective and that she continues to fight.

My intern's farewell lunch

My intern's original work term was for eight months. Luckily, it got extended and we had him for an additional four months.

My role changed just after his extension had been set. He ended up with another team lead. However, our work still crossed paths and we still managed to communicate with each other regularly.

Back in April, when we thought that it was the end of his work term, I said that we'd have a proper farewell lunch for him when it was safe to do it. We were 1.5 months into the pandemic.

Well, his final day was Friday. I wanted a farewell lunch for him. So did our manager. I talked with our boss. He was good having just the three of us have lunch together. It would be safer with a small number of people there.

I had suggested a restaurant and my intern was game. He was delighted to get a free lunch, paid by our manager, to honour his efforts and accomplishments during his stay with us.

On Friday, I picked up my intern at his home and drove us over to the restaurant. It felt like old times, except that he was in the backseat of my car as I drove. Our manager met us there, as he had to pick up the gift that the company had for my intern.

At his home, I gave my intern a box of gourmet cookies. We love them. The store happens to be in my neighbourhood. He was thrilled.

We sat out in the patio for nearly 2.5 hours. The food was yummy and amazing. We had a lot of laughs while we chatted about a ton of topics.

Afterwards, we walked over to Baskin Robbins to get some ice cream. I was too full from my lunch to have some, but the other two got some.

When we were all done, my intern and I decided to get bubble tea. I treated him to whatever drink he wanted. We sat for a bit to chat before I took him home.

It was a lovely day. I know that I'll see him again, as we have plenty of eateries to discover. I let him know that whenever he was free, to let me know. He confirmed that he would take me up on my offer. He has one last year of undergraduate studies, which start in just over a week.

Interns and coincidence

For the past year, I have trained and worked with my intern. He has three days left before his work term is over.

During this same period, we have also worked with another intern. This one is a software developer.

Yesterday, I had a call over our lovely chat tool to talk about what could be his final contribution in his work term. Like my intern, this one is equally as bright and hard-working.

I took the time to say that I have enjoyed working with him. He appreciated it. He said that my intern has always spoken highly of me. It was nice of him to say.

I liked his story about how he was driving his girlfriend home one evening. He found out that his girlfriend and my intern live on the same street. Small world!

No doctor call, but I had a nice chat with a colleague about his English skills

As expected, I didn't get a call from my doctor. I left a voice message, letting folks there know that they missed the boat and to call me back later on today. I'll be calling them, too. I don't trust their reliability, which is sad.

I will ask for my appointment to be over the phone. I don't see the need to come into the clinic.

On a happier note, I worked with a software developer on a new feature. After we were done, he confided that he likes writing documentation. He said that if I have any feedback on his written work (he's from Brazil), he'd be happy to get some from me. 

It was nice to hear. I wish that more developers would work on improving their English, if English is their second language. Heck, there are some folks whose first language is English and aren't great at it!

I let him know that I'd be happy to provide feedback. I do it anyway within my team, so it's a natural extension.

Virtual meeting with real drinks

Last night, I attended a virtual meeting where we got to drink beverages and chat from the comfort of our own home. There was a nice woman who showed us how to make two cocktails. I loved it all.

On Wednesday, I went to the bar that this woman owns and got my cocktail mix that was pre-made. I haven't had pineapple juice and coconut cream in a drink in ages! It was recommended to add some rum, which I love. However, it tasted so go the way it was that I didn't even bother with the booze.

I have an ice cube tray where I made ice shaped as pineapples. It was incredibly fitting.

It was a fun hour chatting with new people. Now, I'm dreaming of this drink.

Shift in supervision, but this change still feels the same

As I had mentioned late last week, my intern is still with our team. His work term has been extended for another four hours. It's wonderful news. The bad news is that I'm no longer directly supervising him.

This year, my duties have shifted. It has taken at least two full-time colleagues to take over roughly 75% of what I used to do. My manager won't admit that I have tackled more than a full workload for years. We both know that's the case.

I saw how worried he was last week. I was in a meeting with these two colleagues and our manager. I used to be in charge of making sure that we got all our deliverables done for each major software release. We have this release in early June. When I did it all, my manager rarely worried. He knew that he could rely on me.

Since he has handed my former tasks to these two colleagues, he is in panic mode. He turned our checklist into a release plan. Ugh!

Well, he decided to have one of these colleagues supervise my intern. So, how many people does it take to replace 75% of what I used to do? Three people so far.

My intern (I'll still call him my intern, even though I don't mean it in the sense of ownership) is capable of pitching in and probably doing a decent job relieving at least one of them.

On Monday, it felt weird. I am now a team of one. Me. However, I ended up assigning my intern work because he had started it last week.

He does miss working with me and the feeling is mutual. We continued to chat through e-mails throughout the day like we usually do. He actually doesn't mind my assigning him work, as his new supervisor hasn't assigned him a thing. I simply have to let his team lead and our manager know.

Right now, he has little to work on. He appreciates that I can assign him work that keeps him occupied and allows him to think critically.

We also talked about storage and organization. We recently found out that we both enjoy chatting about these topics. We have built a good relationship. It's nice.

My intern's work term has been extended at the eleventh hour!

It's amazing what a difference a day makes. Well, it's kind of more than a day.

On Tuesday, I had a talk with my manager. He let me know that he was trying his best to extend our intern to stay an additional four months. He told me, "Don't hold your breath." It has been difficult due to hiring freezes.

Yesterday, I had a good chat with my intern. I thanked him for everything. He said nice things about working with me. It was great.

Well, in our team meeting, our manager asked me if it was okay to assign work to our intern. I had to remind him that his time with us was limited. It was only then that my manager said that our intern is with us for another four month.

Both my intern and I are ecstatic that he's staying. He genuinely likes working with us. It was just odd how secretive our manager was about sharing this news, which drives me nuts.

The best part of the chat that I had with my intern was that we both like Marie Kondo's method of organizing. He has her book. Impressive!

Decongestant and noise

I went out first thing today to get cold medicine with decongestant. My local drug store opens at 9 am. I got there a few minutes early.

It'a amazing how well decongestant work. I also notice when it wears off. Ugh!

My staycation is going well. I am checked into the hotel. It got a bit noisy with families enjoying chatting in the hallway of my floor after I had checked in, in front of the elevator. Geez, that's convenient for me trying to roll my luggage past an audience. Luckily, I have earplugs.

Here's hoping that I can get some rest.

Weird text conversation

I sometimes wonder about my new love interest. He says things that kind of make me wonder why.

Here's an example in the form of texts:

"Babe, what are we going to talk about?" he texted.
"What an odd question," I texted back.
"Yeah, I think so. I'm going to bed early," he wrote.
"Okay, what time were you thinking of turning in?" I asked.
"Soon. I don't have a time yet," he wrote.

Okay, perhaps he's not a natural conversationalist, but it's not like we have a set agenda when we start a conversation. You take a topic and you run with it. Yesterday, I found out that it was national pizza day and I didn't know. I ended up getting a pizza before knowing about this tidbit. So, we talked about it.

The other thing is that if you typically want to go to bed early, you have some idea as to when you want to go to bed. It was weird that he finally said soon. Twenty minutes later, we said goodnight.

Weird. Maybe it'll make sense to me later. Right now, it just seems odd all around.

Phone chats should not be a part of an agenda!

The new guy in my life had an "agenda" request yesterday. He wants to talk on the phone with me every morning. I gently let him know that conversations should be natural and spontaneous. They shouldn't be scheduled and treated like business meetings!

I appreciate that he wants to talk with me and enjoys our chats, but it becomes overkill doing it daily. Besides, who wants to talk to me first thing in the morning when I am barely functioning and trying to get out the door in one piece?!

He's funny in his own way. Getting to know each other is going well. He listens and trusts me. It's good.