Sleep and nonsense

I didn't sleep great last night. I woke up a couple of times and couldn't fall back to sleep immediately.

It's weird that I'm still awake, though. I should be off to bed.

I had mentioned that I was a panelist in a Zoom meeting a couple of weeks ago. I had a great experience.

Well, I noticed that one person who follows me has changed since I was on that panel. Before this meeting, she liked all my posts. After this meeting, she has scarcely liked my posts. Weird.

I don't expect everyone to agree with my opinions. I just offered what has worked for me. She gives me the impression that she was offended by something that I had said and I suppose not supporting me is her way of dealing with it.

She kept asking me a bunch of questions about various topics when she first joined and I was patient with her. Now, I have to deal with this nonsense? I decided to remove her as a connection. I don't need to deal with her immaturity.

Off to bed. I will sleep well.

New panties and vibrator order

My panties subscription came in the mail. I got this black mesh one:

The waistband is comfortable and satiny. The mesh feels smooth and soft. I'm happy with them.

I also got paid and bought my Womanizer Liberty vibrator in lilac. It has been shipped, which is impressive. The place where I normally get my spanking implements, PinkCherry.ca, is having a Valentine's Day sale. I'm pleased with an extra 20% off.

I am looking forward to receiving my new toy and wearing these panties.

Constipation is not fun!

Recently, I made the mistake of eating not-so-ripe bananas. I tend to eat ripe bananas. Last week, I ran out of them and got a hand of bananas that weren't ripe yet. I then ate one.

I realized that I can't eat bananas that aren't ripe enough. I ended up being constipated. It has been years since I experienced a serious bout of it. Luckily, a combination of fibre, fish, veggies, and exercise got me back to being my regular self in more ways than one.

Weird, huh? I have learned my lesson. Constipation is highly uncomfortable and I felt like I had a larger stomach. It was scary at times, but I'm definitely myself again.

Theory about a mysterious gift last Christmas

Just before Christmas, I received a book from an anonymous person. I saw the Amazon Prime sticker on the box and thought that it was something that I had ordered that had arrived. I ripped the box open and still don't know who sent me this book.

I have been thinking that it may have been the ex-guy. He has an Amazon Prime membership. He obviously knows where I live. I haven't communicated with him since I told him to stop contacting me last July. He has never mentioned anything about this book. He likely got confirmation that the shipment was delivered and was satisfied with that information.

The book? It's The Longevity Paradox by Steven R. Gundry. It's essentially a book about how to live a long, healthy, happy life.

Perhaps the ex felt guilty that he broke my heart and ruined a part of my life that this book would help me. Maybe he truly wants me to live a longer, happier life.

Anyway, I haven't read much from it. I suppose that I should and see if I do grow old, happy, and healthy.

Scheduling meetings and having my performance review

My first day back at work went well. I impressed myself getting up at 6:45 am for a 7 am conference call.

I had a performance review meeting with my manager just after lunch. Before I went on vacation, he made it for 3 pm for an hour. I had 3:30 pm onwards blocked off as being out of the office on my calendar due to my early start. I also had a meeting at 3 pm.

I got to love when folks don't look at other people's calendars to schedule meetings. My favourite is my diva colleague who asked me to specify what time would work for best for me for her meeting when she clearly knew that I was training our new intern for two weeks.

Dumb. Just dumb.

Anyway, my performance review went well. My boss called me a "rock star." Not to sound weird or pompous, but I have earned it.

A human resources person recently spoke to my manager and did a review of each team member's salary. This HR guy asked my boss why my salary was "significantly higher" than the rest of my team colleagues.

Here's my short list:

• Experience - I have been doing my job for years. I have the most experience on the team.
• Competence - I do my job well and take pride in it. I also complete many tasks with quality and at a faster pace than the rest of my peers.
• Education - I'm the only one with a master's degree in this field.
• Knowledge - I have a lot of it. It explains why I train new employees joining our team.

My manager said everything he had to say about my skills and performance. I am working at a different level than the rest of the team. It's true, which satisfied the HR guy.

I have earned my salary through hard work. It's nice that I have a manager who agrees. I am looking forward to a bonus!

Last day of vacation

I spent a casual, relaxed last day of my vacation. I went out briefly to fetch a kebob dinner deal. You buy one dinner and get another for free. There was a lot of food. I needed a nap afterwards.

I start my day at 7 am for a four-hour conference call. Tuning into the first hour should allow me to get through my inbox of e-mails. Oh, joy!

Walking down grade 2 memory lane with a class photo

Back in early July, a friend reached out to me on a Facebook group. We were in grades 2 and 5 together. I haven't talked to her in decades. We messaged each other and caught up on our lives.

A few hours ago, she tagged me in our grade 2 class photo. There were some missing names. I managed to fill in the gaps, except for one person.

I shocked myself in that I could vividly spell people's names and it felt like I was in grade 2 again. My friend's memory is pretty good, too. Between the two of us, we produced a list of everyone in the photo, minus the one guy.

She said that she's grateful that she found me. Likewise!

Rediscovering neighbourhoods and new good eats

During my vacation, it has been fun rediscovering neighbourhoods that I have frequented in the past. Coupled with getting good eats, I have enjoyed my ventures here and there.

Within walking distance in my neighbourhood is a Hong Kong-style eatery that opened a few months ago. I finally got around to ordering its signature beef brisket with thin noodles and this dish was fantastic. There were four different noodle options. I may need to try them all!

I also got the beef brisket macaroni in tomato sauce dish. Both were 50% off. Insane, but a great deal.

Being on vacation is the weekend every day

The weekend is here! Being on vacation feels like every day is the weekend. I will miss my vacation. It has been relaxing and nice so far.

I had the best apple and pineapple fritters on Thursday. I finished them off on Friday. Should I get more? I want to, but will wait it out. I don't want to overdose of them. They are that yummy.

Credit update - great news!

I haven't talked about my finances for a while. All is great!

Last hour, I checked my credit score. My credit score went up by 60 points on the Canadian scale!

It is a big deal. I have been in the poor category for a few years. I am now in the fair category. Yay!

My goal is to get my credit score in the good range. I need a credit rating of at least 713, which is doable as I continue my journey to repair my credit rating.

I'm pleased. It does take a lot of work. It's nice to see results.

Vibrators and paddles

Being on vacation, I have been thinking about sleep and food. Thanks to a vibrator gift post at Disciplined Behaviour, I have mine picked out already.

I want the Womanizer Liberty in lilac. I will buy it sometime next week when payday rolls around.

While I was on that site, I checked out the spanking paddles. I have a decent collection, but it has been ages since I used them. I suppose that it's time to use them. I am on vacation after all.

Sleep

Last night, I didn't sleep all that well. I woke up way too early, likely because my body is used to getting up for work. Ugh!

The other issue was that I had black tea fairly late in the evening. Oops.

I hope that I'll sleep better tonight. I'm on vacation. Please co-operate, body!

Being a panelist and on vacation

I had a fun evening being a panelist in a Zoom meeting. I am normally an attendee. It was different being on the opposite side. I had a good time and enjoyed being with cool people.

My vacation is going well. I slept in till 9:30 am. That's late for me.

I went out briefly to pick up an order that I had placed over the weekend. I also got some bubble tea.

It has been relaxing. I love it.

Going out on a Sunday - rare!

I went out on Sunday. I can't tell you when I was last out on any Sunday. It has been that long and is a rare occurrence.

The main reason for my venturing out was to pick up an order that I had paid for on New Year's Eve. The business took the first week of January off. It returned the following week for curbside pickup on Wednesday only. It then went back to its regular pickup hours on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

I couldn't do the weekdays because I was training my intern. Hours are from 11 am till 4 pm. I normally am out and about running errands on Saturday. So, Sunday, it was!

Although it was a cloudy day, it was nice getting out and walking around. I also like the fact that I am on vacation and feel relaxed.

Foot pain

My foot pain has returned. It was bad on Friday night, but eventually went away and I was able to post here. It's back again.

My way of dealing with it (consuming magnesium, potassium, a banana, and Ibuprofen) helps. What is weird is the length of time that this pain has been with me. I'm not sure why.

Anyway, it's slowly dissipating. Here's hoping that I can kick the pain to the curb soon.

Vacation has begun

My vacation has started. I'm happy about the downtime. I don't have anything terribly exciting to do, though.

I am continuing to reorganize things at home. I found an old work notebook from ten years ago. My handwriting wasn't great then. I am sure that it still isn't.

Perhaps I can spend some time practising my cursive.

Trying to use up my vacation from last year - a problem I never thought that I'd have

Today is my last workday before I go on vacation for just over a week. It's not that I want to. I have six vacation days that I didn't use up in 2020. I need to use them up by the end of this month.

I would normally be thrilled to take time off. I'd be travelling somewhere. Ontario, the province in which I live, is under lockdown. I can get groceries, fetch takeout, do curbside pickup, exercise outdoors, and that's about it.

It's funny. I originally thought I had five days of vacation. I realized through doing a calculation that I had an extra day. It's amusing to me that I am not thrilled about taking time off during a pandemic.

Then again, I have been working hard for two weeks. I trained a new intern and got my regular work done. I also dealt with my dear friend's passing, so I'm okay with taking time off for me.

I will likely continue reorganizing things around the house. I did some of that tonight. It felt therapeutic.

My mom and her memory loss

For years, I have witnessed my mom's memory deteriorate. Yesterday, it took quite a dip that has left a lasting impression on me.

My mom talked to me and said that there was some man living in the same house. I had no idea who or what she was talking about.

This man was my dad. She didn't know that he was my mom's husband.

I said that this man was her hubby. She then replied that she didn't know that she was married. I asked her how I was born without a dad. She simply didn't know.

It was quite telling. However, when I asked her if she knew who I was, she immediately said both my first and last names.

It's such a shame seeing a great memory slowly deteriorate. It makes me a bit nervous, as I have a similar memory, I hope that I don't follow this same path.

I'm not sure how to deal with memory loss. Here's to more research. Perhaps having her look at old photos may be helpful. Then again, I don't want to frustrate her if she can't remember who the folks are in them.

Receiving my friend's voice message

Yesterday afternoon, I received a text message from my dear friend's hubby through my friend's cell phone. He had texted me a voice message from my friend that was played at her funeral service. He thought that I'd like to have it to remember her.

It was such a nice gesture. I texted him back and thanked him. I was grateful to have been able to attend her funeral from afar. Hearing her voice again was and still is comforting.

I sent him my love and thoughts to him and his daughter. He appreciated it.

It's hard to believe that it has been a week since I got the news about my friend's passing. Although I am healing, it will definitely take a while to get back to my regular self.

More thoughts from my friend's funeral

My friend organized her entire funeral. We are similar in that we are natural planners. She wasn't a control freak. She simply wanted to take care of it without burdening others. It was just who she was.

She made sure that everyone had a bagged lunch after the service. It made me smile. It was so her.

She left a voice message to all of us. She said that we were her miracle. Her daughter let out a sob. I lost it there as tears trickled down my face. It felt good hearing her voice.

She chose the music that was played. I have the list, which is now a part of my playlist and will always remind me of her.

At the end, Amazing Grace was played. The Mayo Clinic managed to record her heartbeat. Her heartbeat was then used as the beat for the song, which had guitar as the melody. It was unique and I felt connected to her -- as if she were saying to everyone that they would be okay.

I managed to grieve at her streamed funeral. I felt a lot better today. It was a lovely service celebrating her life. She somehow managed to reassure us that things were going to be okay. I am healing one day at a time.

Grieving and celebrating my friend's life

On Saturday, I attended my friend's funeral online. It was my first experience attending a virtual funeral. I am grateful that the funeral home offered this service.

It allowed me to attend when the Canada-US border continues to be closed due to COVID-19. It's also nice for those who can't travel or want to stay safe to attend remotely.

It was a beautiful celebration of my friend and her life. There were many parts of the service that made me smile. Essentially, my friend organized her own funeral and made sure that we were all taken care of. She was always that way, including right up to her death.

I may write more about what was said and share in another post. Right now, I am simply reflecting and appreciate her even more.

I didn't write the previous day. On Friday night, I decided to grieve in my own way. I played music that she loved. It brought back fond memories of both of us attending these performances live and enjoying these songs together.

Bluetooth speaker bottle - weird and broken

Yesterday, I received a gift from my company. It was a bluetooth speaker bottle. The idea is that the cap acts as the bluetooth speaker. You unscrew the cap and you have a beverage bottle.

It's such an odd combination. I hope that folks don't put water in the bottle and cap it.

My problem was unscrewing the cap. It was so tight that I actually broke the speaker. So, I only have a bottle without a cap.

It was a nice gesture, though. I do have many bluetooth speakers, so I'm not heartbroken about losing this one. I just wish that caps weren't secured so tight on bottles. It shouldn't take me half an hour to try and loosen it. Instead, I broke it!

Oh, well. At least I have a nice beverage bottle. It's stainless steel and pretty.

Dealing with incompetent colleagues

There are a couple of colleagues at work who occasionally rub me the wrong way.

In December, before I went on vacation, I indicated to both of these folks that the first two weeks of January would be devoted to training a new intern. I said that my work pace on my usual tasks would be slower than expected. I also mentioned all these details in other e-mails.

My first colleague asked whether I could document a "small" feature by the end of next week. What part of training someone for two weeks straight and not working at my usual pace do you not comprehend? I already have two tasks that you are fully aware of that are taking longer than my usual pace.

She asked me to take a look at the feature. I clicked the link and there were no details. I basically said that I can't commit to a date because I don't have enough information to make a proper assessment. I also said that the software guy copied on this e-mail should supply details on what this feature entails and what he plans on providing to me so I can assess how long it will take me.

Ridiculous.

Then, there's the diva on my team. She can't make a decision on her own. Our manager asked a question and she immediately created a meeting to discuss it. She then specifically said that I'm training and to suggest a time if it doesn't work. Um, no. You are booking a meeting. Look at my calendar. It says that I am completely booked. I am not about to drop working with my intern to attend a boring meeting because you can't make a decision on your own and you don't want to respond to an e-mail.

I asked that she hold the meeting without me. Frankly, it can be decided in an e-mail, but she can't take the lead when she is leading this whole project. Ugh!

We'll see if she whines to our manager that I am rejecting attending her stupid meeting.

Two more days of work to go. It has been a rougher week than expected.

Thoughts about my friend and memories of her

Losing a friend is heartbreaking. I wrote my thoughts in a virtual condolence book. I felt that what I had written was a nice tribute to my friend.

I keep thinking about all the wonderful memories that we made over the years. I will treasure them.

I'd like to take a day off to properly mourn her. Unfortunately, I am training a new intern. Instead, I'll defer it by leaving work early on Friday. 

Her funeral is on Saturday. Luckily, it will be streamed online. The border between the States and Canada is still closed. At least I can still say goodbye.

My friend's passing

My dear friend passed away from Leukemia on Sunday. I got the news last hour.

It's heartbreaking. She enriched my life with her friendship. I am thrilled that I knew her for over twenty years.

Her last e-mail to me was that she loved our friendship. She loved me. She wished that we had travelled more together.

She was the ideal travel companion. We never had a disagreement when we travelled together, be it snorkelling or drinking beer. We knew that we would be travelling companions when we retired.

I have been looking at photos of her. I particularly like the one that I took of her with her daughter at a playground. They are both smiling, with her young daughter hugging her.

I was fortunate to have met up with her for lunch back in December 2019, and January and March 2020. I will remember hugging her for the last time after lunch and waving to her as she drove off.

I am happy that I got to say that I loved her and cherished our friendship. I am at peace telling her what I needed to before she passed on.

May she rest in peace.

Foot pain relief and back to work

On Sunday morning, at roughly 4:10 am, I woke up to foot pain. It was unpleasant, but I minimized how long it persisted.

I may have figured out how to tame the pain after years of enduring it and trying things out:

• Potassium (1 tablet)
• Magnesium (1 tablet)
• Banana (it has both potassium and magnesium, but it works best with the supplements)
• Ibuprofen (extra strength)

The pain disappeared an hour later. I drifted off to sleep and then realized that I was okay.

I head back to work in a few hours. I am training virtually, so it will be interesting setting up a laptop remotely. I spent a bit of time on Sunday going through my work inbox, as I know that I won't have time to sift through it all before I conduct training. Fun! 

I haven't missed much at work. I didn't miss work while on vacation. I have always been good at detaching work from my personal life.

Vacation is nearly over

My two-week vacation is nearly over. Originally, I had three weeks of vacation planned. I wish that I had kept it on the one hand. I do feel that it is best to keep it at two weeks. I may not want to work again if I do three weeks!

I train a new intern on Monday. My manager originally thought that he'd get involved in training. Frankly, I see that being a disaster, as he doesn't have the skills to answer specific questions related to our authoring tool. So, I decided to cut my vacation short and take this remaining week of vacation after my two weeks of training delivery are over.

I earned an extra week of vacation last year thanks to hitting my ten-year work anniversary. It's unfortunate that I can't travel due to the pandemic. However, it has been nice taking time off from work and doing whatever I feel like doing, even if it's just lounging at home.

I spent my first few days doing nothing but relaxing. I then moved to cooking, baking, organizing, and driving around. It has been great. I have enjoyed unwinding.

Happy 2021! Hello, shoulder pain... ugh!

Happy 2021, everyone! Here's to a better year filled with joy, health, optimism, and happiness.

For a few weeks, I have had a nagging pain in my right shoulder. It escalated two days ago. It feels like I have a pinched nerve.

I decided to make circles with my right arm. It felt knotted. After several rotations, my shoulder was sore, but felt better.

Today, my shoulder is doing much better. I can extend my arm up to the ceiling and not feel a ton of discomfort.

I have a feeling that lifting a 15-pound turkey, moving my stationary exercise bike every day, and playing games on my phone have contributed to this pain. I have stopped lifting heavy items with my right hand and take breaks when I am using my phone. I am also doing shoulder and neck rotations. So far, my shoulder is doing well.

It's interesting starting a new year with an ailment.