Sick - ups and downs

I woke up today feeling good. I had breakfast and my energy dipped.

I napped. Napping helped. More rest was needed. I then headed out for the first time in days.

Fresh air does wonders. I ended up at the drugstore. There is a huge shortage of cold and cough medication.

I have nighttime cold and cough medication. It's the daily medication that I needed. Luckily, I found some, but it was slim pickings.

It was great to feel much better when I left home until I had soup upon my return. I'm now congested, so I'm off to breath better with my nose spray.

My boss recovering from COVID-19 and my sleepiness due to humidity

My manager caught COVID-19, as did his entire family. He returned to work yesterday, working remotely.

We had a virtual interview to conduct. I had asked the person who had set up this interview to reschedule it to accommodate my manager.

My manager started losing his voice today. He talked for maybe two minutes during the interview. I did all the talking in the interview with the candidate.

The kicker is that this candidate wasn't a perfect fit right off the bat. I wanted to shut down the interview immediately because she has no writing experience.

Such a waste of time!

Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night. It was way too humid overnight. Having the air conditioning on has made things better. I've been napping throughout the day to make up for my sleepiness.

Less sleep than expected

Last night, I woke up at 5:30 pm. It was a weird combination of my being warmer than normal, having my right foot start to stiffen up, and my bladder wanting some relief.

I ended up turning on my fan, even though the air conditioning was on. It has been extremely humid lately, but the humidity must have risen overnight for me to sense it. I also took some potassium for my usual right foot issues and attended to my bladder.

After 1.5 hours of being away, which included placing an order for pair of compression socks to help with circulation, I went back to bed and woke up at 9:30 am. I had roughly five hours of sleep. I tend to be functional with five hours of sleep, but crave more of it.

When I came back from running a bunch of errands, I had dinner and took a nap. It explains why I'm still fairly alert, but I'm ready for bed.

Here's hoping that I sleep better tonight.

Humidity and Starbucks

I didn't sleep as well as I could have last night. It was so humid overnight that I woke up all sweaty. It's still humid outside and I appreciate the air conditioner. It's effective.

My usual Starbucks is a five-minute drive away. As of late, I don't enjoy going there. Staff keep on saying, "So, it's just the iced green tea?" What's up with just? I tore two baristas by telling them to drop it. I don't want to buy anything else and my drink matters to me.

I actually said to one of them, "You aren't just a barista. You are a barista."

I also don't enjoy going there right now because it is out of iced peach green tea.

My third-closest Starbucks is my new favourite place. When I order iced peach green tea, they never ask whether I want lemonade in it. I don't. If I did, I would have specified lemonade. They get it right.

This place also has plenty of iced peach green tea. It's now my go-to cafe for a cold drink on a hot day.

Victoria Day long weekend!

It's the Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada. We have Monday off. I have also taken Tuesday off as a vacation day, so I've extended it.

So far, it has been great. On Saturday, I slept in till 10:00 am. I haven't done that for a while.

It's hot and humid these days. Summer has arrived early with temperatures reaching 29°C. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Battery percentage and a surprise parcel

On Sunday, I upgraded my MacBook Air to Big Sur, which is the latest and greatest MacOS. The upgrade went well and I like it so far.

The only thing that bothered me was that the battery percentage was gone. You have to select the option in System Preferences. I understand keeping things simple, but having this percentag hidden by default is odd to me.

Switching gears a bit, I got a small parcel from a local vendor in Toronto. I have been a fan of this vendor's products that I had asked the owner about a small little plushie that I've seen on his social media feed. I asked whether it was for sale. It wasn't, but he was happy to send me one for free for being so supportive. It was such a kind gesture.

Well, guess what? I didn't get one. I got two small plushies. So generous. These small gifts made my day.

It's Friday at long last and a fix to creating new Blogger tags

 It's Friday. I have one more workday to go. I am relieved.

We've got a bit of a break from the heatwave. It's nice to give the air conditioning some rest.

I have a few errands to run on Saturday. I'll be heading down to Toronto for a bit. I hope to hit my old neighbourhood when I have a chance.

Hey, I can finally create new Blogger tags with the new interface while writing a new post. Hooray for logical usability! I disliked publishing my post and then adding a new tag from the Posts section. Creating each new tag from there was a pain.

One year later, being on my own, and being okay at home for months

Yesterday was exactly a year when my ex called it quits with me. I was aware of this date towards the end of a long workday.

During our text chat in April, he didn't once ask me how I was doing. Rather, he said that he missed me and wanted everything we once had, minus travelling together. It was odd. It was all he wanted. So typical.

I am better off being on my own right now. I don't have any inclination to meet someone special, especially when we are all self-isolating at home.

My manager asked our team whether we wanted to go back to the office during the first phase of this so-called plan. I let him know that I need to know what safety precautions will be in place at our office before I can make an informative decision on whether I want to return. It seemed to be a premature question, especially when we are all working from home till mid-June right now. This date continues to get extended.

I don't mind working from and being at home. I'm a homebody who likes to see the world now and again. Going out a couple of times a week is a good balance.

Short breaks from blogging, but all is well

My Mac mini is shot. Luckily, I have my MacBook Air to fall back on. It is one reason why I have been taking mini breaks between posts.

The main reason is being tired. I was exhausted yesterday that I didn't bother.

All is well, though. I'm getting ready for the long weekend ahead. I'm doing a staycation.

Aging Mac mini

My Mac mini is acting up again. I haven't been able to boot it up for a couple of days. It is a decade old.

Luckily, I have a MacBook Air that still works. Frankly, both device are getting up there in years. I just don't feel like shelling out money to replace the Mac mini. My MacBook Air functions just fine that I still think it has a few years of good use.

I'll probably spend the the weekend troubleshooting. Right now, I need sleep.

A controlling since of my manager

I have a love-hate relationship with my boss. When he is in a good mood, he's fine. He is also a control freak. Sometimes, he comes across as being annoying.

My small team tends to go out for lunch on Fridays. As of late, he seems to want to join in. I don't mind. However, I tend to be the only one driving. He has a two-seater car. Ugh.

Recently, he said that he has driven 5,000 km in his car since May. I said that I'm at 6,000 km and I've had my new car since August. I said that I drive to work. He said the same thing. What he doesn't seem to remember is that I live farther from the office than he does. It's 50 km one-way for me.

On Friday, he wanted to do Korean food. That's fine. I haven't had Korean in a while. Naturally, I was driving. He first said that I hope that I knew where I was going. I said that I need passengers to keep their eyes open for a place that all of us haven't been to. I have two GPS apps on my phone.

While driving, my air pressure light went on. He heard it and questioned it. I said that it will go away, as it has been cold, and has turned off for the past two days. He basically said, "No, you don't understand," and went into a whole lecture about what to do. I was annoyed.

He then questioned the route that I was using.

"Google maps says to go down the street that we were on," he said.
"I'm' not on Google maps. We are going this way," I replied.

I can see why I don't like backseat drivers. The last time I experienced this situation was with my friend's ex-boyfriend years. In that case, I actually knew where I was going. Just chill.

The Korean restaurant was good. Unfortunately, he chose a fairly expensive restaurant. I felt bad for our intern for shelling out that much money for lunch.

Part of me wants to ban our manager from these lunches. I don't have to deal with such weird control issues. He doesn't know when to simply shut up and go with the flow.

Mac mini update and new iPod touch

I cringe whenever my old Mac mini has a software update. The update is happening right now. Either it goes smoothly or I lose two days trying to get it to boot up.

I'm not ready to get a new one. I have a MacBook Air that is getting on in years, but works a lot faster than my MacBook Air. I don't need to shell out for a new one. They aren't cheap!

I went ahead and got myself an iPod touch. I have been doing so well with paying off my debt this year. I thought that it would be a nice gift for me that I know will last for years. I need a bit of joy.

I'm writing this post on my phone. The software update is expected to take another forty minutes. Here's hoping that all goes well.

Stopping hunger pangs and getting soaked in the rain

After running an errand after work, I was hungry. I had dinner at one of my favourite Hakka restaurants.

The sky was grey. I risked it and didn't bring my umbrella. Bad move.

When I left the restaurant, it was pouring outside. I was parked roughly 200 metres away and was soaked by the time I got into my car. Ah, what fun!

At least I got some volume in my hair once it dried, thanks to my car's air conditioning.

Corporate discount on Microsoft Office for Mac - CB-approved

Well over a year ago, I upgraded my Mac mini to the latest operating system at the time. The upgrade went horribly wrong to the point where I had to go get help at the Apple store.

I had a pretty old version of Microsoft Office for Mac installed before the upgrade blew everything up on my Mac mini. The Office version was 2004. After getting my operating system reinstalled, reinstalling Office 2004 would not work.

I have been without Microsoft Office on my Mac mini since. I also have a Macbook Air. It does not have Microsoft Office, either.

On Friday, I received a forwarded e-mail from Sharky. He is a development manager who likes me. My guy constantly teases me over the fact that Sharky lusts after me.

Anyway, the e-mail stated that employees can get a home copy of Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac for $13 each. Wow!

Part of me thought that this price was too good to be true. However, the e-mail came from our company's IT department. It was a valid e-mail offer!

I went ahead and paid $13 to have Office installed on my Macbook Air. All Office applications work well.

My guy was so proud of me for saving so much money on software. He is my sweet cheap bastard (CB).