My manager and the flu

My manager has been away sick for the last two days. His message to our team was oddly worded.

He said that he has "tested positive for flu symptoms." Wouldn't it be sufficient to just say that he has the flu?

I can't tell if he tested for COVID-19 and was negative and used the same sentence construction for the flu or if he is indeed so sick that he can't form a clear sentence.

Last week, we had a department outing. I didn't go due to heel pain. Perhaps he caught the flu from that event?

I hope that he feels better soon. He said that he may or may not be working later on today. We'll see.

Recognition for being a reviewer

On Friday, on a review platform, I got recognized for making the top 50 prolific reviewers in North America. There were only two Canadians on the list. I was the highest ranked Canadian on the list.

It was a nice honour. It was weird how I heard about it, though. It was from a fellow reviewer that I didn't know.

I sometimes wonder how some folks find out about such details well before I do. I have a local manager who didn't say a word all weekend. Odd.

Anyway, I'm delighted with the recognition. It was a nice way to kick off my weekend and vacation.

Changing my profile photo on Instagram and attracting an interesting demographic

I have probably mentioned this detail in the past, but it is related to what I am about to write.

Back in late December, I changed my profile photo on Instagram. I was on vacation in Minnesota and decided to take a rare selfie, which turned out nicely. 

Well, ever since I changed my profile photo, more men tend to send me direct messages (DMs) on that platform. Sadly, 90% of them started with them saying hi. That was it. There wasn't any mention of why they were contacting me or anything else.

The guy that I was virtually dating for nearly two months was different. He said that he liked my profile and wanted to get to know me. It was a good start, which sparked a conversation. Sadly, this guy didn't take no for an answer and was bad news. I have blocked him on Instagram and on my phone apps.

The other day, I decided to reply to another guy. What intrigued me was his profile. He had both Canadian and American flags as emoji.

He wasn't a good conversationalist. I already knew that I needed to ask him probing, intelligent questions to make him open up.

I don't necessarily enjoy when folks need to say that they are intelligent and handsome right off the bat. Some would say that it's confidence. I actually think it's has the opposite effect. I never mention those qualities when I introduce myself to others. I know that my qualities will shine through and others will see me for who I am. I feel that folks needed to state such qualities aren't as confident as they truly are.

What turned me off was his unnecessary capitalization of words and run-on sentences. He had one huge paragraph about what he wanted in a woman. My eyes glazed over. He needed to break his paragraph down to four smaller ones. I am a writer by trade. I can't see myself being with someone who claims to be educated, but writes like he's in grade 8. To me, it's a huge turnoff.

So, I told him all of these details in a nicer fashion, said that it was me and that and it won't work. I wished him all the best. He proceeded to ask me to answer his questions, to get to know me better. Um, no. What part of "it won't work" isn't clear? I stated that I wouldn't respond to his questions, that it won't work between us, and said goodbye. I then blocked him.

The qualities of these men who have been sending me DMs are as follows:

• The man is either divorced, separated, or a widow, has a child, and is seeking a partner to both be with and raise said child together
• He serves the US in some capacity (army, navy, and so on), in construction, or an offshore engineer
• If not in these fields, he is a medical doctor of some sort
• The man is American and hasn't looked at my profile to figure out that I'm not

I'm not interested. I would rather have an honest man who can communicate and start a decent conversation. I would like an intelligent, fun, optimistic, loving person in my life. If he would like to spank me, it would be a nice bonus.

Back at work and being with oddballs

My first day back at work was busy, but it went well. I got the work that I needed to catch up on completed. I helped troubleshoot an issue that resulted in having three happy people being able to access a site.

It's not a revelation, but the day made me realize how my colleagues in my department are not exactly leaders:

• The oldest guy on our team talks a lot. He spent twenty minutes talking about an office chair. He also can't figure out how to add a software application on his laptop if his life depended on it.
• The diva injures herself often. She fell on the weekend and has tore a thigh muscle. She has been away on sick leave for the last two days.
• My friend can't read for beans. She sent me a screenshot saying that she has the application installed. The message had the exact application name mentioned three times, which wasn't what she had.

More than half the team does not have this application installed. Had I not stepped in, everyone wouldn't have properly ordered this application. I sometimes wonder why I care so much when my colleague seem indifferent. It's because that's who I am. They need a ton of guidance.

Because my intern has moved over to being under the direct supervision of diva, he is now doing all her work while she recovers. I feel for him. However, I have trained him well that I know that he can doing this work with flying colours.

It's such an odd setup on our team. On the plus side, some people are now realizing how much value and skills I bring to this team when I am either away or don't handle these tasks that I once did.

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.

My ex-guy wrote after realizing that I missed his birthday for the first time

A few posts ago, I wrote about deciding not to wish my ex-guy a happy birthday. I felt good about my decision.

It's not shocking, but he noticed that I didn't. I remember dates well. It was always like clockwork to send him an e-card or an e-mail to wish him a happy birthday.

Last night, he wrote back to me. In the Subject line, he said, "Hope you're doing well!" He then enclosed a photo of two purple birds perched on a tree.

Purple is my favourite colour. Birds are okay. They aren't my favourite, though.

There were two of them. Am I reading into the whole thing too much that they represented us? What we used to be or what we should be?

I also thought it was fitting that he wrote on April Fool's Day. I'm not sure if he was being genuine or playing a sick prank. Perhaps it was simply coincidence.

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.

Slept through the night after physical CPR activities

I slept through the night. I suppose that CPR exercises will do that.

It is strange that construction happens off the side of a highway near this hotel at midnight and continues for several hours. It has been happening since Monday night. The exception was last night. It was incredibly windy and gusty that construction work had ceased.

Here's hoping that it continues tonight. It was nice to get a break.

Despite this odd disruption, I do enjoy being at this hotel. It's incredibly comfortable and feels like home.

Robe and construction at midnight

I do love my staycation, despite still going into work daily. I like the robe and slippers that I have. I feel cozy wrapped up in a robe.

The only downside is that there was construction happening at midnight for several hours. I don't get it. Sure, it's next to a highway. Do the construction crew not realize that it's a fairly residential area and that folks perhaps want to sleep?! I slept with my earplugs on, so I was good.

Here's hoping that I don't have to sleep with earplugs in tonight.

Working from home again and taking a break from the incompetent woman

I am back to my regular schedule this week. I am working from home today and tomorrow.

It has been a grind going to work every day for over three weeks. I don't mind hanging out with colleagues that I like, including my student. It is dealing with the sheer ridiculousness spewing out of my incompetent colleague that puts a damper on things.

She has this tone in her voice when she gets excited. She sounds like she is constipated and I cringe every time I hear her. She did that taking a phone call at her desk, which isn't exactly professional. We all sit in an open area and can hear her while we are working.

It'll be nice to take a break from her. Everything that she does seems odd.

Clearance to get a new student at work

Good news! My department has been given the go-ahead signal to hire a student for the upcoming term. Yay!

Things are busy and odd with my team as of late. I love my students who are with me for another five weeks. The two regular employees on my team are nice, but odd.

Anyway, I'm off to bed. I'm that tired. Have a great weekend!

Thoughts about how a newbie learns

It has been nearly two weeks that my students and I have been training the new employee. It has been a challenge for all of us.

I am still trying to figure out how this new employee learns. It's difficult to narrow down, but here are my notes:

• She is an extremely slow learner. She requires tons of repetition doing the same task before she begins to understand it.
• She is not good at recognizing patterns. If there is a clear example on the page, she does not know how to apply that example to solve her current problem.
• She does not read well. It doesn't matter whether she has a checklist or a procedure on how to do a task, she does not read details carefully. She also does not read e-mails well.
• Her comprehension is dismal. She constantly relies on my PowerPoint slides and treats them as the gospel. When she has a checklist to go through, she is still dependent on her slides and doesn't realize that the checklist takes precedence. When I quiz her on how to do something, she goes to her printed slide notes and doesn't get it. So, it's another explanation, but from a different angle. 
• She says thanks too often. Sure, we are all Canadian. However, saying thanks after every other sentence that we say does not register knowledge that we have passed on to her. It is also overkill.
• She is afraid to try anything on her own. When she had a question on how to edit a page the other day, I asked her to give it a try. She gave me a firm, "No!" Um, okay. Odd.

She does have a cartoon character voice. It's squeaky. One of my colleagues called it cute. I find it annoying the more she talks, which is pretty often.

My manager was impressed by how much information and research she did for her second interview. I didn't feel the same way. I realize now that it was all memorization. The comprehension is nonexistent. 

The red flag that I had during her second interview was that she admitted that she was a slow learner. I pointed that out to my boss. He said that the extra work that she does after hours will get her learning faster. I didn't think that it was the case then. I certainly don't see it now.

It is still frustrating dealing with someone who does not get what she is doing. I have even seen my students get frustrated.

Here's hoping that things get better, although things look bleak right now.

Exhausting week and questioning comprehension

What a long week! I'm exhausted.

I wrapped up a major release and pushed out a minor one. I got my little team consisting of two students and me to train a new employee on our team. It's good that she has been hired to take over some of my development tasks. However, I am still unsure about how I feel about her.

The way that she learns and comprehends puzzles me. She talks a lot. Information relayed to her doesn't register in her head.

She had a question about a feature and what the difference was between the options. I asked if she wanted to try one of the options out. She said with authority, "No!" That's not a good sign if you are all questions, you can retain answers, and you are hesitant to explore.

Yes, she talks a ton. It's to the point where I have to tune out. She also sounds like a little girl and she's nearly thirty years old. It's difficult to listen to her.

I am hoping that next week will fly by. I'm simply glad that the weekend is here.

Odd dream

Last night, I had an odd dream. It involved this brief exchange between my guy and me:

"I have these final words to say to you," he said in my dream.
"No, I don't want to hear that you're leaving!" I replied.

I woke up startled. I don't know what the dream means, but it was upsetting.

In a fog, I didn't know if he meant that he was breaking up and leaving me, or if he was leaving for a business trip.

I had to think for a moment to realize that it was a horrible dream. I went back to bed and was fine. Weird!

Weather fluctuations causes wardrobe confusion

These temperature swings are maddening! Last Saturday, it was 7°C as a high with rain. On Wednesday, I went out for a break during the day, as I work from home. The temperature reached a high of 27°C.

I am confused as to how I should dress. On the weekend, I had a light winter puffy jacket, a winter hat, mitts, and Sherpa-lined shoes. On Wednesday, i went outside in a short-sleeved t-shirt, lightweight jeans, no socks, and sneakers.

It's almost like we skipped spring. Weird!

Training, questions, and dynamics

At work, I have been training for most of the week. The new hire told me that she appreciates my training her, which is nice.

I am still trying to gauge how she ticks. She's nice, but she asks questions that have nothing to do with the task at hand, at times. It's odd.

As an example, she asked me out of the blue whether we have hired students as full-time employees while in a training session about the writing tool. She is also fixated on another tool that our team will be migrating over to in six months.

I have another colleague that I am training on another aspect of my job. We get along well. She, on the other hand, asks questions that are work-specific. I like that!

It's an interesting mix. The good thing is that with my team of new folks, including my student, we all get along. Here's hoping that the trend continues.

My entire team thinks that it is amazing that I can talk all day. I guess that my guy and I are so chatty that it makes sense that we are trainers!

Ladybug luck

I was hungry. I was caught in rush-hour traffic. I had worked up an appetite and went through a fast-through drive-in to grab a quick bite to eat.

It was strange that, after placing my order, I was asked to drive around and come back. I looked behind me and there wasn't a car. However, after doing a lap around the restaurant, there was a car in front of me. It was odd to me. If my order wasn't ready, why not have me park in front of the restaurant and have someone hand me my food?

Anyway, I got my food and parked my car. With my car windows down, I ate.

Moments later, a ladybug landed on my lap. I wish that I had taken a photo, but I didn't have a chance. It stayed on me for five seconds and then left.

They say that ladybugs bring luck to you when they come visit you. I hope that this superstition is true. The bright red visitor made my day.

A couple means three to my local Starbucks barista

I am a regular at Starbucks. I don't drink coffee, though. I am there for tea and the occasional bakery item.

I decided to grab an iced green tea before I headed off to work. I ordered through the mobile app, which has been wonderful. I often get iced green tea without the lemonade. For some reason, at Canadian Starbucks locations, most baristas think that I want lemonade when I say that I want iced green tea. Um, no. Ordering through the mobile app has resolved this issue.

On Thursday, I felt like getting a donut. I don't eat donuts often. I used to do rotating shift work and we ate tons of them. I got sick of them. These days, if I eat a few in a year, I'm laughing. So, I ordered a donut on my app.

Two orders. Two items.

I headed over to my local Starbucks. It has a drive-thru. It's roughly a five-minute drive away from home.

"Hello, what can I get started for you?" asked the male barista.
"Hello. I am picking up a couple of orders for Cutiebootie," I said to the speakerbox.
"Through mobile order?" he asked me.
"Yes," I replied, puzzled that there is perhaps another ordering method before you arrive.
"Three orders?" he said in the form of a question.
"No, a couple means two. I have two items."

It amazes me that there are folks out there who do not know what a couple means. You guys make a lovely couple. There are two of you in a romantic relationship. If there were more, you'd have a threesome or a more-some.

I drove over to the window. Wait, it gets worse...

"Here are your three items," he said to me as he handed them over. "Your drink, your donut, and your straw."
"I still ordered two items," I replied.
"The straw made me think that it was three items," he explained.
"Okay. That's not what I had in mind."

So, when I order an iced green tea, I am actually ordering the straw as an item.

If I ordered a grande mint majesty tea, I can be potentially ordering a multitude of items:

• Teabag
• Honey
• Sugar
• Milk
• Stir stick
• Paper cup
• Cup lid
• Hot water
• Napkin

When I order a grande tea, I am not ordering a single item. Oh, not at all. I am essentially ordering nine items. Wow, I get so much for so little. Incredible. NOT!

Technology baffles me, but at least my photo-syncing issues are fixed!

I have always been a troubleshooter. My latest issue with upgrading my Mac mini to the Sierra OS and then attempting to sync my photos to my phone has been fixed. I simply don't know which change that I performed actually fixed everything.

Technology is odd. I am immersed in it at work. It's an interest of mine, too. It's such a love-dislike relationship.

Anyway, I have done a few things to fix this issue:

1. Changed the properties of my Photos library so that read and write access is granted to all programs accessing it.
2. Powered off and on my external hard drive, which houses my iTunes library.
3. Tried to rebuild my library by pressing the Option + Command (Ctrl + Alt) keys. I didn't get the repair option, so I loaded my photos library as normal.
4. Started iTunes. I tried syncing both my iPod classic (yes, I still own one, as it fits my entire music collection, which is large) and iPhone. Both actions prompted an error message indicating that my photos library was unavailable.
5. Closed my Photos program.
6. Tried syncing my iPhone again. My photos synced!
7. Synced my iPod again. It synced successfully, too!

Again, I did a bizarre set of steps. It will be a miracle if all this syncing works tomorrow. I can then get on with writing about my last spanking.

There are days where I want to book some time away from technology, fly to some tropical location, lounge around, and write in a ruled notebook with a fountain pen. It sounds perfect right about now.