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.

Being in the same online meeting with the ex and hearing his voice

This morning, I had a knowledge session at work. We all connect online. 

The ex-guy was apparently chatting with a presenter whom I work closely with when I joined the session. I heard his voice. He said a single word that I couldn't make out. I have a feeling that he saw my name and reacted by saying some word before he stopped talking.

I hadn't heard his voice since June 2019. It was weird.

I was okay. I am okay. As long as we don't interact, I'm fine. 

We still work for the same employer. It helps that we aren't in the office and we are in different departments. Otherwise, it would be awkward.

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.

Starting a conversation with a condescending tone doesn't get far with me

It's interesting dealing with various departments and people to get things done. Well, sort of done.

Let's start with getting my retirement savings accounts (RRSPs) transferred from one bank to another. I need to open two new accounts with my primary bank. One is a regular RRSP account. The other one is a locked-in RRSP account where the money can't be touched until I retire.

I had to deal with another financial representative who called me after I was done work. The conversation did not start off well.

"Do you know that you have a locked-in retirement (LIRA) account?" he asked.

"Yes. I don't appreciate your condescending tone," I replied.

The day before, I had sent two completed forms back to my bank. One was for my regular RRSP account. The other for the LIRA. I knew exactly what I was doing. He had all forms in his position. He was just too lazy to look at them. 

I did a questionnaire a couple of days ago to determine what type of LIRA account would suit my needs. He did the same thing again, but did a cross reference between my answers over the phone and a previous one from a week ago for my regular RRSP account. I didn't get it. Wouldn't you want the get the results for the LIRA questionnaire that I did recently, as they are for this new LIRA account? It didn't make a whole lot of sense.

I was civil. I did say that we should get things over with by doing this questionnaire and thanked him at the end. He did apologize for being condescending. I think he let up when he asked me how much was in my LIRA and I told him right down to the cents.

I have more to unleash about my manager and our human resources department. I'll save that for tomorrow.

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.

Haircut and reunion with my hairdresser

I got my hair cut on Thursday. I got four inches off my hair length. It feels great!

For over a year, I had a wonderful hairdresser that did a great job cutting my hair. Sadly, the salon that I went to had closed. It took me a while to find a new salon with an equally competent hairdresser. I found it this past summer.

On Thursday, I went in said salon and checked in. I heard a familiar voice. It was my wonderful hairdresser. Yay!

It's nice to know that everyone at that shut down salon has moved over to this one. I got another hairdresser who has worked with Ms. Wonderful for twenty years. This one did a great job on my new hairdo.

I'm thankful that I have two hairdressers who style my hair perfectly!

All I want for a gift is you

My guy missed our office Christmas party. I gave him the scoop on our first Christmas party at a banquet hall in three years.

He pinged me on Skype as I was nearly home. I had to swing by my local grocery store to get an item.

I got home and chatted with him. I am always happy when I hear his voice.

"What would you like me to get you as a gift?" he asked me.
"I'd like a good-looking guy with a uniform head and a package that I'd like to open," I replied.
"Yes, you definitely have me waiting for you," he said, conforming my great taste in gifts.

He's so sweet.

Changing restaurants, stepping up and down, and being a gentleman

I got tired of eating at the same Afghani restaurant three times last week. The fact that my order was messed up on all three occasions put a damper on my mood.

At noon, my guy called me on Friday and said that he was downstairs. I said that I'd be there in five minutes.

He wasn't downstairs, but I noticed that his car was parked outside. Nice!

I walked over and I got in.

"Are you good if we try shawarma today?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said. "I love shawarma."
"I know. When you called me a while back and I said that I was at a shawarma place, it's this one that we'll be going to. It's good," I noted.
"That's good," he replied.
"Turn left at the lights," I said, as if I were a GPS.
"I love your voice. I wish that your voice were on my GPS," he noted.

We walked into the restaurant. I told him to watch his step. He was impressed at how spacious the place was.

I got the chicken shawarma dinner, which comes with rice and salad. He got what I used to order, which was the beef shawarma with hummus.

He loved his meal. He even asked if he could take some of my pita. I was glad that he did, as I couldn't finish all my pita. I did polish off my entire meal.

When we left, he led. I didn't realize that he didn't see the step.

"That was an unexpected drop," he replied.
"That's because I didn't say to watch your step like I did before," I noted.

He got to his car and opened the car door for me. He's such a gentleman.

It has been a nice couple of weeks seeing him at the office. I was getting sad that I wouldn't see him this often, but he said that we'll try and plan something out.

Waking up in a haze and listening to my guy's voice

On weekends, I set my alarm for 10:55 am. I like to sleep in.

I woke up to the sound of my cell phone vibrating at 10:54 am on Saturday. I thought that it was my alarm. However, I was half asleep and it was actually a phone call coming through.

My guy was calling me. I didn't pick up in time and my voicemail kicked in.

I called him back.

"Hey," he answered.
"Hey," I replied. "I just woke up."
"Wow. I was hoping that I didn't wake you up," he said.
"I'm good now," I said in a sleepy voice.
"I'm heading out to my course. I have to fly out tonight. Do you have any plans?" he asked me.
"Do you have some time before your flight?" I asked him.
"I sure do," he said.
"I can meet you somewhere. I miss you," I stated.
"Likewise. How about at work?" he asked me.
"Sure. I can drive you to the airport," I offered.
"That would be great."

It was nice starting off my day by hearing his voice and knowing that we'd see each other.

Hearing his voice again is always sweet

My guy called me just over an hour ago.

"It's not too late for me to call, is it?" he asked politely.
"Nope. 23:30 is still early for me," I said.

He knows that I am a night owl. He called me from the gym. He is getting back to working out. He also missed hearing my voice.

"The hotel that I stayed at did not have a very good lounge. There were only drinks because it was Christmas and Boxing Day," he said.
"So, you're calling me to whine because you couldn't whine to any staff there," I said factually.
"Yes, you are my whining hotline," he said.
"Can you get me a bottle of wine the next time when you whine?" I teased.
"Yes, that's fair."

It was good to hear his voice, too.

My tired guy is back and continues being sweet

My guy arrived at the airport safely at 15:00. He had to teach a course immediately after he had landed, so he had a pretty long day.

He called me right after he was done teaching. It was good hearing his voice again. We laughed at various things in our conversation. He was in good spirits.

Although he was tired, he told me that he missed me a few times. He also said that I was his sweet doll.

He oozes sweetness when he is tired. It's nice to be missed. I have missed him, too.

Being close with my guy from afar

During my guy's two-week trip to Seattle, his hotel's Internet connection was horrible. It was okay for us to text on Skype, but it wasn't a strong enough signal for us to chat.

The last night that my guy was at that hotel, we started off texting, but he insisted on hearing my voice.

"I will use my phone's data plan," my guy stated.
"Will that be a lot to expense?" I asked him.
"It's okay. I have done it in the past."

It was nice talking to him. To make a long story short, I was helping my guy buy voltage converters. He has to travel to Cairo and needed a number of them. He was flying back home for a few hours before jetting off to Cairo. I offered to do the shopping and save him some time. He greatly appreciated it.

He asks for my opinion on various topics. He had bought a new suitcase and asked me what I thought of a hard shell versus a soft one. He felt reassured after I told him my view. It eased his mind.

I could hear in his voice that he missed me. He asked me to take a selfie of my new haircut. I don't like taking selfies, but he wanted to see me badly. I did and he loved the new hairdo. He wanted to see me on Sunday badly. The wait was too long for both of us.

On Saturday morning, I had slept in. Half an hour later, my guy called me on my cell phone. It was nice to start the day hearing his voice and chatting. His flight was later in the day, so he had time to shop and do some touristy stuff.

In the afternoon, my guy called me again from Macy's. He was looking for a jacket. I talked about getting all the voltage converts at great sale prices. He was so happy, because he is Cheap Bastard. He couldn't wait to see me again. The feeling is always mutual.

We texted before his flight, too. We are like teenagers in love. We can't get enough of each other. 

Being apart this time around has made us closer than ever.

T is for talk and tease

I am a fairly chatty person. I am not sure how that came about.

Ever since I can remember, I was often dubbed as being shy. I disliked this label, because I like being with people. People don't frighten me. I simply happen to be a quiet person by nature.

Being quiet does have its perks. I tend to be a better listener than those who enjoy talking all the time.

My role has changed this year at work. Instead of actually doing the grunt work of writing information from scratch, I am reviewing those pieces that other writers produce on the team. It is a lot of work, but I do enjoy it.

The role that I have also involves talking to each writer briefly when I am in the office. There is one writer who is an only child. I am, too. Yet, we are so different.

She is both shy and quiet. I have to ask probing questions and pry information from her. As for me, I am more of a free communicator. I share information and what I am doing. People don't have to guess what I am thinking or working on.

My guy is equally as chatty as I am. He has told me a number of times that I am a great conversationalist and that everything I talk about is interesting to him. I have never seen his eyes glaze over when I talk about a topic, so he isn't buttering me up!

It's one of many reason why we are compatible. We can talk for hours and never get bored of each other.

We both like to tease each other. When he was trying to cheer me up the other week, I teased him that he could record each positive phrase one some recorder and just press a button to play back an encouraging phrase.

"You can tell me that everything will work out fine, record that sentence, and save it as button 1. You can then press it when you think that I need cheering up," I teased.
"Do you think that I don't mean it?" he asked, knowing that I was pulling his leg.
"I know that you like to optimize your time. So, you could record a speech on how things will always improve over time, press the button, walk away, and fix yourself lunch," I joked.
"Oh, really?" he asked, with a tone to his voice that hinted that he was smiling.
"Sure. You just play it and I listen to it. I continue to feel better as I listen to what you have to say. You then walk over to the couch and take a nap. You wake up from your nap and your recording is still going," I giggled.
"I can't wait to see you soon. You are so going to get it."

It's fun teasing him. Of course, there's a price for doing it. I will have a sore backside the next time we're together. I don't mind it one bit.

Sick, sleepy, and tired - struggling to stay awake to hear your voice

As of late, I haven't been writing as much as I'd like. I don't think that having a sore throat and feeling like I am coming down with a cold is helpful. Mind you, considering that work continues to be busy and is stressful as of late, it makes sense that my immune system would break down a bit.

My guy told me that he was in New Jersey for a day business trip. He had a fairly long day getting there, mainly because snow and flying on a plane through it don't mix.

He was sweet to have read an e-mail that I had written to him. I was about to hit the shower when I got a text message from him.

I asked him if he was going to be up for a bit. He wasn't and told me that he was beat. He just wanted to hear my voice and to say goodnight.

I was literally about to get into the shower. I didn't have any clothes on. I sent him a couple of sad faces. I wanted to talk to him, but I was cold from standing there without any clothes. I wished him goodnight and hit the shower.

My guy can be fairly stubborn. He sensed that I was upset, but I knew that he was tired. He still said goodnight. In the past, that would be it from him. I wouldn't hear from him. His decision would be final.

I feel like we know each other so well these days. After I had finished showering, I texted him back, explaining why I hadn't answered. I really needed to take a shower. It makes me less congested with all the steam opening up my sinuses.

He came back online. He wanted to hear my voice and to hear how my day went. He wanted to tell me about his. So, we hit Skype and chatted briefly. It was great to hear him. I needed to hear his voice. I wanted him to tell me everything about his day.

He told me that he had rented a Prius, which is the car that I own. He complains that the stick shift is too dinky. I agree, but I save a ton on gas a year. He admitted that it's a good car.

I wished him a proper goodnight. It's worth it to be able to hear you loved one's voice, no matter how tired or sick you are.

Call me, maybe? Yes, I will because I miss you!

I work from home on Tuesdays. My guy never ceases to amaze me with his sweetness.

I was having a good, productive workday at home. The phone rang. It was clearly a number from work.

"Hello, Cutiebootie speaking."
"Hey, there!"

I paused for a few seconds, not because I couldn't figure out the voice on the other end. I wasn't expecting my guy to call me.

"Hey, how are you?" I asked him.
"Good. I needed to hear your voice," he said sweetly.
"That's so sweet," I replied. "You've been sweeter than I could have ever imagined."
"Aww," he said, melting a bit. "It's the next best thing on a Tuesday."

We talked for a bit. He asked me how things were on "my end." I had to ask him which end. So, I first talked about my day.

"How is your other end?" he asked me mischieviously.
"It's sore," I said without any hesitation. "It's sore when I sit, walk, move, ... you did a fine job."
"I'm glad," he replied, sounding rather proud that he had spanked me thoroughly the previous night.

We chatted some more. I thanked him for thinking of me. I could tell that he missed me today. It was nice to hear his voice, although he was losing it from talking so much. It's nice to get away from Skype when he is a suburb away.

Purposely creating a reason to be spanked soon

The anticipation is building.

I went to work today. I was debating whether I wanted to. Considering that my new colleague hadn't asked any questions about a current assignment and a new one that I didn't fully understand, I felt that I needed to go into the office.

I love hearing my guy's voice. It's unmistakeable. He was talking to one colleague as I was talking to another one. He came over to where I was sitting after he was done conversing.

"Hey," he said, touching my left shoulder tenderly. "It's not Wednesday."
"I know," I said. "I come into the office three times a week, but I'm pretty unpredictable. I even go to work in the morning sometimes."

Yep, my guy has been away for a month. Things change here and there.

A colleague and I then talked about our experiences wearing braces to straighten our teeth growing up. My guy indicated that he wanted to get braces.

"You have a nice smile," I said. "You don't need braces."
"My teeth are crooked," he pointed out.
"Crooked, to match your personality?" I teased.

He laughed. Of course, I like planting a seed like that for a playful reason to be spanked by him.

Towards the end of the day, we were talking and he looked at me for the longest time.

"Has anyone told you that you're attractive, cute, and sweet?"
"Just you," I replied.

He admitted that he was admiring my backside from afar. It's nice to have him back home again.