Quote of the Day: Introvert by Rupi Kaur

Work lately ....

Let's just say, I may not have been handling it all very well.

Thank you Twitter, from whence I found this ..

Taking Time ... to Explore the Past: Saturday with Cynthia

I showed a photo of a Fortune from a Chinese Fortune Cookie earlier this month:

Take time to relax especially 

when you don't have time for it.

Well, there's a lot bubbling under the surface at work that makes me feel like I don't have time to relax. In an ironic twist, it's pretty much one of the same projects that capped off my time/my sanity at my last job, but with even more crappy data, tighter deadlines, not a lot of technical support/infrastructure -- AND I have two other components of my job that I have to weigh higher. Because of a way overblown sense of responsibility, librarian learning and leaning, and foreknowledge of potential/inherited issues brought on my previous experiences, I can feel the clock ticking away loudly, much like Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. I also am having some serious work-related philosophical/office cultural/work-style issues, and so ...  I do work off hours. At home. Behind the scenes. In marathon stretches. Where it's quiet. Squeezed in around, you know ... my life. Or lack of one. A lot this "stuff" seems to be just MY perceptions, expectations, and feelings about professionalism in the workplace, or no one else seems to care, care to change, or grow-up, or REALIZE ... etc.

But enough venting. *I* have to be the Force that changes. So I am trying. Trying to make time to relax.

I have semi-new resolutions to which I'm trying adhere this year. And getting the above fortune was a reminder. It's now taped into the front of my Day Planner (yes kids, people still use old-fashioned paper/spiral-bound Day Planners), the final arbiter of my PERSONAL calendar, my appointment book, my ledger, and my reminder receptacle. I am trying to prioritize PEOPLE over work, even if I "think" I don't have time.

Case in point - Saturday, January 9th, my excursion to the City with Cynthia.

If anyone has a busier schedule than me, it's Cynthia, my friend from the Big J days- and it had been way too long. We managed to find a hole in her schedule and mine, a relatively good winter weather day, AND an activity that was affordable AND off the beaten tourist trap.

Cynthia's New Year 2016 rang in with probably the WINNING-IEST of photos, as she was working in Times Square as part of the event crew for the ball drop. Here she is on the rigging ABOVE the ball. Yeah. Hard to top that unless you are a pyro-tech, an aerial photographer, or one of the actual talent.

photo c. Cynthia

We both traveled into the subways at Times Square where I loitered under the Lichtenstein so long waiting due to delayed trains the transit cops began to get suspicious, I had three separate groups of people ask me for directions/ Metro Card help, and I came SO CLOSE to attacking a poor kid who is being trotted out by a Tiger Parent to pound away on a plugged-in Casio Keyboard to be a Tourist Honey Trap and shill for cash in the guise of being a "pianist." Because my goodness, the muscle memory in my fingers started twitching, my not-quite-perfect-pitch ears were ringing in agony, and my mother's AND my piano teacher's voices were screaming in my head about intonation, rhythm, ar-ti-cu-la-tion, and E-MO-TION. (In short, he's bad. DO NOT TIP HIM. Because he may be raising money for his family, but he is not doing the world a favor in the muuuu-sic department.)

Off we went down to the South Ferry stop. (Unfortunately, the OLD South Ferry station on the subway, because the beautiful new one had been wrecked during Hurricane Sandy.) We wended our way north and headed over looking for Stone Street. (Again, Mom, you'll appreciate this. I got my bearing faster and was reorienting Cynthia, a person who has been in NYC longer than me AND regularly works gigs in and around Wall Street. ME!)

Before we got to Stone Street however, we found Faunces Tavern - the oldest building in the City and a historic landmark.

After oohing and aahing at the history and architecture, we looked at the menus posted outside. Brunch was the order of the day, and since it's still a working restaurant,  the area was quiet, and we figured when would we have the chance again - we ventured in and it was so lovely.

There are two sides - the Tavern and the Bar. We ate over the Porterhouse Bar section, which was lovely and quiet and warm so we could catch up. We did NOT do the prix-fixe menu. It just doesn't make economical sense when you aren't drinking the mimosas or Bloody Marys.

I don't know what George Washington or his troops would have thought that I ordered a vegetarian chick-pea burger, with beet-root hummus, and a frisse salad with a side of fries,

 or that Cyn got a bunch of (day-themed) bison sliders,

and that we split them.

I don't how we timed it so well, but we finished up just as the bar filled up for Jazz Brunch.

For being the oldest building in Manhattan, the ladies room was well-appointed. Tight, but well-appointed.

Yes, I took pictures of the ladies room - because I loved the touches. The old tiles. The in-set sinks. The old gas lamp pipes retrofitted with Edison bulbs and cages.

But I REALLY loved this vanity. This wasn't the only old iron Singer Sewing Machine base that we'd seen used as a table base or seat, but I love the fact that the pedal was there, and that there were still things in the notions drawers on the side.

We did make it to Stone Street, which looked MUCH different than my last visit with Amelia and Christine. (Seriously, these were the crowds on Stone Street on Saturday afternoon.) I love exploring New York when the "crowds" are like this. You can be leisurely and focus in on a lot of things.

Cyn doing a selfie with the Bavaria Bier Haus Lion. I may have ambushed him with a full-body hug, but you have to catch the elusive Nettie photo-ops when they happen because I will not redo them. NOPE. I am no fool.

If you want an UBER fancy Brunch in the Wall Street area, apparently Harry's Cafe & Steak at Hanover Square is your bet. Yes, I took a picture of the menu. Because you have to see that there is a  place where Kobe Beef becomes affordable after what Porterhouses for Two go for. This IS the Financial District after all.

And then we went around the corner and I just stopped - because DELMONICO'S.  

THE Delmonico's.

 I mean, History.

We then walked up Williams Street and I turned into an architecture geek. There are so few pockets of ye olde New Yorke/New Amsterdam left, and this triangle of New York has seen so much and been part of so much of it - even within the last 15 years.

 Look at the windows. Look at the ... okay. I will stop.

As we got closer to our destination, I also kept finding little notable things like these horned seahorses,

 And my, what big ... globes you have there...

 Before heading up the stairs to the Smithsonian, we had to really think about this bench.

 Or not. (Neither of us won the lottery that night, but things aren't that bad.)

Cynthia's a good friend. 

She laughs at my jokes and thinks I'm funny.

Even when I make her walk some of Battery Park in the dusk and then we fly off in different directions as the work-week resumes.

Look, Lady, here's hoping we both get some Liberty soon to do it again.

  

And that we get as lucky with the crowds and weather.

 ~ photos by iPhone

Altering course

By the time you will have read this, I will have given myself an early birthday present.

Like a month early – but …

Today, I quit my job.

Or, more precisely,

I gave my intent to quit my job …

In three weeks.

At the end of the month.

January 31, 2014

Last day.

WHAT A RELIEF.

Lots of factors have gone into this decision, as well as a lot of months of pondering. Some of which you might have seen in this forum. One of these days I’ll write down the whole story, but I’m not through the thick of it yet – and not enough time has gone by to gain some perspective.

It also may be because I have spent the last week working 10-15 hours days.  I even, briefly, considered sleeping overnight(s) at my office. But no. I didn't. I should have, but didn't. I feel a sense of responsibility on a project, so am staying through one benchmark on it.

Or I plan to. Telling the bosses at around 9:30 this morning may result in them being SO annoyed with me ... But I doubt that too. I'll let you know. 
They were fine with it. Shocked, but fine. Grateful for the rest of the month.

Stay tuned.

Photo of the Day: Time Clock

 

This is the actual time in the p.m. when I was standing on the subway platform Wednesday night after:

Working since 9:30 a.m.;

Standing in the cold for 10 minutes waiting for the 1 train; and

Representative of me frantically checking my watch to see if:

I will make the 11:13 train home, and 

If it is Monday yet?

Updates: made the 11:13, walked into Attic at 11:53. I think. So tired. This whole work thing is old already.

LATER UPDATES: 

And this scene was repeated on Thursday, Friday, and then an hour later on Saturday. LONG WEEK.

-iTouch

May-be life will eventually slow down?

I keep thinking that eventually life would May-be slow down ... but no.

Last week was the last week of the academic year at the Big J, capped off by Commencement on Friday in Alice Tully Hall. What you can't see in this blurry photo from the balcony is the dignitaries that included Daniel Day-Lewis* (as himself) and my favorite work-study student. It's weird to think that almost 20 years ago there was a Development officer at my graduation being wistful that HER work-study student (me) was graduating after four years.

20 years ago that Development Officer didn't have wi-fi to entertain her during the loooooooonnnnng ceremony, or digital cameras to capture the action. She probably would have wanted to pay money, though, too, to bribe the organist to slip in a phrase or two from Phantom of the Opera into the recessional.

It was a happily sad day. I had to take the floral decorations from the fancy schmazy lunch home as a consolation. The hydrangeas promptly died the next day. What does that mean?

The whole week was sweet, somewhat spicy from the stress of getting everything done, but totally nuts.

I wouldn't be lying if I said that this was dinner one night, after 10 p.m. As was this fried egg sandwich. I've been told that meals after 9 at night that aren't a mid-night snack, are called the 22:00 breakfasts. That's just too late to be eating any kind of dinner. But that's what last week was.

After a busy week of work, late trains, rains, projects, and deadlines, this ad for Maine tourism really caught my eye.

Sounds about right, "write now."

Instead of a speech from the School president, "Dr." Day-Lewis read this poem to the graduates. If you need to know, Daniel Day-Lewis as Dr. Day-Lewis (Hon. Doctor of Fine Arts) is just as impressive as Daniel Day-Lewis as anyone else. 

Today

By Billy Collins

 

If ever there were a spring day so perfect,

so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze

that it made you want to throw

open all the windows in the house

and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,

indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,

a day when the cool brick paths

and the garden bursting with peonies

seemed so etched in sunlight

that you felt like taking

a hammer to the glass paperweight

on the living room end table,

releasing the inhabitants

from their snow-covered cottage

so they could walk out,

holding hands and squinting

into this larger dome of blue and white,

well, today is just that kind of day.

Source: Poetry (April 2000).

All these "quality" photos via iTouch.

It's Monday Again!

via the Twitter

Cubicle shown is not the real cubicle.

Poem of the Day

Stormy day

Train delay

No sun outside

Sunglasses inside

Pressure builds

Room not chilled

Head to explode

Giant workload

Oy to vey

Wednesday

Auntie Nettie's Attic Merchandise 2013 - January

The New Year of 2013 found me once again far from home, but once again with family -- this time in the mountains of Idaho. It was so much fun to be with J & Christina and the kids for the first time in 2 years. I ended the month flying back from Vegas on a red-eye flight. From cold and snow on one end to sunny and 50 degrees on the other? It was a crazy month being hither, thither and yon.

January can best be summed up as transitions and travel, but I also managed to:

~ Catch a Pitch Perfect flick with J; 
~ Discover the Appaloosa Museum in Moscow, ID with the kids;
~ Remember, once again, that I HATE getting up at 2:45 a.m.. It's awful. Just awful. I hate that more than trying to sleep on red-eyes. I'd rather stay up for 24 hours than try and sleep and get up in the wee small hours.;
~ Recuperate at the apartment over a long weekend before heading back to the office, by sleeping, unpacking, cleaning, and doing laundry and catching up on programs I had missed while traveling;
~ Spent 12 business days in the office, transitioning to my new solo position as Associate Director of Development Systems - basically being the new database guru, trying to be pulled in 5 directions instead of 10. I've managed to get this position created, after a few years of 'pushing,' sometimes futilely. I had almost given up. I was ready to quit. No one can do 2 jobs, but I was. I need to get a whole team, eventually, but the gears of the Big J move slowly, so I need to make cases and document things, but it's done. I'm shifted. HOWEVER, I am still helping train my replacement in my old job, and until last week, I didn't have an actual office space. January was spent desk hopping, scrambling to get essential services - like phones and network connections - hooked up, yadda yadda yadda. I barely caught up, before it was time to leave again.
~ Had a welcome lunch with colleagues to welcome the new girl;
~ Repacked for a late-month trip back to Utah/Nevada for:
- Drew's 8th birthday,
- Drew's Baptism,
- The twins' blessing,
- Post-ceremony family gatherings,
- Baking adventures with Mary -- and finally feeling like I've earned my Molly Mormon Cinnamon Roll Merit Badge, 
- Special auntie/nephew bonding time at bowling and dinner,
- Bonding time with J in Snow Canyon, Wendy's, and on his bonus day due to the weather,
- Bonding time with Dad working on my eye/hand coordination. It'd only been a year, but sometimes it's good to surprise Dad on some of my "lucky" "trick" shots, and
- Repacking boxes with treasures/purchases from December and this trip to ship home; and
~ Oh, and some crafting ....

 I didn't get much done, but I did manage to finish a few things, like:

ANA 2013-1, 2, 3: Suite of Objects

 (Skeins of Peaches & Creme multi-colored cotton)

(not pictured, as they are to be gifted)
(as of May 2013, gifted)

ANA 2013-4: Black to Grey Ombre Infinity Cowel Scarf

(1 skein Rainbow Boucle acrylic and nylon)

So many ways to wear it, so lots of pictures

ANA 2013-5: Retro Easter Egg Pastels Baby Blanket

(3 skeins Lion Brand Baby Soft acrylic)

Still in progress: 

2010: 

UFO 1: Multi-color, multi-fibre bane of my existence

2012:

UFO 1: Pink Crib Cover, need to be finished and edged

UFO 2 & 3: 2 holiday stockings, need appliques and to be stitched up

ANA 2012-103: mini holiday stocking, needs some decor

The on-line shop? That's still a work in progress. But there was no point in January, since I was gone more than I was home.

Photo of the Day: Caged in a Cubicle

Mesquite, NV Power Station; January 2013

My new cubicle doesn't have any windows that give me a glimpse of sunshine or the clouds. Sometimes it can feel a little ... like a cage.

You need money to survive? You gots to do the time in the Yard.