Brushing the dust off the keyboard

Yes, in response to a couple of your emails, I am alive. Even fractionally well - "sunny-side-up, suckin' air and sober," as my Kansas friend Bob L. would say.

It has been a busy month. Full of challenges, hopes, and fears. A brief recap, to catch you up:

• Work - I am in Chicago this week, as the Evil Empire has summoned me from the hinterlands of Ohio to the the outpost of Payroll World, downtown Chicago. They didn't have the money to bring me in to train my co-worker, seven months ago. But they evidently are bringing me in so they can drain my brain before turning our work over to the folks from India (Mumbai or Guragon, depending on the task). I have missed some key deadlines, and I have at least a partial fear that they are bringing me in to set me up to be laid off or fired. Needless to say, that's not helping my attitude any...



• Work II - we have had some significant setbacks in our team. We have a Unit manager, and two payroll operations managers. One POM is leaving effective November 21st; the second, who is pregnant, is widely rumored to be departing at the end of November, even if her "due date" is not until Dec. 17th. With that, plus the rest of the "domestic" (non-outsourced) team looking for a job, it will make for an interesting year-end close process.



• My health - despite reductions in weight, I have had to go on insulin shots - so far, just once a day long-acting Lantus. That really, really, really felt like a massive failure, in a number of ways, and I haven't dealt well with that whole process. It's not the shots, so much - although that IS weird.

Sisterly health - Sue has been struggling a bunch with back problems, and I have tried desperately for a month or more to help ease her pain with using a massager and ice to help reduce her back inflammation. She resisted the idea of going to a chiropractor, and has had it with conventional medicine altogether. Finally, last week, she resignned herself to going to a local chiropractor, and she seems to be getting slight improvements in her ability to move, if not in her overall pais levels. Most of the "massage/ice" treatment I've done came in the morning - when I was usually doing my blogging...

A new relationship - albeit a long-distance one - has come out of a trip I took on a lark to Springfield, MO. We've spent a couple long weekends together - he's met my family - and we are trying very hard to go slow and be reasonable. I've not said much about it here - and probably won't. But that has been a distraction as well, if a rather welcome one.

So other than work, health, and personal relationships in a state of flux, life is going pretty well.

I will try to post more regularly - although this week (by virtue of the work nightmare) will be more spotty, rather than less.

Thank you to those who set off the "Where are you?" sensors. That means a lot, in this world....