an end of an era...
For many many years I was a total devoted Mac owner. "You can take my Mac when you pry it from my cold dead fingers" was a favorite t-shirt. I still prefer Macs to PC's, but, well, my time as a Mac owner has come to an end.
Today I got rid of my old blue G3. For good. Now I'm PC-only.
I really would have preferred to keep myself in the Mac family, but to upgrade to the latest machine with the features I want for what I do would have been nearly $3000. A comparable PC is half that. And I just can't afford to upgrade my Mac anymore.
I'm sad. I never really thought this day would come. Until the day Apple makes Macs more modular and cheaper to buy, well, I'm going to be a Mac-head reluctantly using a PC. =(
so far so good...
Well, my wee one seems to have gotten the "sleeping through the night" thing down now, for the most part. For the past few nights, he's been put down and not been offered a late night feed. And from what I can tell, he hasn't missed them.
Two nights ago, he woke up and fussed quite loudly around 1:30am. I got up and went in to check on him and his diaper had leaked, and he was soaked. Unfortunately, I had to completely change him and his clothes, which woke him up all the way and so he realized that he was hungry. He wouldn't go back down without eating.
So my theory, for what it's worth, is that he's still getting hungry in the middle of the night, but he can now sleep through it until the 6am feeding, whereas before the hunger would wake him up.
We've also started feeding him more solids during the day, especially in the hour before bedtime...pureed carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, applesauce, and peaches. I think this has helped him sleep through the night somewhat by having something more than just liquid (formula) in his tummy. From what I've read in various places, the jury's out on whether solids are really a factor in sleeping better, but from our experience it seems to be the case.
Hubby seems to think the next big milestone will be weaning him from the pacifier. I want to get comfortable with this one before thinking about moving on to the next one.
a new milestone....I hope
Part of the nightly routine hubby and I had established several months back was the "focal feed"...a late-night (10:30 - 11:30pm) feeding that would fill up the wee one's tummy so he could sleep longer during the night.
Until late this week, he'd been having that late night feed every night, and waking between 5:30 - 6:30am starving and ready for a bottle.
For the past three nights though...it's been different. Hubby reported that on Wednesday night the wee one only ate a little bit and then refused the bottle. Same story on Thursday night. And on Friday night, he refused to eat altogether. All three mornings afterward, he slept later than usual, til about 7:00am.
So, last night, hubby and I decided to see what would happen if we removed the late night feed altogether.
Well, it was fine! The wee one slept all the way through the night, and awoke this morning at 6:30am ready to eat! Wow. Cool. Here's hoping that we've reached another milestone. I think hubby will be glad not to have to do that late night feed. Maybe he can get a little more sleep now. =) Maybe all of us can!
things that make you go "hmmm"....
Yahoo! News - Women Say Single Life Is Better?: "More than 80 percent of single German women are perfectly happy without a man in tow and say living solo gives them more freedom to do what they want, according to a survey for Stern magazine."
Reading this story made me wonder....does this mean that the sale of sex toys in Germany is on the rise? I'd love to see the numbers. LOL
Work Foo Continues -- Mail
And back to the continuing adventures of Gabbie and the OL (Office Lady)!
Entitled: Mail Addressed Attn: Gabbie
I rarely get work-related correspondence, when I do it's because I specifically asked. Yesterday, quite by accident I discovered that OL, is (has been?) opening my mail, handling it herself, and not telling me.
It's *really* embarrassing when you call a client to ask whether they'd mailed the paperwork and find out, while still on the phone (as OL talks over you) that she'd handled the matter already. Or, better still, OL waits until I've hung up to tell me she'd done that already. So I have to call the client back and apologize.
So, calming myself, I explained to OL that for tracking purposes, I would rather open my own mail. When she opens my mail and fails to inform me, this creates a bit of a problem for me. [Was really pleased with myself because I kept calm and professional] Unfortunately, despite my rationale, she declined. She said she didn't want to miss any critical calendaring issues. (blink blink... why would *I* get critical calendaring documents? That's not my job!)
Unfortunately, talking to her face to face is awkward. She generally gets really quiet angry and bulls up. So, I apted for email (cringe, I know, lesser of two evils?) and through email reassure her that my correspondence won't have 'critical calendaring materials' and explain why it's okay to give me my mail." (Rolling eyes, I *never* thought I'd have to be explaining to someone why it's okay to GIVE ME MY MAIL!)
So... now we just wait and see what the response will be!
Gabbie
(who wants her little powder compact back right now!)
6 months already??
Wow, I can't believe it's been 6 months since my wee one was born. On one hand, it seems like time has just zipped by...but on the other (bigger) hand, it seems like forever!!
Took him to his 6-month checkup yesterday. He weighs 20lbs 2oz, and is 28 inches long. Both are in the 95th percentile for his age, which means he's....HUGE! Hehe. But I knew that already. He's bigger than some kids we've met who are twice his age! Theoretically, babies are supposed to triple their birth weight by age 1, but at this rate he'll reach that mark (26lbs 7oz) way ahead of that!
He's healthy, he's happy, and he's growing just fine. We're so lucky. =)
Wanna see that picture again? I knew you did!
visualize whirled peas
So my dad comes over this morning to watch the wee one while I go to work (I work PT 3 mornings a week) and brings me gifts! Peaches from their peach tree in the backyard (mm!) and.....peas!! Peas fresh from Half Moon Bay!
Now what's the big woop, you might ask? Well, when I was a kid still living with my parents, every summer we'd drive over the hill to Half Moon Bay and buy a big bunch of peas (I have no idea of the proper name for this type of pea, but I can tell you the pods are large, about 6" long, and the peas are about as big as garbanzo beans). We'd load back up in the car, open up the bag, and drive back over the hill home, all the way shelling and eating the peas raw from the bag.
They were wonderful!
Since I've been off to college and married, it's been many years since I had summer peas from HMB. But today, dad brings me a bag of memories! Ahhhhh......
(munch, munch, munch)
Thanks, dad! You rule!
black holes not so black?
Yahoo! News - Hawking Changes His Mind on Black Holes: "LONDON - After almost 30 years of arguing that a black hole swallows up everything that falls into it, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking backpedaled Thursday. In doing so, he lost one of the most famous bets in recent scientific history."
How cool is this? Wish I could be there to hear his address on July 21. More realistically, I wish I could be there to hear his address AND understand all the technical mumbo-jumbo. Black holes fascinate me.
internet withdrawal....
...is a terrible thing. =)
We've been without internet access at home since Monday. (yes I have been blogging from work during my mornings, tsk tsk) It's amazing how much I missed having it, even on the first day. Couldn't surf the web, look at my Xena sites, check my email, IM my friends, or post blog entries. Horrors!
So I picked up a book...shocking! It's called
Tuf Voyaging, and it's a collection of short stories originally published in
Analog Magazine by
George R.R. Martin. I'm enjoying it very much! The protagonist is a scrupulously honest and extremely intelligent space trader who has run-ins with extremely UNscrupulous people, and through his humor and cunning, ends up getting the best of them. It's definitely a "thinking person's" set of stories.
Now that I'm back online here at home (it was our home router that poofed), I'm determined to at least finish the darn thing and not let the internet re-consume me.
Hah! Silly me.
brains are off the menu...
No more zombie Michelle. Houston, I think we have a new system.
Monitor? Off. Our bedroom door? Cracked. Wee one's bedroom door? Open.
Basically what this means is that now I won't be waking up to every rustle and whimper. If he is loud enough for me to hear him down the hall, it will wake me up and I can go in and soothe him. If he's just sort of whimpering and whining for a few minutes before rolling over and going back to sleep, I won't hear it and I can continue sleeping.
I feel so much better this morning! I only had to go in there once to soothe him, at 2:30am. The next time I heard him and got up to go see him was at 6:30am, which is feeding time. =)
Ahhhh....I can only hope this holds up. He's old enough now that he's strong enough to roll over both ways (front to back, back to front), so my worry about him rolling over onto his face and not being able to breathe is really not an issue. He can roll himself back, seen him do it many times.
Couple more nights and we'll see how this works out.
Work-Foo -- Venting Therapy
So, here's my grumble and moan about my co-office-worker. I am actually grateful because this work situation could be worse. I've heard some really amazing stories of other co-workers and bosses... The best, so far is did you know: "Kitty Litter" is an employee codeword for talking about management?
My co-worker is an angry and hurt woman: married 13 years, dumped by a husband she "groomed for greatness" only to lose him to a younger woman (who is now, as she screams and rants in the office from time to time, reaping the rewards of her hard work), has some college education, no degree, no career, and aspires to be a writer]. Rounding out that is a self-image of being: better and smarter than everybody.
"Seriously?" I asked my boss, "Yes, seriously." Hmmm, does Steven Hawkings have competition?
She sees herself as a noble victorian lady and holds to the motto of courtesy.
Let's start with motto... courtesy? Please explain how courteous it is to shout at *customers* on the phone? To pound the desk with your fist or snap your fingers in the receiver simply because the customer isn't supplying the information fast enough? You're probably thinking I'm exaggerating... Nope... got witnesses...
Gratefully, after me taking on phones full time and her occasionally listening to my customer service strategies. She rarely yells or pounds the desk at customers while on the phone. On the rare occasion she does lose it, she waits until she hangs up. YAY! Still makes me jump.
Her treatment of me... she once exclaimed "I almost spewed my coffee, you *actually* used a word correctly!" Blink blink. Me, Tarzan, you office bitch.
She's quite proud of her large vocabulary and I believe sees it as an indicator of her intelligence. She throws obtuse words into mundane conversation and preens when I don't know what the word means (sigh, time to *fake* it). When was the last time you heard someone use vituperous in a conversation? This is not to say having an extensive vocabulary isn't cool but, sheesh.
If you're asking her a question and she doesn't feel you're bright enough to get it, she resays the information but increases the volume until she's pretty much yelling. Unfortunately another office worker does the same thing. It sometimes gets quite loud in here. I never thought I'd wish for cube walls... or... [hands clasped in prayer] a hard-wall office with a door!
And, her temper. I placed some papers on her desk, where she told me to place them. She picked up the stack of papers (as I walked around her) and slammed then down (I jumped, of course). She apologized saying she was really frustrated with herself because she'd promised to clear off that pile so I could place the sheets inside the folder as opposed to on top of the stack of stuff she had there.
Work ethics? Recently she was given a task to do, that had to be done that morning. She was planning on leaving early that day. You'd think she'd get that task done first? Nope. She "all of a sudden" decided billing (which she'd put off doing all week) had to be done right then. (And no, it wasn't end of month... so there was really no urgency). Because I'm caught up, she gives the task to me. I was *so* angry. I did *finally* stand up for myself and very politely told her I would appreciate her curtailing her use of email and chatting so she wouldn't have to pass her work off to me. Funny, since that talk, she's managed to get the billing done, *every* day AND file it. Hmmmm.
Back to rudeness... Why, is she rude to paying customers and potentially browning them off? Dunno. I do know (based on conversations with her) that she has no respect for people she considers less than intelligent than herself. I initially thought she was abrupt with clients because she was so over-worked. That was why they hired me, wasn't it? And I really thought so too, at first. Sucker!
I didn't have a computer at my desk and wasn't situated to see what she did... All I knew was she did an amazing amount of typing. She rarely left her desk except to feed, drink, or use the restroom. And she feed at least 5 times a day, messing up the kitchen, leaving dirty dishes in the sink. Helpful (sucker) that I was I cleaned the office and did her dishes because I thought she was soo busy. FYI, the business is too small to afford janitorial service. GAH fool!
Later, my new desk was situated such that I could see her screen, about 6' away... It's easy to see what applications she was running...quickbooks, excel, word, email and chats... what-have-you.
On a lark, I started noting how much time she spent doing what. Lemme tell ya, she's a wiz with Alt+Tab. Alt+Tab Chat (1 min), Alt+Tab Email (2 min), Alt+Tab Quickbooks (1 min), Alt+Tab Chat (1 minute), Alt-Tab Email (15 minutes), Alt+Tab Quickbooks (1 minute)... etc. And she'd do this all day, except when the boss was back and then she'd be furiously and industriously busy. Except for a couple of times when she was chatting and the boss watched her because he was waiting to hand her some paperwork.
Okay... you're probably saying if I'm finding the time to watch I must not be working either so why should this bother me? I asked the head of the firm to put me to part time... he said, emphatically NO... he doesn't want her back on the phones. He said he would rather pay me to read a book than have her back answering the phones and potentially lose customers.
So, then this begs the question... why doesn't he fire her. Well, there's the accounting she's setup partially with quickbooks and partially with spreadsheets (she's never done actual accounting before, I think. Nor has she fully learned how to use quickbooks). She also confided in me that she intentionally withholds information from the boss so he has to rely on her, job security.
So, the only way for him to let her go is to have her teach me the last remaining functions of her job. He finally talked with her about it last Friday... she's spent a day doing a 'direction' sheet on how to enter billing. I don't think she understands I'm supposed to *know* all of her job, not just just entering the billing. Anyway...
So, the point of writing this... to get the anger and frustration out so I can act and behave in a clear and rational fashion when she does blow up, treats me and clients rudely, is abusive to me, or other insidiousness.
Oh, you must be wondering why I'm even sticking around... the boss is a friend and I promised that before I was thinking of leaving that I would tell him and give him an opportunity to correct the problem. Sigh...
So, thank you web universe for letting me type my frustrations. And for any poor soul who's managed to wade through this... Know that I'm doing my best to be patient and understanding with her... to be patient and understanding with myself and to actually look at these interaction challenges as opportunities to grow. Okay, sounds like hooey, but, heck... why not. If I can deal with her, that'll make dealing with my stepmother one step easier! GRIN
next I'll be eating human brains....
Yes, I am a zombie. Just need to do a little more incoherent moaning and shuffling around the office and I'll have it down pat.
Soooooooo tired. Listening to disco. "Le Freak, c'est chic!" Can I sink any lower? "Just come on down, to 54...find a spot, out on the floor!"
Actually I like disco...I'll admit it. Freely. "Guilty pleasure" as they say.
I need to find a way to get more sleep. More than the 4 hours a night I've been getting. If I don't, sometime soon I'm gonna snap.
As I was feeding my wee one early this morning (4:30am), I was actually dreaming while I was awake. Oh my eyes were open, I could hear the soft suckling noises while my wee one ate, but my mind? I was somewehere completely different, mentally and visually. for all intents and purposes, I was dreaming. It was creepy once I realized what was going on. And scary.
They say that you can go crazy if you don't get enough REM sleep. (who is "they" anyway??) Well, I tell you what, they must have been studying new mothers when they came up with that conclusion.
What's the problem, you ask? Haven't I been writing about how we've been able to get our wee one to fall asleep on his own? Well, yes, and he's doing great. The problem is
ME.
For so long I had trained myself to respond immediately to anything my wee one needed during the night. And I'm still programmed that way. Every shuffle, sigh, and whimper that comes over that monitor, and I'm awake, listening for it to develop into crying, waiting for the moment that I have to intervene. These intervention moments have drastically reduced, due to our recent efforts with him, but my brain hasn't learned that yet.
Unfortunately, I can't just turn the monitor off. If I did, I wouldn't hear him when he really needed it, when he really started crying (from wet diaper, hunger, nightmare, etc.). GAH!
As the song says..."How long can this go on?" (sigh)
some people should just be taken out back and shot...
The Globe and Mail: "An Ontario couple have been sentenced to nine months in jail for keeping their two adopted sons chained in cages over a 13-year period when they were not in school."
My primary question: Why the HELL did it take them this long to find out?????
success!
Amazing. Last night, my wee one took under 5 mins to get himself to sleep after being put down. He started getting tired (read: cranky) just before 7:30, drank about 5oz. of formula, and started rubbing his eyes. Normally, we start the bedtime routine at around 8:00pm, but it seemed silly to keep him up for a half hour just for the sake of our schedule. IMHO, if he's tired and ready, why not put him down?
And, during the night, he woke up a few times, fussed or kicked a teeny bit, then went back to sleep. How do I know this? I was awake, listening to the darned monitor...to every whimper, rustle of sheet, gurgle and sigh.
I may be tired this morning, but I'm also elated. It took our wee one three nights to learn to self-soothe. What a wonderful boy.
Next step....solid foods! =)
the bestest boy!
Night three and things are going well. My wee one took 40 mins to get himself to sleep on Friday night, 20 mins last night, and about 10 minutes tonight. He's discovered a new sleeping position, on his left side, that he likes very much.
Friday night was awful, he woke up almost constantly. Probably his longest sleeping term between wakes was 40 mins. Most of the time it was 5 - 10 mins between us having to go in and soothe him. Last night, hubby only had to go in and soothe him back to sleep three times during his shift (8pm - 2am). I had to go in 3 times during my shift (2am - 8am).
Tonight, well, we are hoping for the best. He went to sleep so quickly on his own (compared to anything previously). He's such a good boy...or as hubby calls him, "the bestest boy!"
The Disneyland of yesteryear...
Remember the Submarine ride? The rocket ride above Tomorrowland? Voyage to Inner Space (the microscope)? Well, these were favorites of mine when I was young that are no more.
I found this great website, "
A Visit to Yesterland - The Discontinued Disneyland", that has descriptions, pictures, and information on all the rides and attractions you remember, but have gone the way of the dodo.
Fun information on the ticket system (remember that? E-ticket rides were the best) and which tickets were for which attractions.
Anyway, for a fun walk down memory lane, I'd definitely recommend a visit to the site.
Night two...
Last night was so hard....and we do it again tonight. I got probably about 4 hours of sleep total all night. I've been a zombie all day. Gabbie and I went out for sushi (mmmm!), and it was so nice to get out of the house.
I just put the wee one down...he fell asleep in my arms watching, of all things,
The Birdcage on TBS. Guess even manic Robin Williams wasn't enough to keep him awake.
So he's quiet for now...but I'm scared that it's just the quiet before the storm, to use a tired cliche ("tired" cliche, lol, no pun intended). Once he wakes up, the second night of learning how to self-soothe begins. But the poor bug was so tired...he didn't get much sleep last night either. He's down and waaaay out a full half hour before his bedtime routine usually begins.
We'll see how tonight goes. (sigh)
One night down...
Well, tonight was the first night of the new sleep system for my wee one. And it was rough...he finally got to sleep an hour later than normal, but we've taken the first step down the path of his learning how to put himself to sleep.
Eventually we won't have to go in and soothe him back to sleep so many times a night. Babies (and adults too) naturally wake up several times each night, but while we have learned to just roll over and go back to sleep, babies need to learn that skill. We will probably have to still go in and soothe him once or maybe twice a night once this is over (none if we're lucky, but I'm not gonna count my chickens), but that will be a relief compared to the nearly hourly episodes of the last few months.
I just need to survive the next four nights (or so). Any positive thoughts/vibes are welcome. :)
By the way, here's my lil bundle, in case you are curious. Yes, he's this happy most of the time.
