Chilled to the Bone

And loving it!

The air conditioning was finally restored last night at work. As was expected, there were complaints that it was too cold. Bring a sweater, kids. It never lasts too long around here.

As a result, I slept much better last night, not getting up until 8AM. That's seven--count them, 7-- straight hours of sleep!

Good thing, too, because right now, 2:54PM, it's 90 in the shade (32.22C)!

Can't wait to go to work...

Also, if you can lend an assist, one of my links has gone bad. I thought it was something I did, but I can't find Cathy's Rants and Ramblings anywhere.

Any help?


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Little Pond

This is an amazing story

about two amazing people.

My Baby Blogsister and her husband, God bless them both.

They could use your prayers, if you can spare them.

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Little Pond

Jury Duty in Little Pond

A summons, anyway. Last time I was really too sick, practically even to work.

The rules have all been rewritten to enlarge the jury pool. All sorts of allowances are being made for illness and disability. They even allow food for diabetics!

I have one week to prepare an excuse. Otherwise I report Monday the 9th of July.

Funny, this time around I'm rather resigned to it. It will cost me vacation days, because Gannett does not make any allowances for night workers.

One thing has just occurred to me. The fact that I must proof news pages for transmission may disqualify me. But I hear they are getting desperate. The local pool is especially bereft of literate candidates.

Guess that's normal for a town like ours. Elmira Correctional Facility and Southport Maximum Security Prison make us a Company town.

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Little Pond

Five days of misery

...were capped by a call from my family practitioner. He'd gotten the results of my latest specimen. As I expected, there is still a significant UTI. No blood, though, and that's nice.

But a full night's sleep would be an awfully good thing. I'd been on a sulfur (sulfa?) drug, and it didn't do the trick. Now I'm on Cipro, or its generic equivalent, starting yesterday morning.

Slept better last night, and even fell back asleep this morning for an extra 15 minutes. I paired it with Uristat, because I was so uncomfortable.

Except for a crazy nightmare about Shaquille O'Neal, a middle school and a spear, all played out like a video game, I'm fine. In the dream I just knew I needed either a one-up mushroom or the plus-one shirt a coworker owns. Then I would have won hands down.

Is this because I haven't played a video game in weeks? Or because I am starting the third book in my Dragon Lady Jo trilogy?

Or maybe it's just the infection.

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Little Pond

Just a note

I am working tonight. This weekend I slept. That is, I pretty much slept through the weekend. I felt hot and sweaty. I felt cold and clammy. Never did I register higher than 98.8 F (37.111 C), so I stopped taking the temp.

Still can't figure how I managed Friday night at the paper, except that at one point, I caught someone else doing something I usually do. Thanks, guys.

No extra people tonight. Let's hope it's an easy one.

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Little Pond

Holy Moley

Just the worst infection I ever had.

When the doctor asked if I gave a specimen, I told him it looked like I drew blood instead. He gave me the antipyretic and told me it would turn the urine orange. Then he stopped and said, "Well, in your case not orange, but I don't know what color." I suggested "coral."

Very, very sudden. Medico thought to chalk it up to the catheters. Maybe so, but it is the first UTI in nine months.

No pain, no burning, thanks to the MS. Just an incredible urge to go all the time, coupled with the total inability once in a restroom. Add to that sudden incontinence at any given minute, and I took the night off from work. It was about three hours before I felt any relief. And a few hours after that, I was back to the earlier symptoms.

Chills and sweats this morning. Hope to go to work tonight.

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Little Pond

Update at the Star Gazette

Just as predicted, we are preparing for another round of layoffs. This will be Number Three. They always come in threes.

We got a call to go downstairs and meet Someone. Had to be Corporate. We stood or sat around a table, and introduced ourselves to the Consolidation Coordinator and the new HR person. That translated to the Axeman and his Assistant.

Axeman handed out papers and began to explain that naturally we will downsize, naturally we will outsource, naturally we will suffer layoffs. All very PC, of course.

Assistant explained that they were "over-informing" us. It was easy to link the "over-information" to the Night of the Long Knives last Fall, when hardworking, loyal, longtime employees cleared out their desks and were escorted to the door with no notice whatsoever. My guess is there were either lawsuits or the bosses were called before the Labor Board.

A and A also told us that Boss is no longer our boss. He was only temporary. Then they dismissed us so we could read our papers and learn all about being laid off.

But wait! No Longer Boss asked us to listen a minute: This was all going to be very Good for Gannett. We should not quit our jobs until they were ready to fire us. Keep in mind that this was going to be Good for Gannett.

Some of our jobs will be outsourced to Johnson City, New York. Some will be outsourced to Ithaca, New York. Some will be outsourced to California. And finally, some will go offshore, e.i. India.

No joke. We looked it up on the Corporate Site. Gannett is a proud employer or subcontractor of boiler rooms and chop shops in India.

We are promised a handbook that tells us how to look for a new job. Any survivors will have to take what is given them.

Frankly, nothing new, except the addition of India.

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Little Pond