The secret to surviving the summer.

Sleep, sleep, sleep! (Sorry. That's probably not much help for most of you.)

I work until midnight. Most of my coworkers go home to television or partying with friends, especially Fri. and Sat. I head home to 1/2 glass of warm milk and dulce de leche or 1/2 cup of creamy cottage cheese. Then straight to bed. (Wash and brush teeth, of course. Morning dairy-mouth tastes terrible!)

When I arise six or seven hours later, I do laundry, read the paper, and eat breakfast, all concurrently. If it is custody week, I take Ellie to the River for about 1 1/2 hour jaunt. If not, I clean/repair house or run errands. Then it is bed time again from 11:30 to 1:30. Get up, eat lunch, shower and off to work.

Weekend variation: Sat., same only late-morning, run errands; Sun., same, only church first. In the summer, the midday nap is a must; in the winter, not so much. The weekend afternoon is usually mine, and bedtime comes earlier 10 or 11pm.

Notice all the sleeping? Yeah, me, too. I get invites all the time for parties with coworkers. Very rarely attend. When I do, I am the master of the arrive late, leave early schtick.

Written out like this, it sounds like no fun, but actually I find it rewarding enough. After all, there were years when I couldn't do much more than sleep, work, and sleep some more.

pb
Little Pond

Another round of layoffs.

No personal friends claimed this time, though. We lost the entire online department, including a former member of our happy little group.

I mention this because I had wanted to join online. Seemed the wave of the future.

Instead I remained in Composing where we are in charge of the melding of news and advertising. That means I spend the entire week as Quality Control in advertising. A tough job given the number of agents and artists, none of whom is great with spelling and detailing.

Well, that paid off. Sort of.

This week we were tops in the national network of Advertising Quality for Gannett. Yay.

They sent up an icecream cake, with some silly remarks about how they know we are working in muggy, unairconditioned heat. Yay.

Said cake was half chocolate. Yay.

I mean, boo. Cramped me up so bad that I was praying for a cleansing vomiting session. Frankly, if I had been alone, the finger would have gone done the throat. For the only time since I started the new shift, I had company right up to 11:30pm.

Ice cream cake is so much cheaper than fixing the air conditioning or sending out bonuses.

Here's where someone says "You should be glad you have a job." And I am, but I also know that the last time we "won" such an award, I was promoted to full time, and immediately went on partial layoff from September to December.

Yay?

pb
Little Pond

Where have I been?

Right here.

All for now. More yardwork this weekend. More ladders, more heat, more noisy power tools. We have ordered a city dump truck for the offal of it all. We hope to fill it.

Otherwise, our neighbors will no doubt be glad to help. Fill the dump truck that is. With their yard trimmings, too.

pb
Little Pond

Anyone else?

I cannot believe that I am taking a 24-hour Zirtec (generic) and my usual antihistamine, both at the same time. And still my sinuses drip! I have ordered a prescription nasal spray, fluticasone, to dry that up, but for heaven's sake!

All together, along with the Flovent inhaler, and I am still groping for the albuterol. I wanted to get off that completely.

Geez, what a disgusting thing the human body can be...

Anyone? Eastcoasters? Midatlantickers? Is it just me?

pb
Little Pond

Suffocating Heat

We have managed to stay either indoors or in the shade. This weekend I washed the front porch, cleaning the awnings, blind and siding, all in the shade. It was a good job done out of the sun.

The tree work just sort of happened. I was sawing a branch when I heard from below:

"I knew those weren't [huband RJ's] legs! What are you doing up there!" It was my next door neighbor, who was ultimately delighted to learn that I was removing limbs that interfered with our roofs. He took the opportunity to limb a plant bordering our properties, while also lending me his reciprocating saw for the limbing.

While we were at it, a buddy of his joined us, as did RJ, and we pulled down a lot of limbs and made an appointment for next Saturday to do the same. It will cost a case of Heineken's beer.

Don't you love neighborhood living?

pb
Little Pond

These are always at ready,
when they are not in use.

They are my freedom.

God Bless America.

pb
Little Pond