It’s been a hell of a week.

I’ve been riding the emotional rollercoaster, given the time of year (I miss my dad). A variable subset of the children have been, shall we say, difficult this week (spring break is coming), though it’s never quite the same problem twice, so it’s hard to nip in the bud. A bunch of changes at work I’ve been kind of expecting (but not quite) are about to start happening, and we still don’t have a good idea of how things are going to shake out; all I know is that my boss is retiring at the end of July, and before that, I’ll probably be re-aligned (this isn’t a bad thing, because it means structure) and really have no idea how that’s going to look. Also, the latter part of this week has involved a lot of the contractors that work for me hustling for money – they make a decent case, but I try to be a good steward of my .00176% of the federal defense budget*, and don’t want to just hand it over unless it’s really necessary.

I’m feeling wrung out, not unlike, as I said sort of poetically on social media, a dish cloth.

I just have to say, thank goodness for my friends, who really are looking out for my best interest. Some folks offered welcome sympathy, and then there’s Ed, who kept the metaphor going, in exactly the wrong-but-right sort of way:

Happy and dry, ready to complete your purpose in existence again!

You can’t help but smile at that. My friends are awesome.

Anyway, I still spent most of the week when I wasn’t at the office hiding in the bedroom with a book; for someone like me, that’s actually comforting and rejuvinating. I think I’m almost ready to start coming out of the shell again a little bit.

Coming up, though, I’ve got some more strange, unsettling pattern breaking. Monday, I have to go to Carson, California (which is the crappy government office area of Los Angeles County) for a week of “mid-year” project planning sessions. Nobody I talk to actually knows what that means, but I’m going. At least I have a hotel on the beach. Looking out at the Pacific Ocean ought to at least be a novelty, and if I manage to find some time, the maps tell me there’s an aquarium near by to check out.

That’s my life right now. Here’s a list of the tunes Pandora kicked out while I was checking emails this morning:

1. “Head Over Feet (live)” – Alanis Morrissette
2. “Glory Bound (live) – The Wailin’ Jennies
3. “Waiting for a Moment to Call Our Own” – The Badlees
4. “Losing My Religion” – R.E.M.
5. “Pumped up Kicks” – Gnarls Barkley
6. “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen
7. “Crazy Train” – Ozzy Osbourne
8. “True” – Spandau Ballet
9. “Sound and Color” – Alabama Shakes
10. “Renegade” – Styx

Not bad, I guess, though I’m beginning to lose faith in Pandora, as it recommended I add a Nickleback station to my feed. Nobody needs that.

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* – yes, I did the math. It’s important to me to know exactly how non-influential I am; it puts things in perspective.