Like more than three-quarters of a million of my compatriot bureaucrats, I am currently sitting in my office waiting to receive my furlough notice for signature and conducting the most disorderly “orderly shutdown of operations” one could possibly imagine. Unlike the last one these, just a few weeks after I changed jobs over to an […]

As expected, I had a good time at Marscon this year. The people at this con; the organizers, the volunteers, the performers and guests, and the attendees are, at this point, like family – Marscon feels like coming home. You guys are awesome, and you really know how to make a person feel welcome, appreciated, […]

After yesterday’s aborted attempt, I made it into the office this morning (after a two hour delayed opening, which I obsessively checked on six or seven times as I got ready), cracking the seal on that metaphorical jar of pickles. Roads weren’t bad, though my parking lot, as I expected, wasn’t plowed, and there was […]

Greetings, folks, from the leisurely period between Christmas and New Years where you never quite know what day it is. I had a little bit of a bout of illness here the last couple of days (my spouse too – I blame my kid back from college, which is fair, I was sick every year […]

Monday is, allegedly* my last “in-the-office” work day for 2017. Tuesday through Thursday, I’m off-site (at that nice training facility around the corner from my house) taking a not-so-exciting three day course on Earned Value Management, as I believe I may have mentioned. This is not something I’m excited about at all, but it’s required […]

Okay then. Not loving life right now. Stress (and depression) is a bitch. As I run down the end of my work year, I’m able to nudge lingering issues forward, sorta, but they never seem to get solved. I’ve got this one issue I’ve been trying to run down since October, and whenever I make […]

I spent more than twelve hours behind the wheel this weekend. I have been from one end of Virgina to the other a couple of times, and my back is killing me, even if I did get a chance to catch up on my friends’ podcasts. I’ve been from Richmond to Amherst twice (two hours […]

This week, all told, has been kinda dull. Solved a couple of problems, saw a few others stall. I had some frustration with the state of the current project management hellscape come to a head on Thursday, but luckily one of my very good, knowledgeable, and understanding teammates/mentor types was in for some other meetings […]

Hope your Thanksgiving was cool. Mine was, relatively; being one of those holidays where the culture foists marketing-crafted “traditions” on us and aims to make us feel inadequate if we don’t adhere, there’s always a bit of stress, even if I’ve managed to let go of a lot of that sense of obligation to do […]

Wednesday is my last day at work this week. In fact, they’re releasing us a little early for the holiday, which I’ll take happily. I’ve got basic meal plans for the meal tomorrow – pretty low key, but I got some great produce at the farmers’ market this week (Turnips! Fresh Brussells Sprouts!) I’ll be […]