flexagon | Work, anniversary, cats, zoning law, JOMO

Looking back on this week, the parts don't fit together very well. All of it makes sense and each happening is part of a continuing thread somewhere, but it's strange to think that pieces of all these things happened on the same days.

Work went smoothly enough and my org got through calibration, which was necessary in order to let managers actually focus on the upcoming/ongoing quarter. I drove my whole team down the middle of the widest lane and fought no battles; eyes open, learning the new system for next time.

All my body parts seem to be back to working order, after a week of post-antibiotics kombucha and Monistat. And while we're on this topic, the original kitten bite is healing up fine. My town's animal control came out one evening to see Caltrop, in response to my animal-bite report, and make sure she wasn't ill or rabid. They showed up, said "aw, she's so little" and left again.

I took the squirrel out to a nice restaurant for our 2-year anniversary, and rather flummoxed it by giving it a card. Then ended up making a reservation at the same restaurant for the bug for that anniversary in three or so weeks, as it turned out the bug had never been there. Hazards of polyamory. I ended up watching Marcel the Shell with Shoes On with both of them and also the kid, on Saturday, so it was a cozy week that way, and I won't mind eating that particular kale salad twice in a month.

I worked on building Lego orchids with the bug, while we're on the topic of dates, and that led to discovering the existence of Lego succulents which look pretty great for the kid's birthday present. I like the Starry Night kit too. I know... it's all plastic crap, and I used to frown on kits since Lego initially was a creativity toy. But when snapping together looks like just one more form of assembly, and assembling things is fun, then my old snobbery seems pointless; I'm more open to the kits than I used to be.

Zillian paid us an advance on our bonuses, and again it was eaten entirely by retirement deductions... I miscalculated and forgot that after-tax 401(k) comes out after taxes. (shakes head ruefully) In light of the layoffs happening at our sister company, and the news of some large project cancellations within Zillian itself, it's small potatoes.

We read the end of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and it was utterly devastating; probably one of the top three awful scenes from books that will be sticking with me for a good long time. It was well written, now where is the support group??

And workouts were a little bit cursed, although some weeks are just like that. At least I took a few minutes out, here and there, to TRY working on chinups and backbends -- both of which I've been ignoring too much in favor of the handstand grind. And Sunday's pressing went well. I need to tell my coach that I want the summer off, or the summer lighter, this year, but haven't yet.

I read a whole lot this week about Arlington zoning law, and talked to an attorney about the permit we have to submit to the town on order to rent out the back cottage as a separate unit, and went over the lease proposed by the real estate broker with a fine-tooth green pen.

I'm worried about Hypercube, whose cough seems to keep coming back after a while no matter how we crank up the treatments. I've been in touch twice now with mold-and-air-quality people, but no luck yet. Will call again. Most professionals seem to need three or four calls lately, leaving my hatred of telephones to fight it out with my completionist tendencies... the latter wins, eventually.

Is it worth mentioning that this was the long weekend, with the Big Party I'm not attending and the big science fiction con and the big puzzle hunt? This year I feel nothing but JOMO. I have more than enough going on.