Work, Thistle, crochet, politics
Jan. 28th, 2024 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flexagonLast week I did indeed feel under the weather for a day or so. I went out to dinner anyway to belatedly celebrate the re-hire of a co-worker with those who schemed along with me to get him back in, and I dampened my dry January with a cider because we were there to toast something. Then... work-blur? Yeah. This was the week of handing out last year's annual grades to all my directs, for most of whom I needed a 3-way meeting including their last manager because I didn't even write the reviews/grades. There are some unhappy ones, sadly, including one who cried because although we gave him the "you're fine" grade we had briefly discussed whether the next grade down might be appropriate. He seems so young to me, that one. (I spent extra time with him and was very patient.) There was another who is somewhat angry with their last manager for the words written in their review, but it's too late for the words to change. All of it feels pretty artificial; I'm not even all that sad that two of my people are sad, because I've had this many reports before and I know someone is always disgruntled once you've got more than ten. I guess I got my own "you're fine" grade. And Lioness quit; she wrote a hilarious nose-in-the-air goodbye about how her values don't agree with Zillian's, but she did it exactly when the annual grades finalize -- and it's not a normal time to quit voluntarily, right before bonuses come out -- so I'm pretty sure it was performance trouble. Nice flounce, but you can't play a player, I didn't say to her.
And shouldn't I be out of there, too? Soon enough, yes, indeed. I told a circus friend today that my job now feels like an old, dying cat: there's no doubt that things are on a downhill/ending sort of trend, but with a legitimate question of how long to keep it on life support, and the knowledge that some days will still be good days. I've cranked up my efforts to understand what life will be like after quitting -- making sure I know how to apply for health insurance plans post-employment, learning more of the rules about withdrawing from my retirement accounts. I still think I'm waiting a year, but rumor has it that we'll get a new VP next month, and if she/he is awful enough then maybe I'll call it early, who knows.
I read the first few chapters of The Ministry for the Future, and I did my new spinny-croc trick 3 more times, twice of them today. I ordered a shirt absentmindedly, mostly because I just forgot I'm not supposed to be buying clothes right now. I think I've sorted out my insurance for the next year. I tried some Thistle meals for WFH lunches and liked how they were both easy and virtuous. I have been, weirdly, crocheting -- I don't even like crocheted fabric and haven't crocheted in years, but I do like a nice fidget during an unpleasant meeting, and I'm practicing stitches in advance of a gift project so I guess that's happening.
Also, a nasty thought. Should we all, in the US, be donating to Nikki Haley right about now, since she is best positioned to defeat or at least hurt Trump's campaign in the primaries? After all, I want strong Republican opposition to that ass. I want Haley to stay in the race. 2016 is the only other time I've donated to Presidential candidates, and that was different. This time, maybe the enemy of my enemy is my friend... for now.
And shouldn't I be out of there, too? Soon enough, yes, indeed. I told a circus friend today that my job now feels like an old, dying cat: there's no doubt that things are on a downhill/ending sort of trend, but with a legitimate question of how long to keep it on life support, and the knowledge that some days will still be good days. I've cranked up my efforts to understand what life will be like after quitting -- making sure I know how to apply for health insurance plans post-employment, learning more of the rules about withdrawing from my retirement accounts. I still think I'm waiting a year, but rumor has it that we'll get a new VP next month, and if she/he is awful enough then maybe I'll call it early, who knows.
I read the first few chapters of The Ministry for the Future, and I did my new spinny-croc trick 3 more times, twice of them today. I ordered a shirt absentmindedly, mostly because I just forgot I'm not supposed to be buying clothes right now. I think I've sorted out my insurance for the next year. I tried some Thistle meals for WFH lunches and liked how they were both easy and virtuous. I have been, weirdly, crocheting -- I don't even like crocheted fabric and haven't crocheted in years, but I do like a nice fidget during an unpleasant meeting, and I'm practicing stitches in advance of a gift project so I guess that's happening.
Also, a nasty thought. Should we all, in the US, be donating to Nikki Haley right about now, since she is best positioned to defeat or at least hurt Trump's campaign in the primaries? After all, I want strong Republican opposition to that ass. I want Haley to stay in the race. 2016 is the only other time I've donated to Presidential candidates, and that was different. This time, maybe the enemy of my enemy is my friend... for now.
