Drained

I've been having a particularly stressful time since, well, the basement flood, really. Following the flood was work stress in one area, then John hurting his back, the usual Christmas stress, and since the beginning of the year more work stress in another area, John hurting his back again, concern about my health, and a relentless, punishing winter. This morning we shoveled and snow-blowed another 4' of drifts in our driveway. I also had a work meeting that had been building up and bothering me, and I got through it today fairly successfully, considering the topic. Between those two events today, I'm drained. But I'm committed to keeping up with my Zumba schedule, and think the exercise will help relieve the stress I've been feeling leading up to today. Or at least give me an hour's worth of distraction.

Lately I've been unable to feel like I'm getting a good night's rest. Sleep is never a problem for me, it's the quality that's the issue. I may have gotten 7-8h of uninterrupted sleep, but I still wake up feeling like a zombie.  In the evenings, when I'm trying to enjoy my free time, thoughts of the work stresses creep in and spoil my mood.  Yesterday I worked from home due to the impending storm. Many friends were sent home early and had some extra relaxing time, but I felt since I was already working from home, I'd better work until my normal time, so I did. I still didn't get as much done as I wanted. I wondered whether I should go back downstairs and work some more.

The hard part is knowing that the work stress ebbs & flows, but is far from over. This will be a year of changes that I don't want, but will have to find a way to accept and move forward.  The uncertainty of how it's going to pan out is only part of the problem.  I'm trying to deal with it based on the information I have now and get through each day, but I can't ignore that sound of the train horn nearby either. And that's wearing on me too.

I'm leaving for a meeting in just over a week. I'll be glad for the change in scenery, and to be somewhere where I won't have to shovel snow. But often when I leave, something happens to make things worse. I was contemplating a few days of vacation before the meeting, but had to cancel. I wouldn't have had fun anyway, I would have just worried about what went on while I was gone.  I'll only be gone for 3 working days. Hopefully in that time, things can stay normal.

Speedpass

I'm an avid supporter of Speedpass, the RFID tag used by Exxon/Mobil and Esso gas stations which enables you to pay at the pump without having to fumble with credit and loyalty cards.  So much easier and I'm not sure why it never caught on.

While attending my first tire software conference in Chicago in 2002, I went to a McDonalds and snapped this pic because I was thrilled to see Speedpass in a place other than a gas station.  I had forgotten all about this until today, when I was opening a few random files to make sure the copies I made were working.

Per Wikipedia:

At one point, Speedpass was deployed experimentally in fast-food restaurants and supermarkets in select markets. McDonald's alone deployed Speedpass in over 400 Chicago area restaurants. Additionally, Stop & Shop grocery chain tested Speedpass at their Boston area stores and removed the units in early 2005. The test was deemed a failure and McDonald's removed the scanners from all their restaurants in mid-2004. Speedpass has also been previously available through a Speedpass Car Tag and Speedpass-enabled Timex watch.

I didn't actually use my Speedpass that day because I keep it on my car key ring, which I didn't have with me. Interesting, and neat that I was there during that experiment, though.

Tiger lights up!

January 2014 photo - Day 19

Breakfast

I baked a mix for apple cinnamon muffins this morning, and wrapped them individually for the freezer.

January 2014 photo - Day 18

Happy place

Just picked up our new Yogibo bean bag chairs yesterday. So the Yogibo + Kindle = Happy Place.

January 2014 photo - Day 17

Tiny

The smallest of bears in my collection of Snuffles.

January 2014 photo - Day 16

Sun

[Skipped yesterday's Black & White]

Managed to sneak this pic in the day before.

January 2014 photo - Day 14

Three things

I walked past the Community Garden and picked out three compost bins. Perhaps I should have stuck with my original idea of 3 pieces of [colorful] garbage I saw on a different street.

January 2014 photo - Day 12

Colourful

January in Canada is definitely not a time filled with color. Even worse when the snow thaws and you're left with mud-colored landscape. But I did manage to see a bright red fire hydrant along the street to bring some color.

January 2014 photo - Day 11

Looking down

I tried a downward perspective before, of a streetscape, without much success. This works better.

January 2014 photo - Day 10

Man-made

By contrast, here is a man-made break in a tree, also part of the aftermath of the ice storm.

January 2014 photo - Day 9

Natural

We had a large ice storm just before Christmas, followed by plenty of days of cold which didn't allow the ice to melt. As a result, the tree limbs bent and broke. This is a natural break as a result of that storm from a neighbor's house up the street.

January 2014 photo - Day 13

Makes me smile

The older I get, the less I like winter. So seeing the green grass as the snow recedes during our January thaw makes me happy.

January 2014 photo - Day 8

Lucky number

I'm not sure I have a lucky number myself, but plenty of people consider 7 to be a lucky number.

January 2014 photo - Day 7

Upside down is the logo on my laptop.

January 2014 photo - Day 6

Happens Everyday -- the mail gets delivered. At least, until Canada Post stops door-to-door delivery.

January 2014 photo - Day 5

Missed My Town and Words to live by. May come back to My Town but I don't really have any words to live by.

With the January thaw, I was able to get out for a lunchtime walk and snap a bunch of pics to make up for the days lost.  Day 5 was Found, where I found a shoelace that had been exposed after the thaw.

January 2014 photo - Day 2

Begins with G: board games in our basement. Cropping help by John.

January 2014 photo - Day 1

Back on the wagon. Day 1 was Lunch. I wasn't eating lunch at lunchtime, but was waiting for the start of a free New Year's Day Zumba class.

End of 2013

2013 had its share of issues for me. Basement sewage flood being the crappiest (pun intended). Broken dishwasher a few weeks out of warranty, and replacement hasn't been quite as good. Numerous car repairs. Vet bills. Intentional mortgage penalties and associated legal fees. It's been an expensive year. I hope 2014 isn't quite so bad in the money department.

2013 isn't a year I'll look back on with fond memories, but it certainly wasn't the worst I've had, either. There were good points about this year, our "year of not procrastinating."  We did finally get John on the mortgage, protection for him in case anything were to happen to me. We didn't quite make it to getting our wills done, but that can be part of 2014's plan. We did allow ourselves to get sidetracked due to the basement nonsense.

The basement, despite the hassle of the flood, is now better than ever. Still work to be done organizing, unboxing, and decluttering. Our new IKEA bookcases are great. We're a lot closer to finishing the bathroom than we would have been otherwise. The mold issues we likely had from previous floods are now gone. It's definitely an improvement. Now I just need to replace my bean bag chair.

In the personal goals department, 2013 was actually a huge success. I lost approx 15 lbs through portion control and calorie counting, without having to swear off every food that tastes good. I'm proud of my accomplishment, and validated in my thought that if I just put my mind to it, I knew I could get it done. I had said that for ages, but when I got back from California at the beginning of May, I knew I had to act if I wanted things to be different. I'm glad I succeeded and am keeping it up.

I've dropped off on my photo-taking, but we got a new DSLR camera for Christmas and I hope to pick that back up again. Having the better camera will help improve my skill and interest.

I'm not sure exactly what goals to set for 2014 just yet. In the case of 2013, my most successful plans were set not at the beginning of the year. So maybe I'll take some time to think about what I want to accomplish. It should involve some decisions about my career direction. I hope to see more of some friends I've reconnected with recently, because they're uplifting friendships. I need to push myself to knit something more complicated than a dishcloth again.

Happy New Year to you all. Be safe.

We've all got one

Everyone has a food they like, one which they prefer the "fake" or processed version over the real thing. Using my husband as an example, he would take instant mashed potatoes and canned green beans over real mashed and fresh beans.  I don't understand that, and I force him to eat my real mashed potatoes -- thankfully I make them smooth enough for his liking.

Today I had one such experience. I was out for lunch earlier than usual, and was able to get mac & cheese from a vendor who usually sells out before 1pm. I brought it back to my office, had a few bites, and couldn't understand how it could be so bland. I couldn't help but think that I preferred the Kraft Dinner 3 cheese variety.  It seems wrong, but I guess we all have our own individual tastes and likes/dislikes.