10:29 PM - 23.08.04
Swell
I woke up this morning just in time to hear one of the DJs say that she had had to put on stockings and find heavier footwear before she could leave for work this morning. "Oh no," I groaned, "not snow." Nope not. Further discussions by the on air people just revealed it was wet and cooler than it had been to date. So what's the problem here. No snow, no stockings. Ditto for the heavy footwear. I don't have anyplace to store extra gear at work and I'm beginning to think that the big area cleared for new work stations is going to be turned over to shelving for all the new records that will come with the recent acquisition of the company I'm assigned too. No other reason to spend so much time setting up the boardroom so meticulously than if it is intended for long term use. I'm not carrying extra shoes back and forth everyday if I don't have to and I can't leave anything there. Bait and switch again.
Dressed as I saw fit and walked out the door. One of the kittens = Fluffy - and his Mom Ms Ficus decided to bolt for it as I opened the door. I don't think Ms Ficus was aware that her baby would follow her outside and realized the folly of her ways at once. The baby lost his head with the prospect of freedom and bolted off. Ms Ficus stopped in her tracks - seeing that it was no longer a game of "make the Mom person catch me", but of whether I could talk the baby into returning. She returned, head down and tail between her legs, into the house. The baby wasn't about to follow her lead and she knew that. She nuzzled me as she passed and gave me that "it's up to you" look. The baby had caught his tail or foot in the door as I tried to slam it shut, so he was upset as well as scared of the big step he'd taken - that means "hide" in cat strategy. He crawled into the neighbours yard and hid under a mattress there. It was soggy from two days worth of rain and grossly dirty as well. Nothing for it but to lift it up and hope that the kitten wouldn't bolt. I think the cold wet ground, the icy wind, the stinky hiding place, and the realization one could get hurt out in freedomland had sunk in, because he just cuddled into my shoulder and let me take him back to his momma. I even managed to still catch my bus.
Did my usual walk from two stops away from work, just my light spring coat for protection, and realized that I'd better dig out my winter outergear for mornings. Headband and gloves at the very least. The air is still quite warm, but the wind can really cut through you. Arrived at the boardroom wide awake and refreshed though. Cleaned up the documents that we'd processed on Friday and prepared the next batch. By that time the brother and the sister walked in to work together and I was told to change tack again. Technical analysis if you please - that is the priority for you today. There seemed to be some negotiation and discussion going on between the liaison the software providers and their agancy about the division of work again. The brother didn't bring up the computer work until about 3 PM when he all of a sudden was in a rush to get back to what we did on Friday. Sigh.
It was a productive day and we did talk about a lot of issues as we worked. My supervisor asked me to keep my headphones on and I wanted to do that, but my discman just wasn't working after I went out for a quick walk then returned at lunch. I enjoy a good debate, but not in the work place and not about such volatile and polarizing issues. The brother was firmly ensconced at the desk in the boardroom and it was clear he wanted to engage me in discussion. It seems as though someone wants to know my position one some very touchy subjects, for reasons other than just debate. Not only do I not want to get into sparring with anyone, but it slows my work pace considerably. Sometimes I wondered if that wasn't at least part of the intent too.
Just before I was leaving my mouth started to burn and I could feel my face starting to swell up. It was as if as though I was having an allergic reaction to something. Ther has been a lot of dust stirred up with all the shifting and there are some bugs in the mix but I didn't have a bite anywhere and the dust shouldn't cause that strong of a reaction. Especially not a week after the major work was done. I hadn't eaten anything since noon and the only thing I'd had to drink close to the end of the day was the tea I had been nursing all afternoon - left it in the boardroom when I went to process the documents but finished when I returned. Don't know. The only good thing about having asthma and allergies is that I know a lot about the nuances of anti-histamines both herbal and pharmaceutical. I started with the least powerful just as I got on the train hoping that would be enough. It slowed things down but I could feel the swelling spreading into the back of my mouth and down my throat. That was alarming - swallowing being rather inportant - so I tried step two. Slowed that manifestation down until I got home. It started to escalate again so step three and then four were necessary. Finally got things under control at about 7 pm but I was a bit concerned for a while. I can't risk that happening again so I guess I'm going to have to determine what caused the problem in this instance. Can't think of anything right now but maybe it will come to me in my sleep.
In the interim, I found two really interesting websites about the environment this weekend. This one deals with the findings of ethno-botanists around the world with respect to the medicinal properties of plants Rain_Tree and this one that is following and advocating for envirmental protection in the US - the list of sponsors is quite interesting Watchers. I was looking for more specific information on the upcoming eclipses and found it here ArtCharts. And I think that's all folks.
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