Done last week (20141207 Su - 13 Sa)

[mdlbear]

I haz apparently been a Productive Bear, at least some of the time. I finally got around to putting grout into the seam where the arch was cut in between the kitchen and the Rainbow Room, and I now have a fourth working UPS and a functioning git-based web deployment system (for everything but the audio files, of course).

On the other hand, we had a one-hour power outage last night that revealed the fact that the server was plugged into the surge protector outlet on one of those UPSs instead of a battery-backed-up outlet. *headdesk*

I transferred my stuff from the shoulder bag I've been using for the last couple of years, to a rolling backpack. Which is clumsy as heck, but more comfortable to use. The major win, though, was putting my wallet and a couple of other essentials into a little shoulder bag (Eagle Creek Sidekick) so that I can just grab that and go out to lunch, or shopping with Colleen. Major win -- it's practically weightless by comparison with the old one. Of course, it can't carry a laptop, cane, rain hat, phone backup battery, coin purse, ... -- which is all rather the point of the exercise.

I have also been coming home hurting, and emotionally fragile from depression and anxiety. So there's that.

On the whole, though, not too bad of a week. I'll take it. Links in the notes as usual.

1207 Su
  * up 6:50; W=214.6
  * 15min:  put grout in the joint between the kitchen and rainbow room under the arch.
    Why it never got done when we were having the work done on the house I have no idea.
  * 15min:  more work on git-based deployment
  * with Colleen to Southcenter for a haircut, odds and ends at the Container Store, and 
    UPS batteries ($65, which was less than I expected for a pair of them)
  * made Broccoli Beef for dinner.

1208 Mo
  * up 6:50; W=212.2
  * shadow oncall this week.
  * pay tax
  * Transfered stuff to rolling backpack -- it's too damned heavy even without the
    laptop.  Yeah; rolling bag.  Probably not that one, because its organizer compartment
    isn't wide enough for the sidekick I have my wallet in.

1209 Tu
  * Up 6:45; W=212.8
  % Used the rolling backpack today.  Very awkward-feeling, but possibly worthwhile for
    the comfort. 
  @ Let’s Stop Making Jokes About Furries While Discussing That Recent Terrorist Attack
    on Furries | The Mary Sue f(Kevin Walsh)  WTF?  tl;dr:  Chlorine gas.
  @ Senate report on CIA program details brutality, dishonesty - The Washington Post 

1210 We
  * up 6:45; W=211.2;
  * Pride repair people showed up; basically did nothing but figure out which parts need
    to be ordered.  Not really helpful.
  @ Stonekettle Station: The Road to Hell
  * Humira

1211 Th
  * up 6:30; W=212.4;
  * home early (left around 3:15) due to predicted wind storm.
  * PAY BILLS
  : 7pm wind gusts *very* loud.  Glad I'm home, though I didn't need to leave as early as
    I did.  Didn't know that at the time, however, and I would *not* have wanted to get
    caught in 50mph wind gusts.  On foot.  Going past trees on a hillside.  No, thanks!
  & Turned off the mac; no point having extra stuff on the UPS
  * configure apcupsd on nova (don't have cgi yet, but at least it'll shut down ok)

1212 Fr
  * up 6:30; W=213.6
  : We escaped major wind damage and power outage, but I haven't checked the yard yet.
  : I really love the way Curio has taken to the the soft, fuzzy throw blanket I put on
    the end of my desk.
  % went out shopping (Wallgreens and QFC) with just the sidekick, worn as a shoulder
    bag.  Almost weightless.  Hmm.
  @ Rithmomachia, Rithmomachia (ysabetwordsmith")
  ! near meltdown in the evening.  Ugh.  Low blood sugar plus depression plus anxiety. :P

1213 Sa
  * up 6:30ish; W=213.8; Shower
  * out with Colleen to Total Wine in Southcenter, to pick up drinkable holiday presents.
    Kept it (just) under $100.  To dinner at YuShan with Emmy.  Yum!  Brought back chicken
    fried rice for Naomi.  Wish it was closer.  Total Wine is amazing.  Tastings,
    including 3 Howls gin, whiskey, and blood orange vodka.
  * 15min:  upgrading a couple of laptops (the Acer and the Thinkpad from Ricoh)  Both
    x86; 2 and 1GB of RAM respectively.  So the netbook is still the winner.
  : Roughly a 1-hour power outage from 11-midnight.  Discovered that nova was plugged
    in to the surge protector outlet on the UPS, not the battery backup.  Growf!
  @ Update: 1-hour West Seattle power outage over; 4,100+ homes/businesses affected
    underground cable break took out a couple of transformers

Comments

[amaebi]

Your momentum and completions would be impressive even without the pain. *handpat offered"

[mdlbear]

Thanks! For some reason it's really hard for me to tell how I'm doing, or whether I'm doing enough. It never seems like enough.

[tagryn]

Glad to hear you all got through the storm OK.

The rolling backpack sounds like a better solution than the standard backpack, which is what I use. Better weight distribution, etc.

I think the longer dark hours + weather + colder temps is triggering for a lot of us. The general chaos in the world right now doesn't help, either.

[mdlbear]

Well, the problem with the rolling backpack is that it's a compromise -- it's neither a very good rolling bag nor a very good backpack. I'm starting to think in terms of a rolling bag with a shoulder strap for the occasional stairs.

The dark time is certainly a problem; I need to work on that. I have a couple of SAD lights, but neither is especially convenient to use in the morning, when I'm trying to get ready for work.

[jcfiala.livejournal.com]

I've got a rolling Samsonite backpack which is... a pretty good rolling luggage, and a fair backpack if it's not too full.

[mdlbear]

Those look pretty good. They all share the problems that mine has -- they're tall and narrow rather than short and squat, so they don't slide easily under a chair or bus seat.

Also, backpacks are easier to carry, but harder to shrug off when you want to sit down (see bus seat, above) or get at something in them.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Folding canes (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=folding+cane) - one might fit in your small bag (that's pretty much what they're designed for).

[mdlbear]

I have one. Actually, I have two, because one went missing when I needed it. The bag in question is an earlier version of this one; I'm reasonably certain that a cane wouldn't fit in it. Not and leave room for anything else, anyway.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I didn't realize how small your bag was. I'm going to need a cane myself, eventually, and I'll want one I can fold up and keep in my bag. But my bag - my everyday purse - is more than twice the cubic of yours. (I have to wear it diagonally across my body, because it either slips off my shoulder, or puts uneven loads on my back and legs. But cross-body gets the strap tangled in my hair, crushes my shirt or jacket, and sometimes hurts one tit or the other.) I don't know what the smallest folding cane available might be - but I'll bet it's on that Amazon list somewhere.

The second item on that Amazon list is probably the one I'll get when I need one... it's dark metallic purple... :-)

[bookwyrm172006.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[mdlbear]

Thanks!