What a fucking day

Wordle 614 3/6

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Yesterday was crazy from the minute I got up, when I couldn't log in at work. The card gave me error messages that made me think it wasn't firmly in the socket, no matter how many times I took it out of the reader and put it in again, took the reader out of the USB port and put it in again, or restarted the computer. Around the time I was hitting a wall on that, the kid woke up, about half an hour early. She was fairly well-behaved: did the usual getting-ready-for-the-morning routine, negotiated one episode of TV, and then entertained herself quietly for the rest of the morning. 

Meanwhile I troubleshot. After hitting a wall with my personal computer, I wondered about my new work computer. It has been sitting around waiting for me to get the chance to set it up and this seemed like a good time. I followed the directions, and wound up calling tech support, and they told me I'd need a Ethernet cable, and it didn't come with one, and I couldn't find one. I probably had very intelligently thrown one out while attempting to declutter. Meanwhile I still have hundreds of comic books. After years of living fully in the house and complaining about clutter, I should be serious about it, and smart. 

Anyways, I also tried the old corporate laptop and got it working, but I couldn't get the card to work or otherwise get to the government network there either. By this point it was time to take the kid to camp. T. helped get her ready but I had to drive her myself since T. had a meeting. I considered buying an Ethernet cable and new card reader just in case but Radio Shack had closed and other places would be further out of the way. After I got back, I finished the previous journal entry, did a few other minor things, and went to the office, hoping that the problem wouldn't be a problem there or at least would be easier to fix.

At the office I first went to the basement. The room I worked in last time, and regularly before covid, was unusable because it had been taken over for storage of some kind of heavy machinery. Two others nearby had no actual computers at the workstations - desks and monitors and keyboards but no computers. Two others were occupied and at this point I was feeling silly but I didn't want to intrude or get caught setting up where I shouldn't. So I bit the bullet and went up to the third floor. 

Once I found a desk I had no problems. It was 10:35 or so and a meeting I was supposed to run had started at 10:30. Fortunately I had been texting and emailing coworkers during all of the above and my teammate S. had taken over running the meeting. It went well. 

While I was on my way, my teammates had been emailing each other and our manager about my computer problems (and my work account, so it didn't help me until I got in some other way) and said they had had problems with drivers on their cards recently, so I could hope that would be an easy fix.

Being in the office again was just weird. Even now, even on the better-used third floor, there are artifacts of March 2020 lying around, like a whiteboard with a very outdated schedule on it. The sign-in sheet at the welcome desk had only one name I recognized, a manager so high-level I've never spoken in his presence. 

The office setup was palatial compared to the dining room table. The computer seems lightning-fast compared to getting into email and shared drives through the virtual network. Forget about a dual monitor setup; for some reason the computer I was working at had three monitors. But the one in the most comfortable position had weird blurring, jagged bars in the text. It was like Chinese water torture, but unlike torture I could leave any time. There were plenty of other desks to choose from and I could work from home if not for technical difficulties, so why didn't I? The simple answer is, because I was there unexpectedly. If I went more regularly, presumably I'd look harder for a better workstation.

I got a lunch a little after 1. (An Italian sub from the cafe around the corner. Normally I had pizza for there but that looked likely for dinner instead. After the day I've had, I didn't think twice about indulging on the calorie count of one of their giant cookies. I did think twice at the expense, this meal came out to $16 when I remember $12 used to feel like a lot. Inflation.) I had thought I had physical therapy at 3:40, which is near the kid's camp, so the original plan was to pick her up just before or just after the therapy. But on double-checking things the appointment was at 1:40. So I called to cancel it and apologize. I also texted and emailed with T. to coordinate with her. In addition to her own fairly busy workday and a doctor's appointment (mammogram, unrelated to her recent back pain which is still coming and going), we were also expecting a delivery from a wine club, which we'd have to reschedule since we were both out of the house. It's a crazy day for her too, not just me.

In the early/mid-afternoon I sent a few emails and generally worked on minor or ongoing stuff. The only problem was unrelated to my account or physical location, just a familiar annoyance within my team about the minutiae of how to track tasks. My teammate J. has very definite opinions on it.

I logged off a little before 2:30, walked to the metro, and got the kid right at 3, the end of the usual day at camp. She cried when she saw me because she wanted to play with friends longer. Yes, this is exactly the opposite of what happened the day before! I called T. to vent for a bit about this (meanwhile, she was across town for a doctor's appointment), spoke to the camp manager, and left the kid there for another hour with no problem for/with the camp. Then I went to the nearby grocery store for a few essentials, and then, to a nearby brewery we liked and hadn't been to in a while. Yes, I treated myself to a beer after all that. 

I got the kid at 4. We took the bus home. We stopped at the library very briefly on the way. Then, home, and she read while T. and I worked. I managed to get in with the troubleshooting steps from my teammates, and finish one document. Yay.

My parents arrived less than 10 minutes after I logged off. This was their stop on their way from New Mexico to Vermont. They brought dinner, pizza from Costco, so that was nice and easy. We vented and unwound. The kid serenaded us with her guitar practice. 

I had to get the trash in after they left. Normally that would be Tuesday night but it was yesterday due to the holiday. Normally this takes 2 minutes, just unlocking the two gates, walking the bins in, and locking up behind me, but today the gate between the alley and the street was jammed. I spent 20 minutes with a screwdriver and flashlight to unjam it. Just a perfect cap for the day.

T. put the kid to bed and as usual we watched TV and didn't stay up late - no surprise. I did maybe as much as half of my physical therapy while getting ready for bed. However, my phone app says I hit my recommended step count and then some just by walking around town and stuff. That reinforces the value of my old commute, but then, yesterday I spent more time running around in circles than on a normal day in the before time.