A couple of weeks ago, my boss came to me with a onerous task; he needed to put together a literature review. For anyone unsure of what a literature review is, it's where you go through a large number of recent publications and cherry pick the ones that seem the most interesting or relevant to a field, and then report them in the form of a bibliographic list. My boss had made his review, and put it together--it took him more than 30 minutes per page to format all of the citations correctly (and at a length of 20 pages, that ain't no small feat).
He turned it in to the reviewers, who told him they didn't use that citation style, meaning he needed to reformat every single citation. I got cc'd on the email, and immediately cringed--formatting is the kind of thing one can only do for 2 hours at a run before getting s truly horrific migraine, and they needed the reformat very quickly.
Literally seconds after this email arrives, I get another one from my boss: "If you do this for me, there's a quantity of your favorite beverage in it for you."
I roll my eyes, because he's my boss, and he hired me to do this kind of boring crap anyways, and even though his lit reviews technically aren't part of my job description, "miscellaneous projects as needed" is. So I shoot him one back and say no problem.
I got the lit review done in time, with a lot of Excedrin. Time goes on.
Then, today, my boss pops into my cubical and says "Great job on the lit review, and thanks! There's a case of Monster in the back of my truck. Don't forget to grab it before you leave tonight!"
And by case, he means a case. As in 24 cans of Monster, which I totally thought he was joking about. Good Golly! Best Boss in the World!!!!!
This is a bonus system I can live with!
Alula
Friday, September 10, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
New Frontiers
Hello Ladies!
Sorry I've been absent for such a long time (though I have been secretly keeping tabs on your lives via this brilliant blog). I have much news to bring, and thought that I should probably give it all at once just to make sure you get the maximum effect.
The first new frontier in my life is that my husband has made drastic career move, a literal 180 degree switch from what he has ever done. He is now a natural gas driller! Who would have ever thought the man who graduated 3rd in his class, and got a Micro-biology degree with a graphic design minor, would end up as a real working man.
This career move means that I am without my husband for half the year, and with him for the other half. He works 7 twelve hour days and then has 7 days off. He's done one week so far, and though I missed him terribly, the monetary rewards far outweigh any grief that I have for the week he's gone.
The next life changing frontier Mr. Munchkin and I have ventured to is one the one of parenthood. Yes, that's right ladies, I am pregnant and apparently due April 10, 2011. More news along these lines is the possibility that my doctors either have my due date incorrect, or I may be having more than one child dwelling in my body. This discovery was made by my doctor while getting my normal check-up (with no ultra sound scheduled for a month). My doc was feeling around down low when she suddenly states, "You feel a little farther along than 8 weeks, let's get you in for an ultra sound sooner."
So... Mr. Munchkin and I are off to the doc's office this Friday to find out my fate. I'll keep you all posted. Alula if you wanted to put a countdown up, just be warned you may have to adjust the date if you do it before I get the word on Friday.
Wish me luck all!
~Munchkin
Saturday, September 4, 2010
My husband is scarred by book lights & we got a new water heater
Remember the awesome book light my husband got me for my birthday? As it turns out, he hates book lights. Apparently his mother used a book light a lot when he was kid, especially when they were traveling in the car and hotels etc., and he hates them, because he thought she was always especially rude in her use of them. He asked me to please leave our bedroom at night if I intended to continuing using the book light; to this I replied, if I am leaving the room, I can turn the fraggin' lights in in whatever room I end up in. So, I am now compelled to use the book light under the covers of the bed so the light is not visible from any angle.
Personally, I think my husband is just jealous of the nook.
Also, we got a new tankless water heater installed yesterday. Our old water heater was located in the not-a guest-room on the first floor; the room was designed as a perfect guest or renter's room, with its own attached bathroom, but also with the water heater in a closet of the room. This was apparently and okay thing for builders to do in 1979, but since then we've discovered that the carbon monoxide generated by water heaters can kill you, and they should not be located where people sleep.
We asked around a few plumbers to get quotes on moving the water heater to the basement, which was evidently not designed to hold a water heater (it lacks a water drainage pipe, air intakes and outputs, doesn't have the recommended number of outlets). We were told that the airways would have to be cut through the stucco exterior, electrical outlets would need to be relocated, aspects of the furnaces would need to be brought up to code for the final inspection, etc. However, we found a plumber willing to do the entire job (removal of the old water heater and installation of new tankless heater in the basement) for $3500, and that included the cost of the new heater, which was way less than we thought it would cost. We also get rebates from our energy company and a federal tax rebate, so the cost is further reduced.
The guys showed up at 8:30 yesterday morning; by happenstance, I was working from home that day to shorten my drive to a talk later in the day (attendance for work). Mr. B told me he had taken the day off of work to oversee the installation. Then when I tell him I need to work from home that day, he responds with "Oh good, you'll be here until 2:30. Then I'm going to go run errands and turn in job applications."
Um, no?! I say this once: why do people not understand that working from home entails, um, working? As in, I sit in a room and work, and pretend that I am at my office, and I am not paid to oversee water heater installation, answer plumber's questions, turn all the faucets on and off, see if pipes are getting hot, show people where the water main is, call the HOA to see if X-Y-Z is okay to do...
Mr. B gets cranky when I tell him he needs to pretend I'm at the office, like always, and says (laughing, I might add): "Okay, sure. Whatever." And then adds, "I have stuff to do, too!"
What the hell? Seriously? He took the day off from work specifically to oversee that project. He didn't know I would be home that day until 7pm the night before. Seriously, can I ask why working from home is such a tough idea to digest? If I needed to take time off to oversee home improvements, I would have asked for time off, but Mr. B said he had it covered. Had it covered until he found out I was working from home, apparently, and then decided to dump it off on me and go do whatever (don't worry--I didn't let him; I sat in the office and worked and made him sit his butt down in the living room and do the aforementioned duties related to the install).
He gave up the fight by noon. The installers were there until almost 10 pm yesterday night, and showed up again this morning to finish the job. Turned out a little over the price quote because the plumber found some rusted pipes that needed replacing (from the propane meter coming into the house), but we now have unlimited hot water on demand, have added an extra bedroom to our house, and no longer have to worry about anyone dying in their sleep.
Alula
Personally, I think my husband is just jealous of the nook.
Also, we got a new tankless water heater installed yesterday. Our old water heater was located in the not-a guest-room on the first floor; the room was designed as a perfect guest or renter's room, with its own attached bathroom, but also with the water heater in a closet of the room. This was apparently and okay thing for builders to do in 1979, but since then we've discovered that the carbon monoxide generated by water heaters can kill you, and they should not be located where people sleep.
We asked around a few plumbers to get quotes on moving the water heater to the basement, which was evidently not designed to hold a water heater (it lacks a water drainage pipe, air intakes and outputs, doesn't have the recommended number of outlets). We were told that the airways would have to be cut through the stucco exterior, electrical outlets would need to be relocated, aspects of the furnaces would need to be brought up to code for the final inspection, etc. However, we found a plumber willing to do the entire job (removal of the old water heater and installation of new tankless heater in the basement) for $3500, and that included the cost of the new heater, which was way less than we thought it would cost. We also get rebates from our energy company and a federal tax rebate, so the cost is further reduced.
The guys showed up at 8:30 yesterday morning; by happenstance, I was working from home that day to shorten my drive to a talk later in the day (attendance for work). Mr. B told me he had taken the day off of work to oversee the installation. Then when I tell him I need to work from home that day, he responds with "Oh good, you'll be here until 2:30. Then I'm going to go run errands and turn in job applications."
Um, no?! I say this once: why do people not understand that working from home entails, um, working? As in, I sit in a room and work, and pretend that I am at my office, and I am not paid to oversee water heater installation, answer plumber's questions, turn all the faucets on and off, see if pipes are getting hot, show people where the water main is, call the HOA to see if X-Y-Z is okay to do...
Mr. B gets cranky when I tell him he needs to pretend I'm at the office, like always, and says (laughing, I might add): "Okay, sure. Whatever." And then adds, "I have stuff to do, too!"
What the hell? Seriously? He took the day off from work specifically to oversee that project. He didn't know I would be home that day until 7pm the night before. Seriously, can I ask why working from home is such a tough idea to digest? If I needed to take time off to oversee home improvements, I would have asked for time off, but Mr. B said he had it covered. Had it covered until he found out I was working from home, apparently, and then decided to dump it off on me and go do whatever (don't worry--I didn't let him; I sat in the office and worked and made him sit his butt down in the living room and do the aforementioned duties related to the install).
He gave up the fight by noon. The installers were there until almost 10 pm yesterday night, and showed up again this morning to finish the job. Turned out a little over the price quote because the plumber found some rusted pipes that needed replacing (from the propane meter coming into the house), but we now have unlimited hot water on demand, have added an extra bedroom to our house, and no longer have to worry about anyone dying in their sleep.
Alula
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Things that Make Me Happy
Mr. B is out of town, marking the first time since his illness that we have returned to a regular work schedule.
Today, I got harassed outside the grocery store by someone who wanted me to sign a petition to bring medical marijuana dispensaries into town. (Many issues with this, but I will spare you. Suffice it to say that out of principle, I have little to no respect for individuals who break federal law, and find the blatant abuse of medical marijuana by people who do not have medical need disgusting.)
Anyways, I was passing by the frozen foods and all riled up about the damn hippie drug abusers who are able to organize to get themselves medical marijuana dispensaries, but can't be socially responsible enough to not break the law, because instead of pushing to pass a law to legalize recreational use, which might make sense, they're seeking to legalize medical use so they can continue to break the law with prescription drug abuse....*grumble, grumble*. Illegal and illogical--what a combination.
Then I find Ben & Jerry's Magic Brownies, and it catches my eye for obvious reasons. It's awesome. Try it. Black raspberry ice cream and brownies. One of my new favorite things.
Alula
This is the book light my husband got me for my birthday (to go with the nook, which I was counting as a sort of early birthday present). Also one of my new favorite things. 2 levels of brightness, fits great into the little pocket slot on the back of my Bronte nook cover. I thought it was a little bulky at first, larger than I expected it would be, and the clip is kind of poorly designed. The metal slide clip would probably shred a leather cover, but I guess it worked out okay where I put it on my nook cover, so that's a positive. Blue lights on the back give it kind of a futuristic feel, spread out LEDs give a good glow on the book without needing repositioning, and it was very reasonably priced. Love it!
Ritelite LPL792XLB 5-LED Computer and Book Light, Metal
Alula
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Mr. Borealis -- Boy Genius
About two weeks ago the electricity in our downstairs bathroom and front courtyard stopped working. We reset the breakers for those areas, but the lights and outlets still didn't work. We tried resetting ALL the breakers hoping they were mislabeled, and it still didn't work.
Convinced we had fried wires and were about to shell out several hundred dollars to have the issue resolved, we did what we usually do with this sort of non-imminent home project: we ignored it. We have another bathroom and a streetlight in front of our house.
Then, tonight, Mr. B gets antsy and needs to vacuum something (this weird habit is a post in and of itself, so I won't go into it here). He goes into the guest room downstairs and tried to plug the vacuum into and outlet in the dark bathroom (off of the guest room), and I hear him cuss because he forgot the room no longer has power. Then he walks out and a thoughtful expression passes his face.
I can almost see the light bulb appear above his head. "I have a theory!"
He runs up the stairs with a glee not seen since Archimedes went streaking through the streets of Syracuse. Then he runs back downstairs and into the guest room, and I hear "It worked! It worked!"
As it turns out, our house continues to be a construction oddity--somehow, the safety outlet in the upstairs bathroom got tripped, thereby resulting in the total loss of power in the downstairs bathroom and front courtyard, even though the outlet and power upstairs still worked (heck if I know...). When he reset the outlet upstairs, everything started working again.
How my husband's brain arrives at Loss of Power Downstairs = Tripped Outlet Upstairs, I have no idea. He claims someone must have told him of this weird configuration at some point, but I'm still a little baffled.
Thank goodness for illogical conclusions.
Alula
Convinced we had fried wires and were about to shell out several hundred dollars to have the issue resolved, we did what we usually do with this sort of non-imminent home project: we ignored it. We have another bathroom and a streetlight in front of our house.
Then, tonight, Mr. B gets antsy and needs to vacuum something (this weird habit is a post in and of itself, so I won't go into it here). He goes into the guest room downstairs and tried to plug the vacuum into and outlet in the dark bathroom (off of the guest room), and I hear him cuss because he forgot the room no longer has power. Then he walks out and a thoughtful expression passes his face.
I can almost see the light bulb appear above his head. "I have a theory!"
He runs up the stairs with a glee not seen since Archimedes went streaking through the streets of Syracuse. Then he runs back downstairs and into the guest room, and I hear "It worked! It worked!"
As it turns out, our house continues to be a construction oddity--somehow, the safety outlet in the upstairs bathroom got tripped, thereby resulting in the total loss of power in the downstairs bathroom and front courtyard, even though the outlet and power upstairs still worked (heck if I know...). When he reset the outlet upstairs, everything started working again.
How my husband's brain arrives at Loss of Power Downstairs = Tripped Outlet Upstairs, I have no idea. He claims someone must have told him of this weird configuration at some point, but I'm still a little baffled.
Thank goodness for illogical conclusions.
Alula
Naming Hats
No its not crazy to name the hats but could you use names that won't confuse people, there are just to many Katie's in this world right now. Yell that name into a crowd and see how many people answer!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Katie
Munckin was kind enough to be a model for my latest hat. So I am thinking about giving my hats names, for the purpose of inventory; or does that just sound crazy?
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