WNBP: Fighting The Grump

Greetings, All!  It is Wednesday and I give you fair warning: I am grumpy.  Very grumpy.  Grumpy on a level where I might actually be considered a weapon of mass destruction if only the right government sees fit to offer me the right price.  I could quite easily nag, whine, rage and complain an entire country into submission, given half a chance.

Or even a quarter chance.  Grumpy folk have a way of spreading their misery without actually being invited to do so.

But, it is Wednesday and, while I might be extraordinarily grumpy, this could be a chance to revisit some of the happier things in life.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be a veritable angel of light and joy when this week's bullet post draws to a close!

I wouldn't put my money on it, but what the heck?  We can dream big if we so choose.

*I am grumpy and have been grumpy since yesterday.

*I am grumpy for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being something I learned at work yesterday.

*I used to teach the Safety Procedures class for my school district.  I won't say that I loved the job, but it was a little extra money and teaching it meant I didn't have to listen to someone else while they taught it.

*Control is a good thing.

*Sadly, I wasn't able to teach enough classes to keep up my certification requirements.  I couldn't just recertify with a single refresher course.  I needed the two day training.

*A fact I pointed out many times over the past two years.

*In emails I still have.

*And in person to my director at the beginning of this very month.

*I was told I could take the two day class next month.

*I didn't teach enough classes because I had to stay behind to cover for a fellow employee who has some difficulty understanding the meaning of a five day work week.

*Yesterday said colleague emailed me to let me know she would be out for two days to take the Safety Procedures class so she could become a trainer.

*She is, apparently, replacing me in that position because no one has any memory of the emails that I still have or the direct conversation less than a month ago.

*My colleague is giddy over the extra cash she will be making.

*My director is frantic because I am beyond ticked off with her right now and barely speaking to her.

*Oh, and the colleague who emailed me?

*Yeah...I'm currently covering for her this week because she allegedly injured her foot too badly to work.

*But it seems she will be up and about just fine next week and ready to do the physical portions of the SP class.

*Rage.  Boiling, searing rage spilling out of me in waves of grumpiness....

*To recap: I lost my certification and approximately a grand in extra cash over the last few years to cover for the person that didn't come to work so she could take over the position that I couldn't do while I covered for her.

*Red hot rage...

*Here's a cool thing.

*I found these nifty pillow cases at the dollar store and, while I have no real need for pillow cases, I couldn't resist the pretty colors for a buck a 2 pack.

*And I saw a kinda neat idea on Pinterest a while back so I got me some Styrofoam and...voila!

Pillow case art!!!

*The larger one rather neatly covers the go-normous hole left behind from when I removed the crazy-ugly and highly-not-state-of-the-art sound system console that came with my condo.

*Haven't decided whether I'm going to patch that hole or make it bigger and let it become some sort of functional space yet so Styrofoam art is just the ticket right now.

And some pillow cases have become table coverings so no one can see how marked up this particular surface has become...

*Please ignore the plethora of wires charging all my various thingies.

*And the fact that I haven't changed the little manual calendar since October 30th.

*Just focus on the pretty pillow case covering...

*The cable company has come up with a new way to express their "concern" regarding my tendency to forget to pay them every so often.

*They thought it might be nice if I tried life without cable for a while.  You know, just to see how I liked them apples.

*In return, I am "punishing" the cable company by not paying the bill until the end of this week just to see how they like life without my money.

*I may have to reevaluate this strategy.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  But I'm grumpy so what do I know?

*Grumpy isn't good for solid decision making.

*Also not great for avoiding childish behavior that really doesn't affect much in the way of change.

*The sixth grade is studying the digestive system in science.

*He Who...PROJECTS was in my room for study hall today trying to finish up some of the work that was due for that class.

*There is really no other way to say this other than to put it  exactly as he did...

"I think I have to go to the bathroom. I  haven't moved any of my Thanksgiving dinner yet..."

*When he emerged from the restroom, we congratulated him on his most excellent demonstration of the digestive system in action.

*HW...P doesn't possess a sense of irony nor would he ever see that as sarcastic.  He is just a straightforward kind of guy.

*So he was pretty pleased with himself, accepted the praise and gave a little bow, complete with a flourish towards the restroom.

*Kind of like he was giving credit...

*That is what we in the business like to call "a teachable moment."

*It is also what we like to call "making the best of it when a kid forgets to turn the fan on in the class bathroom."

*We have been having little snow flurries lately.

*Normally, I am not a fan of snow.  I also have recess duty now so I expected to be miserable.

*Not so.  I actually rather like getting outside to breathe the fresh air for a few minutes each day.

*Ask me again if I still have this love of nature and all things fresh come February...

*Since I didn't have any pesky television to distract me last night, I made biscuits.

*I don't know exactly what ended up distracting me, but I burned my biscuits.

*Probably for the best since I honestly didn't need biscuits but you can only imagine how that affected my mood.

*Batch number two came out just fine.

*Thank heavens for that.  I'd probably be blogging from the state funny farm (if not the closest penal institution) had I burned another round of biscuits!

*I came to the end of Beautiful Redemption (Beautiful Creatures) yesterday.

*Not just the end of the audiobook, but also the series.

*Made me a little sad.  I enjoyed this one.

*I also finally came to the end of Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings (Today Show Book Club #25).

*Probably my least favorite Christopher Moore book ever.  I stuck with it, but never really found the love.

*Thankfully, it was a library download so it cost me nothing to read.  Just time and I have a bit of that to spare these days.

*I also borrowed the audio version of Death's Daughter (A Calliope Reaper-Jones Novel).

*A well-written, if not well-read book.

*Amber Benson (of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame) chose to read her own work and I won't say she's the worst I've ever heard.

*But there is a difference between your "acting voice" and your "reading voice."  

*Once you learn to keep up with the fast pace and up 'n down voice pitch, it is really quite enjoyable.

*I'll probably continue with the series since I believe my library carries a few of the other titles.

*Or they don't.  Or they do right now but will delete them just as I decide to check them out because someone at the library thinks I might not be grumpy enough...

No.  I'm not going to go there.  Tonight's blog has served some purpose.  I honestly don't feel quite so squash-all-who-would-dare-cross-me and I think I might even be able to answer one or two of the emails my director has sent without coming completely unhinged.  (partially unhinged is just what people at work expect of me so that's fine...)

Yes.  I think it might be time to call it a blog and sign off before the spiral starts again.  I wish for you all a very Merry Wednesday and that you are making a healthy comeback from any Thanksgiving dinners you might have wolfed down with wild abandon last week.

Me?  I miss the pie.  Maybe I'd be less grumpy if there was still pie...

SA