SDO (it means nothing)

Watch what we’re watching.

What I thought was allergies over the weekend fucking with my head has culminated into something more sinister. My stomach feels to be in knots, or having difficulty passing a bowling ball through my intestines or something. By gum, this is WORSE THAN MENSTRUAL CRAMPS, and that’s something, oh boy. I once described cramps to my husband as feeling like someone grabbed my insides, just behind the naval, with needle-nose pliers and was twisting for hours.

I truly despise being ill. Not only am I going to miss a day of work, I am mostly incapable of doing anything around the house. Back when I worked as a wage-slave drone at a grocery store, I was thankful of days I was really sick. I have problems lying just to get a day off. Now that I work somewhere that actually benefits from my attendance and productivity at work, I feel terrible missing a day.

They hired me on the lowest level and expected me to just answer phones. My technician training was meant to be a formality for when they eventually eliminated the Customer Service Representative position. When they realized that I actually retained and understood what they were telling me, they took me off their list of over-paid receptionists and gave me the title of Tech I and set me on my way. When they realized that the other Tech Is that were hired at the same time were incapable of doing as much as I did (I didn’t even try to over-achieve, and I certainly didn’t feel stressed over the amount of work I was doing and how much I was learning), they fast-tracked my Tech II training. The official promotion comes next April, but they have already moved the majority of my Tech I responsibilities to others. I’ve been in charge of training new Tech Is since February. I was hired in December. I had NO prior HVAC/R knowledge; I couldn’t even tell you how an air conditioner worked. Now I’m helping large retail companies save money on their energy bills by monitoring and managing their usage.

The CEO of the company that owns my company is coming to visit today. I was asked to go along with four people who volunteered to go to represent my department at the meeting. I didn’t want to go at all. It’s flattering to be selected to go, but I hate meetings like this. I hate things that prevent me from working. I like working, I like accomplishing things. Meetings with coworkers about the state of a big-box retail chain’s energy usage and how we can get them to save more is capable of accomplishing a hell of a lot (but not often). Meetings like today’s accomplish nothing in my immediate occupation.

And now I’ve been up all night, evacuating my innards at either end. The good news is that I don’t have to go to that stupid meeting.

“I am a bard, a trav’ling man,
In homes and inns I sing.
I tell the tales of history,
Of heroes and of kings.
I never deigned to read or write.
I’m not a learn-ed man.
But in my endless pilgrimage,
I have learned all I can.
My words are now for you to read,
My thoughts are on the page.
Fear of losing my audience,
Strikes me in my old age.
It is time the world knew again,
How and why it was born.
And just who is the chosen race,
And who deserves our scorn.
I sing the lessons taught by gods,
I sing them for my kin,
So that we might be the holy,
and leave the rest to sin.”

The Women of the Lakes

(more later)

I am enjoying this point-n-click adventure with combat system reminiscent of Chrono Trigger with a hint of Wario Ware.

On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode One: great game or greatest game?
(hint: neither)

Good game. Certainly hilarious at times, and enjoyable to play, but I don’t see playing it again and again like I’d do with older adventure games of the sort. Maybe it’s just because I have more games now I don’t have to re-play old ones repeatedly for mild entertainment.

For a while I’ve been using two lcd displays. My first one, going on four years old or more now, has a crappy contrast ratio and really makes it difficult to deal with colors properly when making arts. Because of that, and because I’d just bought a computer that could hand dual display, I bought a second monitor under a year ago. That second monitor crapped out on me over he weekend. It doesn’t surprise me, though, it was $100 cheaper than most monitors at that time and came with no warranty. It did display dark colors better, tough, and now that it’s gone, I’m really missing being able to differentiate darker shades.

So I spent just under $500 on getting two new monitors for myself. This old one I’m using now I’ll be giving to my parents. They’re still using a viewsonic CRT I bought them eight or nine years ago.

(originally written 2004-2005)

Chapter 3
Dreams

The rest of the day went as usual and the evening just as well. I left the dock when the sun went behind the buildings and I could no longer paint with any natural light. My back was sore from sitting on the stool for eight hours after lunch, and I found myself wanting Nandin with me to carry my bags. I was fine without him, though. The short walk was one I made every day that it wasn’t raining. Oh how I wished for some rain right now, some excuse to not go out tomorrow. If I ever ran into Nandin again I would say, “Oh, I wasn’t at the dock because it was raining that day.” It would be something he could verify and understand and not in the least bit suspect that I was avoiding him. Oh, for some rain tomorrow.

I dropped my bags inside and informed my cat that he wasn’t the only man who loved me anymore. He didn’t care in the least bit, all he wanted was some food. I dumped a can of some off-brand cat food into a bowl for him and proceeded to undress. I needed another shower after today. The sun was out in full force and I never take off my jacket while out. I’d rather sweat in the heat than let the merciless sun burn my fair skin. Smelling for a bit was a small price to pay to prevent damaged nerve endings and lobster-tinted arms.

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Jorenko’s in Germany on a business trip, attending a trade show. He spent today being a tourist and send me some pictures.

Behold the open-index goodness.

(originally written late 2004)

Chapter 2
Patience

The rest of the evening was uneventful. I was thankful for this, though to whom I do not know. Did I believe that the river was a god to worship? It seemed so primitive after all my education abroad to think that a river, a body of water, was sentient. Contractors rarely spoke to the river anymore. Some said this was because the distance of the new buildings from the water was so great that the river didn’t care. Optimists. It was clear that the land close to the river need better foundations and all new construction was done after the raining season, after the floodwaters cleared. The river wasn’t any sort of God, people just didn’t understand things.

But still, my mother insisted that the river loves us because we love everyone else.

If that was true, though, we’d be gone already. There was a resentment now between us and the cultists. They were peaceful and protected by the river, and we were aggressive and protected by the river at the same time. It didn’t make sense. People jeered at the cultists as they walked the streets. Some threw stones or garbage. Parents passed on their opinions to their children. It would never end.
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