Sick Day #4

So, I get 10 sick days and it's only January. Though I suppose since I spend up to half of every day working at home and not sleeping, maybe those only count as half of a sick day?

My interesting observation of the day was that the humidity in our house was less than 25%. From what I've read, that's not a good thing. Since I'd rather not spend all day in one room, I've been dragging the humidifier between rooms, along with our indoor/outdoor thermostat that also shows humidity levels. (A very cool Christmas gift from my sister 2 years ago, I might add.) It's currently 18 degrees outside, but a very balmy 75 degrees in here. And that's without turning the heat on--thanks to the new window insulation and all of our neighbors in the building who apparently do turn their heat on.

Ok, getting tired. Time to get some more sleep. I wonder when The Price is Right comes on? That was one of my favorite sick-day activities when I was a kid. It's so cheesy it's cool.

Sick Days

Is it a bad thing or a good thing that the office fell apart when I was gone for a few days? I had computer issues, had to call a printer repair person (the printer was jammed beyond my ability to fix it), and there are several deadlines approaching that all need my attention. I suppose it's good to be needed, but sick days don't seem like sick days if I have to work twice as hard when I come back.

Incidentally, I'm not actually better. I just knew I had to come in or things would get totally out of hand, and I was right. I think I might be developing bronchitis or pneumonia or something...I guess I'll find out at the dr. later today. Ok, back to work!

Go Bears!!

Oh, yeah...the Bears are going to the Super Bowl! Believe it or not, I can still remember watching the 1985 Bears on TV with my dad.

Speaking of family, I hope that the Bears vs. Colts thing won't cause a rift between us and our Colts-loving family members in Indiana. I'm kinda tempted to send some Bears souvenirs to them in the mail as a joke, but I'm not sure they'll think it's funny.

In the hour-long news broadcast following the football games last night, the Chicago CBS news anchors were talking live with a reporter from the Indianapolis CBS affiliate, trading a little friendly trash talk. The Chicago news people suggested that the two TV stations do the same thing that mayors often do, make a little wager over who will win, and the loser has to send a care package with items from their city. Well, then they said, "but I can't think of anything I'd really want from Indianapolis." OUCH! Ha, ha, I'm still laughing about that one!! (Apologies to my Indiana friends. Actually, I think almost all of my friends who know about this blog live in Indiana. There goes my measly readership.)

I'll try to be nice as the Super Bowl approaches, but I can't promise anything.

Go Bears!

Customer Disservice

I feel like I'm in some kind of customer service Twilight Zone. I have known for a long time that good service is ceasing to exist as we once knew it, but the last couple of days have been ridiculous. I just sat on hold for 10 minutes waiting for someone to answer the phone at Target Optical. Last night someone at a store in the mall was so unbelievably indifferent to us that we looked at each other in disbelief (Lenscrafters...they told us on the phone that they could fit us in to the schedule, then when we arrived they suddenly couldn't. When I asked about some eyeglass frames, rather than show me where to go, she waved her hand and said "over there.") I'm not explaining it well, but it was awful. Then, when buying something at Best Buy, W. was in line with the most inefficient, chatty, annoying cashier ever. He actually had to say to him, "hey, I just want to buy this. Now." Twice in the last few weeks we've had to work our way up to supervisors on the phone just to get anything done. In one case, it worked (auto insurance claim); in the other case, it hasn't yet (student loan consolidation problem). For the latter problem, we're considering calling state regulatory agencies, the Tribune's "Problem Solver" guy....anything. I realize the customer isn't always right, but I think a lot of people in the "service" industry need to look up the word "service." W. thinks that the decline of customer service is a warning sign of the decline of the American civilization, and I'm starting to agree with him.

Near Miss with a TV Crew

I narrowly escaped being on the evening news...a TV crew interviewed the woman directly in front of me in line at Starbucks. They were asking for comment about the news that Starbucks is going to stop using trans fats in all of its food items. I'm glad they didn't pick me. Bad hair day.

Never a Dull Moment, #47

Our plans for Christmas included a marathon trip around the Midwest, visiting family in Indiana and Michigan, and being in a wedding in Ohio. We have completed leg 2 of the trip, but not without a setback or two.

After last night's incident, my brother's first question was, "So, did you kill Bambi or his mom?" Yes, that's right, we hit a deer with our car. We had just had the brakes fixed, or we might have ended up hitting all 4 of them that crossed our path. Scary, and we just found out that the damage is roughly $3,000. Ouch! Glad we have insurance.

I really want my life to be boring for a while. REALLY boring.

Affy Tapples

I was in the convenience store near my office, and I saw the funniest thing on a package of Affy Tapples: a big warning that says "May Contain Tree Nuts." You think?

flu shot

So, I just got a flu shot. Our office building's landlord hooked us up with a health provider that had tons of leftover vaccine. We'll see if I get sick because of this. Hopefully not, though going home early on a Friday wouldn't be a terrible thing.

Ewwww

A coworker just coughed in my face as I was trying to help with a computer question. Ewwww!!! Looks like I'll need to start taking Airborne again. Great.

Add that to the nasty film of food residue on his keyboard and mouse, and I'm thoroughly grossed out right now. Sorry if you are, too.

A "Nick Burns" moment...

If you've ever seen the "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy" sketches on Saturday Night Live, that's what I'm talking about. There are a lot of times when I want to respond to a computer question with, "Are you serious?" I realize that lots of people are intimiated by computers, or forget things, etc., but today when someone held up a blank CD-ROM and asked, "How do I use this?" I didn't know what to say. "Do I have to format it or something first?" This coming from a person who works in an office every day, and has for years. And spends all day in front of a computer. Yikes.