I need to stop tempting fate. Roughly 18 months ago I was doing my year end review (ugh) and pointed out that despite really tough circumstances we had made it through the year with no turnover. Hit submit, and 30 minutes later right on cue...."Brenda, can we connect quickly..."

Yesterday prepping for a town hall meeting and I didn't even say it out loud, just thought it to myself...

Sure enough. "Brenda, can you give me a call when you have a sec..."?

I'm going to try to turn this one around. And seriously, 18 months in a high pressure job without a departure (out of 25+) is pretty great. But really, come on.

I may have gotten the name of my roommate before I started college, but didn't meet her until I got there. I really don't remember much about my dorm room.(Any of them actually)

I'm pretty sure I knew nothing except my room number in advance. And not even that really, since my room was listed as "Infirmary". (Which had been converted into a two room suite with one single and one double at some point in the past.) I did turn out to have the only single room in the building.

I'm back in FL for a week. Need to rest today because it will be bustling for the next few. I had to leave at 3 AM to get to the airport in time for a 6 AM flight, connection at JFK. So, I have my steps in for the day!

Don't think I am doing anything today. Tomorrow, I'm heading across the alley to see my brother and sister and doing some work at a medical office. Then zooming back for my book club here tomorrow night.

On Saturday, the extended family and friends will gather at a local park to celebrate the life of our Uncle Walt. He was a good man who had suffered from heart issues for at least the last decade. He will be missed, but I know he was ready. Since this is outdoors, I plan to wear as little as decency will allow. There will be a pavilion and plenty of cold beverages. I'm looking forward to seeing people I don't see often enough.

DH washed all the condo windows, has fresh flowers and several new plants, grocery shopped, loading up on all my favorite healthy foods,, and generally the place looks like he missed me. I'm full of awwww.

DH washed all the condo windows, has fresh flowers and several new plants, grocery shopped, loading up on all my favorite healthy foods,, and generally the place looks like he missed me. I'm full of awwww.

That's a sweet welcome home.

Rainy morning in SF, and I had my early check-in with the Ozempic people. Raised my dosage for the second time in a row. Didn't stall out on losing weight but slowed down considerably (probably because of my birthday indulgences), so back to being disciplined.

EM is here and we're plowing through paperwork. I've got two issues which are still legacy problems from JZ setting up accounts via her work email.

My reward from all this will be having lunch with Emmett today! Woot! I've barely seen him since he started work.

Looking forward to a report on how Emmett likes the apprenticeship!

I just had a preliminary interview for a job, and it was a delightful conversation. May or may not progress to a second interview, but it was good to flex the interview muscle. I liked the guy, and I'd be reporting to him, so that's a plus. And there's only one other person who works there! Lots of volunteers and organizations work with them, so that's how they roll. I'd say I am medium qualified in terms of experience for the job, and there are lots of other people who probably look better on paper, but it is a "build relationships" kind of gig, so whether or not he liked me will play a decent role, and I think he did, so there's that. In any case, he's a good contact to have even if I don't move on.

Awww, that's sweet, Laura.

Tomorrow, Tim is having the weird (better-be-benign) neck lump excised and biopsied, because the test result on the fluid the ENT aspirated from the lump was the medical equivalent of an "I dunno" shrug. The ENT still feels it's most likely benign, but "most likely" isn't 100% and gives me the jitters. Honestly, I'll have the jitters until the biopsy results are in. So benign lump~ma for tomorrow would be greatly appreciated.

And my brother will be in town for 5 days starting Thursday, which will be delightful! I am retrieving him from the airport tomorrow, which is less delightful, except for how it will deliver me my brother, so still delightful-ish.

So between Tim's procedure tomorrow (don't know how long recovery will take because he has to be under general anesthesia, etc) and then my brother being in town the end of the week, today's my last day of work this week. I feel sort of vacation-y, sort of not.

Benign ~ma Tim's way and have so much fun with your brother!

I feel like it should be the weekend now that I've done an interview. I don't think that's how it works, though, sadly.

Good job in the interview, Jen! I've got a good feeling that a warm conversation might get you in the door.

Looking forward to a report on how Emmett likes the apprenticeship!

I have a picture of him wearing Carhartt overalls now. He likes it! He's lost weight, getting lots of exercise, learning stuff. His supervisors like him, and once he finishes this job he'll probably move to something with a 7am-3pm shift, which is much more to his liking.

Matilda was up and had nothing going, so we took her to breakfast with us at Brenda's Soul Food where I had gumbo.

Weird-lump-be-gone for Tim! And I hope you and your brother get matching banjo frog bolo ties, Tep.

Edited To Add: Here's a list of all of the benefits that come with my new AmEx card, if anyone is curious (for example it covers free damage insurance on rental cars): [link]

Lots of ~ma sent for quick and easy recovery on the removal of Tim's totally benign lump.

Interview~ma, Jen. Sounds like a comfortable fit.

Lump~ma, Steph.

I’m glad Emmet’s apprenticeship is going well!

The last days in my current job are quickly approaching. Today I received a goodbye present from my team—a bottle of Hendricks gin. I’m going to miss them. Anyway, the job hunt continues. It’ll be interesting to see where I am by the end of the year. Probably still in Michigan, but heaven knows what part.

Ooof, we have to be at the hospital at 6 am tomorrow. It's already 10 pm. That's 8 hours away. I am obviously not asleep, but I should really start heading in that direction, because I'm going to have to get up at like 4:30. Possibly some of the west coasters might still be awake when I get up. The good thing is we should be back home well before lunch and then I can sleep the rest of the day.