#returning to work

[the-phantom-peach]

So I saw Sonic Movie 3

[satchelostories]

Back Where I Started

It was a crisp Monday morning, the kind that tricks you into thinking something new is on the horizon. I stood outside BrightMind Edutech, wearing my neatly pressed shirt—no tie, just the same old watch that hadn’t worked in years but still added a touch of respectability.

After two years of "self-discovery" (read: unemployment), I was finally back in the game. This time, I was sure I’d escape the relentless grind of sales. The job posting had promised customer service, client care, and relationship management. I was done with sales, I told myself. Finished with cold calls, targets, and rejection.

The interview had gone smoothly. “You’ll be managing client relationships,” they said. “No direct selling,” they emphasized. I nodded like I knew exactly what that meant. The relief washed over me as I signed the contract. I’d made it out of the sales world.

Or so I thought.

At precisely 9:01 a.m., reality smacked me in the face. My new manager dropped a list of “potential clients” on my desk and handed me a headset that felt heavier than my dignity. “Just a few calls to get you started,” he said, grinning like a man who knows you’ve been tricked.

I stared at the phone, my old enemy. Sales? Again? How had I come full circle despite all my efforts to avoid it? I felt like I’d been running in place, and life had simply put me right back where I started, laughing at my futile attempts to break free.

The first call went straight to voicemail. The second? A guy who sounded half-asleep and hung up halfway through my pitch. I put the phone down and glanced at my watch—frozen, like time had stopped just for me. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

By lunchtime, I had made a grand total of two miserable calls. My head throbbed, my spirit sank, and I realized with crushing clarity that I was back in sales. Another cog in the relentless machine, only this time with a fancier job title that fooled no one.

I let out a laugh—a bitter, hollow sound that echoed around my cubicle. The guy next to me glanced over, probably wondering if I was losing it. Maybe I was.

In the end, there was nothing left to do but pick up the phone, dial the next number, and accept my fate. The circle had closed, and here I was again, back where I started. But hey, at least the coffee was free.

[kingcael]

Gods of Exandria

[buttercups-revenge]

The (un-fucking-hinged) conversation that Snow had with Haymitch REALLY puts Peeta’s hijacking (SPECIFICALLY against Katniss) into perspective. Snow could have hijacked him to hate the rebellion, or district 12 or even himself. But no, that old loser just HAD to finally prove to one of those district 12 boys that their girl didn’t really love them, JUST like his didn’t really love him. Was it a smart move to potentially have Peeta attack Katniss on sight? Yes. But more importantly, it allowed Snow to control Peeta in a way that let him live out his own fantasies about being unloved and having power over his girl.

[lifewithaview]

Christine Woods in Flashforward (2009) Playing Cards with Coyote

E8

The discovery of a person in Mark's flashforward impedes a romantic getaway with Olivia. Aaron discovers information about his daughter. Simon and Lloyd attempt to resolve a conflict, and Janis returns to the Bureau.

*First appearance of the the Quantum Entanglement Devices. First Ingrid Alvarez says she heard the men she saw talking about something that "sounded like QED". In the next scene, during the poker game between Simon and Lloyd, Simon mentions "QED" but does not explain what it means. Later, Janis shows Wedeck the new rendering by NSA of Suspect Zero that shows the man had a ring in his finger. In the final scene, we see six rings, but it is not yet revealed that *they* are the Quantum Entanglement Devices.

[technically-human]

You've got so much to learn

[willabee]

not supposed to be on the table but she looks so polite

[thedaveandkimmershow]

When January officially started, we were flying high above the Labrador Sea, the one right there above the North Atlantic Ocean. We were flying somewhere south of Greenland, three hours behind Greenwich Mean Time, as December 31, 2023 became January 1, 2024. 

Earlier, when we boarded and took our seats, I asked one of the stewards if there was a way to know when New Year’s would arrive on the plane.

He said “Yes there is… but it involves math.”

Oh good grief.

Fortunately there was WiFi on board and I managed to figure it out.

After that, we were on a fully immersive and meaningful visit with my family in Holland through Sunday, January 7th.

The way it felt is as if we jumped into 2024 midstream.

“Midstream” with a touch of jet lag that hung on for a week, week-and-a-half.

“Midstream” where, after the 7th, I mean the very next day, I immediately returned to all the different places I work including my personal edit suite.

“Midstream” where Kimmer continued her doctoral studies during our trip and every day after, a relentless exercise of writing writing writing after reading reading reading on top of lectures, tests, and class discussion.

Oh yeah. And then Kimmer's full-time job. 

My uncle, aunt, and their two kids (my cousins who are, in fact, no longer “kids”), took off from Amsterdam mid-month and we've been following their grand adventure to and across Indonesia in an app called Polarsteps ever since with about a week, week-and-a-half to go. A ton of photographs, a map tracking their progress, and the occasional post updating their experiences.🙂

This is also, legitimately, the beginning of the year and we're considering any and all things that need to be done differently. Or even… things that need to be done. Mostly those considerations have to do with businesses, receipts, and accounting. You know. The super fun stuff. 🤣🤣🤣

I'm also seeing us wanting to be more intentional in our relationships including (and especially) the ones five thousand miles away and the ones temporarily adventuring eight thousand four hundred miles away. Largely because the experiences we had with the people closest to us at the top of the month (even as they live far away) created a lot of continuing memories.

Continuing memories?

Yeah.

Like imagining what happens next. Like thinking about what would be great if it happened next.

Continuing memories.

Here's something new, though. 

We are now a family of four.

Four?

Yes. Now remember, we're empty-nesters so by definition we’re a family of two. Add a cat (Dinker)...

Now we've got a family of three.

Our fourth comes to us from a dear friend who's heading off to New York either to live at a friend's place while she's away a few months… or to be there be there.

No idea what's gonna happen.

So as of Monday afternoon, 2:30pm, we're a family of four in which cat number 1 (Dinker) and cat number two (Quarter Note) are aware of each other…

But they’ve not laid eyes on each other.

It's part of a routine we’re following from a YouTube channel to manage a good meeting and outcome between the two cats rather than let ‘em loose in the same room and hope for the best.

So far, Quarter Note’s spent a solid twenty-four hours under the protection of the family room couch, only venturing out from its safety for food, water, and bathroom breaks. When no one, of course, is around.

Over the last hour, though, Quarter Note's been sending mixed signals, coming out to rub up against my legs, enjoying his sides being stroked or his head.

And then low-key hissing.

Don't know what to tell you. There's no claws out. No arching back or incredibly puffy tail…

And then he's enjoying strokes and rubbing up against my legs.

At one point he considers jumping onto the couch. He's got his front paws on the edge… but decides against it, opting instead for wandering back and forth while letting his tail stroke against the bottoms of my extended legs.

Cats are weird.

Right now he's under the couch again. But every so often pokes his head out to look at me for a moment before pulling back underneath.

So that's happening.

Finally, I read an article in the New York Times that captured perfectly these weeks following Christmas. The article’s called “The Joy and Sorrow of Streaming”. Written by Melissa Kirsch, Desiree Ibekwe, and Melissa Clark, it starts like this:

“The year continues to get its bearings, to establish itself. Right now, it’s still a collection of post-holiday weeks, getting-going weeks, weeks for planning the year to come. An on-ramp where we get up to speed. Soon we’ll be properly in the flow of traffic, soon we’ll really be on our way.”

Of course being on an international flight leaving the States December 31 of 2023 and arriving in Europe January 1 of the New Year, 2024…

Definitely feels like we're already on our way.

We’ll see how this plays out.

In the meantime…

Onward!

☺️

[hinamie]

in spite of everything, I had fun <3

[sweetandglovelyart]

My response to the Nintendo Direct

[melanielynngriffin]

Magical Years - Happy 2024!!

Hi friends! I haven’t posted in a while. Or worked on my memoir or drafted an essay or submitted an article for publication or … well, done much of anything in the writing realm. I told you I have a job, a real full-time job, for the first time in a dozen years. I’m working at Third Act, organizing folks over sixty to protect our planet and our democracy, and I love it. But it’s eaten my writing…

[mega-delicatelysuperbcollector]

WHAT IF SHE RETURNS?

WHAT IF Melissa returns, Has he all his bridges burned….? Her silence means He can’t tell a thing Or what reaction he earns! – It’s clear he’d like her back, Client privilege (should) allow that…. Professionally Her superiority, In more than cleaning and a bath! – Jonathan Caswell

[anbaisai]

someone mentioned floyd on my last post and gave me the motivation to finally draw this image summarizing floyd & mayu's dynamic (although whether he feels up to it is like 50/50)

[catsharky]

I lied, I did have more in me

I love the idea of the Badniks having some amount of personality to them and getting attached to Stone, and the image of them settling on him like a flock of birds wouldn't leave me be.

[hellenhighwater]

In a completely baffling turn of events, today I opened up my wallet and discovered, tucked into an internal pocket, a current, valid, Michigan Concealed Pistol License ID card belonging to a man I'd never met. (CPL cards are heavy plastic, like a driver's license.) It's a validly issued CPL. He's a real person who lives in Michigan--I found his voting records, home address, social media accounts, and other information with a bit of searching, and can confirm I have never met this dude. He does not live anywhere nearby. The wallet is one I just use for my ID's--bar card, courthouse keypass, drivers license, employee ID, etc. Not something I pull out on a daily basis; very definitely not something I hand off to other people. Even more confusingly, this man is twenty years older than me to the day. We have the same birthday. But I don't know him; I don't even know anyone who knows him.

Which leaves me with the utter mystery of how the hell some random guy's concealed pistol license wound up in my purse

[harmeet-saggi]

Reclaiming The Workplace: Returning To Work After Overcoming Mental Health Challenges

Have you ever wondered if it's possible to not just survive but thrive in your workplace after conquering mental health challenges? You've just emerged victorious from a battle with anxiety, depression, or another mental health challenge. You've spent months, maybe even years, working diligently to regain your mental health and well-being. Now, the daunting task of returning to work awaits you. How can you successfully navigate this transition?

Know more