Monthly Archives: November 2012

To say that the past few days have been a rollercoaster would be, as they say, an understatement.

I’m so grateful that the election wasn’t a nail biter last night;  I think that might have broken me.  As it was, the staying up for the concession speech and still having to go to work almost did.  I can’t remember the last time so many races and referendums went the way I was hoping they would, and I especially love the marriage votes in Maine, Maryland, Washington and Minnesota that make me hopeful that the tide is finally turning on this issue.  Believe me when I say that I rode cloud nine to sleep last night.

My ill friend continues to hang on.  Yesterday, we weren’t sure he was going to make it all, and our boss told us that if we wanted to visit, we should leave work and go.  He was convinced that if we waited, we would miss our chance.   And yet, he’s still with us, and his doctor said that at this point, the fact that there’s no change is enough to hang a small bit of hope on, because if they can keep him stable, it buys him time to heal.  I don’t know if I’m deluding myself, gripping that small bit of hope so tightly, but in the face of being completely powerless, there’s nothing else to do.

Tonight it is astonishingly stormy outside.  Not cold enough, quite, to snow, but you can feel that it wants to.  The wind sounds like a living thing, rattling the windows and sending tendril of cold snaking into the house.  It suits my mood, listening to the wind and watching the rain stream down the windowpane.

Today’s 10 on Tuesday is “Ten things that are on your mind right now”.  There’s always so much on my mind, it’ll be hard to limit it to just ten.

1.  The aftermath of Sandy on New York and New Jersey.  I’ve stopped being able to look at the pictures and read the stories; it feels like every new one I read brings more and more bad news.  I burst into tears Sunday night reading about the marathoners who went out to work at aid stations on Sunday when the race was cancelled.

2.  One of my co-workers is in the hospital, in the ICU with a grave prognosis.  I won’t go into detail here, but if you are the praying type, he could use some.  We’ve worked together for almost 15 years, and he’s as good an egg as you’re going to find anywhere, and the world won’t be the same without him, which I can’t even bring myself to think about.

3.  It’s election day today.  I care deeply about the outcome.  I will be a bundle of nerves until this one is decided, and the thought of it NOT being decided by tomorrow morning makes me want to throw up.  Here in Massachusetts we had a couple of interesting ballot questions – legalizing assisted suicide for terminal patients and legalizing medical marijuana.  I know how I feel on both of those issues (unabashedly pro on both), and I’m really curious to see how the rest of the state votes on them.

4.  More stress and pressure at the job.  Coming to realize that I really have no patience for being a part of the sausage making process and the endless discussion that it entails.  I’d much rather be out there actually doing something than doing the planning for other people to do stuff.

5.  Wondering about the plan for Thanksgiving – gotta call my Mom and find out what my assignment is for food contribution.  Looking forward to seeing the family and the cousins!

6.  Figuring out schools for Miss H next year – we deferred the decision last year, not loving any of our options, so now we’re back to Square One.  We’ve got a few good contenders, and hopefully, the right choice will make itself known before long.

7.  I had a long list of things I was supposed to do before our next financial planner meeting, of which I have done none, and our meeting is tomorrow.  Do I try to cram them in before the meeting, cancel the meeting or just admit that I suck?

8.  NaBloPoMo – am I really going to have content for an entire month and the gumption to actually stick with it?

9.  30 Days of Yoga – I signed up, we’re on week three, and yet I have not even managed to unroll my mat a single time.  This is feeling like a deep personal failure – I’m breaking a promise to myself, and that’s the one that matters.

10.  Christmas knitting!  Grand plans as always, whittling down the list to the do-able from the hopelessly optimistic.  I think there’s only one have-to-do on the list this year, which makes me breathe a sigh of relief.