Friday, December 31, 2021

Happy...whatever....

I had grand plans to do this end of year wrap up post then I just didn’t which is kind of a fitting way to end 2021 actually. I am currently sitting at my kitchen table writing this and watching mom juice about 75 Limequats which are apparently what you get when you plant a lemon tree and a cumquat tree to close together …or some BS like that. So that she will have juice for pies but she can throw out the Limequats. PS they are very very tart so the Lemon is strong in that quat.

I am also setting up my dad’s new Samsung phone (I’m a multi-tasker afterall). A few months ago my father destroyed the back of his phone. Like destroyed it. Little pieces of glass everywhere. We took it apart and tried to put a new back on but it wouldn’t hold as the glue or tape on the back had lost its sticky. So me and the engineer decided to take the back off and put superglue on it and well it held but it wasn’t pretty. It was only a matter of time before that failed so for Christmas I got him a new phone. I also got my mom a new one so they now have the exact same phone.

Mom’s phone was different. She had the old Microsoft phone, maybe one of the last phones still working. AT&T sent her a text saying yeah we aren’t supporting that phone anymore so we are going to send you a free one. I was like yeah right delete it mom it’s a scam. DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING!!!!! … amazing how many times I have to tell them that. Then a few weeks later we got a letter … saying the same thing. No phone. A month or so later I called them and after being on the phone for over an hour and the dude trying to sell me everything under the sun we determined that in fact they were sending my mom a phone and we should get an e-mail when it is shipped. Damned if we didn’t. They sent it and it was the slowest piece of shit I’ve ever held in my hands. I knew eventually that would get on her nerves. The box was in my bedroom but I hadn’t wrapped it yet. One night as we watched yet another Cheesy Crimas movie it happened. She announced to the room that she wasn’t going to have a phone, didn’t need a phone and didn’t want a fucking phone for Christmas! I sat there through her rant and the next day spent the morning setting up her phone (hence why I’m setting up dads (you just did it after all)) then I went to give it to her and while she was mad a hell and didn’t want to take it, she felt like it was too expensive, she eventually did and I think is very happy that I did give her one. It still frustrates her sometimes but I do think she likes it. I hope so anyway. As an adult it’s rare I can give them Christmas presents they aren’t expecting and neither saw that coming. It was a nice feeling.

 It’s currently 84 degrees outside on this New Year’s Eve which is just stupid. The air outside is heavy with moisture and there’s a feeling of bad weather in the air. I hope it holds off cause well I’m not sure why. I’m not planning to go anywhere and I really feel like I’ll be asleep long before the ball drops but it just seems strange going into the new year with tornados in the air. Then again maybe that’s how 2021 should go out the door.

 I’ve been sick the last week or so. Not Rona, I don’t think. I’m 98% sure it was a sinus infection. I was all snotty and gross and congested. I never did the RONA test, I just stayed home, worked from the house and am now feeling much better. Tho my left nostril has some explaining to do. For some reason it refuses to work but jokes on him I’ll just breathe through my mouth! I never had a fever, never had a headache, lost sense of taste or smell, and never really felt “bad” thus why I don’t think I had the RONA. Then again I’ve had both my shots, I’ve had the booster, I wear the mask when in public and so if I did get the RONA I was going to be mad as hell. However I also understand I’m very likely to have had it, never really know it and spread it, hence my staying home this past week. Several of my coworkers didn’t come back from Crimmus cause they had tested positive or were in contact with others who tested positive so next week at work should be … interesting. My partner in crime Golden has also been battling sickness this past week, however as a medical marvel that’s more the norm for her than the surprise.

 The reason for the year end post is that I realized not too long ago that our little Blog turned 7 this past August … one day I’m going to actually remember the birthday of this blog but alas this was not the year. I thought well that’s not really a milestone age .. I mean it’s not like 5 or 10 it’s just a 7 .. but to me that is a pretty big deal. For 7 years I’ve wasted your time with drivel that fell out of my head and some of you read them all, some of you didn’t and that’s ok ..the point is that despite my best efforts .. this blog isn’t dead yet. That’s 250 blog posts (once this one goes live), some that were substantial, some that were by Golden, and some that were just to say I posted something. Not surprisingly that first year (2014) I had over 83 posts but that was also the year that I did a post a day in November and with this thing being new and all it was fun and interesting still. The second biggest year was 2019 which came after a year with the lowest number of posts, also the year that really tried to take us down but didn't succeed. 2019 was my re-launch of this blog so to speak and we haven’t looked back since. Sure, there are some months with one or no posts but hey I did keep it going. This year we have had 10 posts, well 11 once this one goes live.

I’ve been thinking about how different life was 7 years ago. 7 years ago … I had a boss that was literally sucking the professional life out of me, to the point where I had started looking for a new job. I knew the grass always seemed greener on the other side. I loved the company I worked for and most of the people, but I was just done with her. HEAR THAT AMERICA IT’S NOT ALWAYS WE DON’T WANNA WORK IT IS SOMETIMES WE DON’T WANT TO WORK FOR SPECIFIC PEOPLE!!!! Nothing I did was good enough, and if I ever tried to step up and do more than expected I was suddenly “out for her job.” I had gotten to the point where I took everything that was personal out of my office. No pictures on the walls, no sitting around fun stuff to show it was my office, even my candy dish (which always bothered her cause A. she couldn’t stay out of it (somehow that was my fault) and B. cause my coworkers would stop by and chat as they got a piece and never stopped to chat with her). I wanted to be able to literally go down to HR say I’ve had enough and quit. I didn’t expect her to let me work a 2 week notice and so instead of her standing there watching me pack a box of my stuff I could grab my purse and get the *uck out. My coworkers noticed I didn’t put anything up for the holidays, they noticed the lack of personal stuff in my office and started trying to build me up, which frankly made her even madder. They were dark days for sure work wise. Now it's 7 years later, I just celebrated my 18th anniversary at the same job, I've got an amazing boss, I have been promoted twice and just celebrated my first year of being the manager of my department with my own staff. I have taken on more responsibility than I have ever had, and I love my job more today than I did back then, tho it often stresses me past the breaking point but that's on me not them. So, she can suck it! :D 

However, I guess she can be credited with not only hiring the boss I currently have but also with this blog as the stress of the office was making me not want to do anything outside of work either. I was spending so much energy in the week not cussing her out that by Friday I was mentally drained, and Golden came up with a fantastic idea of starting this blog to refocus that energy. I will always love her for that. I would give anything if could find something similar for her. She’s made guest appearances on this blog from time to time and frankly she is much better at this than I am. The way she tells a story, the humor, the details, the drama. She uses worked like a pen in the way that I only wish I could. She paints a story in someone’s head and damn I wish I could do that. I’ve begged her to try her hand at writing a book, I think it would be a best seller. I’m going to keep at her and keep striving to be more like her in every aspect that I can.

 7 years ago, Golden was also in a place with her job where it was taking the very soul out of her body. However, unlike me she was released and found a new path and now she is in another job that she really likes but that has taken everything she has to survive it during this pandemic. The crazy thing is she is really good at this job, it’s just …. too much sometimes. Staff shortages and overtime hours is starting to take a toll, but she’s survived it and hasn’t murdered anyone and for that I’m both grateful and a little shocked. See Golden is a 100% essential worker who works at a facility that runs 24 hours 7 days a week. As I mentioned previously Golden is a medical marvel and needs the downtime that her current situation is just not supplying, I pray that in 2022 she gets some rest, some peace and finds a balance between work and not work. Heck even when off they call her more than she tweets which is a problem. Even in her downtime she’s never too far away.

SHUT up … as I was finishing this I got an alert that Betty White has left us … damn you 2021 … but well played 2022 … don’t let that be on your shoulders …….. damn ….. rest well Mrs. White we’ll take it from here.

 So, I’m ending this on that note …. See you guys on the other side…. I hope.

Marcy

Thursday, December 2, 2021

2021 Christmas Calendar

Goodness gracious it feels like I just sent out the Halloween calendar … I mean doesn’t it? Like how did we get here so quickly …. I guess the calendar has a tendency to do that. Either way it’s time for some sappy Crimmus (as my Partner in Crime spells it (Golden) movies that are going to make you smile, cringe, laugh, and in some cases cry. Either way there will be moisture involved so .. have fun with that.

So … here you go …. I present to you the 2021 Christmas TV Schedule in all its glory! Once again, the calendar is set up in 11X17 format in an effort to save your eye balls. If you have to print it 8.5x11 it is readable but if you can print it 11X17 your eyes will thank you, tho your IT guy might question why you are suddenly out of ink at the office. I have also found that saving the PDF to your favorite portable device is the best way to keep the calendar handy and as an added bonus you can zoom in and out to read that ever so small type. 

A few highlights to discuss ….

  • AMC is having their “Best Christmas Ever” which will feature “popular Christmas and Family films along with other acquired specials” whatever the heck that means. However, they are showing the Olsen Twins before they got greasy hair in To Grandmother’s House We go and giving all the love to National Lampoons Christmas Vacay so I’m going to let them pass on that. This is where those of you without kiddos might want to land each night to avoid the cartoon crimmus .. but I mean if you aren’t watching Claymation at Crimmus are you even gonna get a visit from Santa … I think not.
  • ABC is bringing the holiday fun with regular programing having Christmas/Holiday themed episodes as well as specials (which is what this calendar is about) including “The Magic Maker,” “A Very Boy Band Holiday,” “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”; “CMA Country Christmas” and of course kicking off 2022 with the “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2022.
  • Freeform is doing another 25 days of Christmas, after their 31 days lead up and after their 31 days of Halloween …. So I guess that’s just what they do now. However Freeform is filled with a lot of fun stuff for the kiddos and the adult kiddos will find some fun too, but not everything on their schedule is what I’d call “crimmus” worthy. See Die Hard Fans I can pick and choose what is Crimmus and what isn’t too.
  • There are now roughly 4,567 versions of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (give or take) … God love you Dr. Seuss … it’s on TBS, Freeform, AMC, NBC, USA, I mean it’s every freaking where! I used to try and flag the cartoon vs Jim Carey vs the new animated one with Cumber-what’s-his-face (which is actually really good almost better than the original but don’t tell Chuck Jones and Boris Karloff I said that please) however it’s all too much. So, it’s on the schedule … tune in … see which one and turn it off …. Or keep watching … entirely up to you. I mean his heart is gonna grow no matter what you do cause that’s what Grinches do … PS Spoiler alert … I guess I mean it’s been out since 1957, so I mean that’s on you.
  • Hallmark, Halmark Movies and Mysteries, and Lifetime have been cranking out the Christmas specials since like April and I get it … really I do. It’s a simple formula that usually pays off, but know that if I needed room on the calendar, these were the first to get kicked out. I did try to add the “new” specials you know the ones that haven’t been seen a billion times in the last week. Hallmark announced something like 41 new movies this season and Lifetime added 50 “Holiday themed” specials” to their line up and well … that’s just dumb. I will admit when you think about how these actors had to pretend to be freezing in say 97 degree California or Canadian weather…so well played actors.
  • Other options include ION channel, UpTV, TCM, and Food Network for your holiday fun. Not everyone gets all of these channels but if you have them, they have some pretty fun looking shows coming up. I get them and as I have said on numerous occasions … this is all about me … I just share the love cause well … it’s the holidays and I want you all to be happy.
  • Lastly, we all know by now the fate of the Peanuts cartoons …. PBS is showing these specials once … one time … they showed the Great Pumpkin commercial free which I admit was nice. I am hoping for the same with the Christmas special. So, plan your schedule around these showings cause well it’s important. What has happened to Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Woodstock is exactly what this calendar has tried to prevent. Streaming can’t take over … it just can’t but it’s gonna and until it does, I’ll be here … wasting everyone’s time and file space with these calendars.

Speaking of streaming if you partake … here ya go … you are welcome!

28 Christmas Movies on Disney Plus for 2021 | Best Family Films to Watch (rd.com)

The 16 Best New Christmas Movies of 2021 (yahoo.com)

The Most Festive Christmas Movies to Stream on Amazon Prime (yahoo.com)

Best Christmas Movies Streaming on Netflix | PEOPLE.com

25 Best Christmas Movies on Hulu 2021 — Hulu Holiday Films (rd.com)

The Best Christmas Movies to Watch on Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and More - TV Guide

THE RULES

  • NO E-MAILS about taking Christ out of Christmas, it’s just a really long word and using X-Mas allows for more shows on the already full calendar.
    • Thanks for your understanding.
      • For those that don’t understand I’ll be glad to remove you from the list just let me know.
  • I live in the central time zone, the times on this calendar reflect that, adjust accordingly for those of you that have traveled as far and wide as this calendar has. (PS What’s that like?!)
    • Unless otherwise stated the times are PM
      • Also, the times may vary (my TV provider could be wrong, the website could be wrong, I might have screwed up the conversation from Eastern/Central time zone cause numbers are not my friend and a really awesome song distracted me) the point is … don’t call because you missed Clark finally get those lights to work, that’s on you…I mean that movie comes on like 75 billion times … and I always catch the same 12 scenes every.single.time.
    • Use your fancy devices and find out when it comes on again and watch accordingly. I know you can do it. I have faith in you! Or ask your kid to handle it for you, I have more faith in them to be honest.
  • This calendar contains shows I want to see, so it includes a mixture of adult themed shows/movies and kid themed shows/movies, cause let’s face it I’m basically a little person in a big person body.
    • PLEASE be mindful of what is on before you sit the kids down with popcorn to watch
      • It’s not that I don’t love your kids but I didn’t birth them, they aren’t my mess and I don’t want to hear about it.
        • You should have thought about that before you decided to have kids. Just saying.
        • Seriously don’t be the one that every year calls cause of this ….that’s how you get removed from next year’s list.
          • It happens … every…damn…year!
  • Feel free to make your own calendar, which if you don’t share with the world around you .. then you are just the worst.
    • Seriously tho.. Love ya … but yeah the worst!

So sit back, laugh, smile, and cry (some of these are sad, I mean who doesn’t cry when George Bailey is standing next to the tree with Mary holding little Zuzu and his friends are coming in to save the Bailey Savings and Loan, oh no did I give the end away ?!) and have a GREAT Christmas season!

Marcy

PS while I’m here cause I’m not doing a New Year's calendar (Halloween and Christmas are enough) …. Hallmark has developed some New Year's movies for 2022 (cause why not) here’s what they are planning to offer, some frankly sound like they might be decent.

Hallmark Channel Kicks Off 2022 with "New Year New Movies" Event | Southern Living

 

Friday, October 1, 2021

This is Halloween ......

       EDIT : Due to my awesomeness the powers that be have decided to air the Great Pumpkin on PBS Oct. 24th at 7:30 Eastern which is of course when most families are sitting down to watch TV not rushing home or preparing dinner. Sigh ... anyway you will have the opportunity to watch this beloved special but don't always count on that ..... 


  
n    Now back to our originally scheduled shenanigans! 

       Attention fellow lovers of Halloween TV fun …….let’s get some unpleasant business out of the way first … In case you missed it last year, Peanuts anything has moved exclusively to Apple TV + and thus you won’t find our beloved Great Pumpkin on this year’s calendar, or I guess any future calendars. For the record I believe I’ve been predicting this for over a decade so I’m not going to say I told you so but ……… I mean I totes did. I was really hoping the powers that be would come to their senses and realize what a missed opportunity this was but well if they had any senses we’d have less “reboots” or “remakes” than we do flavors of Oreo’s. I was going to bore you with my reboot rant but I’m going to spare you … this time! However can we talk about how they will show say Friday the 13th part 3, 4, 2, and then 1 ? Like that’s so messed up …. Or they will show Halloween 4 but not Halloween. What’s up with that?!
 
       That being said I’m kind of super excited about the new Child Play SERIES “Chucky’ that will be on Syfy this year starting October 12th. However, since that’s a series and not a special it’s not on this calendar but should be, cause it looks AWESOME! …wait …where was I … oh yeah, the move of Peanuts to Apple TV+ … If you have it log on…..pull it up and enjoy … the rest of us will just grab our DVDs while we still can. For you old schoolers your VHS might need to be dusted off before you insert it but should still be good to go too. God love ya if like me you are still rocking the old school VHS machine. I myself got me a little VHS/DVD combo, when my former VCR died a horrible, horrible death after eating my copy of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a super sad day for sure. Dad still says was a waste of money. Who is laughing now Dad ?! well….me….I guess ….. just me, but I stand by my decision that day at the Best Buy to pay a little extra for the luxury of being able to choose my format when watching goodness on my TV instead of upgrading to that Blu-Ray fad.  
 
So now that that’s taken care of ……. I present to you the 2021 Halloween Calendar. It’s back guys! I’m going to keep it going until the universe says we’ve had enough.  Or until you guys stop asking about it … in August.
 
A few items of note ….
FreeForm is doing 31 nights of Halloween – this is the place that your littles will need to land but note that just cause it’s on this channel this time of year does not mean it’s “Halloween” fun and what’s with their new alignment with Fox that allows them to show not only the Simpsons but now Family Guy as well? I do admit that at some point FreeForm tried to take over the calendar but I think I held them at bay … somewhat but good try FreeForm.

SYFY is also doing 31 days of Halloween – That’s the place to go for some fun, gory, good times!

AMC Fear Fest begins October 1st Classics are all over the place here with some walking dead sprinkled around for flavor. Tune in to see Pet Sematary, The Shining, Scream, all the Final Destinations, and of course the OG …. Michael Meyers in Halloween.

The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXXII airs on FOX on Oct. 10th. It’s Must See TV. This year’s special will be 5 segments instead of the usual three.

TCM is trying to get back on my calendars by throwing a Halloween Marathon starting October 29th at 7 through October 31st. That’s 32 classic movies guys ….  Spooky, creepy, horrifying, and humorous over the course of 48 hours. This includes movies starring the likes of Vincent Price, Linda Blair, and even Mel Books in Young Frankenstein, a MUST see if you haven’t seen it. 

Food Network is still in the corner cause like last year they started most of their programing in the middle of September (cause that’s when I want to get my Halloween Wars on of course). They slightly redeem themselves by bringing back “Outrageous Pumpkins” with Alyson Hannigan starting Oct. 3rd and airing every Sunday at 9 and Kids Baking Championship “Oh My Gourd!” (Seriously get in the corner Food Network and likely make a nest you are going to be there for a while). KBC OMG (which is truly what they are calling it btw) will air Monday at 7 starting Oct. 18th. I’m not even going to rant about the fact that Halloween Wars removed the “pumpkin” aspect of the show and how the host is only appearing via prerecorded videos .. I mean just cancel the damn thing already and put it out of its misery.

There is also exciting news on the “streaming” front …… Disney+ will have a new “Lego Star Wars” called “Terrifying Tales” or something like that but the real exciting news is that they will be debuting the “Muppets Haunted Mansion” on Oct 8th. Peacock will be showing the brand-new Halloween Movie “Halloween Kills” starting Oct. 15th will Jamie finally kill him or nah … my guess is nah but I’m thankful for Universal and Peacock for making this happen. Peacock will also air a “Snoop and Martha’s Very Tasty Halloween” starting Oct. 14th and if that’s not worth getting Peacock well nothing is. Peacock is free yall …. Go get it ! Hulu is having a Huluween (seriously can’t make this stuff up) with a special Halloween section featuring both classic movies and “Halloween episodes” of favorite shows. ! Netflix has some new “specials” as well such as Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween, Escape the Undertaker, Scaredy Cats, and Nightbooks. All kinds of good stuff on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Disney+, Peacock and *cough* AppleTV+ this year … plus some amazing classics so check em out. 

Hallmark – Hallmark is doing some “Fall Harvest” thing with some “new” movies so I threw them on the calendar if only cause Freeform was taking over. Might be a good fall alternative to gruesome and scary, or a mind-numbing bore to fall asleep to after a stressful workday.  

As this is the 12th (give or take) year of doing this …. I’m not going to bore you with the rules …. Just know ….. If your kid is easily skittish and couldn’t sleep after watching say Texas Chainsaw Massacre don’t blame me … as some have done in the past, it’s not my problem. I’m in the Central time zone, if you aren’t then adjust accordingly. Check your own listings as yes sometimes I make mistakes and conversion from Eastern Time Zone is hard yall.
 
The intention of this calendar is to get your family to pause and spend some time together making memories. Maybe carve a pumpkin while watching, create some fantastic Halloween Treats from your various Social Media sites, or work on your costume – don’t forget the props - and RELAX with your family, friends and loved ones (sometimes those overlap). This years must see special will be next year’s Peanuts only available via streaming if we aren’t careful ….. so, let’s not let that happen again. 

       **NOTE ** if you save the image below it will not be cut off, but if I share it as "normal" it makes it really small and basically unreadable. 




 
So, sit back, scare yourself, and have a GREAT Halloween! It’s fall people enjoy it!
 
Marcy 

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Paralympics … and DRAGON CON Anxiety

   

So we are now on I think day 5 of the Paralympic Games (nearly at the half way point) and while I haven’t posted a blog about it I’ve definitely been watching it. It hasn’t gotten the love that the Olympics get but the coverage I have been able to watch in my opinion has been BETTER. Instead of the never-ending tape delayed wall to wall coverage …… NBCSN and the Olympic channel are breaking out blocks of LIVE events which has been awesome to watch. Granted most of it takes place after I go to bed (time zones are hard :D) but I have been able to watch some Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Basketball, Triathlon, track and field, swimming events and even some ping pong what has however eluded me is Sitting Volleyball. I love everything about watching that sport. The sportsman ship between the teams, the power that these athletes hit the ball without ever leaving the ground, and just volleyball in general. I had the pleasure of playing this in high school at a fundraising event and let me tell you all …. It’s hard. As an Abled Bodied person you want to jump up, you want to get the lift you need to hit that spike but you… well can’t. That’s against the rules. What I’ve been doing is recording the coverage so I’m not missing anything, but I have yet to catch this but that’s my goal for the next few days. Watching these games has made me really really miss Invictus Games ... but they will be back next year. It's been fun seeing some familiar faces representing their country.  


Why the next few days when there are several days left in the games?! Cause this Wed I pack up the car and head north to Golden’s for our yearly Nerdcation. Dragon Con is gonna be super different this year but I also think way more awesome. For one the crowds will be down with limited attendees which is always a good thing. I remember when Golden and I first started going the crowds were nothing like they were in 2019 which it was just too much. Too many people, too many cosplayers, too many idiots destroying things (sorry Fed Ex display), too much drinking, it was all just too much. We still had fun and enjoyed ourselves but it felt very suffocating at times and the idea of a “smaller” con makes my soul very happy.


For two everyone that comes to the Con this year has to either be vaccinated or show a negative test before they can pick up their badge. After watching people lose their minds over this “rule” I’m glad it is in place. So many who were planning to come have dropped out, but what it really means is that the people that are at Dragon Con really really wanted to be there. That means that everyone there will be in good moods and great spirits even if they are drinking all the spirits. Ha! Photo from above is from several years ago. 

For three ….. for the first time in forever …. We are staying in a HOST hotel. We were scheduled to be in a host hotel back in 2019 when the Sheraton had to close for the Legionnaires Disease outbreak … and we got kicked out of the hotel (I’ll never believe that it wasn’t cause of that but whatever). We scrambled at the last minute and found a room at another hotel we’ve stayed at before and it was fine but we were bummed. Then in 2020 I scrambled and made it happen again and a pandemic threw us to the floor. However the hotel moved our room to this year and I have been checking it daily in fear that it may happen again. I have called them several times to make sure that we are good. I’m sure when we check in they will give me that look like oh it’s her. I don’t care how they look at me as long as they give me a room. Ha!

 And most important Golden and I really really really really need 4 days of laughter, fun, doing nothing unless we wanna, and food. It’s 4 days of doing literally whatever we want, when we want, and how we want. Being in a host hotel will cut down on travel back to the hotel so I’m hoping it will also allow us to do more. We usually head out in the morning walk to the hotels or get on the bus and frolic until late in the afternoon. Sometimes we go back to the room to rest up for night activities but sometimes that kills us for the day. We end up taking naps and getting settled and often talk ourselves of going back out. This also allows Golden to head our at night when I’m snoring away and her Medical Marvel Team No Sleep member can’t sleep. We will have to come up with a system for that tho so I’ll know she’s ok. I’m also hoping that by being where we are we can run up to the room and chill then come back out when things start to become too much.


I am planning to attempt to give blood again. Mostly cause I know that blood is super important right now but also cause the T-shirt they are giving away is worth possibly passing out again. See several years ago I gave blood then I don’t know what happened. We were waiting on the buss to take us back to the room and I was kind of our of it. I stood up thinking the buss was coming and looked around …. I guess I stood up to fast and …. I passed out. I woke up a few minutes later with full on road rash all over my face, my glasses somewhere on the sidewalk and Golden telling me to stay down. See we were at the top of a really steep hill and her fear was that if I started rolling she wasn’t going to be able to stop me and I’d Indian Jones the City of Atlanta.


The best part of that story is that Golden, Maribel, and I kept tweeting each other about the incident. Earlier in the day Maribel had falling and hurt herself and Golden had just taken her injection so we were all complaining about our ailments. When I got back into town I immediately went to the eye glass place cause my glasses were really jacked up and scratched beyond use. I was hoping to get new glasses before I had to go back to work. However, it didn’t work out for me. So I went back to the office and the road rash was still on my face but my lip was not as swollen. My boss sits down in my office and he is just smiling and said so…did you have fun. I said of course. he said …really ? and he has this cat ate the canary grin on his face. I said well there was one thing and I started telling him about the BP thing … at the time he was super concerned about my BP cause our office used to do blood drives every quarter and the quarter before they wouldn’t do mine cause it was far too high. The whole time I’m telling the story he’s just sitting there smiling. I finished the story knowing it would only make him worry more and he said “you forgot I followed you on Twitter huh?!” so he already knew what had happened he just wanted to see if I’d tell him or not. Well played sir.


I’m hoping giving blood this year won’t be quite as interesting. I’m schedule to give it on Friday morning so I can get up get some breakfast head over and give blood then if I start feeling weird head to the room for a bit before going back down. I have a plan :D

I’m a little geeked out about going to the Con during a pandemic but I really feel like the organizers are making every effort to keep everyone safe. Vaccinations/Negative tests, masks mandatory for all, and they are having multiple “cleaning” events during the day and night. Granted the risk is still there but I feel like this is going to be the cleanest con I’ve ever attended. I feel like I did back when I went to my nephew’s state championship … if I’m going to go I’m going to make the best of it. 

I have a hotel reserved for if I get anything I can stay there and mom and dad will stay safe. I have also learned over the last year or so that you can justify in your head anything that you really want to do. I also bought 2 over the counter tests that I can take so I’ll know if I have it or not. I’m packing hand sanitizer like it’s free and doing all the precautions that I have been told will “keep me safe” and I’m just going to pray that it does. I’ve been very lucky during this pandemic …. And I’d like to keep that streak going. That being said if I make it though it without catching anything … I’m totes going to start licking doorknobs. Just kidding that’s a horrible idea …. Almost as bad as this milk crate thing and also where are you all getting so many milk crates!?

Marcy (who is procrastinating packing by writing this up)

Saturday, August 7, 2021

Olympics are over ….. almost

I’m not going to lie…… I’m exhausted it was a long arse week that included about a day of Overtime and a day out of town delivering some conference items to another office that greatly cut into my Olympic watching time. I still managed a very impressive watch list for those days but the Olympic exhaustion due to the time zone change hit me hard yesterday. While in a meeting with my boss I could feel myself sinking and at one point he said “Marcy are you ok?” I immediately perked up and said yeah why. His response “I think your battery just ran out. Go home!” So I did. I then fell asleep on the couch for about 2 hours. Woke up feeling just awful, as I typically do after a nap – I suck at nap taking apparently. However it was a recharge I guess I needed to watch the Platform Diving semis, and some indoor volleyball, the end of a marathon, and some track and field during the night time coverage of the events.

The best thing about this Olympics being postponed, yes I found something positive about waiting a year …. Is that now the next Olympic games in Paris, France are even closer. . Right now the games are scheduled for July 26 – August 11 in 2024.3 years to prepare instead of 4 …. So yeah that’s a good thing, well for me not the athletes.

Random closing thoughts on this Olympic Cycle:

1.       Americans are spoiled – a medal is a medal. Sure no one grows up waiting a bronze medal but damn a Bronze is still pretty freaking fantastic. It’s time we stop that if it’s not a Gold it doesn’t matter mentality. Top 3 in the world is still awesome, top 2 is good and the top of the heap with that Gold is Amazing when you think about what all it took to get to these milestones, even without a global Pandemic, is what should be celebrated. Americans please do better.

2.       Mental Health – Don’t get me wrong … I’m glad that athlete’s are able to express themselves and are able to have their voices be heard when it matters and I hope that one day they won’t even be required to make a statement after something happens or they feel the need to pull out of an event. I do wonder if the “stars” of these sports weren’t the ones doing it would it be hitting in the same manner. If say the girl who was say 15th in the world vs #1 was having the same conversation would we be listening. Sadly I think the answer is no. So let’s keep working on this guys.  

3.       Lots of first-time winners – Usually first time Olympians are there for the experience. They often get overwhelmed by the pressure and the just overall feeling of the moment they are in and yet this year there have been a lot more first-time winners than we have seen in past Olympics. So kids are either being better trained or are just getting lucky or they are just cocky and thus the moment isn’t as overwhelming. I personally think the pressure isn’t as high cause I mean most people do two maybe 3 rounds of Olympic games (depending on the sport) and so these “younger kids” know this will not be their only opportunity to medal and stay more relaxed.

4.       GOAT – The term “G.O.A.T” is way overused. There are athletes that deserve that recognition and I’d argue that even getting to the Olympics means you are the best of the best for your Country but not every athlete can be the “greatest of all time” cause if they are then they cancel one another out. They can be the greatest of their sport … maybe.. greatest for that moment in time, but years ago people would have said say Shannon Miller gets that distinction or Usain Bolt but their records are being shattered left and right. I just feel like we need to calm down with that distinction just a little bit and enjoy the athletes for what they are bringing to their individual sports without adding that moniker to their shoulders. Just saying.

5.       Sports I missed – I have watched more Soccer this year than in years past …. Not really sure why other than it seemed for a while that every time I turned on my various devices it was on my TV. That being said there are sports that I LOVE that I missed this year. Take Rhythmic Gymnastics and Trampoline Gymnastics, two really awesome sports to follow and watch but that never made it to my eyeballs this year and that makes me sad. I also didn’t get to watch the new Surfing competition but I’m not too chuffed about that. Sport Climbing I caught a glimpse of while they did a news around the games update but didn’t really watch the competition. Sailing, Golf, and Athletics were the same way but again I wasn’t too sad about missing these. Overall tho I saw more than I missed so I’m happy with my 2020/2021 Olympic experience.

 Time to catch up on my sleep. . Next up Dragon Con … then the Paralympic games which are often more compelling than the actual games to me. Then next year the Winter Games are right around the corner (Feb 2022) and Invictus will be back !

 

Marcy

Saturday, July 31, 2021

Olympics Halftime - I NEED Sleep!


The first week of the two-week Olympic party is now in the books and what a week it has been. It’s been a thrilling week of surprises and things we saw coming and others that came from out of nowhere, I mean Great Britain 3rd in Women’s Gymnastics ? I mean who had that on their bingo card. No one. Then again no one had Simone bails completely either. Now before you jump my arse I’m not saying she bailed, I know she was hurt. I saw the Vault that freaked her out and it freaked me out too. I’m just saying that before this Olympic games started no one saw her not being in the thick of it coming. USA Softball was another surprised. I fully saw them taking the Gold especially after being Japan in the qualification rounds. They were undefeated until the Gold Medal match and the bats just weren’t there. Hey I’m not one of those USA fans where Gold is the only color I care about … those two silvers are awesome and I’ll never turn my nose up even at a Bronze. I mean you are still top 3 in the world. Nothing to scoff at but those are two that I felt were pretty much ours to lose and boy did we. That being said even with a fully healthy Simone I’m not use the US would have caught “not Russia” they just had the best meet of their careers and if you are going to do it .. the Olympics is the meet most of them would choose for it to happen.

However … there are a few things getting in the way of my Olympic Dreams!!!!!

 Work

My job has been really cool about my watching the Olympics at my desk but I admit fully that my productivity this week hasn’t been at the highest level. I mean I’m getting things done, attending meetings etc., but I could have done more and I know it. I did watch the Woman’s All Around in Gymnastics the other day and didn’t even apologize for fully being invested in my screen. I also fully watched the Woman’s Football (AKA Soccer) match between the USA and Netherlands that went into overtime which was pretty amazing to watch live. It also didn’t hurt that this particular week many in my office left for a conference in Orlando so there were less people in the office than normal from Wed forward. Truth is they likely do too, but we all understand that this is a temporary drop in productivity and I will rise again.

NBC/Streaming

I’ve seen a lot of posts about the Streaming of these Games. I have also seen a lot of people complaining about the streaming options. I will say … I have fully enjoyed watching the Games on my cell phone. I have found that frankly the coverage is better. I do feel like the nighttime coverage of the Games is more a “hand picked” look at what NBC thinks I want to see. Stop doing that NBC. I mean guys I have been flipping back and forth between NBC, USA, NBCSN, CNBC, the Olympic Channel .... it's been a girls dream! That being said I’d say 90% of what I have watched has been through the Xfinity Stream Ap or the NBC Sports Ap. I used NBC Sports during the morning time when live events are happening but NBC is still showing me what they showed yesterday (AKA replays). I have been using Xfinity during the weird time of the day when there’s nothing new going on and yet the nighttime coverage hasn’t begun yet either. I do admit that I have missed the stories. The conversations about the athletes, how they got here, their stories of heart ache and triumph.

Timezones

Timezones are so fraking confusing. I added Tokyo to my “world clock” on my phone. Plus I found a great Olympic Scheduling ap that shows me the times in Tokyo but it’s still be hard. Like right now it’s 7:19pm on a Saturday as I’m writing this and it’s 9:20am on Sunday in Tokyo. I’ve dealth with that before but it’s been on a new level this year with so many following the games, social media reporting results like they will die if they aren’t the first to give any information and even NBC knows we know the results and are like the USA fought hard in this gold medal match that just didn’t go their way … let’s take a look… Like um you just told me we lost so I’m going to watch something else. It’s been tough staying up and then getting up early but totally worth it to watch these events as they are happening. Heck I’ve been watching a live even on my TV and streaming another on my phone while watching results coming in on my PC. I tell you Olympic Feaver is strong with me.

 Sleep

I an not like Golden, I’m not a member of Team No Sleep. I like sleep. My relationship with sleep is very important to me. However I’ve been neglecting it hard lately. But I know that like with work this is a temporary thing and sleep just needs to understand that. It is not uncommon for me to watch the games until about 11, go to bed and watch via my phone or PC until about 2 or 3 from my bed, roll over and rest for a few hours before I’m back up with my alarm going off at 5 so I can watch some before driving to work. I try not to watch while driving …. “try.” However it’s also fully catching up with me. I can barely keep my eyes open at the moment and last night I conked out and never even turned on my phone. I missed so many events last night/this morning since I slept until about 9:30. Opps. Most of what I missed was Track and Field, and while I try…. I just can’t get into Track and Field but I try lord knows I try.

It’s been a long week, we are half way to the finish line ….. as they usually say in sports … FINISH STRONG!!!!

PS - I have thoughts btw on the USA Women’s Gymnastics Team, and those thoughts are coming but I need more time to continue to gather my thoughts. If you follow me on twitter you have seen some of it already.

 

Marcy

 

Friday, July 23, 2021

OLYMPIC FEVER

I have a fever …. and the only cure is well more TV screens possibly another pair of eyeballs. I am writing this as I watch the opening ceremonies … again. See I half watched them this morning while I was getting ready for work and while I was well … at work. It was cool tho cause well where I work is pretty awesome. As long as I get the project done and don’t disturb anyone it’s cool. One of the interns in our office caught Covid while at a baseball tournament last week …. Part of me wishes I had interacted with him so I could have an excuse to be home to watch all the sporting lovely.

I was devastated when the Olympics were postponed and I’m so glad they are back, I love the athleticism, the stories, the underdogs coming out on top, the dinosaurs looking and getting one last taste of glory, the drama of a 4th place finish by only a tenth of a tenth of a second.

A few things I’m not looking forward to ……. Sigh ….. the announcers …. the “hosts”…. the “breaking news that isn’t news” …. the endless supply of stupid questions….the time zone so that most of the events take place while I’m in my bed sleeping. Speaking of sleeping … how in the hell are any of the Olympic committees allowing these athletes who are not only representing their various counties but who are considered the BEST in their fields that we all have to offer to SLEEP ON CARDBORD BEDS?! Have you seen video of these beds? This is not ok at all.

The thing that fascinates me the most about an event like this that they don’t really talk about enough is the LOGISTICS OF IT ALL … like the Rowing teams .. did they ship their boats to Tokyo? How long did that take ? Are they using boats already in Tokyo … what did they train in while their boats were in transit ? Where the heck do you pick up your boat that you ship to Tokyo? What about the other equipment … the basketballs or volleyballs the Bicycles for cycling … archery equipment ? Does someone travel with all this stuff to make sure they aren’t messed with ? How the hell do I get that job?! Wait no I don’t want that job it sounds stupid stressful. This sounds like something Fed Ex or UPS need to get involved in. 

I have my schedule mapped out over the next few weeks but I also know I won’t get to watch nearly as much as I want but I hope to watch more than I want during the weekends and as much as I can during my work week. My boss is ready he understands that this is something I get super excited about, as I said he’s cool as long as I get the work done…which I will. I always do. As watching the Opening Ceremonies this morning the guy across the hall walked in just as the US Team was introduced and I started clapping from my desk and he ran over … “did I miss it!” I said yeah but here … and he and I stood there for a few minutes in silence watching the next Olympic class take their place on the greatest athletic stage ever created.

My alma matter has 18 athletes at the games …. Some current students some recent grads but once a Tiger always a Tiger!

https://auburntigers.com/news/2021/7/22/general-auburn-boasts-18-representatives-at-tokyo-2020-olympics

I’m not going to lie Watching Sunisa Lee on  this journey has been great but I can’t wait to watch her in an Auburn Leo competing in the flesh! Auburn is well represented ….. Track and Field, Swimming, Softball, Gymnastics, Tennis, and Women’s Basketball.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!!

https://olympics.com/en/sports/

Games I am excited to watch include:

  • Artistic Swimming – better known as synchronized swimming – the beauty, artistry, the power of these athletes it’s all fantastic.
  • Baseball is back!!!! The tournament aspect of it is interesting and should be fun to watch.
  • Softball is also back!!!! See note above about Baseball.
  • Beach Volleyball – have you tried to play volleyball in the sand … it’s hard people … respect it.
  • Canoe/Kayak – man made springs for these events always make for a very interesting thing
  • Cycling (around the track … not so much a fan of the going on a bike ride race deal)
  • Diving – guys this sport is frustrating, awesome and confusing all at the same time
  • Gymnastics – all of it … athletic, rhythmic, trampoline, just flip people … girls of course but also the boys. Every games I hope they will get their stuff together and they always let me down but the Girls … I pray we aren’t putting too much pressure on them.
  • Handball – picture basketball and soccer AKA Football having a baby and deciding to date Field Hockey and they had a baby ... that would result in "handball" **UPDATED**
  • Rugby – I don’t fully understand it but it fascinates me and I am trying to learn more about it.
  • Soccer - I admit I’ve watched more Soccer this year than any other year
  • Table Tennis – guys it’s ping pong and they play it like no other. The speed at which this sport is played is nothing like you have ever seen before.
  • Indoor Volleyball – I love Volleyball ….. played it for 4 years in high school before a set of bleachers ended my career early in my senior year. these are the best of the best and the speed is incredible. The saves are even better and the power is second to none.
  • Water Polo – it’s basically field hockey in a pool …. But they can’t touch the floor and they still rise up out of the water to score. It’s hard people…. Respect it.

Games that I could care less about but likely will watch if it’s on my tv …..

  • Archery – once you have watched this sport in Invictus regular people shooting an arrow isn’t special anymore ha!
  • Badminton – I mean .. honestly. 
  • Basketball 3X3 ? wait what?! How is this a thing?
  • Boxing – I’ve never understood the need to put two people in a ring and watch them beat the crap out of one another
  • Equestrian – interesting but not really something I’m into and that is ok.
  • Fencing – I don’t even pretend to understand what’s going on here and I’m not sure I care enough to change that
  • Field Hockey – it fascinates me and I always watch but it’s one that if I miss it I’ll be ok too :D
  • Golf – like yeah….
  • Judo– I don’t even pretend to understand what’s going on here and I’m not sure I care enough to change that
  • Karate - if it’s not the original Karate kid …. Then why bother.
  • Modern Pentahlon – it fascinates me but yeah if I miss it I’m ok too
  • Rowing – I’m fascinated by the synchro aspect of it but that’s about it
  • Sailing – any sport that can be halted by not having wind is well not a sport
  • Shooting – yeah hall have fun
  • Skateboarding  - isn’t this more an x-games sport?
  • Sport Climbing – not even sure I know what this one is
  • Surfing – any sport that can be hampered if there isn’t a wave is an issue
  • Swimming – I mean I watched when Phelps was all in but it was more cause I was waiting on Diving to come back on
  • Taekwondo – I just can’t …
  • Tennis – I love Tennis but it just doesn’t do much for me at the Olympics
  • Track and Field – I love the variety of track and field but it takes soooo freaking long for such a short burst of activity.
  • Weightlifting – again … watching this via Invicuts makes watching normal people do it seem less so.
  • Wrestling – the most exciting part of this one is watching the big dude shove the other big dude out of the circle … wait that might be a different sport!

As I said it’s going to be an exhausting few weeks and I can’t wait for it!!!!!

Olympic Coma here I come!

 

Marcy

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Am I back for good …

…… no … evil

That’s a little Joke my boss likes to tell when he hears someone ask me if I’m “back for good” at the office. He’ll look at whomever asked that and say “no she’s back for evil!” and he thinks he is funny, I think he’s funny and they think he’s crazy. He’s not wrong btw. I guess I am officially back in the office after working from home for over a year. I’m not overly excited about it but it is what it is. I knew this day was coming, I've been mentally trying to prepare myself .... I'm still working on that. As I’ve mentioned on here a few times I was slowly becoming one of those people that would be perfectly happy to never rejoin the world again. The world is scary yo and I’m not just talking about a virus, or mass shootings or crazy drivers (I swear you'd think I was driving an invisible car sometimes), and the various assortment of people in this world. However put that aside the truth is I get so much more done at home than I do at the office with all the distractions and interruptions, and "Do you have time for a 15 minute meeting?" which always always turns into an hour and a half. EVERY.DAMN.TIME. 

I feel that soon it won’t be my choice and frankly I’d rather go back on my terms than having been told I had to be back on this date. I also needed a change in my routine. I was not in a good place for a long while, and still kind of not but am pulling out of it I guess. Plus it’s kind of an out of sight out of mind thing. My desk has been host to a number of people during my “time away” with squatters from other offices or people needing the room to social distance, to have conference calls etc., but those squatters were always temporary and I’d like to keep it that way. I did spend the first full hour back in the office cleaning it just to be safe. 



One of my staff (that’s right I’m a manager now and I have a STAFF) lost her desk during all this mess. She walked in one day to print/bind a submittal went to her desk and someone else was in her office. They were like yeah this is where I sit now. My coworker looked around and all her stuff was in boxes along the wall. I was like wait what happened as she told me this story?! Apparently, they just assumed she wasn’t coming back and gave her space away, but I’m not buying that. They knew for sure she was coming back cause we’ve talked about it several times. So I had to get to the bottom of that…. Fun times. Turns out this squatter is there cause her area is getting some work done. I'm not sure she realized it is a temporary move. So I’m hoping this is a temporary shift in the matrix but it was still quite unnerving for my coworker, who frankly already has a chip on her shoulder about her longevity with the company, it’s her chip she put it there, we can't knock it off so we have learned to navigate around it. I have another in my staff who lost her space when we moved out for the pandemic and as near as I can tell no one is interested in finding her a new place. Both are cool with this cause they aren't ready to return and not having a place to sit is a good reason to not, so I’m sitting on it for now. However, it kind of pisses me off that they have just been cast aside with no space and we are just supposed to be cool with it. You’d think as part of this remodel that could be corrected at least I think it could be and hopefully by being back I can enter some of those conversations.  

See when we moved to our new office some 3 years ago there wasn’t a space big enough for all of us on one floor. So half of us ended up on the 5th floor and the rest of us (myself included) ended up on the 10th floor. There became a big divide of 10th floor vs 5th floor people. It wasn’t pretty. A very close tightknit group at our old office was suddenly 2 groups divided who never really talked or saw one another. Keep in mind that the 5th floor is actually divided into 4 “pods” that aren’t connected so even on 5th they aren’t intermingling. During the pandemic we went home (for a while) and another organization on the 10th floor also went home. The other organization has decided to not come back. So my “main” boss swooped in and bought that side of 10th so that 5th can move up and we can all be one large happy dysfunctional family again. They move up to 10th the first of May …. Which should be … interesting to see how that changes the dynamic. It’s definitely going to make the bathrooms more busy.

All that aside my first week back in the office was … interesting. As before the “Safe at work” protocols that were put in place early in the pandemic are not being adhered to at all ….. what really kills me tho is the people who apologize for not wearing a mask when they see me in mine. Which leads me to believe they know they should but they just aren’t going to. That’s fine whatever. I'm beyond giving a shit what others do or don't do. I'll do me ... you do you.  One of my coworkers said “the Gov said we didn’t have to wear them anymore.” I said that’s right but the company hasn’t said that yet. I also had another coworker ask me if I “enjoyed my vacation” and another asked if I “finally decided to come back from my break” I almost went to HR (that’s when my boss came up with his cute joke). The last year or so has been a lot of things, a vacation or a break aren’t even near that list. I was there half a day Monday (I was waiting for the go ahead to print/bind a submittal) then was in the office for a full day Tuesday and Wednesday. I worked from home Thursday (nephew’s b’day and I was leaving early), and was back in the office on Friday. Next week will be my first full week officially back in the office. 

I will state it again for those in the back, if we have in fact returned to normalcy too soon and come the fall are back where we started and I miss a 2nd Dragon Con there will be virtual hell to pay. 

For now ... all that's keeping me moving forward is knowing that in a month I'll be celebrating Golden's birthday, with Golden in a shared space (both of us fully vaccinated) and I can't wait. From what I know she's spent a good deal of time during the pandemic making changes to her house and I can't wait too see all her hard work! 


Marcy