Closet Extremist

I hate being sick

Mainly because it doesn't happen to me very often, so I'm not used to it. It crept up on me around Wednesday evening, headache, stuffy nose, and a general feeeling of suckitude. Through the course of Thursday, it got steadily worse, and by the end of my eleven-hour work day, I could no longer breathe through my nose, and generally felt like the Southbound end of a Northbound Jackass. A third of a bottle of ersatz NyQuil and a few hours of sleep later, I could actually function again. I still ain't a hundred percent, but as long as I keep blowing these lovely lime-green chunks out of my nose, I'm going to keep considering myself "on the mend".

All the "Big Wheels" of the company came down on Tuesday to have a Powwow with the driller, and the site superintendant. That's always fun. My standing reaction to an announcement that a "boss" or other such dignitary will be visiting is a resounding "So?", but other folks tend to get excited about it. I just continue doing my work just like they weren't there, but some of the other guys decided that we really needed to push hard and get things done while they were there. This type of attitude leads to people getting in a hurry, and getting in a hurry leads to mistakes. Invariably. Trying to un-wedge a platform that is stuck diagonally fifteen feet up the hoistway is no fun at all. Luckily, noone got hurt, but it was a close thing. I cannot stress enough the importance of doing your job just like any other day when the "big dogs" come around. If they're not itn your work area, just go about your business, and if they are, acknowledge their presence, answer their questions, and then go about your business. I've seen more things get messed up due to an official visit, and wasted more time trying to undo the "band-aid" fixes put in place to hide problems, than I care to think about. Just don't do it. It's not worth all the hassle just to get a few "brownie points".

I got the chance to watch the extended version of Return of the King last night, and I must say that the story flowed a lot better with the additional scenes added in. The rough edges that were in the theater release were smoothed over quite nicely. My favorite part? The Pause button. Yeesh that is one long movie, but if you're a LOTR fan, well worth it.

So far I've been able to get exactly zero Christmas shopping done. Not one present. Looks like there's going to be a lot of gift cards in my future. I hate that, but it's going to be the best way for me to do it. I just don't have time to do any shopping, and most of the people I need to buy for are too old to get toy's for. Toy's that I can afford anyway.

Anyway, as soon as my laundry's done, I'm off to the lake to spend the day with the parent's. Should be nice and relaxing. I'll be back soon.