greyduck.net

Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

Category: Life

  • I’m being punished for doing my job too well.

    The $150 professional in-person service confirmed what the $50 online service (no, I didn’t pay for that one, but that’s what it would have cost if I’d filed that way) said: I owe the fine State Of Oregon over three hundred dollars in taxes this year, and I’m only getting a bit more than twice that back from the United States of blessed America’s federal government.

    You see, it turns out that I made too many bonuses last year. Terrific. I now need to adjust my withholdings so that the maximum possible taxes are being taken out. Awesome.

    So much for any plans I had for doing… well, pretty much anything at all this spring. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find something fun and uplifting to do… something that I’m capable of doing, anyway, considering that I’m still a plague carrier with no stamina or breathing capacity or equilibrium. I flat out refuse to get depressed over this, but I am a bit… annoyed. Put out. Something.

    Before I go, I’d like to address something to a surprisingly high percentage of my fellow patrons of Portland’s fine public transportation system today:

    Dear unwashed, uncouth masses,

    Would it kill you to bathe more than once a week? How about laundering your clothes while you’re at it? And hey, your friend is sitting right next to you so I’m 100% certain that you don’t have to converse at full shouty level. Oh, and while I know what opinions are like, it would still go a long way toward making you sound like less of a complete moron if you’d perform the tiniest bit of research into those so-called “facts” you keep spouting off about medicine, politics, religion or pretty much any other fact-based topic. I wouldn’t trust you people to tell me that the Earth will continue in its present orbit into tomorrow. You are all a collective blight upon humanity.

    With disdain in my heart,

    – The Little Grey Duck

  • Sick and tired, like whoah.

    You know the illness has me good and floored if I can’t even bring myself to sit at the desk and putter around on the computer. Seriously: I’ve checked mail and that’s about it. Even writing this short post is just about all of the “glowing rectangle” time I can muster this afternoon.

    I have a fever, aching joints and muscles, tender skin, an off-again on-again cough, and for some reason it hurts to breathe through my nose. (That’s a new one on me!) I’ve also been subsisting mostly on water and cold meds due to a near-complete lack of appetite. All of this has gone on for three solid days, and as of yet I don’t feel one whit better now than I did Sunday… in fact, I’m feeling worse in most respects. (The coughing’s gone down a bit.)

    I need to get better, and quickly. Missing two days of work, especially the two that I have so far, is not enhancing my standing at the office any. Argh.

  • I’m awake now, thank you.

    I often joke about my list of five hundred fifty three reasons I’m glad I was born a boy-type person. One faces little dangers on occasion, however, in this form. For instance, you could be getting dressed in a daze after a bad night’s sleep, not really paying attention to the usual safety requirements of (for the want of a sillier turn of phrase at this hour of the day) product placement, and end up pinching oneself in an article of clothing.

    Later I’ll probably be dozing off, but right now? I’m quite awake. Ow.

  • Thanks a lot, brain.

    That’s funny, I don’t remember asking to be awake at 5:30am on a Saturday. Yet here I am, sitting at the computer trying to distract my brain from a nightmare that woke me up startled enough to cry out. Man, I hope my roommates are still soundly asleep, ’cause I’m pretty sure I sounded like a damsel in distress. I embarrass myself often enough when I’m conscious, I certainly don’t need help from my subconscious.

    Tarantula-like creatures have no business crawling around in my psyche, particularly when I’m asleep, dammit.

  • Getting Some Extra Mileage

    If the plugin I just installed works as advertised, this post will show up on my LJ as well as here on Ye Olde Journale.

    Since I’m here anyway, how about a catch-up on recent events?

    • Friday night, Lil’ and I hung out with friends and family after taking in the crack-laden broccoli at Outback Steakhouse. No, seriously: What do they cook their broccoli with to make them so addictive?
    • On Saturday I got the kids caught up almost to the end of season two on “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” I stopped short of the final episode because leaving them with that cliffhanger for an unknown number of weekends seemed a cruel thing to do to my wonderful children whom I love dearly. I was tempted, though.
    • Also on Saturday, I cooked food on the stove and in an oven for the first time in a very, very long time. It was just my “famous” pasta-and-cheese, but hey. (Kyla: The combination of cheeses worked perfectly. You rock.)
    • Last weekend was another Double XP weekend in City of Heroes/Villains. Several low-level “toons” aren’t so low, now. My top villain is actually my top villain, and she has her pet. My Kheldian is approaching a level at which she might become effective, let alone fun to play. My second blaster is rapidly becoming both powerful and a true joy to fight crime with. And, just for the heck of it, my main scrapper ran a few Rikti ship raids for bucketloads of cash and merits. What can I say? Those high-end enhancement sets don’t come cheap.
    • In other gaming news, I bought the new costume parts for the three accounts I’m responsible for. The mastermind named Carmine Santiago, formerly seen wearing a bright red hat and trenchcoat and slacks ensemble, is now sporting a dashing black tuxedo with elegant red trim.
    • Kyla and I both took Monday off. (She also had Friday off. Some people, eh?) We mostly just relaxed and goofed off, but I did make a trip out to Fred Meyer and picked up the replacement shaver I’ve been thinking about for the last few months. The old shaver broke (a bit more than it already was broken), which forced my hand somewhat. I went with a Norelco rotary system and so far the results are worth the money. Not only that, but it’s remarkably quieter than the cheap Braun was. You still can’t tell I’ve shaved by midday since my hair grows so darned fast, but at least I leave the house with a smoother face.

    I’m still plugging along with my own little renaissance, albeit with fits and starts (like the week-long lack of posting). At least the breaks aren’t due to depressive episodes any more! You have no idea how much happier I am now than I was even three months ago.

    Life may not be perfect, but it’s not too shabby either.

  • Fish, duck, and rat.

    Astrology is silly, but I’ll go ahead and waste a few minutes to ring in The Year of the Rat. Why? It turns out that in addition to being a Pisces and a little grey duck, in Chinese astrological terms I’m also a Rat.

    So, this should be my year. Cue megalomaniacal laughter.

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