Monday, December 29, 2014

Almost 2015

"I'm hot-blooded, check it and see,
I've got a fever of a hundred and three . . ."

Obviously I decided to end 2014 in a very warm manner.  Too wiped out to do more than sleep through the Harry Potter marathon.

Before this hit, we did do a couple of days of volunteering at them museum in the cage-cleaning-and-food-prep area.  This little screech owl did not appreciate our good deeds.  Possibly because  I did not use the zoom to get this picture; I did indeed, like an annoying paparazzi, shove the camera in his face.

 
 
Off to find another hot toddy . . .

Monday, December 22, 2014

I'm Baaaaaack!

Whew!

Been sort of CrazyTown here.  To elaborate on my last post, I found out in a random bathroom conversation that I wasn't going to have a spring appointment as I had though (the dept. chair and I were washing hands at the same time, and I mentioned that a student wanted to work with me in the Spring--so that's how I found out I wasn't working).  This was on top of "forgetting" to appoint me in the fall (I had check with three people to make sure I was getting an appointment because it had been forgotten before).  The forgetting just seems bizarre.  I've been there 10 years, and there are only about 7 people to be appointed, so you'd thing they'd notice that they forgot someone.  So that gave me a month to get stuff cleaned up in the collection that I'd planned on doing over the next four.

And, of course, if you're going to retire, you're supposed to have your paperwork in a couple of months in advance--and you have to send for a retirement packet.  So I called, had a nice chat, they let me know that because of Thanksgiving it might take three weeks instead of the usual two.  Five weeks later Bob calls for me (because I was doing crazy at work trying to get stuff finished) and they . . un . . forgot to send it.

What's with all the forgetting??  I find myself singing a tune from "Chicago"

"Cellophane, Mister Cellophane
Could have been my name, Mister Cellophane
'Cause you can look right through me
Walk right past me
And never know I'm there"
 
Anyway,  Bob being more memorable than I, the packet arrived a few days later.  At this point, we're close to the Christmas shut down, and I didn't want to wait to apply for retirement in mid-January.  I call the nice person in HR (who had helped Bob with his paperwork, and remembered him, of course) and upon finding out that my separation from FSU was already in the past rather than a couple of months in the future, managed to fit me in and get me on track.
 
We did manage to fit in our trip (more on that later) but when we were pulling out of the drive, we saw that the brake light was on--Bob checked the fluid--low--and saw the brake fluid coming out of the rear tire.  Fortunately, we have another car.  Oh--and when I was trying to download some stuff for our trip (NPR's news show--Wait Wait Don't Tell Me) I also got some malware that shut down the computer.
 
So--in the last two weeks:
 
The Trip!    check
Collection room cleaned up, report made, and, and office cleaned out--check.
Retirement paperwork done--check
Social Security paperwork done--check
Car repaired--check
Computer repaired--check
Fruitcakes baked--check
Meat pies made for the annual "meat pie, sherry, and watch Hogfather" solstice tradition--check  (tried out new puff pastry recipe, which was excellent, but I think we ended up eating about a stick of butter each)
Christmas shopping done--check
Christmas gifts made . . . well . . . three knitted gifts, a fourth almost done, and another gift sort of getting there, and another one to be finished.  It's only Monday . . .
Helping out the animal department at the museum with cage cleaning and food prep (they don't have their usual student interns over the holiday) --check
 
So--back into the fray!
 
 


Thursday, December 11, 2014

December already??

No, I haven't disappeared off the face of the earth.  November got busy.  Bob retired.  I found out that I was retiring myself (at least from FSU) earlier than I thought--Dec. 12 rather than May 1.  Trying to take care of stuff for Social Security and Retirement, cleaning the house for Thanksgiving, having Thanksgiving, re-cleaning the house so friend Jeff could housesit while we took my birthday trip, and taking my birthday trip.

TO HARRY POTTER WORLD!!!

Which was amazing.  But I can't report on it yet because I got some nasty malware on my computer that prevents me from doing anything.  Doing this quick post from work--but I won't have access to the work computer any more because, well, Dec. 12 is tomorrow and I won't be working.

So--stay turned.  In the words of the Arnold--I'll be back.