Wombat Rampant

( EVE stuff )
Senior controller was busy with the stuff that came from the auditor, so he didn't have me do much for him except fill out some USPS forms and write up ledger entries which I'll probably be entering tomorrow. Which is to say work was kinda slow.

Leg continues to improve; it appears to be drying up since the amount of drainage into the surgical sponges has dropped off a cliff since I started the Omnicef. w00t.

Finished my filing, posted & disbursed yesterday's manual checks, did up the daily bank reports and ran tapes on today's Portsmouth deposits. So I'm outta here, all the more so since I don't much care for Sean Hannity and have no other reason to hang around the office.

It's 93 degrees out, 44% humidity, dewpoint of 68. That's nothing.
Windows stay down, a/c in the Sportage stays off. . :)

Slept very well last night, had good sugar this morning, and had enough time to pack lunch. Which is good, since the heat is supposed to be on this morning and the humidity with it. Unfortunately, I completely forgot my meds this morning. Well, since there's not much to do around the office today (since the senior controller is out and the boss is on the road to Portsmouth) I may just take off early and have a late lunch at home.

In other news, the spinach egg & cheese thing we used to do a lot in Minnesota also works well with chopped broccoli, although admittedly it's a lot harder to stir the eggs into the broccoli than the spinach. I should probably be eating more stuff like this and fewer sandwiches/hot dogs.

Busy day at work today; spent a lot of time reformatting spreadsheets to the senior controller's satisfaction, ferreting out a dime error in the checkbook, and hammering out checks for the monthly sales & use tax payments - along with the usual half-dozen bills that needed paying. I was busy enough that I didn't get out to lunch until ~1330, which is a little surprising.

A number of work shirts recently succumbed to their age and my girth, so I stopped by Casual Male on the way home to pick up some new ones. I was a little gunshy about the place, considering the horrible quality of the last things I bought there, but let's face it: in my size, you don't get a lot of shopping options.
I wound up paying roughly $28 per shirt for a couple of 5X casual shirts which won't look out of place, while avoiding cheaper shirts that made gook shirts look plain. I'm not really happy with them, but I can't really wait to get some Dickies shirts off the intertubes.

Couldn't get to sleep last night until 0230 due to the pain in my leg. Well, maybe sleeping in until 1000 and being horizontal most of the day had something to do with it too. Anyway, I finally gave up and took another couple of Tylenol and hoped for the best.

Up at 0630, managed not to fall asleep before getting to work, and warned the Senior Controller that I was liable to be a little more retarded than usual and why. So he took it slow and mostly avoided his usual crankiness, thank God. Today was mostly taken up with closing the books, now that we have all the quarterly tax crap taken care of; not all that hard if you step carefully through it, don't rush, and have somewhat of an idea what's going on. I'm happy to say that after doing this for a couple of months, it's slowly becoming more familiar and I see where the parts fit together. Sometimes I have to stop and think about it, but that's okay.

Stopped for yogurt and other dairy products on the way home; need to get shirts done, but aside from that I'm planning on an early bedtime. Blood sugars were uniformly horrible on Sunday, all over 200, but today I didn't feel much like eating (maybe the insulin is having side effects?) and just had a sandwich & V-8 for lunch. Of course, I was hungry when I got home; blood sugar before snacking was 128, which is pretty damn good. Early to bed with a cup of yogurt ought to allow me to dodge the needle in the morning. I hope. Not that it hurts (because the needles are Super Fine) but despite the doctor's briefing it still feels like miserable fail.

Felt sluggish, tired, and a little feverish most of the day but managed to get the payroll taken care of anyway.
Not really in the mood for EVE or Civ, so I think I'll just wash out my remaining compression stocking (new ones due in 1-2 weeks!), mend a shirt or two, and call it a night.

EDIT: I fail at mending. Don't know whether my eye/hand coordination is shot or if it's lack of fine motor control, but couldn't get the needle threaded to save my life last night. Guess I'll have to pay a tailor to replace buttons on my shirts; at least it'll be cheaper than new shirts in my size.

Apparently many people on my f-list don't have enough to do today at work, since I'm seeing a lot of fresh posts from people I KNOW have 9-5 jobs. You're hurting the economy, you sluggards! ;)

Considering getting a small radio for the office, to be used on days when the senior controller isn't around. Oddly enough, the small tabletop radio seems to have disappeared into the mists of history. There are beatboxes, and there are clock radios, and there are Walkman-like portables, but nothing that just sits on the table and brings you the rich sounds of music, Rush Limbaugh, or whatever your officemates will tolerate. I'm looking forward to listening to Rush again, tbhq; it's been years and I miss the old bugger's ranting. God knows nobody in the office here would object. :)

Finished off the main disbursing, body shop checking, and body shop money market accounts today, got the payroll ready for tomorrow, and that pretty much ate the day. Oh, I also brought the employee card file & leave book up to date and ordered some office supplies. Weehu. Unfortunately I was in such a hurry to get out the door with the garbage this morning that I forgot my meds, and so I've pretty much hit the wall. Probably won't stay up for much longer.

I thought I'd be more tired than I was today, but I wasn't...however, it's finally catching up with me. I think all the brain sweat I spent on bank reconciliations today and the previous post sucked all the energy out of me, leaving just enough to nuke a few hot dogs and get laundry going.

Long chat with jamestrainor last night about family stuff. He surprised the hell out of me by offering me his EVE account, and I still don't know what I'm going to do with it. (I know, I know, x up for ops. :condi:)

This has been one rough day. Went in to work at 0700 since I had to leave at 1100; got there to find that there was no internet. Power-cycled DSL modem, switch and router; the router died the real death. Since none of the cables are tagged, Verizon couldn't even get me directly connected to the DSL modem, and that was pretty much it for the morning. Our LAN support people showed up around 1030, which means I spent the intervening ninety minutes doing everything I could do without the Internets, and then left for physical therapy.

That went okay, and the therapist was even kind enough to print out directions to my next stop, ComfortCare in Annapolis. So I headed off down I-66 to 110 South...and when I got down to 395 North, had to change course in a hurry, since Shirley Highway northbound was so stacked up that people couldn't even get off 110 to get on the ramp. So I headed down Route 1 instead, stop-and-go through Alexandria, and crept along the ramp to 495/95 North. Yup, I went over the Woodrow Wilson and then headed hell-bent for leather up the Beltway to 50 East. Unfortunately, thanks to some god-damned funeral procession (probably the PG County trooper who got offed last week) US 50 East was closed down, and the ramps to it were closed. So I made a move over to 301, hoping to get onto 50 after whatever was clogging the highway. This I eventually did after calling the clinic (again) and making yet another move to 450, which detoured onto 424, which dumped me back onto 50 East, now blessedly clear. I finally made it to the clinic around 1500, after leaving Falls Church at 1215. Fortunately I was their only appointment of the afternoon.

Apparently my therapist is being overruled and I am not going to get the CircAids; I'll be getting a more rigid version of the compression stockings I had, and some night-time compression garments as well. Weehu.

Ignorant sod that I am, I innocently assumed that 301 South would be a good alternate route across the Potomac. Yes, that's how badly I wanted to avoid the Woodrow Wilson in rush hour: a detour that would bring me back to US-1/I-95 over by Fredericksburg seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, most of the people who used to live in PG County and Baltimore City seem to have moved into Charles & St. Mary's counties, and guess where 301 goes? OMG, the traffic was hideous, and long about 1730 I gave up and backtracked via Maryland 225 to 210 and then over the (blessedly unclogged) Woodrow Wilson. I'll buy tubes of meat for tomorrow's festivities tomorrow, since everything's open then anyway.

Jesus, am I fried...was going to go in early today and am damn glad I didn't, because I am tired as hell right now. Still, most of the month-end crap is done. Tomorrow, there's only some bank reconciliations to be done (when they come in) and some checks to be written tomorrow before I slope off to Falls Church for physical therapy, followed by a high-speed run to Annapolis for some measuring. Some unspecified period after that, I can has CircAids. Apparently the tag-team of my PCP and podiatrist convinced Kaiser that I REALLY REALLY NEED THIS and it is in fact covered by my policy.

There's some other stuff going on that I kinda sorta want to comment on, but all I really want to do right now is eat something resembling dinner and go crash. I will say, though, in advance of a longer post: Wesley Clark, you are a miserable little putz.

Pretty much done here at work; I have a trivial amount of filing left to do before I leave, and realistically I could have done that an hour ago instead of amusing myself on the Intertubes. On the other hand, it would be pointless to go home since I have a 1610 appointment with my podiatrist/wound care specialist and I'd just be fighting traffic to get there if I went home first.

So, I'm killing time here until about 1500, at which point I'll go hang out someplace else for half an hour and suck down some Diet Coke or (better yet) Diet Sprite.

Dr. L seemed pleased with my rapid response to the antibiotics (as am I), had her nurse re-bandage me and sent me on my way to work. I get to see my podiatrist/wound care specialist tomorrow, and maybe we'll get this compression garment bidness squared away after they tag-team the case manager. Policy does say that durable medical equipment is covered, after all.

Got to work shortly thereafter, where the senior controller had already gotten the paychecks signed, stuffed and sorted into piles. We then proceeded to run -and I do mean run - down the list of things that needed to be done with regard to the payroll, including cranking out a bill to the the body shop for payroll expenses. When he left, I had a foot-high stack of documents and folders to fight through, but I got it all done and ready for the mail/UPS drop by the time I ran out of steam at 1600. Boss is still pretty pissed off at Creative Financial, and I think they realize they're in trouble for selling me as something I'm not. I suggested they ought to charge the senior controller's salary to them, considering all the instruction and training he's giving me; that would fix them and their $9000 liquidated asset charge rather nicely, I think. Senior controller wants to boil CF in oil because he's spending roughly 2.5-3 days a week walking me through stuff instead of building his deck and annoying the fishes, and I can't say I blame them. My job is safe, though; not only am I extremely willing to learn (and very patient with the Sc's baiting) but to use one of Poul Anderson's favorite quotes, "For I have waded so far in gore, the way back were as far as the way before." So I'll keep plugging away and writing everything down so at the very least, when my time comes I can hand off a set of procedures to the next guy.

Enough about that, though. It's sushi time!

Oh, fuck...it came out today that my temp agency had sold me to my current employers as an experienced full-charge accountant, which explains why the senior controller got so easily pissed off at me over things I clearly wasn't picking up as quickly as he thought I oughta. I'm nothing of the kind, as you all know; everything I've learned about accounting and bookkeeping has been OJT, which means there are serious gaps in my knowledge. Well, at least now he knows I don't have any accounting classes under my belt and can start with the fundamentals. Frankly, I'd much rather be treated like an ignorant dumbass in this situation since I really don't know very much of this primitive Paper Age manual accounting stuff; everywhere I've ever worked has had me dealing with computers and their software packages, not ledgers. This will, as a supportive friend said a couple weeks ago, be a great education for me.

I feel bad for my boss, and furious at the agency. Yeah, they got me this awesome job, but they lied to everyone involved about it, and that leaves a really bad taste in the mouth. Well, I'll survive, and starting with the fundamentals will be good for me anyhow.

My doctor was off duty today, but I did get to see another one of the GPs after waiting for two hours; she swizzled a culture swab around in my leg wound (ow), prescribed ten days of Cipro and Bactrim/Septra for me, and had the nurse rebandage both legs with gauze soaked in hydrogen peroxide. I went back to work, pounded out the rest of the checks I'd started in the morning, posted them to the GL and mailed them. Would have grabbed lunch and/or waited for the drugs, but I'd forgotten my wallet, so I had to swing by the pharmacy after work.

And that was Monday. Didn't get a chance to call Member Services and ask them wtf was the point of measuring me for compression garments if they weren't going to cover them? This was doubly irritating since I thought we'd settled this issue with regard to the stockings. Maybe this has to do with the puttees the PT lady wants me to use in lieu of the compression sleeves.

Had to go back in to work today since the senior controller usually doesn't work past Wednesday. (Why should he? He's supposed to be retired, after all.) It's no big deal; I got a decent amount of sleep last night, partially due to a conversation with edminster's father about my state of mind, which had been worrying me.
( Mild angst warning )
So, work...there really isn't that much of it today, and I've already taken care of most of it. I may just take off early this afternoon, restock my supply of bandages & paper tape, and finish the laundry I didn't get done last night. Told Carlos I'd be over tonight after rush hour, so I guess I better do that too.

Turned out I was off by one day on both of my doctors' appointments, which was good since we had a fuckton of work to get through today so that we could get closer to the month-end file clears & purges. As Mr. Dunham predicted, most of the problem is coming from being frustrated at not being able to step in and intuitively grasp all the steps in the procedures needed to make things work, and now that I am most of the way through the month-end close it's beginning to come together. The senior controller seems to think I'm getting it, at any rate, and I'm seeing how stuff I did during the month (or failed to do, as the case may be) fits into the Big Picture. I also think coming in at 0700 helped some, as did packing lunch and eating it while watching the SC go through some of the routines involved in accounting for sales commission payments. Going to pack lunch and go in early again tomorrow; the traffic isn't that much better, but getting there early seems to put me in a better mood.

I know all this natter about accounting/bookkeeping, ledgers and procedures is boring as shit to 99% of you, but hey, this is my LJ and y'alls entertainment is not Job #1 here.

Time to nuke some chicken lumps and then hit the pool for a while.

Well, it was better and worse at work today than I feared. I didn't have to reverse and re-do all the entries I made on Friday. The senior controller took one look at the general ledger and elected to nuke the whole thing and start over using the backup file from April; thus, I only had to re-do the entries. I also didn't have to enter every payment and every bill, which took up so much time Thursday and Friday - only the totals were required of me. So, God willing, we'll have the body shop accounts balanced and everything good to go before I have to leave for a 2:15 appointment in Falls Church. Coming in at 0700 ought to help some.

No swimming today despite the 100-plus temperatures, just too damn tired to do anything except eat dinner, take pills, and post. Going to bed early, kthxbye.

Didn't stay up that late last night, and even with the heat and Friday night's late bedtime I didn't think I was so tired that I needed to sleep in until 1 PM. But I did. :(

It was every bit as hot outside as it was yesterday; even at 1945 when I finally stirred forth (too late to hit the pool, alas, but I did chuck out a couple small bags of garbage, so it wasn't a total waste of time) it was unpleasantly warm and muggy. 90 degrees with 63% humidity, to be precise. So far, though, I haven't had to turn on the A/C in the burrow. One of the Honeywell fans aimed at the back of my neck while I'm at the laptop in the kitchen works just fine to keep me cool; of course, I haven't been doing all that much besides fiddling with Civ, reading LJ, and courting fan death. OK, I did move the plastic cube shelving out of the living room and into the bedroom, which makes room for some more bookshelves, but that's not exactly heavy lifting.

Dutch was kind enough to loan me his introductory accounting text after I cried on his shoulder about the problems I was having adjusting to the manual systems at the new job. He thinks this is going to be an excellent learning experience. He's probably right, but at the moment it's being awfully frustrating.
We'll see how things go tomorrow.

Getting downright sultry out there - temperatures got into the high 80s today, and the humidity went right along with it. Driving home wasn't too bad, though, and the burrow was pleasantly cool despite my having forgetfully left the kitchen window cracked. Not sure what, if anything, I want to do tonight.

Work wasn't quite so bad today, although I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to have to undo half of it on Monday. At least I got the payroll for this week done, along with confirmation of my own status - going to be paid $22/hour, but only working a 35-hour week. That's okay; still going to gross over $1500 per payday, which should allow me to cover the necessaries and put a little away for things like Otakon and Detour. Also bunged out a bunch of checks for the body shop downstairs, though I didn't get around to balancing their checkbook.