Friday, May 25, 2007

Your Mileage May Vary

or at least mine will, if I forget to charge my iPod. I could have hit 100 miles tonight but I got to the gym and tried to turn it on, and, nothing. And I realized that it has been sitting on my desk all week, not plugged in. Doh. So I held out as long as I could, accompanied only by the local news drivel, and just couldn't hold out long enough to hit the magic number. So close, and yet the Ted -Baxter-in-drag melodramatic intonations of one of our "beloved" local news anchors was just too much. I had to flee. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll get there, tomorrow....

I have been back at work two weeks, and, you won't believe this, but...I like it. I actually don't hate it, and that not hating actually reaches the lower middle end of like. ( The higher end of like is a place where I don't have to work at all and money just appears in my bank account.) But this isn't bad. I really feel appreciated, and the departure of the Toxic Cupcakes made a difference in the atmosphere that continues to amaze me. It's actually possible to get things done now, without having to navigate a minefield of Potential Offenses to my co-workers. I laugh a lot now. I realize how much I missed laughing at work - the last few months before brain thang were so damn tense, so much office politics and drama and bullshit.

I think R is going to be okay as a boss, if he doesn't stress himself into a coronary in six months. I keep telling him to chill - I've already done the Dramatic Stress-Related Illness, and he needs to learn from my bad example. Today I talked to one of our outside consultants who knew I'd been out but didn't know why - I filled him in, and he's so hilarious, instead of getting all serious and "Oh, thank God you're okay," he launched into a series of jokes about it, which is why I love talking to him. He totally got the "brain thang" humor, and loved the mental picture of a paperclip in my brain (that's how I think of the clip).

The funny guy had his own "amazing recovery" story, of his colleague who survived a neck broken so badly he had to hold it upright with his hands while walking into the ER. Risky surgery followed, and today he's physically normal, although we both agreed that the bit about walking into the ER with a head that was barely attached definitely brings his mental state into question. So there, I'm just one of many people who have had these "miraculous" recoveries from things that are supposed to kill you. And if you can't be happy and laugh and celebrate and enjoy life after going through a near death experience, when the hell would you EVER be happy? So I'm happy and I'm laughing a lot at work now, and I'm happy about that. And it's a 3 day weekend, and I'm REALLY happy about that.

6 comments:

dragon knitter said...

some native american tribes call people like you ghost walkers. by all rights, you should be dead, but you lived. this supposedly gives you a foothold in the other world. an interesting thought.

Debi said...

Catherine, About a year ago you linked to a very cool website with lots of stuff for the home, I think it might be where you got your bean or something for storage, I can't remember...do you have any site like I describe, with furnishing, ect.? If so could you email me some links? I saw a table that goes over your sofa so you can have your feet up and still work on the computer. I can find a zillion plastic ones like that "as seen on TV" thingys but the one I saw was wood and pretty cheap. I've done a zillion google searches and obviously it's not called what I think it's called. Anyway I think I saw it thru one of your links so can ya help a frustrated neighbor out? :)

Catherine said...

www.homedecorators.com has a laptop desk in wood. I checked Solutions.com, another one of my favorites, and they don't have one, though I think they did at one point.

Anonymous said...

Maybe that's why people live through these things - so they can laugh.
I work in a basically non-toxic environment, and even though I can't live on what I make,I'm finding it incredibly hard to leave. For the first time in a long time, I have emotional support at my job. When I got sick, they said to stay home till I was better. When I had to slack, they shoved me into a chair and told me to sit until I felt better. It's been a long time since I had that basic level of compassion.

Debi said...

Thanx!

zippiknits...sometimes said...

I'm glad you can laugh about nearly dying, and I think the blue is fabulous looking. I wouldn't want to eat anything that color, but it's great for walls. Well, maybe a rosemary flower in a salad. That would be ok.