I Have a Headache

I have a headache. It might be because I'm fighting a killer chest cold; it might be because I have a lot on my mind.

• Friday night, my ex-husband asked me to come down and visit with my son because he and his wife had a stressful week and needed a break. Not to mention, my son and his father have NOT been getting along of late. My ex also mentioned that he'd like to discuss my son moving back to my home after spending two years in his. So, even though I had other plans and really needed to rest because of this cold, I ended up driving almost 500 miles in 36 hours and discussing my sons future for hours into the night. It was actually a good visit, but it was exhausting.


• Our son changed residences because of his behavior/attitude. And though I would LOVE to think that I've grown enough to handle him this time around, of course I second guess myself. I also miss having him around but at the same time remember how horrible we can be together. This will be a huge adjustment...and deserves to be my top priority.


• I have a March 31st deadline for this project that I'm working on. Though I'm more confident today than ever about what needs to get done, it's still an overwhelming process for me. I'm not accustomed to being at this responsibility level of a project. Because of this chest cold, I've missed 2 1/2 days of work this week that I really couldn't afford to miss.


• Our customers for this project really want us to visit their site one more time prior to the March 31st date, but my boss won't authorize that trip. So, we won't be going out there until two weeks later. I know the customers aren't happy with that, but there's absolutely nothing I can do about it.


• There are a couple of other issues with this project that the customers would like to see done differently, but my boss has given his opinion (and his orders) and I have no choice but to march to those orders. It puts me in an awkward position when talking with the customers.


• I need to schedule a meeting with our customers here to discuss the changes we're making for this project. I want their approval and need their input. But I'm scared to death that they'll have several suggestions that we'll have to incorporate. And I'll need to figure out how to do that without upsetting our west coast customers OR missing our deadline.


• I will probably work 6-8 hours this Saturday to finish a document that needs to be done by the end of the day Tuesday...different project.


• I went to our first Relay for Life meeting tonight to find out that the person that took over Captain duties from me last year for my old team is stepping down. So, my plan to start a new team is probably going to have to wait until next year since I probably need to Captain the old team again. I don't think I could maintain my current schedule and Captain two different Relay teams.


• This chest cold has been a huge part of my life for the last three weeks. Apparently, that's the case for lots of people. Unfortunately, I agreed to read at mass this weekend and I'm afraid I'm going to spend much of that reading coughing into the microphone. Even worse, I'm supposed to sing for Easter Sunday mass. Of course, that's four weeks away. But since there's been no sign of this cold going away, I'm not all that sure that I'll even be able to sing in a month.


• I've been concerned with a couple of things about my health lately, but I can't seem to find the words to convey that to either one of my doctors. One doctor indicated that he'd like blood work done. But since I was going to be seeing the second doctor, he didn't order the blood work, just forwarded this information on. When I asked the second doctor about it, he didn't think it was necessary. So, I followed up with the first doctor, who conveniently changed his mind about needing the results.


• My 7th grade religion class frustrates me to no end. Thank God we only have three more classes this year! And I'm ashamed that I feel that way.


• I have three greeting cards sitting on my desk that were signed by my co-workers that should have been mailed last weekend. I also need to make, sign, and send cards to half a dozen other people sometime this weekend. I should really make the time to do that; it'll at least be enjoyable.


• I left my Blackberry on my desk. This poses two problems. If my boss replied to the emails I sent late in the day asking for his direction, I won't be able to respond to those. AND I have an alarm set on it to go off at 8am. If I don't get to work before it goes off, it will annoy everyone in the office until someone decides to shut the darn thing off. I hate the idea of being that disruptive to my co-workers before I even show up.


• I still haven't even STARTED doing my taxes yet.


• And did I mention that I have this huge headache? That's going to make it difficult to fall asleep.

Thank God for Conviction

I have a page-a-day calendar on my desk that one of the students in my religion class gave me for Christmas. It's called Truth for Today: A Daily Touch of God's Grace, by John MacArthur.

I'm a little behind in reading the daily entries because I like to spend a little time reflecting on them. And some days in the office simply don't allow for that reflection. So, today, I read the entry for Feb 16th. And it really spoke to me. Here is the gist of it...

Spiritual Life without conviction would be like physical life without pain. God has placed a system of conviction in us for our own good. Conviction is a defense mechanism, like an alarm that goes off to lead us to confession when we sin.

I never really thought of it that way. The calendar goes on to say that this admission must be part of my life before I can ever grow spiritually as it eliminates the sin that holds me back. Confession is vital to each person's commune with God.

**I originally wrote this post as Thank God for Guilt. But I was later educated in the difference between conviction and guilt. One is from God and the other isn't. So, I've adjusted this post to refer to conviction from God as opposed to guilt.

Okay, so I like Star Trek

I know it's a 'guy thing' and that most women don't like or know the first thing about Star Trek. But I like it. Especially The Next Generation. There's just something about all those little gadgets that they have that make life a little more convenient. Yes, I realize it's completely fiction. But indulge me a bit...

How cool would it be to walk up to a console in the wall and say, "Computer, hot chocolate with marshmallows." And voila, you'd have the perfect, most tasty mug of chocolate heaven at your fingertips...in an instant! What's not to like?

And no one would ever be lost again. If you want to know where someone is, just say their name. If they don't answer, again, ask the computer where they are. And voila! Their precise location is revealed by the smooth, knowing voice of the computer.

But my two favorite, future inventions? The transporter and the tri-corder. No more driving cross-country. No more airport rules. Just stand on the transporter and say, 'Energize.' I've already told my son that he needs to get right on inventing that lovely little invention. I'm afraid he hasn't put much thought into it though. Too bad, could mean big money.

Today, I could use the tri-corder. This little hand-held computer can tell you everything from what pollutants are in the air to exactly what ails you. I need the latter. I'm tired of trying to match my symptoms with the words on the side of a box of cold medicine, trying to decide if I need the version that can only be handed to me by the pharmacist or if the one on the shelf will suffice, and hoping and praying that I've chosen well. This is the second time in three months that I've had a fairly severe cold. The last time, I ended up at the doctor's office to get an antibiotic and STILL couldn't hear out of my left ear for a month because of that ear infection. Probably wouldn't have gotten that bad had I simply known which cold/allergy/sinus/flu remedy to purchase in the first place. I'm tired of wasting time and money on the wrong thing. No one wants to be sick. But I feel like I'm only prolonging the misery by not treating my symptoms correctly. And I'm not an idiot. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person. But with a huge head/chest cold, standing in the aisle at CVS, I don't feel all that qualified to determine the best pill/liquid/capsule to do the trick.

THAT'S why I'd like to use the Star Trek technology of the tri-corder. One quick scan and I'd know exactly what my cold was caused by and the perfect solution for it. No wasted time. No wasted money. Too bad it's not expected to be invented for another 400+ years.

I'm Gonna Need All the Rest I Can Get

I spent the last week in the Seattle, WA area with customers. I don't want to go into great detail, but suffice it to say, the trip was emotionally frustrating and mentally exhausting. Friday, I spent the day getting to the airport around 4:30am, flying for 4-5 hours, sitting at one airport or another for another 2-3 hours, driving for two hours, and collapsing in my bed sometime between 8-9pm. I slept fitfully until after 11am Saturday.

It was lovely...the sleep, not the trip.

If I thought I was busy the LAST two months, the NEXT two months are going to all but kill me. I need to type up all new developments as well as a current status, in verbiage that's appropriate for all potential readers. I need to learn this scanner inside and out, which means probably hours on the phone with Motorola. I need to outline all new developments concerning our Shipping process. I need to outline additional modifications to our Receiving process. I need to complete all specifications for the Local Delivery process. And I need to determine which reports should be created by our developers in Oracle and which can be written by the users with the ad hoc function. I also need to document EVERYTHING out the wazoo.

I have five weeks before our next trip to Washington. Two weeks after that, we want to hand it over to the customers for intense testing. Between now and then, lots of work, lots of communication, lots of decisions to be made (mostly not by me), plus a 30-minute phone conversation every Thursday afternoon to make sure we're staying on track. And we'll probably need it too.

It's all good, right? That's what I always say, "It's all good." James 1:2-3. Yeah, but first I need to requisition a couple more if ME!

Maggie

Let me introduce you to Maggie.

Maggie is also known as the Hertz NeverLost system, made by Magellan. Because she has a female voice and her maker starts with Mag, we named her Maggie. While on travel, Maggie kept us from getting lost. We LOVE her! So informative. So intelligent. And with such a caring voice, she always got us to where we needed to be. She even found the perfect restaurant for us Thursday night. We wanted to take her in and treat her to dinner. But she had to settle for a couple of hours off.

The Giants Win It!!!

WooHoo!!! The Giants win Super Bowl XLII! This is my first day EVER being a New York Giants fan. And WOW, was it a successful one!

I think it's exciting that the UNDERDOG won. I think it's impressive that a WILDCARD TEAM won. I think it's very cool that, for the second year in a row, a MANNING won. But I think it's TOTALLY AWESOME that the Patriots DIDN'T win!

I know that sounds petty and even mean. But being an die-hard Indianapolis Colts fan, I can't imagine ever rooting for the Patriots. And I'll bet I'm not the only one.

What the Giants did tonight is nothing short of amazing. Ask anyone. Amazing!