Monday, August 17, 2015

#MicroblogMondays: Odds & ends

Coming up blank for a #MM topic, so here's a dump of some of the stuff running around my brain right now (good old bullet points, lol):

*  It's HOT. And HUMID. July-type weather. Even at 8 a.m. in the morning. Makes it hard to go for our regular walks. Thank goodness for air conditioning (although the a/c in the car is starting to go...!).
*  The back-to-school posts on Facebook started last Monday (Aug. 10th)(!!) among my U.S. friends & relatives. I find the back-to-school hoopla hard enough to deal with (and especially this year, as I blogged a few months ago), and it doesn't help matters when it starts in mid-August & stretches right through mid-September. :p  School doesn't start here until after Labour Day, thank goodness. I do feel sorry for the kids (& teachers!) who have to go in August, when everyone else is still on vacation -- although, granted, they also tend to get out of school in mid-May while kids here go right until the end of June. I guess it all evens out in the wash... But September does seem to be a more fitting time for back-to-school stuff. I guess I'm a traditionalist. ;)
*  I keep having recurring dreams along the same theme (had another one last night): I run into someone from my old office, and they tell me it was all a terrible mistake (i.e., letting me go) & they want me back. So I go back to work (and my old desk & files are in a horrible mess :p ), but everyone is giving me stinkeye & wants to know what I'm doing there -- so I slink off in embarrassment again. :p  It's been over a year, already;  I wish they would stop. :p  I know I am better off these days without the stress (which has only multiplied since I left, or so I hear) -- but I guess being told you're not wanted after 28 years of loyal service & mostly good work is a real blow to the ego. :p  And I guess my subconscious is still smarting, and processing that. :p
*  Between the never-ending U.S. 2016 election campaign and our own Canadian federal election (which was called on Aug. 2nd -- for an election on Oct. 19th!! -- that's a very LONG campaign in Canadian election terms, one of the longest in history), I am already thoroughly sick of politics and politicians. :p  I used to adore politics;  I added political science as a second honours subject when I was at university because I loved it so much. I was a card-carrying member of a political party for a few years, and I seriously thought about trying to get a job on Parliament Hill in Ottawa or at Queen's Park (the Ontario legislature) after graduation. I guess that's the naievete (sp?) of youth for you -- I am so glad now that I didn't. It's a very high-pressure, cut-throat sort of atmosphere, and I have learned that I am just not that kind of person. (I wound up getting enough of that in the job I did eventually land, lol.) 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here   

6 comments:

  1. I feel you on the heat, humidity, and back to school hoopla. Though I've decided that I'd rather see back to school stuff than anything Donald Trump....errr....politics. Fun fact, I also had political aspirations while in college, but now I'm so fed up with it all.

    I think your dreams are interesting. I bet you anything that it is still your subconscious processing it.

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  2. Kinsey nailed it on the dreams...I realize now how much work is taking place when we used to think we were "resting." Like any major life change we all need time to process, so do be gentle with yourself as you continue to find your footing. Was also intrigued with your political bent. I, too, once fancied myself making the world a better place through public service, but, wow, politics makes privates sector look almost benevolent! Stay cool....

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  3. Things I normally like -- including talking about school/education and politics -- become too much on social media. It's like wanting a sip of water and getting a hose in your face. No one knows what anyone else will post, but at certain points in the year, it feels like my entire feed follows one topic and one topic only.

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  4. When in doubt, bullet points! lol
    Sorry about the back to school stuff. We don't get that till February. ;-)
    I used to be interested in politics - Political Science MA here (though I concentrated on International Relations, I certainly followed NZ politics), and the city I live in is a government town, so it's impossible to escape. Just last night a friend was telling me she was sitting next to the Trade Minister at a function, and I have a friend who is one of the major lobbyists (we only really have one or at most two companies that lobby in NZ!) and so is always on the radio or TV, and always talking about the politicians. I've had a post brewing for a long time how I completely turn off it. It's easier to look at other countries' politics - it's not so personal, and doesn't hurt so much!

    Also - sorry about the dreams. I know that it took me a long time (I'm sure it was at least a year) before I wanted to face people from my workplace after I left. I left voluntarily, but also because I knew there was no long-term place there for me, and that hurt.

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  5. Oh yes, ugh to all the politics saturation. It gets so ugly so quickly. I was really, really sad to see "Back to School' displays out and about in early July. I don't have cable, so I miss a lot of the commercials and political ads. It's a beautiful thing. We are starting school the week before Labor Day for the first time in decades. Still September, though! :) I agree with everyone on the dreams...definitely your subconscious mulls over stuff long after you think maybe you've managed it for the most part. That's got to be so painful. I hope you can stay cool, it's awful here in Rochester NY, too. I hate this oppressive, sweaty heat. It was so lovely when we were having a cool summer... low 70s is the best.

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  6. Why are we talking about back-to-school already? Why is there this push for summer to be over. Ugh. Just ugh.

    Agree with Pamela and Kinsey about your dreams. You're still processing this loss. Be kind to yourself.

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