The Boomerang Flu

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and now Christmas is careening toward us like some out of control festive juggernaut.
Would I be a complete Grinch if I said that I didn't much care for Christmas? I mean, I like the idea, but the execution is always a bit off. Plus, I'm already sick to death of holiday music since they started playing it in the stores up here right after Halloween.
Adding to my current Grinchiness is the fact that I have a bad case of the Boomerang Flu. What, you ask, is the Boomerang Flu? It's that flu you get one week, that you manage to shake after about four days, but then about a week later it comes right back at you, like it never left.
As I type this, my nose is congested and leaky, but at least the fever is gone. I've been sleeping like a cat, taking 12 hour naps. The space heater in my bedroom is running nonstop. It's over 80 degrees in there. This is all part of my usual means of shaking illness, which also incorporates screwdrivers and hot showers. Basically, I sweat it out of me.
Weirdly, this doesn't seem to be working this time. This sickness is just lingering, on and on. To make matters worse, the Research Job called to ask about availability later on this week. I told them I'd check back with them on Wednesday.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about due for another cat nap.
Still alive, just really congested. - G.

It's been over a week since my last entry.
Not a lot has happened.
I got a flu bug that was going around up here, a prequal, I suspect to the pre-Christmas Crud that always strikes Anchorage. Thank God I don't have kids. The schools up here are just breeding grounds for disease.
Been trying to take a break from the 'serious' writing, and loosen up the ol' psychic muscles by working on some other stuff. So far, it's been no fun. I'm just locked down.
Still looking for something part-time, but so far no luck there either. The stuff that's posted is either something I don't want to do or doesn't pay enough to make it worth my while. I mean, seriously, if I wanted to make minimum wage I'd get a job at McDonald's.
Had some folks come by and take a look at the condo yesterday. I made myself absent, but I don't know why I bothered. This time of the year, all I'm going to get are looky-loos. I'm thinking about just taking it off the market until things warm up, but by the time that happens, I'll be ready to dump the place on the bank and just walk away.
Eh.
I dunno.
I'm in a funky mood.
In other news, I was invited to Las Vegas this weekend for some friends wedding. Kurt and Amanda, from back in VA, were renewing their vows and I got an e-mailed invitation to attend. I haven't heard from those guys in years, so that was nice. But, since I got it late, I couldn't score a decent airfare so here I sit, typing this.
And next week is Thanksgiving and then there's Christmas and New Years and then the Birthday.
Man, time is really flying now.
Still alive. - G.

So, I started work at the Market Research Place this last Saturday. For five hours I sat on a phone, calling villages in Western Alaska and doing surveys on global warming. Pretty easy work, and now I can honestly say that I am gainfully employed, if only part-time. At the very least, I can put this job down on my resume.
It looks like it's going to be getting busy down the road too. There are a couple of other surveys coming up, one involving charitable donations and the other involving aquaculture. They'll both be statewide and, yeah, I can pretty much gaurantee we'll have to explain what aquaculture is to a lot of people.
In other news, closer to home, I may have someone interested in the condo. I had some folks come by and take a look at the place last week and they came back yesterday. So, fingers crossed that they make an offer.
Other than that, not much else is going on. I think I'm going to scrap the long mystery novel and focus more on short stories. Honestly, I think I'm better at them and, going back and rereading what I've written so far, I seem to be devoting a ridiculous amount of time to describing the scenes. It would be one thing if they were relevant to the crime, but they're not.
Ah well, live and learn. Right?
Oh! And before I forget, the snow has finally arrived.
Still alive and keeping warm. - G.

So, October has blown through and we now find ourselves shivering in November. Fall has formally transitioned to winter, which means I only have another six months of winter before it starts to warm up again.
Oy vey.
Just the thought is enough to give me the wiggins.
Didn't do much for Halloween this year. Got some candy and stuck it in a bowl, but didn't get a single damn trick-r-treater. So now I've got a bowl full of chocolate that I can't eat because it irritates my Acid Reflux. I'm probably going to wind up throwing it out, just to avoid the temptation.
Still looking for something part time. You wouldn't think it would be this hard to find part time work in this economy. Checked in with my temp agency and they had nada. Checked the usual websites and saw a couple of full time jobs that looked interesting, but I'm hesitant to make a long term commitment since I know I'll be leaving this spring.
The writing, alas, is completely stalled. I spend more time staring at the screen, trying to get something down than actually writing anything down. That's very disheartening.
Okay. This post is getting entirely too whiny.
On the positive side of things, I get to sleep in late every day and set my own schedule. So, take that all you paper-pushing geeks! While you're trundling out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn, I'm turning over, looking at the bedside clock and going back to sleep! Ha!
Still alive and looking at the positives. - G.