Shifts and Changes

Lots of stuff going on at work, having to do with a seismic shift in colleagues leaving at the end of this month. I'm losing three partners, one of whom I've supported for almost a decade, and gaining a new one, with whom I met online today to discuss her needs. Amid all this transition I still have to get my usual stuff done for the folks I currently support, and I'm still majorly catching up after being out for a week and waiting on others who are currently out themselves. I do so love the end of the fiscal year. But I'm slightly better able to breathe today than yesterday (even though Rob's cough is worse) so I think I'm finally ready for tomorrow morning's commute. That is, if I can get some sleep without a lovely marmalade kitty settling in atop my legs. 

And Another Thing...

This stupid head cold. I'm sure the travel exacerbated whatever I picked up in Merrie Olde, but now it's been passed on to Robin, and of course it's almost autumn with its attendant allergens, and I hope we're not also allergic to Mango but who knows? So lots of sniffling and exhaustion today, and whenever one of us gets some rest it turns out Mango enjoys plopping himself down on our legs. Not good when, like me, you can't count on your legs not suddenly cramping. Have I mentioned how much I missed having a cat, and how precious and adorable he is? He'd better be considering how we're both feeling. 

I'll Rest Tomorrow

So much Mango, so in our faces. I missed having a kitty, but... so, so much Mango. So much food shopping after having not shopped for two weeks. So much exhaustion from dealing with "Hot Tub Hector" playing his music way too loudly (Mango loves open windows). Just... just too much, I guess. Tomorrow we go nowhere and do nothing. 

Hot Mango Flush

What a whirlwind day! The last for awhile I hope, I can't stand this pace. I had to keep my calendar tight, as company was coming at 1 or so and I had my eye doc appointment at 3, so I sped through the meeting scheduling and timesheets and so forth, had an early lunch, and left things fairly accomplished by the time my cousin Marvin, his son Jonny (my godson), and Jonny's cat Mango arrived. Wow, what an amazing kitty! I've never had an orange one, and this one does seem to follow the stereotype of orange cats not being terribly smart. But he's resilient and determined and very affectionate (a lap cat at last, hooray!) and alas, fairly unrestrained. We'll have to see how we can reach a compromise as I lead a somewhat slower life than Jonny. Oh, and the eye exam went extremely well and I walked a few blocks up from there after I got out and found my feet do feel better. So there's that.

Treading

Things are, as usual, never dull on the job. Due to this cold as well as wanting to not walk around very much on my sore feet, I worked from home today and found out that my support assignments will be changing as of October 1, as so many colleagues are leaving at the end of the fiscal year. Lots of meetings and discussions about this, all while still trying to catch up on other things like suddenly having to schedule tons of year-end meetings for four of my current partners. My inbox is manageable again, but I'm less caught up on the workload than I'd like to be. Glad I don't have a commute to throw a spanner in the works! Lots of stuff around the house to do as well, because our little furry lodger arrives tomorrow, so I'm caught up on most of my finances, the wool-wash is done, Rob's unpacked, things are straightened out and put away (I'd almost forgotten how to cat-proof things), and all I need now is some more relaxation and a good night's sleep.

Missed and Not Missed

Nice to watch a couple NY baseball games, even though the Yankees lost in extra innings and the Mets are being clobbered as I type. I've missed baseball, apparently the Yanks clinched while we were away. The Emmys were also televised, probably the first year I can remember not being able to see them. Most of the rest I haven't really missed, especially work. I came back to 200 emails, but I'm not complaining as a fellow exec assistant who had been on PTO returned to over 2000! By the time I logged off, with this head cold still kicking my butt (I've cancelled my plans to come into the office tomorrow), everything in my inbox was under control again. We caught up on all the "special" Jeopardy episodes, and now have only three regular-season shows to watch, but not today. Time for more medicine!

Homeward Bound

We had our last English breakfast (just toast and a crumpet for me... okay, and a banana and two small not-worth-it pancakes) and by 9:15 AM or so we were off to Heathrow by cab (no more trains for awhile!). The check-in station was confusing, but once we got our bags checked by an actual human instead of their machines and spoke to another actual human who allowed Robin to steer me around in a wheelchair, off we went to our gate in plenty of time. Because I used a wheelchair I was able to pre-board, and once again we lucked out by being in a row of three seats with no additional passenger so we could stretch out. This time I watched a few movies (Mandalorian and Grogu, eh; Hoppers which was sweet but frenetic and definitely skewed on the young side; and Encanto which I could rewatch forever) and we ate well, and were back on the ground mid-afternoon in time for our driver to navigate rush-hour traffic and deposit us home a bit after 6 PM. No more dumpster, so the first thing I did was move my car back into its usual spot for the squirrels' acorn target practice. I dumped all my laundry and got out of my suitcases, and did a bit more trundling about to get everything ready for working tomorrow, by which time maybe this head cold will dissipate somewhat?

Last Round

I still can't walk well, and unfortunately our friend Jane's lovely flat was way too far away from the train station, so between the walk there and back I was absolutely shot. Maybe one visit too many? On the other hand Andy had a car, and even though he took us to dinner scarcely three hours after our big carver's lunch, it was nice not to have to walk anywhere. Hope I sleep well tonight, tomorrow's going to be a long day!

Round Town

Ah, west and wewaxation at wast! Interestingly, I found that the two small toes on my left foot which had been giving me so much trouble lo these many days really liked walking on cobblestones, so the problem definitely has something to do with my gait (probably the IT band thing). We stuck close to the hotel, slept a lot which we both needed, I bought my requisite touristy t-shirt, and we enjoyed a terrific sushi dinner. Tomorrow we wind things down again with one last round-trip train ride before packing for departure on Tuesday morning. 

40 Up

This evening we got together with Robin’s old college friends, and as ever it was delightful. In the morning Debs drove us around other neighborhoods in East Sussex we hadn’t seen from the bus on Thursday, so that was fun and really solidified my desire not to drive in England once we’ve moved here (the roads are way too narrow for my liking), then we had a good long rest, which my poor legs needed, prior to the evening feast with Andy and the two Janes. We’ll see Jane and Andy again separately on Monday but this was the big restaurant outing, and it was simply lovely. Tomorrow we rest and maybe shop for a bit depending on my mobility…