Elayne Riggs' Journal (for Leah)

Monday, October 05, 2026

Laid Up

Well, not only are the Yankees losing again (it's fine, I'm rooting for Milwaukee to take it all this year anyway), but I must have done a bit too much on the IT band exercises, because my sciatic nerve has now flared up and I'm in a good deal of back pain. I started feeling it about halfway through my work day, and it appears I may have to work from home tomorrow as well. It's fine, I have enough goodwill built up that nobody will miss me tomorrow. And I really want to get better in time to make that podiatrist appointment! The thing I hate most about this is that when I'm in pain I think much less clearly, so once again nothing much to write about. 

Sunday, October 04, 2026

More Rest and Baseball

No Yankee game today so I could enjoy baseball and naps and even get in some IT band exercises. Trying not to overdo things but my leg does feel better. With any luck I can kick my medical stuff into high gear, see my podiatrist and get ready for my annual physical with my new-for-the-next-few-years doctor... Nothing much else to report. Not really in a writing mood. Kitty remains kitty. That sort of thing.

Saturday, October 03, 2026

Lazy Baseball Weekend

Shopping all done this morning in somewhat record time, I settled in for a lovely afternoon of post-season baseball and napping, which of course go together because, you know, alpha waves. Good thing I did too, as one of the Yonkers houses around here seems to be in celebration mode, and the "boots and pants" beat has started already and put paid to any further sleep plans for awhile. Can't wait to move to the quiet English countryside! This city mouse has just about had enough.

Friday, October 02, 2026

Maintaining

I was able to juggle my work stuff and make very good headway on the quarterly meetings for one partner and stay above water regarding meetings for my new one, so that's something I suppose. I just didn't have the mental energy to start on the thing I want to do for her, mapping all her prospective clients and their EAs to be ready for her meetings. Maybe on Monday! Meanwhile, Mango continues to be an exhausting joy, and his "daddy" Jonny has finally left Texas on his week-long drive east. I could really use the rest at this point, especially my IT band; at least I've dug out my exercise pages so I can start on those as soon as I have the wherewithal.

Thursday, October 01, 2026

A New Something or Other

White Rabbits, and welcome to October! Probably one of my favorite months weather-wise, but in terms of my job I still feel a bit lost. I've made headway on my quarterly meeting project, but not on my things for my newest partner. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it sooner or later, but the older I get the less neuroplasticity I seem to have when it comes to work stuff. Retirement is looking better and better. Also, the commute is getting to me a bit, but at least it means I can drop off the rent check at The US' Biggest Post Office. And I still love living in NYC, so there's that.

Wednesday, September 30, 2026

One Window Closes, Another Opens

The window for so many of my work colleagues is closing today, and summer appears to be making a brief comeback so we were able to open the windows again for the first time since before the nor'easter, which Mango loved. I'm starting to make headway in catching up on work stuff I'd postponed due to my English vacation, and hope to nail all that down by Friday. I'm also trying to offload the partners I'm supposed to be transitioning, but they're having a difficult time delegating my successors so  they're still on my plate for now. Mostly I'm just glad to be working from home today in the relatively fresh air and quiet neighborhood, watching post-season Yankees baseball, and looking forward to autumn!

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

Not the best day. My morning express bus was canceled and the local bus so crowded that the doors hurt me when they opened. I was only 20 minutes or so late, luckily. Then I attended a lovely breakfast to bid an in-person goodbye to all my fellow executive assistants leaving the firm tomorrow, and almost all of them either thought I was retiring as well or at least wondered why I wasn't. I'm starting to wonder that myself. I tried to settle into my new workstation on our brand-new floor, but the tech betrayed me. The IT guy made sure all the updates that had never been pushed to me got installed, and we still had issues. Two hours in we finally identified the cuprit, the wired mouse that wasn't compatible with the workstation. So I lost pretty much my whole morning but gained a wireless mouse in the process. A win? Homeward subway commute crowded as well, and I'm afraid about an hour ago I developed severe pain in my left calf as though it were about to cramp but never did. The pain lasted at least five minutes, and I've now put Voltaren on it to calm it down. Conclusion: my day really mucked with my IT band. I need to sleep...

Monday, September 28, 2026

Time Time Time, See What's Become of Me

With a fairly organized home office I was able to get through my main objective today, nailing down everyone's fiscal year end timesheets and preparing for tomorrow's expense submissions. Sometimes the transactional stuff can feel quite soothing, but I guess I'm just too tired by my new responsibilities to enjoy it. I still feel like I'm a bit underwater, and tomorrow so many fellow exec assistants are retiring (plus I've relocated to our brand-new floor) that I can't seem to summon up the energy. Thank goodness Mango keeps me entertained, and autumn is well upon us if it ever stops raining...

Sunday, September 27, 2026

Finally Caught Up

Well, at least with personal finances. Still working on the job stuff, but now that my home office is once more inhabitable I'm hoping that won't take too long. We went nowhere today in the nor'easter that still barely touched us, fortunately, but a few miles south of us the Yankees game was canceled, and the Mets went down in a flicker of flames. As this is an international break weekend there was no actual football so we watched a bit of the American brand, played in Rio. The only thing confusing me more than that is the annual Video Music Awards where, as usual, I know way too few artists and I feel more and more like an Old. But I'm not that upset considering the alternative...

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Mostly Nor' and East

The big nor'easter is upon us, and I must say we totally lucked out here in Bronkers. I wasn't about to cancel our appointment for our COVID-19 and flu vaccines, and I didn't have to. We even did our shopping at the strip mall with our favorite conveyor belt sushi place, and all we seemed to get throughout was a bit of rain and very little wind. So we basically danced between the nor'easter and were home for the worst of it. We even missed our temporary power outage, but had to reset our analog clocks and reboot our computers upon our return. Not too shabby! The baseball season in New York continues to dwindle to a whimper, certainly where the Mets are concerned, and the Yankees didn't play today and might not tomorrow. Good time to go analog! Lots of comics to read, and a lovely orange kitty to cuddle. I'm more than ready for autumn!