Hello, goodbye, and where to find me...

2011-MAY-03

As in all things—I usually have to wait until things are funny before I am able to write about them.  Some things are funny right away (example: it took me 3 times to try to fix the wording of that sentence—pretty funny right away).  Other things…(example: my divorce) will probably never be funny.  So please, if you are looking for “juicy gossip-y this is why I filed for divorce” information – it will not be here.  It doesn’t mean I am not thinking about it; I just refuse to elaborate on something so personal in such a public setting.  Fair enough?  Okay…onwards we go.

I have moved my blog.  The most current information will be available at:
http://votemeoff.wordpress.com

Hope to see you there.

Ugh.

So, I've seen it happen in movies. At my last employer I remember being in a meeting and finding out my beloved office manager had been laid off. That sucked.
But today has been different. Today a bunch of people are being laid off. Like the kind of lay offs I've seen in movies. You have a security escort and 5 minutes to pack your things.
And the very mood of this place hurts me. My close sarcastic coworker tells me I emote too much, feel too much. I glare at him until he admits to being a robot.
I am emotive, I am very in tune with my feelings. That empathy is my strength...and my weakness.
Please let me make it through today. And yes, I mean emotionally. I've been told I'm not in danger...but really, who knows?

Way too much

Hey folks! Long time no chatty; things at work have been intense. We have a serious 1 step forward 2 steps back situation.

In other news I am now (apparently) an animal hoarder. I now have a whopping 3 dogs and I even have some cats. Sadly, Greebo has moved on. I cannot swear he has died because people have told me they've seen him; however I have not seen him in a Very long time. I find not thinking about it to be the solution there. In addition to three dogs I have a "guest dog". Guest dog's name is Freckles and he is the only dog around here bringing home income. I get "dog support" from my landlords. ~shrugs~ I think he is the best dog ever...but he was a little much for them. He's a snuggler, and lord knows I love a snuggly dog.
Life (my big girl) was found to have a thyroid problem and is now doing So much better on meds. I now share 2 of the same medications as my dog...specifically levothyroxine and meloxicam. Some people look like there dogs, some people develop the same medical problems (I guess...).
I'm losing weight. Primarily because I am now following a "food is stupid and I don't have time for eating let alone cooking and cleanup so screw it" diet. It is working out surprisingly well for me.
Tax season is 'acomin. Needless to say I'm petrified. All squirmy in my belly if I think about it to much. Everywhere I turn people are talking about taxes. Well, I'm gonna owe. And, uh...well yeah.

Oooookay. Time to talk about puppies or something. ;)

Love ya'll.
-H.

so i looked in the rearview mirror...

Yesterday i looked into my rearview mirror on my to court and thought, "holy shit! I have compound hair!"
This led me to stop and think the following: 1. im watching way too much "big love" lately (for those of you who do not watch HBO shows big love is about a polygamous dude and his 3 crazy wives. Anyway, when the storyline of that show goes to "the compound" i'm always amazed at he height of the women's bangs.) 2. this is not a good look for me. 3. I Really need to look in the mirror and/or brush my hair in the morning.
So, if you are a bit more focused on the "why is heather going to court" part of that last (we shall loosely call a) paragraph, do not fret! I was on my way to fight some traffic tickets which i successfully did as it was a cop no-show.
Work has been unpleasant of late. Lots of problems, both in the equipment, the processes, and worst of all (for me) is the politics. i do not like political shit, trying to scrabble and crawl over one another to make yourself look better. ugh. hate it. so work, not gonna talk about work except to say i have learned more about industrial hygiene in an oil refinery than i ever thought possible. and im still learning...
the court thing, well i went to fight some traffic tickets.

hope this finds everyone well!

so much to say....

hey folks! so, hi...i know i have not written much lately but hoooo-boy is there a lot going on. I'm trying to figure out where in the story to start....
well, tonight George had his first big bone. Who is George you ask? George is a big wiggly stupid dog that I love....even if he is a pain in the butt.

Happy 2 Years!

Today, January 2, 2011 is my 2 year anniversary on this island...
I have no new insights, no new wisdom. Life here, as everywhere, is all about small details of the everyday. It is a daily struggle to balance sarcasm with wonder and practicality with joyfullness.
May everyone find their happy!
Love,
-H.

happy new year!

I'll admit it! im boring. I went out to a delicious dinner last night around 7pm, stopped at the grocery store, came home and watched some tv before conking out a litte bit after midnight. It was peaceful, relaxed, and gosh darnit pretty good.
this morning i woke up and took a walk with some friends down to the beach. they brought their 2 dogs and my 2+foster came along as well.
foster dog, i should tell you all about foster dog. His name is Goofus George. Almost 2 months ago my mother, sister, and I went to the animal shelter. I caught a glimpse of 2 emaciated tall black dogs and asked my friend who works there what was their deal. She told me they were pure bred coonhounds who were owned by a police officer and that the shelter wasin court trying to get him in trouble for abuse of the dogs. They had been tied in a field and pretty much left to die. Every single bone was articulated through the skin and she told me that they were both heartworm positive. I looked my friend dead in the face and said i would care for one of them. I knew i couldnt afford nor have the space for both, but I could help one...
time went by and both dogs rebounded back into health, gaining 20 to 30 pounds each and still remained underweight. the court case completed and the police officer was told he could have the dogs back (!!??) as long as he provided receipts for dog food. He never came to pick them up. I picked up this sweet boy last thursday. He is a challenge, and goofy, but most of all he is sweet. We are learning everything for the first time incuding what its like to be fed all you can eat, what its like to sleep on soft things, what a leash is, the list goes on.
I don't really have the time, the money, or the space for this boy...but I couldnt just let him wait in a cage to be put down after spending all his short life before that starved and unloved. It is bad enough I could only take the one. But, every little bit of good I can do hopefully inspires other little bits of good. Love you all!

how to clean out a refrigerator (aka ADD is fun!)

Step 1. work all day and while driving home wonder what you should cook for dinner.
Step 2. get home - get overwhelmed by various animals demanding attention, food, more attention, more food, even more attention.
Step 3. drag footstool to fridge, prop it open and clean out the bottom shelf. Oh the disturbing bottom shelf! Containers of goop, jars of glop, something that may have at one point a vegetable (not sure though). Throughout all of it I found random beer bottles.
Step 4. clean out bottom shelf.
Step 5. get distracted by shiny objects, do other stuff, wander back to refrigerator.
Step 6. remove 2 cats from refrigerator.
Step 7. reclean bottom shelf.
Step 8. close refrigerator, give up, and go to bed early.
the end....

well.....hello there!!

Hello everyone! first off Happy Holidays-please take time to enjoy this time of celebration for many cultures, celebrate the time of winter darkness coming to an end and light coming to us all.
and no that the touchy feely portion of my post is over please let me tell you how awesome it is to enjoy a beautiful sunny day on Christmas...be jealous people.
I should also throw in a token apology, because wowsa have i been busy. As you probably know I work at an oil refinery, it is a huge amazing beast of an oil refinery with some unique challenges. I often jokingly refer to my job as working in the wild west of industrial hygiene - i face problems here that no longer exist in the states. Lately however i have been doing documentation and field work quantification. I have a gift of being able to do this after spending years doing this in Chicago. Its a gift and a curse....so my 15 hour days have been "fun". I just wish I could teach this skill, but alas it appears not so much. ~sigh~
So, my deepst apologies for not posting and not even attempting to "do" the holidays. I bought no gifts, sent not a single card. In fact i didnt even hang lights until December 24th at 9pm. I hung the lights in the window and got a big fun holiday rush.
I hope everyone has a great holiday and enjoys all the lights in your lives whether it be people, pets, or kmart LEDs - or if you are lucky like me - all 3!
Happy holidays everyone - I love you all!
-Heather

shower friend...

Tonight i reached down into the shower drain to clean out the "you washed a dog on monday and didn't clean out the drain"-sized clump of hair and a spider the size of a quarter jumped out. I think i startled him as much as he did me. To quote i said, "aaaaaaaaaaah! You are NOT small!" I hopped out of the shower and went to find a disposable cup. Once i procured my red party cup i went back to the shower to coax the furry bugger into it and take him outside. Spider said, "no."
so, to solve the problem i left the red party cup on the spider while i showered and let him loose when i was done.
thus is my story of my new shower friend, goodnight folks!

today...

i am wearing a shirt that does not belong to me. i honestly have no clue where this came from. it is a gray tank top. the mind kinda boggles.

happy thnksgiving!

i hope everyone had as relaxing of a holiday as i did. i was invited to 2 dinners. it was very much like being invited to 2 sids of my families.
but with no stress and a tropical paradise....kinda spiffy.

night shift...

well, hello there.
so, ive been working nights and i think night shift makes me insane.
concentration is darn difficult.
and i feel like i will never catch up on sleep.
here are some exciting listed items for your reading pleasure:
1. ramen noodle is not food.
2. nothing is open when i get off work at 5:30
3. when you get a day off and you go swimming in the ocean you should not do so with your cell phone, car keys, dramamine, and $15 in cash in your pocket.
4. i can free dive pretty deeply for $15.
5. i do not have the self control to go to the animal shelter and leave without an animal.
6. if you visit me i will try to get you to go to the animal shelter and take an animal back home.
7. although i am generally considered crazy; there is always someone crazier.
8. i really like living alone; but i do get lonely.
9. right at this moment, i am hungry.
10. im apparenty allergic to orange juice; however i feel the need to test the theory, which is stupid, due to the difficulty breathing and the horriific itching and all....but if it isnt the orange juice then i officially let myself get so stressed out that my body basically said, "fuck it; im out" and tried to kill me. so for peace of mind; im blaming the juice.

gnite ya'll.

wow....im tired.

i had 3 days off and spent so much time running around i got no rest.
im pooped.

nights nights nights...

So, night shift....yeah.
The first few nights were rough...things are settled down into a routine now.  The contractors who are down to help are pretty good.  Wise, fun, decent IHs.

But people, I am tired.  Like, soul-weary.  I *need* a break.  I need a break off this island for a bit.  I still love living here, don't get me wrong, I have just spent a very long time without a break.  Incident after incident after audit and then straight into a turnaround.  My timesheet said I worked 71 hours last week...I miss being a consultant.

Remember my boss?  He got promoted out of our department and while I have a certain amount of "yay" for him; I have a hell of a lot of "whoa" for me (us).  The amount of work to do; the amount of stress and
 I am still not an employee of the refinery.  Not that this is all bad; there are a couple perks I enjoy that employees don't have.  But at some point the "busting my butt to become an employee" became resentment. Not a whole lot of resentment; I just wonder if the day comes I get the magical job offer if  I will be happy; or just a bit weary.

This place is very much a testing ground; the "wild west of industrial hygiene" where you aren't worried so much about the little stupid stuff and focus (as much as humanly possible) on actual hazards.  It is a lot.  And I've survived so far.

I just need a vacation.

muah!
-H.

Hello. :)

I feel like I have come full circle. The first time I came down to this island I was working nights on a turnaround. Here I am again, nights on a turnaround. This crap AIN'T easy anymore. Reason being this is sort of "my house" now. You know when you are in a hotel room you can relax because after a certain point there isn't anything left to do. However, when you are at home after you finish A, there is always B to do. Wash dishes, do laundry, wash the dogs, sweep the floor, let's face it, that list does NOT die. Always more to do. That analogy is exactly the same as when you are working somewhere as a consultant vs. working somewhere long term. The pile of things I have to do is so far from never ending that you can't help but feel overwhelmed.
Enough of the bitching. Nothing I can fix tonight.
Right now I am wondering exactly how much caffeine will kill me? I think I may be dancing on that edge. **blink**

Home News
So, I have moved. I now have a spiffy house with actual rooms(!). It has been amazing. The dogs have a HUGE yard to run and play in (okay, they sleep...but still, if they wanted to they could run and play). And just this morning I saw Greebo (the cat) grab and kill a bird mid-air. So, he is settling in nicely...
Speaking of kitties...I got another one. I know, I know. They were going to put him down soon. and he was all sad...and young....and hell, this is WHY I don't go to the pound. Anyway, his name is Pratchett and he is less into killing things and more into being adorable.
In the middle of the night 3 days ago I thought I was hallucinating about two white kittens...it turns out that two white kittens AS WELL AS one black, white, and brown cat keep wandering into my house. So, yeah...NO. I need a havaheart trap for Yule so I can get these strays fixed. I don't actually know what to say about the fact that it seemed acceptable to me to hallucinate kittens...
Hope everyone is sleeping well. lack of sleep apparently means I cannot finish a sentence...
:)

Still alive!

So. For about a week I've been looking for funny things to write about (there have been many) or long descriptive stories about me moving (which I HATE moving btw) or even some negative stuff about my old neighbors and/or old landlord. I have had no time. None. Nada. Work has been crazed--so intense that I have entered a very zen place about how much there is to do. The way I see it one day I will just become buried in the paperwork and just take a nice long nap.
Mmmmmmmm. Nap.
For those of you not in the loop my mother is in town. I flew her in to help me with the move. I needed help badly and YAY! she delivered. We were packed and out (mostly) of the old apartment within days of her arrival. And the new house....oooh, the new house. Allow me to sing its many praises: a roof that does not leak, a bathroom that does not flood, rooms with doors. Okay, yes, it has its downsides, but in general I'm VERY happy.
The dogs are thrilled too. They have a GIANT yard to run around in.
Pictures will follow once I have a minute to breathe. But where I have moved I am MUCH happier. :)
Muah!
-H.
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pants pants purse

I am not a fashionista. I could honestly not care one way or another what people wear. If they are happy and comfy more power to them. Every once in a while I see something that strikes me as “HOLY CRAP! What were they thinking!?!” We are going to take a moment and discuss three of these things. Pants, Pants, and purses. If you are an avid reader of mass of random you know I wear coveralls to work. Nothing too exciting just your standard fire retardant coveralls.

Sometimes people who work in the administration part of the refinery wear business attire. Sure, okay…no worries. The other week I saw patterned pants. These pants caused a physical reaction in my body. The pattern, the mass of polyester, for God’s sake THE PATTERN!!! Okay, we have Heather’s fashion rule #1—no patterned pants. A light pin striping is fine…just not, well, cripes—psychedelic patterned polyester business pants. I think I would have had a seizure if they had a matching jacket. ~shudder~

Now we move on to the “other” pants problem. If you wear coveralls, wear the freaking coveralls. Sure, don’t get me wrong—if you have been working in the field all day and you are hot and sweaty it makes perfect sense to take off the top half of your coveralls and tie them around your waist on your way out. Please don’t wear a dressy button down top and then tie your coveralls around your waist. Just say no. It’s not okay. They make fire retardant pants. If you want pants, get pants. If I saw this happening once in a while—so be it. But there is one very nice lady who does it every day and it drives me insane for no good reason. My fashion-short-bus’d self has no room to make commentary but there ya have it—Heather’s fashion rule #2—wear your clothes.

Lastly, and this is probably just a personal preference. But HOLY CRAP does seeing a woman carrying a purse—a delicate girly purse, while wearing coveralls just looks wrong. Not a little wrong—a LOT wrong.
So, Heather’s stupid pointless fashion rule #3—don’t carry an annoyingly fussy purse when wearing coveralls. It looks stupid.

Okay, that’s all I have for today. Tune in later this week for more pointless observations. ~smile~

Monday

Hello everyone. Last week was intensely long…still only 7 days but my perception was that it lasted approximately three times that. All my work tasks were focused on community outreach stuff. It was exciting, busy, and above all—wearying.
Today (Monday) I am back at my regular activities and I found it very hard to focus. It was a nice mental break to have to focus completely on different stuff. However, now that I am back to my desk looking at my “to do” pile I want to run away again. Here are a few updates from my world:

s I’m moving. Weeeeee! I am getting away from the insanity of my neighbors. Bless their alcoholic rage-filled little hearts. More power to them, they can have that place. I am very excited about my new house with its big fenced in yard walking distance from one of my favorite beaches.
s Dogs are good but WOW did they lay a guilt trip on me this morning as I left for work. They looked at me with “again?” written all over their pathetic little faces. Last week was hard on them—12 hours+ alone every day. Not a single accident those poor babies. I didn’t leave them alone over the weekend, tried to take them with me everywhere. Poor little punkins.
s Cat is still insane. I really like him. The random attacks on my feet are a little intense; but totally worth it.

That's about all. love ya'll!

I ain't dead!

Just insanely busy.
Be back soon!
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