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AndrewP Offline OP
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Happy Wednesday all!

The weather's been getting warmer and not it turns out that my unheated side porch this morning smells like an incontinent cat. It didn't previously but that may have just been that it was cold. That's part of the house that didn't get scrubbed yet. Sigh - eventually ....

Some news of note - or not.

More mail arrived for S - looked important and some of it was for her S18 and may have been related to his program so I sent her a picture without comment.

First she responded that she was going to stop by and pick it up as she had to get her now nearly 20 year old daughter's prescriptions. Then that got modified later to say that her D26 would be picking it up. Then - can I put the items in the mailbox by the door. It did get picked up sometime mid-afternoon. I suspect that her D26 didn't want to interact with me. Don't know and really don't care.

I'm happy that all of S's things are now out of the main part of the house - progress. I wheeled her stove out to the front porch this morning. My new stove is to arrive mid-afternoon. I'm looking forward to it. I don't really regret selling my old stove when S moved in as it had started acting up anyway and I had been thinking of replacing it.

---

My son took a couple of vacation days off work and stopped by on Monday with a big batch of banana muffins. I made sure to make appreciative noises - they were indeed pretty good. He also reminded me that I am under instructions that I have to text him prior to mounting the ladder in the stairwell which I had forgotten. He likes the new rugs and how the house is coming together.

Our relationship has gotten pretty good over the last year or so. I'm glad how it is going. We're back to the brunch every 2 weeks schedule and have a good visit. We're still working out on when the Sunday Supper schedule may be which would be tied to his poker games that haven't restarted yet. I've suggested that he could do laundry here as well but it's a long drive for that. He's gotten somewhat more comfortable about mentioning the existence of his mother even though he pretty much never does, as well as teasing me and cautioning me about dating. So the whole "Dad might date someone" thing is now normal to him now.

I had a long phone call with my daughter yesterday who was freaking out. They've been pre-approved for a mortgage and are house shopping and she wanted to go over the home inspection report for one house with me. Given his background especially in the Navy, I have high confidence in my son-in-law's capabilities around the house for repairs and renovations. After talking to me and I confirmed what were items of concern and that some of the things she was looking at were well within her husband's skill sets. I think she learned a bit as well like to be very very careful if there is aluminum wiring which this house had some of and has a lot more confidence going forward. They aren't taking this particular house they were looking which was a cute little 2 bedroom house built about 100 years ago but may well get something similar. She's really looking forward to getting out of living in a box stacked with other boxes.

Lots of meetings today. I had a long session with my boss going over some of the things I need to be paying attention to and I was completely honest that - yes - it's going to take me multiple tries to really get the hand of things.
He figures 6 months which is probably reasonable. Business seems to be down a bit again on some of our product lines and we seem to be having some trucking capacity issues. It turns out that for very good reasons where drivers would be happy shifting each other's trucks around in the yard and while loading that they don't do that now as a precaution against infection.

Lots of meetings today and I hope to get into the plant tomorrow for the day. I really want to have a look around and check on some things that may have been shifted with some other projects happening there. It makes for a long day as I lose an hour of sleep because my start time of 6:45 doesn't change and neither does my end time of usually close to 5:00 or a bit after. My predecessor in this role would actually tend to come in to the plant about 9:30 or so having done a couple of hours of work at home but he lives a lot closer than I do. It's nice in some ways that I can structure my schedule without needing to be considerate of anyone else especially in this transition period.

I'm not feeling lonely much as I keep myself busy but there are those mornings when I miss someone next to me and the times when it would be nice to share my thoughts with someone other than this screen and to go on adventures with. I worry about getting stuck back in the "wearing a groove in the carpet" mode I was in before. Not that I have any actual plans to change anything - still not 100% convinced I even want to get a cat yet.

Well - that's about all for now.


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Happy Saturday - late posting today. I didn't have time this morning and of course that gives me more gossip ...

I was up late last night because after the usual Friday evening "zoom happy hour" with some former colleagues I decided to watch a movie so it was around midnight when I got to bed. I even left dirty dishes on the counter crazy

The weather here has been decent lately and Spring is very much on it's way. I know that the maple syrup producers have already been out in the bush tapping trees and this is perfect production weather. Good freeze at night, above freezing through the day and a good amount of sunshine. We'll get a bit of snow and cold weather here and there but Winter is receding quickly. I'm really looking forward to being able to open the windows and start airing the house out. Most years it's needed but this year especially it is. There's still a bit of a barnyard smell from the room that S's son was in - I'll probably need to scrub the walls down in there too.

Work has been crazy busy despite a significant recent drop in orders on some of our product lines. I've been learning more about plant production and rail-car management. We have two sidings, a main and secondary to place cars on. Taking cars out of the main yard for the railway, placing them and at times shuffling them around is tricky as it also has to be balanced with customer demands for those cars. One key thing I learned was that changing the order of the cars , even the ones from the main yard is something to avoid. And of course we can only "ask" for cars to be shifted in a particular order. The railway does what they do and we have to live with it and sometimes they don't show up at all. Because each movement costs a fair amount of money that has to be looked at. Shift a car 3 times and you've eaten up most of the profit we would have made on that load.

My boss is very much an engineer and keeps most of this all in his head and just "knows" it. He said that it will probably be 6 months before I am comfortable with this and I certainly agree. One thing that has come out of me reporting to him that is perhaps unexpected is that he now gets the industry gossip. He's not a very social person and while I think of myself as an introvert I do stay in regular touch with the friends I've made over the years, many of whom are now customers, suppliers, competitors or all three. It seems that a major player in our industry is looking at some consolidation and downsizing that may open up new opportunities for us so I passed that along with caveats that it was just rumour. Announcements have already been made to staff at those locations so while not "public knowledge" it certainly I feel falls into the "common knowledge" so I'm not violating any confidences here. Always have to be careful of that as well as what I say. It's interesting how the chemical industry is really a big and somewhat dysfunctional family.

---

One thing I wish I had was someone to talk to about this sort of stuff. My ex-wife was never really interested in my work. B did her best to follow along but was overwhelmed and S just glazed over her eyes and I could quickly see that she just plain didn't care but was trying to be polite - some of the time. I think that unless I was to have a relationship with someone who is also in this business that having a partner to talk to about it isn't a thing. I'm pretty excited though about everything going on. I'm learning a "lot".

---

The movie I watched last night was The Princess Bride - a favourite of mine and also "C". I'd not heard from her in a while since she suggested we go walking when circumstances permit so I sent her a shot of the movie joking that I hoped that a particular restaurant we both like doesn't carry iocane powder. The intent was to let her know that I'd not forgotten that we are planning on getting together sometime when we can for a visit. We messaged back and forth a bit - she asked about the status of my stairwell project to which I told her that I still haven't found the courage to go up the ladder. Part of the issue as well is that my shoulder is "still" bothering me a month after I fell. My knee only twinges from time to time and my shoulder is getting better. I think it's best to get it back some more first so that I can raise my arm over my head for an extended period of time - something that I just can't do still.

---

I don't know if I mentioned it or not but "F" from the flower shop is actually unattached again. I'd asked her last week if her "men-folk had spoiled her" for Valentines. An innocuous enough question. She has it appears no men-folk other than her son - who I still can't get over that he's 8 now. She has an odd living arrangement being in a house with her son's dad - who she hasn't been attached to romantically since before her son was born - living in the basement. It works for her and especially her son. I do know that his dad is very attached to him. So the relationship she did have with the guy who I believe works in the city 2+ hours away - didn't last very long at all. That kind of explains why she and all her co-workers seem to be so very interested in me and my own relationship status again in recent times.

---

For me - I'm largely liking my single status and even the pet-less part. I do still think that I'll probably get a cat eventually but am in no rush. Kitten season is coming up soon and I'm sure my various cousins will all be trying to find homes for various new arrivals. Taking them to the river "for a swim with a rock" is still very much a thing in this part of the world too.

---

I'm liking my new stove so far. It's taking me time as I expected to get used to it and how it cooks. My omelette this morning didn't turn out as well as I would like because I need to learn the right heat settings. The elements are a bit smaller too and laid out differently than S's old stove. Surprisingly the oven light is only manual - there's no door switch despite the manual insisting that there is one. I was tempted to take it apart to double-check but that's not a good idea. I expect that one of the reasons it was inexpensive is because that part doesn't exist. It also doesn't self-clean. A feature I rarely used anyway. I was surprised to read in the manual that putting an aluminum foil tray under the element on the bottom is not recommended. I was going to get one to make cleaning easier.

---

Been a busy day. 2nd load of laundry is in and it's already getting towards supper time. I'm thinking that I'll make baked mac and cheese with tuna tonight. Mine still isn't quite as good as what my ex-wife used to make but I don't make it very often as it's a lot of carbs. I also don't have her white-sauce recipe so start with a cheese sauce. I have stewing beef out for tomorrow. I'll do another loaf of bread as well.

I'm wanting to do some decorating for spring so popped in to the gift shop the next village over. The owner, who is a charming lady who I had thought before was "interested" has it up for sale and she's planning on moving to the city where her long-time boyfriend lives. She has a "lot" of opinions and talked my ear off so even though I didn't find any decor I wanted I was there for well over an hour. She has strong opinions about some people and so I got an earful about the lady who runs the craft shop in my own village about what a psyco crazy b.... she was. Which actually I kind of have a hard time dis-believing despite the fact that I like her.

I have a bucket of "work" work to do as well as getting my taxes hammered into shape this weekend. I did have some back and forth with my boss and did the daily reporting and some of the monitoring that my job requires. No rest for the wicked. But there's some other analysis and setup work that I'm going to have to make time for tomorrow. No time during the week as this requires some solid concentration time and there's just too much constantly having on a regular work day.

My upcoming birthday is hanging over my head. 57. I was 51 on bomb-day which was just a couple of days before my 52nd birthday when we were on a "romantic getaway" in Mexico. For some reason 57 feels a lot older than 56 did and certainly 55. 55 I celebrated with B. 56 with S. 57 - I'll call my daughter and my son will come by a day or so later to help eat up the cake. 57 feels a lot closer to 60 - which is one of the "big ones".

I'm not looking at this birthday with regrets for things not done. In many ways I'm still a relatively young man despite being what some would think of as later middle-aged. I have a good life that is presently rich in ways that I never would have imagined at 51. The birthday present that I bought for myself should be delivered early next week - not sure if I'll leave it until the actual birthday or not. There are indeed few rules that I need to follow here.

Well - time for more around the house. A man's work is never done ....


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Andrew, sounds all and all like a very positive update! I can't help but laugh at you feeling your age at 57 more than 55. I was thinking the same thing about my early 40s vs my late 30s! It's clear our bodies are in some ways only going downhill. Good thing we control the muscles, fat, hair, and clothes at least!

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I agree with CW that you have an overall positive update. The age thing made me laugh as well. Sparky said something to me the other day about being 51 and I thought no, I just turned 50. 51 seemed SO much older! Lol

I am going to have to disagree with you on finding a partner who takes an interest in your career. I don’t think you have to find someone in the same line of work to find someone who cares. You just have to find a compassionate person who cares about you who has a genuine interest. Sparky and I are not anywhere near in the same field jobwise but we talk about our days at work all the time. He asks about mine and listens and engages and I ask about his and listen and engage. Sometimes I ask him first, sometimes he asks me first but we always ask. It has nothing to do with being in the same field. I get that your job is a lot more involved than either of ours but same principle.

After following along with your last round of encounters with CL, I still don’t think that is the right way to go for you, but that’s just my opinion.


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You don’t need to have a partner in the same industry. You do need a partner who is interested and can appreciate the puzzle solving part of what you do. Unfortunately many women are math phobic and that might carry over to their brains shutting down when you get into the more technical parts (and when you discuss budgeting!). So maybe some basic math literacy should be on your wishlist for a new partner?

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Just keep dating yourself (not age wise, but romantically) .... you will learn more than you ever thought you could about yourself. Hey, it's 11:11... I must have just channeled that from the Angelic realm, lol

xo have a great rest of your weekend.


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Originally Posted by Dawn70
I am going to have to disagree with you on finding a partner who takes an interest in your career. I don’t think you have to find someone in the same line of work to find someone who cares. You just have to find a compassionate person who cares about you who has a genuine interest.
Originally Posted by kml
You don’t need to have a partner in the same industry. You do need a partner who is interested and can appreciate the puzzle solving part of what you do. Unfortunately many women are math phobic and that might carry over to their brains shutting down when you get into the more technical parts (and when you discuss budgeting!). So maybe some basic math literacy should be on your wishlist for a new partner?

Certainly something to keep in mind. Kindness and compassion are key. They don't have to actually understand for example the regulations around various concentrations of product - and really even though I make it sound super-complicated as far as knowing how my day went - it's not. I deal with customers, suppliers, carriers and plant staff which when it comes down to it is all about relationships. I shuffle priorities and cope when things go sideways like they do pretty much each and every day. I spend a lot of time doing math. I'm still one of those people who prefers to use a paper-tape calculator.

I suppose in part it's that I've never "had" anyone who has ever shown a genuine interest in what I do. Not even my ex-wife. I'd sit and listen to her rant and rage every evening. Certainly when we were first together she showed interest but that didn't last. I know that I get very disconcerted when I'm talking to a woman and they seem to become this black hole of being "very" interested in what I do for a living. Historically I'd just start babbling, now I tend to shut down and change the subject.

I remember when my son moved back home, him coming down when I got home to ask how my day was - I was baffled - "I didn't know there'd be a test!" crazy

Originally Posted by Dawn70
After following along with your last round of encounters with CL, I still don’t think that is the right way to go for you, but that’s just my opinion.
At the moment I would tend to agree. But she is also a friend so having lunch will be nice. She was also in the middle of a high conflict divorce. I'll certainly go with no expectations and an open mind. I'm in a very very different place than I was the first time around. Then I was eager to get back into a relationship and having an attractive woman seem so interested was seemingly exactly what I was looking for.

When I picked up my weekly baked treat the owner of the shop and I shared a laugh because I was happy that I'd finally found a new paper-towel holder after 5 years of hunting. The laugh was that on some things it takes me forever to make a decision and on others I tend to do it really really fast laugh
Originally Posted by bttrfly
Just keep dating yourself (not age wise, but romantically) .... you will learn more than you ever thought you could about yourself. Hey, it's 11:11... I must have just channeled that from the Angelic realm, lol

xo have a great rest of your weekend.

Learning. Not as fast as I might like. But learning. The key thing that I've learned is that imagining a life where I continue to be by myself is also a good place to be. Not that I'm going to turn into a woman-hating hermit by any stretch - just that I'm learning what my own value is to me. Or so I hope.

Pot of stew is on to bubble and the bread is just about done rising (love those frozen loaves - so easy). Working through my taxes and I'm hoping to do my first attempt at planning the rail-car switch. I'm sure to get it wrong but when my mistakes are explained to me I get better. The trick is to not get cocky - something that undoubtedly applies everywhere.


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Happy Wednesday / Payday! Three pay month this month. Last month I got paid 3 times too with my bonus cheque and it being a shorter month my finances are certainly helped recover a bit from the destruction from S being involved.

I don't think she deliberately set out to cause problems, just that she had no concept of not spending every dime that was in the account. Which is perhaps surprising as she would go on about how XH#2 made and makes lots of money although she was in situations where she got her utilities cut off because she couldn't pay the bills. I still laugh thinking about how she had his income up as something to aspire to when I actually make nearly as much. Like they say - it's not the length of the wand but how you use it - although that may apply in other circumstances wink

We had a bit of a blustery time here on Monday - amazing how fast those line squalls can blow in and change everything. My time-lapse videos which now include several publicly accessible cameras around the county as well as my own show everything fine and then right around supper time - "whomp". The images are taken 10 minutes apart so you can see the snow suddenly arrive and a mix between sunny skies and white-outs. Numerous accidents and injuries around here. So March has certainly come in like a somewhat grumpy and incontinent lion. The forecast looks like the snow will be mostly gone in a couple of weeks. Maple Syrup production should be in full flow right now - I'm going to pick up some and some treats for myself and the kids. Shame we won't have our usual festivals which are a big thing around here and the Amish who are usually parked on the side of the roads about now selling perhaps won't be. We are locally in a "green/prevent" zone which means more or less back to "normal" at least the normal we had last fall. Around us though are more locked down zones including the one where I work and a few friends including "C" live.

---

Wednesdays are generally a bit easier than other days depending on what's going on. I usually schedule inbound loads of raw materials in for Wednesdays as we don't (generally) have outbound loads so the plant is kept busy doing something predictable that I've known about for a few weeks. Surprises always happen but as I'm getting more practiced the surprises are less surprising.

Even though some would consider me a "morning person", I start around 7 - have 1/2 hour to review then get the daily reports at 7:30 - 20 minutes to adjust and finalize the plan and send it off. I still find it pretty stressful. Made 2 mistakes this morning. One asking the plant for some raw materials and another in production volumes. I had to back-track when I saw the actual daily reports which had a special order in them that I've been sort of expecting.

We have a principle - Plan-Do-Check-Act - that is written in big letters on my white-board. It means:
- Make a plan
- Does the plan accomplish the goals
- Check for any errors or unexpected consequences
- Act on the plan

Sometimes I jump to the end too fast. Which is no surprise to anyone playing the home game here crazy

I like to believe that I'm getting the hang of the rail planning. It's making more sense day to day especially since my boss is responsive to questions. There are still a "lot" of moving parts but they move fairly slowly, except when they don't. Like 3 of the cars in our siding requiring service unexpectedly yesterday. The planning window is different than what I've been working with. Right now I do day by day but rail moves slower and I have to look out roughly 2 weeks. For the current day and even the next few days things are more or less known quantities if I make sure to look out. The unexpected will always happen though. And some people imagine that these roles can be automated ... I don't think I have any worries about being replaced with an artificial intelligence for some time.

I think my boss is getting some confidence in me - not that he's ever shown a lack of confidence. He suddenly passed over some communication on rail movements to me - creating the expectation with the customer going forward that I actually have the answers. Like an actor sitting in the wings waiting for their cue and suddenly the light shines on them while they are in the middle of eating a danish and they have to be "on". There are 4 cars in play right now for that product line so some frantic triple checking of what I had just glanced at earlier in the day and then 3 edits on the message to the customer. I'm learning - unlike my natural tendencies and what I do here - "less is best". Answer the darned question that is in front of you and leave the rest of the commentary out of it. Plan-Do-Check-Act

---

I've been trying with limited success to better balance my food intake with what I need. Since October - when things went kersplat with S - I've put on nearly 20 lbs. Less stress, eating better quality foods is part of it I'm sure. I've lost a bit of it but it's a struggle. I know what I need to do, but enforcing that discipline especially with portion sizes is hard. Particularly difficult when I make something like a stew that while I get 4 servings out of it, could perhaps have been 6.

I currently have a pot on the bubble since yesterday making beef bone broth. I remember being surprised at how S had suggested that I make broth from the turkey she cooked up from Thanksgiving. I believe she has only made vegetable broth / stock before. For me, I let things bubble for quite a long time making sure to render out all that I can and to allow it to thicken fairly well - sloooowly. She expected it to only take an hour. On the other hand - again a surprise - she said that she had never for example cooked a roast. Which having raised 5 kids over the course of nearly 30 years is rather a surprise.

I'll strain off the broth at lunch time today saving some of the meat for future stews. The soup bones have quite a bit of decent if tough meat on them. I did read the other day though that the fat that I'll get off of this along with the duck fat I've been saving actually can be used in biscuits etc instead of shortening. Who knew? I certainly didn't. I checked with my daughter and she'd never thought of this either. So I may do up a batch of biscuits with either duck fat or beef. Should be a lot different from the usual hockey-pucks I've been making. Just apply them directly to my belly I suppose is the only draw-back.

---

I was chatting with a neighbour the other day who it turns out knows S's boyfriend from before she and I started going out. The conversation was about houses and such. He was telling the story about how he has this wonderful house that he'd inherited that he was now selling and was looking for a place to live after he sells it. Now - I happen to know that he's been living in rented rooms over the local stripper bar for some years and that when he was showing his house off to S - who really wants to live in a big house in the country on a large property - it was literally falling down then which would have been about 2 years ago. He'll get a nice pay-day though from selling that property - I think we are in the frothiest part of the housing bubble right now.

The stories we tell each other and ourselves .... Where indeed does the truth lie.

---

My sleep is I think slowly getting better. When there were other people here I had a very disturbed sleep with people wandering around the house literally at all hours. For the first while when it was just me I would wake up briefly almost every hour on the hour. Now I only wake about 3 times through the night.

Before I used to sleep quite still on my back and sleep through the entire night. I hope to get back there again. I go to bed quite early and usually wake up fairly rested which is good because I need to be "on" even before I get out of bed if there's been planned activity on the rail line. That information comes in between 2:00 am and 6:00 and as time goes on, it will set the tone for the entire rest of my day.

I continue to dream very vividly and my ex-wife plays a regular role. Last night's was about her coming back and me allowing it to happen although I had (in the dream) a girlfriend in the wings who was put on hold. It didn't last and in my dream I pulled the plug quickly when she refused to be transparent about finances or her activities. Didn't feel any real regret either. Not that I have any expectation of her knocking on my door - ever. And the idea of jumping into a relationship when I already am in one just isn't something I can see myself doing.

---

For my upcoming birthday I bought myself a wooden clock. "Some assembly required" is an understatement. I'm more of a handy-man than a craftsman and there's a lot of little fiddly parts that need to be glued and assembled. It's pretty intimidating. My original thought was I'd put it together one evening and it would be a "2 beer" task. Nope nope nope. It's a no-beer task at least for the little pieces. I figure it's going to take several evenings to put this together and I need to find something to use for the counter-weight before I can get it running. I have made a start on it though and have some of the smaller pieces assembled. My eyesight is certainly not what it was. I am taking my time though and enjoying the process and not rushing. Plan-Do-Check-Act.
clock

Well - that's about all for now. Nothing happening on any sort of relationship front, nothing expected. 20S tried to get me to adopt some semi-feral cats a friend of her's has but I passed on that. Not ready.


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Hmmm...less stress and better quality food should be leading to weight loss, not gain. However, pandemic comfort food and less exercise because of the pandemic has caused a lot of weight gain.

It's not a bad time to do a short- term healthy eating plan to reset things like insulin receptors, carb cravings etc. - Whole Thirty is one that people seem to like, although I haven't personally done it. Short of that, just focusing on increasing intake of fruits and vegetables - making them the larger part of your plate - can do a lot. And getting more exercise in. Because of CMM being so nervous about me walking in the dark, I actually got my 90 miles of walking for February in just by pacing in the house while watching television. I'd walk between the living room and family room, or between the bedroom, through my bathroom to my walk-in closet and back. Not optimal but I got the miles in!

I have a question for you about your job - what happens if you AND your boss kick the bucket at the same time? Is there someone else you can start to share some of this institutional knowledge with, or at least a file you can keep instructions in that could be helpful to somebody trying to pick up the pieces?

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Originally Posted by kml
Hmmm...less stress and better quality food should be leading to weight loss, not gain. However, pandemic comfort food and less exercise because of the pandemic has caused a lot of weight gain.
When S was here I also gained weight albeit not as much but in part because the food that was around wasn't food I wanted to eat. S would spent an entire week's grocery budget on snack and convenience foods.

I hit my lowest weight at 220lbs about 5 or 6 months post-bomb-day. I'm currently 260. "Big boned" - most people can't imagine that I actually weigh what I do. I do in fact have an exceptionally high bone density. But I'm also firmly on the "not good" side of the BMI no matter how you measure it. I once had a doctor tell me that I should weight 140 - and that was when I was in my early 30s and about 235lbs and still pretty fit.

I've gained weight - usually in "jump conditions" since bomb-day. I was about 235 lbs 2 years ago. Went to 240 when dating B. Was at 245 until last October. Christmas carbs and the fact that I could make whatever I wanted without having to worry about other picky eaters has been a big part of my problem. S pretty much never cooked - she and her kids lived mainly on take-out and pre-packaged food. I was reluctant to cook because of the expectation that after a long day of working that I would also be feeding S and her kids. Yes - I know - that's the state of the world for pretty much every working wife.

I know exactly what I could be doing in a "normal" world where I would make a specific breakfast and lunch 4 days a week that was at about 1800 calories. Since I would get home so late I wouldn't make dinner and made sure that I had a balance of fruit, veg, protein and carbs.

It's taken me a lot longer to adjust what I eat to match my "normal". Instead of my "weekend breakfast" of an omelette with sausages through the week I have porridge and a couple of poached eggs for breakfast again. Even though I have nothing against the medical profession, I'm now having my "apple a day" - I couldn't have apples around the house when S was here because her S13 has a phobia of fruit and would freak out (yes). It's been easy with the stove and pantry right there close to hand to make myself a bit more elaborate meals than I would have otherwise.

What I need to do more is to get myself back down to the 1800 calories through much of the week and also be more diligent about getting out for my walks. My 5km walk around the village burns about 400 calories, gives me an hour of moderate cardio and undoubtedly does my mental health no end of good.

I do know that - ahem - dancing the horizontal mambo - done with enthusiasm burns a lot of calories and the heavy breathing gets rid of the burned fats as organic ketones like acetone - but that's not on the agenda. I think that any potential partner would be put off if that were why I dated them laugh

So - I just need to do it. I know that one thing that motivates me is the expectations of others. S (and B) probably thought that I focused too much

Originally Posted by kml
I have a question for you about your job - what happens if you AND your boss kick the bucket at the same time? Is there someone else you can start to share some of this institutional knowledge with, or at least a file you can keep instructions in that could be helpful to somebody trying to pick up the pieces?
That's actually why I've been brought in. My boss is "everyone's" backup. Between us we can manage our individual pieces or make do. The plant can operate the plant and ship product but doesn't have the knowledge to plan out what needs to be made. Our order desk can take orders and schedule them and also manage some of the raw material and logistics flows. I'm certainly not an irreplaceable cog in the machinery. The guy on top though has a depth of knowledge and capability that goes throughout the whole organization. And a 6 months older than me, I think is beginning to actively think about retirement. It's been hinted that I'll replace him as I've made it clear that I'm working for at least another 10 and probably 15 years.

One of the great advantages - and risks we have - is that we have a lot of long term employees who have a significant depth of experience. And a vested interest in keeping procedures as they are - which is a recognized issue.

We do have a younger engineer who would like to document and turn everything into a well formed procedure. A worthy goal that he keeps plugging away at. Even though I'm the "new kid", I'm also experienced enough to know that in those procedures that a critical step is "I made a decision based on how my gut feels" is often a part of it. Which is one of the reasons I have 6 tonnes of a particular specialty product being delivered tomorrow even though I didn't have a firm order at the time. I "know" that it's spring-time and that this stuff gets used more and that the small order I had confirmed on my books was probably the tip of a larger demand. In order to get the tanker in, I have to make it worth while - so I trusted my gut - and fortunately in this case - was proven right. Been wrong too - but that where working with other experienced people who I respect gives me that sanity check.

I think that the worst possible fate for any employee is to become indispensable.


On BD
H52, W50
T27, M26
S21, D23
BD-9-Mar-16
D-15-Jan-18 Final-19-Apr-18
I am a storyteller. The story may do you no good.
But a story is never for the listener. It is always for the one who tells
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