Been busy... last week at work by myself was crazy. Lots of other stuff going on also, projects this weekend with Christina's car and my computer at home.
We had been wanting to get the windows tinted in her new car for a while and I'm glad I stopped last Saturday on a whim at a place about 10 minutes from the house that tints windows. He was running at winter special and said he could do the sides and rear for $100. Very low price considering his normal rate is $170 and people online on G6 forums have complained they couldn't find anyone in their area to tint their cars for less than $225. Place used Suntek film with a lifetime warranty too, any cracking, peeling, bubbling and they fix it for free.
Before:
After:
Pictures aren't that great, just pointed and shot it... when everything greens up I plan on taking some better shots somewhere else. Anyway, looks like a whole different car now.
Also, Brian sent me an email last night with a new picture of Carson. Said he's doing well and growing quickly. Here's a photo of him wearing the outfit that Christina's folks got for him:
And here's another great photo he sent a couple weeks ago of Carson sitting up smiling:
Sitting here again today as the only one at work. Yesterday was the same and it looks like all of next week may be this way too.
At least there's good reasoning. Scott's wife had her baby Wednesday so he'll be out for a little while and Marty's husband Oscar just got out of surgery this afternoon after a quadruple bypass. Not sure when she'll be back at work either.
One good thing is that, at least right now, we're not crazy busy. So things are under control for the most part. And I've got enough to do around here in our building to stay busy - don't have to run around to our remote sites.
We also found out that another faculty member in charge of another Center here in our School may pick up a good portion of Christina's time on his grant(s), so she may be keeping her job a while longer. Her and I both think she still needs to search for a job out in industry in her field - the time to jump is good now because of experience and salary being close to the same for mid-level industry graphics designer positions. Might as well get something now if she can that gives her more room to grow and move up in the field.
As for me, I'm just waiting all of this out until something long term is decided with Robert and his position. Things are good enough right now that I'm not really looking around, but there are more paths this could take that would lead to me looking for a new job than paths that would keep me here. So, it'll be interesting to see where all this goes as the year progresses.
Anyway, I should get back at it... setting up a new laptop for a faculty member and I need to switch computer setups around for a staff member too this afternoon.
Spent my Saturday morning changing the oil in Christina's car and rotating her tires. Kind of sad that I made it to age 31 without ever changing the oil in a car before. I figure it's not worth the hassle or mess for the few dollars you save over a regular oil change by doing it yourself. But, Christina's car is different. Most folks online recommend using Mobil 1 synthetic for oil changes for her G6. You don't have to of course, but the previous owner changed the oil twice since it was brand new and he used synthetic both times, so I decided I would do the same. Definitely want the car to last as long as possible and I wouldn't say we're gentle on it... after all, it is a lot of fun to drive.
Anyway, places here in town wanted either $65 or $70 for a Mobil 1 synthetic oil change and I can get the oil for $24.88 and the filter for $9.88... big difference, so I'm changing her oil now. Which honestly was easier, quicker, and less of a mess than rotating the tires was this morning. She had more tread on the back tires than the front so I swapped them... no criss crossing though, too much hassle with just a jack and jack stands.
The rest of the day is getting caught up on things around the house... junk mail has piled up, things need to be filed, and Christina's going to work on her resume and online portfolio. We're not 100% certain yet, but it looks like her job may be going away. When you're a grant employee, your job depends on your group getting grants and things are tight for them right now. There are some new grants they're scoring high on, but it's not guaranteed at this point. So, she's found a lot of good listings online for graphics designers and web designers - definitely fun stuff for her. Getting out of academia and into industry would be a good thing for her anyway - more room to move up to better positions than at USC with what she does.
We'll see how productive I end up being though - running on 6 hours of sleep last night and WAY too much caffine today... I'm surprised I've done as much today as I have already even.
And it's just gotten worse lately... you know, sometimes it gets really old working two jobs. We have way too much stuff going on and the major things are being put off because of it. And I found out that Robert's return has been pushed back again to mid-March now. Who knows what will happen with all that, but I'm told that HR at USC is involved now, so at least that's something.
Christina's sick as can be - hacking and coughing, sinuses, etc. Both of us were sick this last Fall and now we've both been sick this year. Hopefully we're not just passing it back and forth.
One really nice thing was the weather the last couple days. Tuesday was 81° and sunny so I stole Christina's car since she wasn't going to work anyway - great weather for a convertible! I told her I claim May for her car.
Anyway, I should get back at it - have at least a dozen things going on at any one point in the day these last two weeks.
This has been a week of Mondays. Or at least it's felt like that.
Which makes this morning even better knowing it's Friday.
We've been up and down at work - some nights leaving thinking we're getting caught up and then the next morning getting inundated with new support requests. Or getting caught in the crossfire when faculty members try to get me to set up something that I don't yet know our School's administration doesn't want me to do. Or finding out that my boss Robert's time out from work is now extended again, this time through mid-March.
Needless to say, I'm glad it's just about the weekend.
We're going over to Kristi and Tim's for a game night tomorrow, but other than that we don't have any big plans this weekend, even for the Superbowl. Though a few friends did talk about getting together to watch the game, so we'll see. The game won't be that great (although, go Pats!), but usually the commercials are funny.
