I'm not dead yet!

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted something here. Truly a testament to how time gets away from you. Big changes have gone on in my life in the last couple of months, and not all of them good. Finally I have a moment to elucidate them.

Well, where to begin? First of all, I made what might have been the biggest mistake of my life: I left the job I got back in February for another one. Been at this new place for a month, which is about three weeks too long in my opinion. I don't really regret leaving my old job - there were a lot of difficulties, with my boss and my coworkers and with the work I was expected to do - but I do regret taking this one instead. I thought this would be a nice change of pace: learn the ins and outs of a new industry (in this case, wholesale), and maybe let go of the reins a little. Most of my career I've been the Ops Guy: the one guy in the office who knows everything and, when properly motivated, bribed, or threatened, can DO everything. I thought it might be a refreshing change to take a break from being that guy, let someone else be in charge. BIG mistake. HUGE. I don't know if it's me or if it's my boss (the consensus in the office is that my boss is crazy, so I'm fairly certain it's not just me), but it's just not a pleasant experience. I've been in charge for so long, been left to my own devices and trusted that I know what I'm doing, that to have to explain and justify myself to someone else is kind of frustrating. Especially when that someone else had it in for me from the beginning; the guy I'm replacing is family to her, you see. He can do no wrong. I can't possibly do the job any better than he can. Et cetera. Et cetera.

So I'm looking for another position. Anyone hiring, drop me a line.

Okay, what else? Oh, I have Hepatitis! Yay!

...okay, it's not hepatitis with a captial "H," but it is some kind of mutation of the Mono virus that's infected my liver and made me tired and cranky and just generally ill. Might explain why I've been out of sorts lately. And unfortunately, there's really nothing to be done about it. Just get plenty of rest, drink fluids, all that.

Now then...let's see...oh, yes, family drama.

My grandfather passed away a few weeks ago. It was sort of expected, as he was in his 80s and hadn't been in good health. But it's still a tragedy to lose a family member. I was volunteered to give a reading at the funeral. That's the downside of being the responsible one; no one ever ASKS me to do anything. It's just presumed I'm going to do it, because otherwise it won't get done. And of course, I'm glad to do it. But it would be nice to be ASKED.

Oh, and one of my cousins is no longer welcome in my mother's house. It's been coming for a long time yet; he's been trouble. When you're in your 40s, you have no job, live with your mom, and grow pot in the backyard, sooner or later some switch is gonna trip and you'll end up screaming obscenities in the street like a piece of white trash. And that's what happened, and that's why he's out of the family. It's a funny thing; he was always volatile, but he never said or did anything against family members. But it finally happened. So he's gone. End of story.

And...that's about it, I think. I'm not dead yet, even though there are days where I feel like it. But I try to hold out hope that better days are ahead. The future is all that matters, I guess. Hope remains, and all that crap.

So...hi guys. Still here.