I was "roped" into driving to see Dom's Mom and family this past weekend. I hoped Dom would drive but his minivan currently is in need of a thermostat replacement and he didn't want to risk the 4 hour round trip drive. To be honest Dom scares me when he drives especially when he starts getting aggressive. I do know it's in defense of the crazy drivers out there but he is constantly yelling and swinging his hands in frustration which gets me riled up. I really wasn't feeling driving but I find it less stressful when I drive.
On the flip side he freaks when I drive because he feels like I don't react quickly enough to cars breaking. I'm aware of the other cars and do react in time but in his mind I cut it close. What it comes down to is that neither of us are in control when the other person is driving and that is scary. As much as I didn't relish driving since I'll be more driving in the near future, I felt it would be better if I did the driving.
I caught a really bad cold last Wednesday as well. Part of the issue could be that I'm not getting enough sleep as Dom reminded me. I have been commuting to the Chicago office three days a week and typically I force myself to get up by 4am (alarm goes off at 3:50 am) and then I'm out the door before 6am so I can catch the Southshore train to get to downtown before 7:30am and in the office before 8am. I then make every effort to leave the office by 3:30pm so I can catch the 4:05pm Southshore train that manages to get me home around 5pm. I need to go to bed before 10pm but typically I go to bed or fall asleep watching TV after 11pm only to have to repeat the cycle (though for the days I work home I get to sleep an extra 2 hours if my bladder doesn't wake me up around 4 to pee...LOL).
My schedule has been rough on my body and of course I'm in my 50's. That and the flip flopping weather has wreaked havoc on me and most likely led to my cold.
So I was recovering from my latest cold and didn't want to spread anything to his Mom who's currently battling cancer. I was starting to feel better last Saturday when we originally was planning to visit but decided to just do a half day trip on Sunday. I also decided to wear a mask while visiting.
Dom's sister Marie and her family including all the grandkids and great-grandkids were already at Dom Mom's house when we arrived. For the most part the visit when well though the addition of the great-grandkids was taxing on Dom's Mom. The great-grandkids were 7, 4, and 2. For the most part they were behaved but they are a lot of energy.
Marie's husband and daughter bought back KFC for a late lunch. After the family did some quick gift exchanges, their brood took off for another house and a "pizza" party leaving Dom and I to be alone with his Mom and Lexie (Dom's younger sister Marina's daughter - R.I.P.). Marina's other daughter, Ava and her partner Ronnie were at work. They both work retail at a small Mom and Pop store so have to work all kinds of hours. I don't miss my retail-like days at Amazon. At least I didn't have to deal with customers...LOL.
Dom's Mom calmed down a lot once the great-grandkids left. She was stressing seeing them moving and hoping about. Basically it was too much stimuli for her to handle. They were well behaved for the most part but kids are kids. It was much quieter once Marie's family left.
We stayed for another 2 hours before Dom and I headed home. Before doing so we made a dinner stop at Chili's where we both ordered various combo meals that were filling. I wanted to get a molten lava cake so ordered that to go.
So now I am prepping myself for the longer drive to Detroit. I was originally planning on going today (12/24) but decided last night that I needed today to relax. I worked from home yesterday but the new process the company is pushing on us in handling customer issues has been stressful. In a nutshell they are turning my role (Tier 2) into a Tier 1 role.
As a Tier 2 engineer, cases that I received are either ones created previously by the customer or it was after they "chatted" with a Tier 1 engineer to get the additional details. Tier 1 engineers typically "chats" live with the customer initially to get details of issues which if the Tier 1 is not able to resolve, gets a case created that gets passed to the Tier 2 engineer (me). Now they are wanting us to "chat" with the customers as well in the hopes of getting issues resolved faster. If I were a Tier 1 engineer, I admit I would be worried about my role. Hell even as a Tier 2 I'm concerned.
As I mentioned previously, they have closed an office which resulted in a number of engineer roles being removed. Plus the company has no plans to hire for additional engineers in 2025. Again that's why I am trying so hard to focus on cutting costs in my home. Then who knows how truly fucked things will get once Trump and his cronies get into office less than a month from now. That's all the more reason to get my personal house (which includes Dom) in order.
So getting back to work, I just needed a day today to relax and recover before venturing out again to Detroit. I now am planning to go on Christmas Day. Thankfully the weather looks like it'll cooperate for the most part, including the typically risky weather locations of New Buffalo and Kalamazoo that I pass through.
I plan on staying till either Saturday or Sunday. It'll likely be Saturday as I'll want to have Sunday to relax and prepare for my work reality next week. I also will be working from Detroit on Friday the 27th. I'm praying that it won't be too busy. We shall see.
No comments:
Post a Comment