This week the big news is I accepted an offer for a new job! It feels like I just did this because I’ve only been in my current job for five months. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind of a week because I interviewed on Tuesday, on Wednesday they asked me to formally submit an application (since I had only interviewed based on the recruiter finding me) and they sent me information about the benefits they offer, then they sent me the official offer on Thursday.
The new gig is pretty similar to the current one and it’s another contract for a government healthcare program, which is good. I want to do a job that is actually accomplishing something worthwhile for society, even if just a little. The position is a senior technical writer and I’m getting a solid pay increase so I’m feeling good. Plus, I get to get away from my manager who definitely does not know what he’s doing and doesn’t seem to understand that you have to ask more than yes or no questions if you want to understand your employees. He told me he was surprised to hear I was leaving. Well, yeah, that’s what happens if you never talk to someone for more than five minutes at a time.
The new company asked me to start on April 4, which, you may note, is quite soon. I put in my resignation on Thursday afternoon and gave them one week’s notice. At-will employment works both ways!
Consuming
Here are some things I’ve recently read, watched, or bought.
Books and Other Words
I read half of a book this week. That’s not much but it’s better than what I’ve been doing so I’ll take it.
Meanwhile, on the internet:
- California could see coronavirus increase this spring due to Omicron subvariant BA.2 via The Los Angeles Times. We could have kept mask mandates for another month and gotten ahead of this, but no. Reminder that the pandemic isn’t over even though we want it to be.
- No gun. No helmet. No action: The frustrations of some novice Americans who signed up to fight in Ukraine via The Washington Post. I’m shocked at the audacity of people who show up for a war with no skills or training then expect to be welcomed. The tone of this article is sheer perfection though.
- Fact-checking the first month of a war via The Present Age. I liked this piece on fact-checking and misinformation.
- When NFTs came to roller derby, roller derby put up a fight via Vox Recode. I watched this roller derby NFT debacle play out in real time on social media. I’m impressed that derby drama is making waves on the internet but I thought the tone of the article was giving “these ungrateful derby people don’t know what we’re doing for them!” I don’t think Lady Trample, et al. have ever written a business case (the article says the NFT offering was ostensibly a fundraiser, which … lol) and they just thought they could show up, capitalize on their popularity, and sell NFTs. Wild.
- Hannah Gadsby on her autism diagnosis: ‘I’ve always been plagued by a sense that I was a little out of whack’ via The Guardian. I relate deeply to this piece by Gadsby as a fellow autistic woman who wasn’t diagnosed until adulthood. This line really got me, “I used to fret about fitting in at school, not because I wanted to, but because I knew I was supposed to. I was at my happiest in my own company, which I took to be an abnormality.” Oof. I put her book on hold at the library as soon as I finished this article.
- Cartoons today vs cartoons when I was a kid via @MisterABK on twitter. This made me laugh.
Rampant Consumerism
I was forced to buy a new hammock thanks to the destructive behavior of the squirrels that frequent our backyard. Over the winter, they took to gnawing my hammock and scavenging its fibers. This, unfortunately, made the hammock useless to me and I had to buy a new one. I’ve sprayed this one with a squirrel repellent (apparently they hate peppermint. Unfortunately, so do I). It’s working so far but if these damn squirrels rob me of one of my few joys I will go on a rampage.
Making Things and Doing stuff
There are some things I’ve made and stuff I’ve done.
Moving It
We finally have a little garage gym set up! We’ve been gradually cleaning and making space for this. I finally bought some floor mats (and discovered I will need more of them) and we got it set up. I’ve been deliberately under-estimating what I think I can lift since I haven’t lifted anything for a while and to help me build up the habit of lifting again. We also don’t have that many plates so, frankly, I couldn’t go crazy even if I wanted to. But I’m happy about being able to lift weights again. The next phase is going to be to get a squat rack because right now, I can only squat the weight if I can also clean it, which will eventually be limiting.
Kitchen Witchery
I got in a couple of new recipes this week, which I always enjoy. For dinner tonight I made Alba’s tagliatelle with ragu from the Pasta Grannies cookbook. I’ve discovered that pasta isn’t that hard to make but still it seems like a minor miracle when it works out. I also tried a yeasted cake recipe from the Nordic Baking Book. It’s called brunviger. Before baking, the instructions call for dimpling the cake like you would a foccacia then topping it with a cinnamon and brown-sugar mixture. It’s delicious. It’s something about halfway between a coffee cake and cinnamon rolls.
Cat Therapy
This week Fritz turned one! He’s been alive for a whole year and is technically not a baby anymore (he’s still totally a baby though).
Finally, here are some cat photos for your nerves.
