Today.. I managed to get to work at 8:40am. Not bad considering that I was still lying awake at midnight mind abuzz with random crap. And cold. Stupidly switch the heater on at the wall but forgot to actually turn it on. Aghr.

Ater lots of “Welcome Backs!” I got into my email… only about 500 to clear :p

Moved desks - switched with another girl for a change… I still have stuff all over the floor near the new desk. Oh well, tomorrow? I was thinking I had a relatively easy day tomorrow, but no, I have three groups to run… term is looking scary already!

OMG - from when I turned 20 (yes, 6 years ago):

Such a baby. (this domain was registered sept 11 2002)

*giggles*

Last day of work today before … Greece! *squeals and bounces and stuff* (or at least I would if I wasn’t out late yet again last night! These are bad habbits I’m getting into… Probably shouldn’t become a regular at Muddle Bar… even if I do love the people I meet there and the cocktails :p)

Anyway.

I have a few hours this morning at work to do things like sort my desk out, make sure all my files are up to date, all my letters sent ahead of next term. Boring, mundane jobs that are going to need coffee and an ipod to get me through them.

Haven’t started packing… will probably start tonight after Japanese - though still won’t get home from that until 8:30 ish and have to eat dinner, and get Rish to chop my hair off. Figured I’d go for it, make like easier for the month when I’m away. Hopefully I won’t cry or hate it :p But, it’s only hair, and it tends to grow back :)

*gets excitable*

Ughhhhhhhh.

Had the most struggling day I’ve had at work for ages yesterday… I was meant to have early nights on Saturday, but didn’t, and then again on Sunday I was in bed early… and had every intention of crashing out by 9:30pm, but someone didn’t let me :p

So then I hit work yesterday. Get myself in a little early because I was supposed to have an 8:30am artic client (sometimes put a 30 minute appointment first thing for those speech kids who just need that little bit more monitoring on their homeprogram. That way they miss less school, and they take less time out of my day. And no, I don’t like after school appointments. Especially when I’m ratty, the child’s ratty and then the parent’s ratty too. We can always achieve lots that way) but they didn’t show up. Oh well, won’t see thejm until August now.

For a coupleof weeks now, I’ve not had any free appointments until August when I get back. I think my next free appointment is August 11 now. And not until the end of August for those who insist that they can only do after school. Some parents just don’t seem to understand that all the children my team sees are in school, and so no, not everyoe can fit into an after school appointment, even if I did offer them every day of the week. Which I don’t. And I’ve booked out my Monday afterschools next term with a stuttering client, and I think I’ll have another one on the way once I start in with my new assessments for the term.

(argh I hate when my toes randomly start tingling)

So yesterday was spent entering the diagnoses off all my kidlets onto the computer, and all the other info that needed to be on there by the end of the financial year (yes, the system crashed out at various points in the day). Today will be spent printing nots off the computer and filing them. And tidying my desk of all the other things I’ve neglected filing this year. Gah.

It’s amazing how much easier it is to get through when tired when you’re, say, bouncing around in group therapy sessions all day or out on the road visiting schools, but the second you sit in front of the computer, the reliance on coke and coffee just increases …

0.0 I can do it! (3 work days left).

So, I had an up and down day which has left me quite drained.

Rose was writing a Social Story for a client about how his teacher sometimes will get sick and have to have time off work to get better, meaning that sometimes he will have a different teacher….

I need one for parents that says that sometimes the speech therapist will get sick and have to stay home, and there IS no subtitute speechie, so she’ll just have to try to catch up on everything when she gets back to work, which means she can’t have everything done yesterday…

*breathes*

Went back to work today… there’s still plenty of other people off work with various illnesses, poor things! Had a quiet morning - returning emails and phone calls from people who desparately want to see me. Nice to be popular?

Went for a review appointment at the doctor’s after lunch - I still have fat tonsils and swollen glands in my neck… but I’m getting there. Have to keep on taking my antibiotics of course, and once i’m done with those, next week I’m off to get a range of generic blood tests to see how healthy I really am. Iron, B12, blood counts etc. You know, make sure I’m not going to drop off. Or something like that. Mostly because I have been carrying around some level of sickness for most of the year (!) and just want to check that overall, I’m in reasonable health…

And yes, I bought a new webcam today…

Ooh Shiney! I love my scarf, it’s my happy-scarf. (still playing with the light levels and functions. yes, it has a mike, but hmmmm)

Anyway… I needed one before the end of July when Rish will still be away and I won’t, but I thought I’d pop in and get something today *smiles* so now I can be dorky on msn and skype :p

It seems I have restored my sensitivity to caffeine while being off these past couple of weeks. On normal work days, I’ve built up to having a cup of tea with breakfast, a coffee when I get to work at 8:30 while reading emails, another one about 10:30 when I hit mid-morning, and then have a diet coke at lunch time. Occaisionally there is another caffinated drink in there, and often a tea or coffee late afternoon, depending on what my tastebuds are up for. (or if there’s cake. ugh. I’ve been on cake detox too).

But, over the past couple of weeks I’ve only had the occaisional coffee (such as at McDonalds Goulburn on the way home from Sydney last weekend, and the instant coffee I had in the hotel room because I knew I needed to wake up for a long night ahead)… and only 1 diet coke - the half a can I managed at lunch on Monday before realising that I really shouldn’t be at work, and went to the gym instead??? I got told off by my doctor for that, don’t worry. The can’s probably still sitting next to my keyboard, with the rest of my mess…

So, I think I’ve been on some sort of involuntary detox from my caffeine/diet coke addiction. And because I’ve been semi-conscious and my liver has been dealing with codeine and the antibiotics, it hasn’t missed haing other things in my system to deal with.

So where to from here? Do I attempt to stick to this and maybe stick with the tea over the coffee (possibly half to caffeine, according to Wikipaedia) and cut that diet coke out of my lunch… leaving it for the days then when I actually want the caffeine in my system?

nataliedee.com

We’ll see, it’s back to work tomorrow, and while I’m kinda looking forward to being a normal working human-being again, I don’t want to think about the mountain of emails that will be there for me to answer, and two weeks behind in things to get done for the term.

But there’s only 6 weeks of term left - a public holiday on June 9, and various other things such as PD (stuttering, manual handling, and evidence based practise) to tick away the days until July 4 - last day of term and time to leave Canberra for a month! (yes, I’m crossing off the days) :p

A little item in today’s SMH collum 8 - scroll to the thrid item:

“This email was received by several people working in a Telstra call centre yesterday,” writes Padraig Collins, of parts unknown. “If you use it, please do not mention the woman’s name, or from which Telstra office it has come.” OK, but gee it’s tempting. Here’s the email: “Subject: Working Saturday. Hi guys, As you have all taken two or more days of leave this month already I have scheduled you in to work this Saturday from 10 - 3 to recover some of the hours you have not given. If this is not possible then you need to come and have a chat with me about this today, otherwise see you on Saturday.” The author of this astonishing missive is described under her name as Sales Team Leader - Team Assassins, Telstra Customer Sales & Service.

(hat tip to CPSU news)

Given I’ve taken 4/5 days off on sick leave this week, and assuming that would be being applied to sick leave, it’s a bit of a worry. (no, I don’t work for Telstra) Yes, it might be nice to have that option to make up some time if you have that free time rather than taking it off on leave, but generally speaking most people working for Tealstra and for large agencies should have enough leave granted to them to cover a few sick days. Right? And you should be able to use those sick days properly to rest and recover, and not feel that you’ll need to go in on a day when you are sick so that you don’t have to make it up on a weekend when you have a life to live. *ahem* where’s that work-life ballance rhetoric when you need it?

After feeling run down for most of last week, and pushing myself hard over the weekend (ie Dan’s farewell on Saturday night and the fun run on Sunday morning) it hit me Sunday afternoon. Turned out that the sore ear and then the tiredness, subsequent fever and chills would be Tonsillitis (sub acute, for sure, as the throat has come and gone over the past month or so, just waiting for me to hit a point where it would get me, and bring me down)

So two days off work, rest, antibiotics and general pain relief were prescribed. I’m not doing so well at the sleeping part, but I’m not doing much.

Though I got a call just before 11 today from work to ask if I was coming in. I’m SURE I said in the message I left yesterday morning that I’d be taking Monday and Tuesday off and should be in for Wednesday. Chances are that I did, and that they didn’t pay attention to that bit. It is possible that I didn’t get my message across as I had hoped, through my own fault, but knowing how well messages are taken ther sometimes, I won’t feel too bad about it. I just hoped I didn’t have anything on that people are going to be annoyed at me not coming to. argh.

Oh well, I can’t do much about that now. Just have to keep drinking my water.

PS: Does anyone know a simple way to set up post-by-email for wordpress? I start reading the codex and freak out. Surely someone has written a plugin by now to take the pain away?

Shame I can’t really be bothered moving to do either :p I think I’ll try the steak… get the pan heating. I have a really nice pack of three T-bones. One for me, one for Rish… another one for Rish for when I make him eat alone on Monday because I’m getting my dinner and wine paid for by national office :p

So not going to the torch relay tomorrow… I think it may be best to avoid the city altogether…. but I did get to see some of the fireworks tonight… saw the ones over Telstra Tower while making my way to the gym in the dark because I was running late… but I made it to the gym, and did about an hour of not so intense cardio, which is more than I felt like doing when leaving work today.

My team leader when I walked into the meeting today “Fiona, you look exhausted” then “Are you?”… hmm a yes was probably the most accurate response to give. Yes a little :p So, no, I won’t be taking up the offer to work an extra two days (Saturdays!!! wtf?) in May in order to to “catch up” admin work, tyvm :p I need my time away from work. if I’m struggling to get there 5 days in the week lately, I so don’t think I need to be there for a sixth :p

I think it’s my contacts. Lack of glasses - you can see my tired lines and circles a lot more. :p

Anyways. A long weekend is 24 hours away (7:21 of work!) then it’s three days of… well not sure what! :)

We had a friend down from Newcastle which was great the past coupel of nights. Thanks for visiting Jess! :) Great to catch up with people… also saw lotsa people on the weekend… and there’s a wedding in Newcastle on the 3rd May to get up there for… I love my Newcastle people… they’re welcome any time :) xxx

So, my predictions were wrong. I was a bundle of energy at work today :) May have something to do with the levels of caffiene in my blood, that I started the day with a flu shot, or tha I bought a new rice cooker so am currently making sushi for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.

Or I could jsut be having a good day, whatever :p

It was a productive day. Lists and phone calls. Strategies to see more kids this term. Planning insanely ahead in my diary. I have something booked for August 14. But that’s fine :)

Had a good gym session - needed given the extra muffin I ate today during our planning meeting. Amazing how tempting it is to eat when you’re overwhelmed with the feeling of what are we going to do?! But I set my treadmill target to 3km today - just under 21 mins today. Will up it to 3.5km next time. Gotta build up. And the rest of it was good.

Now to keep all this productivity up for teh rest of the week. I’m taking Friday off, short week! yay!