Dueling Crazies
Riding the bus to work Thursday, * I was becoming annoyed with the guy sitting a few rows in front of me speaking loudly on his cell phone and laughing repeatedly in a forced, mechanical way that interrupted my efforts to enjoy the gloriously sunny morning for the little bit of time I had before arriving at my cave of an office. Then I realized he didn't have a cell phone. I'd been having fantasies about yelling that he should just shut up, but had managed to restrain myself. That task became easier once I realized he was nuts, though it also dawned on me that there was little or no chance he would shut up on his own.
The woman sitting directly across the aisle from him shared my frustration, but not my restraint. She suddenly yelled out, "It's snowing, isn't it? This is about the gas station, right?" The crazy guy didn't miss a beat. He just kept up the annoying laughing and talking as the crazy lady became more and more agitated. She squirmed around quite a bit, then yelled, "You can't say that. I'm sorry, but you just can't." There was some muttering under her breath and increased anxious movement to the point where crazy guy stood up and moved away from her.
That seemed like a good move on his part because it looked like she was about to jump across the seats at him. The unfortunate thing was that he headed straight for the back row where I was seated. As he reached the row and stopped to turn around to sit, I jumped up and moved myself to the front of the bus.
* What was I thinking riding the bus? I was already running late. It was just so cold and the bus was so right there in front of me, unlike the Brown Line that was a whole block away.
Squirrels 1 - Julie 0
They made it around the barrier the carpenter installed before the weekend. It was Thursday, actually. They probably broke through while I was trapped on the crazy bus.
For now, I'm not keeping my trash under the sink anymore and making sure they can't open the cabinet doors to venture out into the rest of the kitchen. I am continuing to leave food outside for them. I'm not sure what happens next. I'm hoping they give up when they realize there's no payoff to be had under my kitchen sink.
Work Drags On...
At the start of week two of my five week notice period, I'm wishing I'd just given two weeks' notice. It's not exactly clear to me how I'll get through the next 3.8 weeks. I think 3.8 sounds so much better than four. Theoretically, I've negotiated a deal so they'll give me my 2008 bonus with my last paycheck even if they aren't making the pay-outs to the rest of the company at that point. It remains to be seen if they'll honor their end of the bargain. They're putting something in writing for me, but it seems uncomfortably open with lots of wiggle room for them to back out. We're still negotiating the wording. Special thanks to Mr. Mike for providing a lawyerly review.
If all goes well, my last paycheck will be on Friday the 27th and will include my last week of work (1/2 my normal paycheck), plus the 11+ vacation days I will have accumulated by that time and my bonus. And it will come just in time as I'll have to buy a car Saturday the 28th to start work on Monday the 2nd of March.
In the Meantime
K and I may be heading to Portugal for a last escape before I start my new job. We'd be meeting in Lisbon as he wraps up a business trip through Asia. It dawned on me today that the flights we were considering would only give us 2 1/2 days together. We're waiting to hear if the travel agent can come up with something better tomorrow. If not, we'll either add a day to the trip or postpone. I'm not sure which I'd prefer. The current itinerary has me in Portugal for 5 days. That's plenty of time to make the travel time worthwhile. I'm just thinking I won't enjoy it as much if I don't have K to share the first half of the trip with me. Anyway, we'll figure that out tomorrow...