Announcements:

[Mister-Kent]

Glad the project went smoothly and the hardest parts are mostly behind you

[Keehnelf]

Haha, smoothly would be an overstatement but I'm hopeful that from the outside it appears smooth.

To Zorro: I have a LOT of flexibility with my job, mostly because I'm doing it more or less 24/7. So I don't mind taking time for myself to do my own thing during "office" hours if I can make the time between other tasks. All that matters is that I do my job, and do it well. And I finished my annual performance review yesterday (what timing!) and the boss more or less promoted me and gave me more authority and flexibility, so I'll take that.

[Zorroroaster]

That's awesome KE, congrats! Sounds like Ghrym should be joining us in a few celebratory pints, eh?

As a self-employed person, the rest of the working world fascinates me...I think you SHOULD be allowed to balance life/job in whatever way works best for you, just as you clearly do. I think a lot of workplaces would be happier if more people were given at least a little leeway in how best to manage their time, be it working from home, flexible hours, etc.

I'm very lucky in that I do what I love, and it means that some times are insanely busy and others not so much. You learn very quickly what the right balance between work and play is because if you don't...you starve!

Congrats again on the review!

[AleBelly]

Congrats! I too have a job that keeps me busy 24/7 and can spiral out of control from time to time...but I get plenty of small breaks throughout the day. I do R&D and find short breaks (5-10 min) allow me to refresh focus and maintain energy.

A long way of saying I feel your pain!

[Keehnelf]

It's a little bit funny because for a while I've basically had the attitude that my work quality speaks for itself and I don't much care whether anyone cares how I get my job done, even my boss. This job and the two prior, anyway, so eight years now maybe.

So far it seems to work: I don't ask permission, I just do it. It's only caused conflict twice, with co-workers who were very traditional and presumed their opinions mattered on the subject. In both cases, they went to my boss (two different bosses), and both times the boss basically said, "I don't think you understand his job; don't worry about it." In the current case, it's a longer term conflict between us but the current restructuring is basically a big "screw you" to the person in question

So, I'm having a good but busy week.

[Zorroroaster]

Watch out for the retaliatory bag of flaming poop on your doorstep! Glad it's working out - always nice to hear the good guy getting a win!

[Dram]

I look thru the postings. I missed what the nomination's are for. Could it be explained again.

[Keehnelf]

Nothing about it has been announced yet--pick one of your active PCs to nominate, and the random winner will receive a prize! (No cash value).

[Dram]

I nominate Baxtaw Greayburst.

[sulldawga]

Another weather-related heads up from me: expecting a foot of snow on Monday so I could be scarce around these parts until that clears up.

[Keehnelf]

Sorry, the hits just keep coming. Spending a lot of time on pet health issues the past few days--may be putting the cat down tonight. Should have more updates late.

[Zorroroaster]

We had to do the same about a month ago, so I know how hard that is. Our condolences!

[Enoch]

I had to do that a few weeks ago, and it was absolutely heartbreaking. Take your time.

[AleBelly]

Sorry to hear that. Pets are like family members.

[MonkeyWrench]

Take your time Keehnelf, I know the pain.

To elaborate on Alebelly's post, Pets ARE family members. I don't know what I'm going to do when My dog Rocco passes or if anything happened to my cat Slush....

[Keehnelf]

The cat earned a reprieve based on improved condition last night but it remains touch and go. Probably tomorrow, if not tonight. The worst part is the yoyo of decisions when the cat isn't just definitively dying. Blech!

[Enoch]

My cat started throwing up occasionally over the summer, but really got sick around Thanksgiving. We spent the next two months under the vet's care hopeful of an eventual recovery, but knowing that there could be something worse causing the symptoms. I know exactly what you're talking about--it was heartbreaking every time I thought my cat was out of the woods, only to suddenly decline again.

[Dogma]

No worries Keehnelf. This definitely falls under the "family first " clause.

[Scott308]

Sorry to hear about people's pet issues. It is really difficult, especially since you can't tell them what is going on. Take any time you need , Keehnelf.

[Keehnelf]

FYI - expect private forums to show up for folks over the next week or so. I've been PMing with so many people about things related to this game I just want to keep it all in one place. I'll set up an IC thread for each of your PCs for actions, and then a general OOC/Q&A thread for any other private interactions you want.

Makes you wonder what your fellow players have been up to, doesn't it?