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Productive day

May 15th, 2013 at 01:02 am

I’m glad I didn’t do the poll worker thing today because it wound up being a pretty busy (and productive) day.

And I'm glad I stopped using that nasal spray that was making me feel so drowsy/groggy. I guess that means I'll need to proceed with the bronco provocation test next week to rule out asthma, becus I can't say the nasal spray, meant for people with post nasal drip, did much of anything to alleviate my cough.

But getting back to the productive day:

I spent all morning pulling my portfolio together for the Thursday job interview. Having worked all my life as a writer, I have a ton of writing samples, and I like to tailor my portfolio to the job. It’s something I can do because I’ve written soooo much stuff and in fact I have 3 file cabinets of writing samples in the attic! So I think about what kind of writer they’re looking for: business to business or business to client, retail, corporate, what field/subject matter, long form/short form, etc.

Also, as it turned out, I was finally able to connect with a realtor I was playing phone tag with for well over a month. Or shall we say, he wasn’t really trying to make himself available. Anyway, I got what info I needed from him and wrote up my thing, so that was good to clear my plate.

I also mowed the lawn, or did 40 minutes worth of mowing, which is about as long as the battery will last between charges. Tomorrow morning before I go to work (at 1 pm) I hope to wrap up the mowing.

My British neighbor also stopped by to pick up some heavy logs that have sat in my driveway since Hurricane Sandy. He’s been loading 4 or 5 at a time in his truck and taking them back to his house to burn for me in a big fire pit they have. How nice is that? The wood can’t be burned in a fireplace, as it’s pine, and it’s way too large to chip, unfortunately. It was a bit of a barter situation but I think I got the better end of the deal, as all I did for him was summarize some research I did on how to sell stuff on Amazon.

Once, a few years ago, before he had the fire pit, he was burning his own wood and the grass was very dry and caught on fire. The burning grass caused a TREE to catch on fire and apparently, the flames could be seen from the road. His house is set up on a hill, way back. So someone called the fire dept. It was at night and I remember the fire dept. was shining big spotlights up at my house and around here. I had no idea why at the time as I didn’t know about the fire.

My neighbor was burning the wood at night becus you’re supposed to get a permit if you want to burn a fire and he was trying to avoid that. Maybe not the smartest thing in the world. The fire dept. never did figure out where the fire was, becus my neighbor’s son was yelling at his dad about the fire and they were able to douse the tree with water from a nearby pond he built. It’s a good thing, becus he would have had to pay a fine plus cost of having 3 fire trucks come out.

He’s the laid off toy designer. He is working with the Chinese to start his own business. He conceives and designs, the Chinese will manufacture the products. It could be extremely lucrative. Anyway, their house is finally ready to go on market next week and he gets bored around the house so he’s been coming down to chit chat every once in a while. Since he has to stay away from home while the realtor open house is going on next week, he offered to come over and use his chainsaw to cut up a pile of pine branches that fell in another location of my yard and then use those branches to help get the bigger logs to catch on fire.

I keep telling him he doesn’t have to do all this, but he seems to want to help. I had gotten an estimate from a guy on what it would cost to chip just that one pile I mentioned. Since he didn’t OWN a wood chipper, he said the cost to rent one for a day is $350, so it would cost quite a bit more than that to have them do it. Way more than I wanted to spend. So maybe my neighbor and I will do it together. I’m just a little worried about ticks, cus it’s in a brushy area. I had wanted to invite him for lunch when he comes by next week to do it, but I sort of would rather not have him come in the house after working in the tick-infested brushy areas but I don’t think I can tell him that. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Maybe he’s immune, who knows? If I could get him to eat lunch in my house BEFORE we do the work, that would be good, but I’m guessing it’ll wind up being the other way around.

Last night I was just randomly looking at my gray hair in the mirror when I saw something black and I said OMG, could that be a tick? And it was. When I tried to brush it out of my hair with my hand, it really clung to my scalp but I don't think it was "attached." It takes 24 to 48 hours for them to burrow in and be capable of transmitting the virus. Anyway, it was DISGUSTING to find that thing. I flushed it down the toilet. Creeped me out as I HADN'T done much yardwork that day, only mowed the lawn. Every once in a while when I mow, a small tree branch may brush against me, and I remember that happening with a tree branch touching my head once or twice. Must've been how i got the tick in my head cus i wear boots and often spray them with DEET.

I just colored my hair, in preparation for the job interview. I still have more mental prep to do, but the portfolio is done. I can do it tomorrow night.
I also ran out to vote in the town budget today and stopped to deposit some checks at the bank. I watered my many potted plants and sprayed some poison ivy I saw.

5 Responses to “Productive day”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    1368577396

    Good luck on the job interview!

  2. creditcardfree Says:
    1368577562

    My husband and daughter are out camping right now...different places. I will definitely look over my daughter when she returns for ticks. My husband has already said he is going through all his stuff in the garage before it comes in the house. Works for me!

  3. Thrifty Ray Says:
    1368584004

    Ugh...Ticks are the most disgusting pests. So glad it wasnt attached. Knock on wood, I have never had one- I know it would send me into panic mode if I did. Your productive days always put my productive days to shame. Big Grin Fingers crossed for the job interview!

  4. snafu Says:
    1368589957

    Lots of best wishes for the job interview, I feel confident you'll ace it. Ticks are scary, would you consider wearing a baseball type cap to protect your head? Would it be practical to plan an outdoor, patio type picnic lunch for your neighbour should lunch follow the chain saw event ?

  5. PatientSaver Says:
    1368616422

    Yeah, snafu, I thought of eating al fresco, but I don't even own an outdoor grill and it would probably seem odd to him if i tried to set something up outside. It could still be a little chilly, too. I need to think of something. When i think of how much this guy has done for me, it's the least i can do. Can't take him out to lunch as he is a married man and that would just seem....not quite appropriate. He already pretty much invited himself over for tea, so I don't know how i can say no, unless i just insist we have tea first. I may just have to vaccuum thoroughly after he goes.

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