Prior to the Gregorian fest, though, there was a very nice mix of songs. One complaint I have with the "Christmas Traditional Radio" (CTR) channel is that it doesn't play any Mannheim Steamroller; TSR does.
Then there's my "Santa Lost A Ho Radio" channel (SLAHR) which plays goofy songs mixed with the occasional traditional song. It's a nice change of pace.
Sadly, there's no way to tell it to shuffle certain channels; otherwise I'd put all three of them into a group and let the it pick at random. But if I put it on "shuffle" I'll get "Alan Parsons' Project Radio" and "Bluetech Radio" as well, neither of which I want when it comes to listening to music on a holiday.
I have 99 first-world problems.
* * *
Well, the traditional and typical pre-holiday house cleaning is done. It did not need a lot, but what it did need, it needed, to the point that I had to scrub the bathroom floor. Maybe half an hour's work on the bathroom and 40 minutes in the kitchen, plus some other time spend tidying other areas, and it's done. Figure maybe an hour and a half all told. I might run the vacuum in a little while.
I sure know how to party.
Later today I'll head out for some last-minute shopping and to get some pies; and then it'll be wrapping time. Hoping that it won't take too long to do the last-minute thing, but it will take some time. And there's no set schedule to it, either, which helps.
* * *
Yesterday at work was such a lovely day.
There was this guy who called at 5 PM wanting to check an employee reference. I haven't any access to HR stuff; my skillset is keeping the production systems working, things like the warehouse systems and users with password issues and so on. So I told the guy I'd be happy to find out where to send him, and send him thence.
He told me he'd already talked to those people, that he was trying to get a clarification on what they'd said to him. I replied that they were the ones he'd have to talk to, as there wasn't any additional information I could give him.
Well, that didn't do at all, and he wanted my name and title! I don't know my title, so I told him my first name and advised him of same. He didn't seem very happy about any of this.
Well, for fuck's sake, dude! You're calling at five PM on the Friday before Christmas. To any reasonable observer, that's outside of business hours. And you're calling the care center, not HR.
I should have wished him a Merry Christmas. He hung up before I thought of it.
But he didn't spoil my day, and I really enjoyed it, because I know another such day is unlikely at best.
* * *
On watching YouTube at work:
I was surprised the first time the guy training me clicked over to his browser and watched a couple videos about the wildfires in California. They're just not that uptight over there, nothing like it was at the last place. As long as the metrics are being met--and they are--the bosses sit back and let their people be professionals.
These people know why they are there, and they work hard; but a couple of times my guilt reflex has been triggered when the chatter seemed to go on too long. I wasn't the one chattering--I was waiting for a call and working on an e-mail for most of the conversation--but once I was finished with my current task I stayed in "not ready" and listened to the remainder of the conversation.
I have not seen any examples of people lollygagging.
To be honest it's been quite a while since I was in a job where I was trusted that much. My last job was the worst example, but Best Buy was retail, where they trust no one; ditto for Target. And prior to that, the nursing home--yeesh.
So, this is a very welcome change.
* * *
Poor Twigs. In the process of cleaning things, I needed to use some vinegar to get some calcium deposits off a bowl that had held water for the cats (since replaced with an actual water dish, one they can't knock over). I also put the sink sprayer in it, because that's gotten clogged again. Anyway, my hands smell like vinegar, and just now Twigs jumped into my lap only to recoil when I tried to pet him.
Poor Twigs.