“Where did you get this?” Connor asked.
“That’s not important,” Alessandro told him.
Nevada leaned forward. “Bern, did you hack the MII servers?”
Bern looked at her for a moment. Of course no
Phone rings, local number so not spam. Our cells still have the Oregon area codes, so all spam comes from the West Coast.
Me: Yes?
Female person: Can I speak to Gordon?
Me, trying to make my brain shift gears since Gordon is in the bathroom: Eh, this is his wife, how can I help you?
Female person: I’m calling about your home owner’s insurance?
Me, blurting out the first thing that pops into my head: We have a roofing contractor.
Female person: Yes, I am returning Gordon’s call about it. From Friday? He had a question?
I do know that he called them, and I know that he was going to ask questions about the type of policy and depreciation, and that there were acronyms. I was there for the conversation. I don’t remember any acronyms. I have no idea what to say. Complete blank.
Me: Eh…
Female person: He had a question about insurance.
Me: Eh…
Female person: …
Me, desperately struggling to recall what the acronyms were and failing: … He will call you back in 5 minutes.
Female person, obviously relieved: Great.
I hang up.
t. That would be start a war.”
Judging by Nevada’s face, she didn’t believe him. I wouldn’t be surprised if she jumped into a car and drove 5 minutes it took to get here to interrogate him in person.
And that’s my moment of brilliance for today. How is your Monday going?
Wrayth says
XD oh dear. I’ve had similar happen to me during calls I have to make at work where I completely forget the word I need to use to help the person on the other end!
Kath says
Don’t believe I’m first but…
Had a blood test this afternoon – it was actually painless so no angst for a change!
I’m waiting for the third time to see if my equity release company will accept a property which I want to buy – you can use ER to top up when buying a new property. I’ve had two refused and I’m on the third – just waiting for the valuation survey to be done….
Hope you guys are well (other than the ehs..) and thank you for the tiny snippet – it made me feel a lot happier.
Zee says
Same reason I hate texting friends and boyfriend while I’m working. I’m a teacher and once I get into my groove marking students’ work, I can’t maintain a coherent text conversation about dinner plans. Thank goodness for the lovely people in my life who don’t mind that I take hours or days to return their texts.
Harriet says
I am so impressed, I can’t type and talk at the same time, inevitably what I am saying gets typed even though I consciously tell myself not to do it. I can’t imagine writing and being immersed in another world and taking about insurance. But I love the tiny snippet.
Claire says
Oh my god same with the talking and typing. Sometimes for me it’s even just thinking and typing.
Issa says
My Monday is eh too. I’m currently fighting a sinus infection, watching Sesame Street with my 3 yr old and waiting for the exterminator. Last week I decided to throw in the towel and give up fighting the mice from NIMH(we don’t have rats) and the suicidal wasps that keep appearing outside our doors.
Emily says
It is definitely a Monday kind of Monday. The kind where you look at the word ‘Monday’ and it already looks like gibberish because so much stupid has occurred within only half the day.
Ugh. Is it Friday yet?
Laura Register says
I’m on a Zoom call, working from home at a new job. This is interesting.
R Coots says
Oh, wow do I know that feeling!
Although mine usually come when I’m half an hour into translating some horribly complicated op report and my brain is full of anatomy terms.
(Op reports are kicking my butt this morning)
Wont says
My Monday has received a nice boost just reading about yours. I’m further encouraged knowing I’m not alone in memory lapses. ????
Cheryl M says
Monday is going great! My new hip is wonderful, hopefully tomorrow the doctor will let me start swimming again. It sounds like you may need more tea. Lots more. There’s never too much.
Tink says
I refuse to answer your question on the grounds that my answer may jinx me.
Emily says
Your morning is going so much better than mine. And just the thought that some day I will get to escape back to a Baylor/Rogan world makes mine better too.
I’m so grateful for your imagination.
Sending you wishes for uninterrupted writing time!
Kayeri says
The sleepies are stalking me hard today, one more day of weekend would have been nice. Otherwise, I am at work filling out replacement Covid vaccination cards for those who have lost, washed, or otherwise lost possession of said cards. =) Aside from a simple loss, putting the cards through the laundry seems to be the most frequent method of loss/destruction. So, 1) don’t carry it in your pocket, and 2) empty pockets before laundering the clothing item. =)
Patricia Schlorke says
Oh my gosh! Good to know. I keep my vaccination card in my purse just in case someone asks. 😀
Nancy says
The Johns Hopkins shot giver who administers my second dose of Covid vaccine told me to make a photocopy of the card, carry that, and put the real card in a safe place (a safe place where I’ll remember where it is, not a safe place where I never find things again.)
Vinity says
I laminated my original and put it in a safe place and have a pic of it on my phone.
Jo says
Three photograph it when you get it so you have a cloud based record…
Pristine says
Me, after reading the blog:
“Huh..?”
“Am I seeing snippet with the ‘Eh…’ post in between?”
#ignoreme
Moderator R says
🙂 The phone call interrupted Ilona mid-writing. Then she continued where she left off.
Sage says
“Of course not, that would be start a war.” The worst thing about being interrupted is your train of thought is interrupted too and you make mistakes.
I am nor gonna say how my day is going????????????
Pristine says
I see, it explains this weird vibe I was feeling when I first read the post. Thank you, Mod R!^^
Lynn L says
Well, an almost unheard of cold front for August in S. Central Texas brought no cold, but some rain which was nice except for the folks that got floods out of it.
MissB2U says
Eh.
Jen says
Ugh, I am having the kind of day where I didn’t follow that at all on the first read. Who is Gordon? Why would Catalina be married to him? Took reading the comments to figure out what was going on. Time for more coffee.
Aman Sidhu says
Damn I miss Nevada. ❤️
Sara T says
+1 🙂
BL from Germany says
Those things happen… When we moved to our house it resulted in kitchenfurniture not fitting the room and the counters with different heights… ????????????????
But did he really have to call me at work???
Kells says
I have no brilliance today. I am brilliantless…My darling Wedgie, Bern, (Gee! I wonder if I’m a fan) decided I should be up & available for treat distribution at 4 am, 6 am, 6:30 am…he & his partner in crime, Terren, get fed at 7 am.
I’m sure there is a joke about pet/owner Stockholm Syndrome but Im too tired to make it.
Hope everyone is having a great day!
Kath says
OK, Kells, I’m giving in – I’ve got to ask – what is a wedgie? The only wedgie I know is to do with knickers – can’t even google a pet that’s a wedgie….
Darleen says
Having a good Monday. Don’t hate on me!
Alone in the house for the first time in I don’t know how long because my (vaccinated) teen is away to Scout camp for the week. Being as I am disabled and frail, I got to rest and relax. He left yesterday morn and I got a nap!! Instead of interacting and riding herd on him (the noise itself is exhausting) I spent a quiet morning with some of the best tea I have ever tasted, then decided that I felt up to cooking myself a lemon pound cake. Looking forward to it coming out of the oven. Mmmmm… It smells so good. And now I can rest for several hours in peace and quiet to regain that energy spent before my husband comes home.
Nancy says
it was an intriguing moment of brilliance. People are calling (finally) as our leach field was apparently damaged in some flooding in 2018 and they are just figuring out now what has been causing the problems we have had the last 3 years. The ground didn’t perk, so they can’t just dig a new leach field. So we are having to find an engineer to come up with alternate solutions. Meanwhile we are in water minimization mode. Can’t wait until that problem is fixed and I can take a real shower with the water left on the whole time (we are not in drought.)
Lynn Thompson says
Thank you, Ilona Andrews for the post and snippet. Been there, done that. It’s Monday.
For your chuckle today, I forgot I gave Titan his last heartworm preventative on July 1. So Titan and I were at vet for a weight check and heartworm prevention this am. He was sitting pretty in lobby and being quiet as commanded patiently waiting to go get weighed. There was a chihuahua socially distanced that was determined to intimidate the big dog that weighed at least 7 to 20 times what he did. Suddenly the little dog defecated and moved to other side of his human. I glanced down to see Titan giving the ankle biter the “death stare”. He was still sitting pretty at my side and quiet. The receptionist calmly called for clean up in lobby but I saw her smile. I didn’t know whether to apologize or not. So I said nothing.
Jean says
LOL! Titan is a good dog! A gentleman doesn’t lose his cool, even when those around him have forgotten their manners!
eww says
Jean, what pooped into my head was the “Manners maketh the Man” quote from the first Kingsmen movie.
eww says
Popped…
Daniel says
I don’t know if this is accurate, never actually having heard you speak, but I imagine the “Eh…” as some kind of quintessentially Russian noise. Like basically I’m imagining (my mental image of) your Russian father making that noise.
Patricia Schlorke says
Eh is right. I have to be on a work late today. The nice thing is that I got to start work later than I usually do. The joys of being a data analyst and having a VP who wants to talk about the data I analyzed and sent to the Quality Department.
Thank you for the snippet (even though it was interrupted). At first I thought I missed something. Then I scrolled up to where the italics stopped and the started again. It made sense after that. 🙂
Patricia Schlorke says
It should be at work instead of a work. It’s Monday alright.
Wendy says
Thanks for the snippet. That would be really hard to multitask insurance questions while writing. great to delegate!
Keera says
I expected everything that happened today and I still want to cry. Work as customer rep for large insurance company. We are rolling out new systems that missing pertinent information for both representatives and customers. Actually 2 systems for customers so they are super frustrated.
They are taking away 3 of our apps, with no real replacement.
No end-user insight that I can tell.
I think Im going to start applying elsewhere soon.
Someone send good vibes to my coworkers and I.
Moderator R says
I’m so sorry, Keera!
Good luck ????
Henry says
I may be one of those customers Keera. The only problem I have with my Insurance company is when they send me a bill to review. I am supposed to have three automatic payments a year with no interest. My bill shows monthly payments, with interest.
Of course I call them when I receive the bill. The excuse, “The statement you received is a default built into the billing computer. and we are in the process of changing it. The next statement you receive will be correct.”
I have received that same reply two years running. I believe, if I don’t call them and check; I’ll be paying scads of interest.
Natasha Johnson says
Lol okay well apparently my mind is Monday also. I read that and it got to Gordon and I was like have I missed a character who is Gordon is this someone new???? Then I went and read the beginning and then it hit me that it was you talking and you didn’t finish the scene when the phone rang. ????????♀️????♀️.
Donna A says
Migraine only just clearing – it’s 7:30pm here UK. Eh is impressive. I managed to drink 5 pints of water and only vomit 2. I thought that was pretty good.
Diane Wilson says
My Monday…. Cancel old internet connection, use “blame” annotations and change history to track down the feature that was fixed and is now causing problems, drop off car for repairs, untie knotty code that I tracked earlier, and shift mental gears for a piano lesson at 5:30. Sour cream and onion potato chips to the rescue!
Lorrie Thompson says
It’s going better now, even with just a couple of sentences from HL. Thank you 🙂 .
Other than that, my cat is curiously meowing at me loudly and staring at me as if waiting for this dumb human to comprehend. I have no idea what she’s trying to tell me. She just ate and just came in from outdoors. I brushed her because she’s crazy-shedding right now. She’s usually very quiet. She’s done this for a couple of days now. Does anyone speak Cat?
Alex R. says
Yes.
She’s saying: “I’m the most entitled animal in the world. I’m not hungry, thirsty, nor in pain. I may be having a brain aneurysm, but I haven’t decided yet. However, I do feel that you haven’t been enough attention to me lately and that better change starting RIGHT NOW!
Also, I’m bored.”
My cat used to do that all the time.
Except she was always hungry.
Kirsten says
God, the cat hunger!
My cat is too smart for our own good and knows that there is food inside the cabinets. We had to put up child locks (for the first time ever–not even when we were kids did my family lock the cabinets). Anywho, Moxie-cat sometimes decides to lull us into a false sense of security and sometimes decided to test the locks.
The other day my sister came home with A LOT of food from a work party and the other morning she forgot to lock one of the cabinets.
So I come downstairs into the kitchen and notice the cabinet door is open and think ‘hmmm…that’s not right’ and then Moxie saunters out and I think ‘umm…that’s not good’. And only then do I look past her to see the chewed-into bag of red velvet cookies.
I call my sister–Moxie is really her cat–and say “So, I finally made it downstairs…” and Sarah just says, “Could we skip the build up this time? What did she eat?”
Dianna says
I usually just throw out a bunch of words and then ask the customer service person if it was enough information for them to understand my question. They most likely think “Why me – I don’t earn enough money to have to handle calls like this”. But then they start asking questions to help me clarify what it is I’m calling about. Works every time.
barbie doll says
I hate it when my tongue and my brain have a disconnect
Jenn says
I have three calendars and text reminders and still took my daughter to the dentist for her filling at the wrong time. The receptionist, “Just calling to see if [daughter] is showing up for her appointment today.” Argh. What really sucked is we were stuck in traffic in downtown Salem, and my brain just froze when she wanted to reschedule. We then had to navigate back through the traffic to go home.
I’m actually surprised that with everything going on I haven’t messed up more things!
I enjoyed the little snippet. 🙂
Sleepy says
Sounds like me having a bad day at work lol. This is why i take copious notes of my meetings, im definitely not remembering anything
Tori says
Well, I’ve been waiting 96 hrs for the lab results from a covid test I was promised in 48 hrs. Im tired of my office closing down because of 2 employees who refuse to get vaccinated and keep hanging out with people who contract covid. AND I’m aggrevated my time off is being taken from my pl because office covid pay expired.
Other then that…it’s good Monday. 🙂 lol
Stephanie says
I just spent 1.5 hours in the car to get a covid test for myself and my 4 year old. We’ve both had covid and I’ve been vaccinated, but we were exposed to someone (vaccinated) who was exposed to someone who tested positive. So preschool requires a negative test.
And yes, the intermediary person could get tested and will, but didn’t want to get stuck while traveling like my step-sister stuck in Mexico, sick, for two weeks (yes, also vaccinated).
Tink says
They just announced today that they’re reinstating mandatory mask wearing at work, even if you’re vaccinated. I sit in an office so I can have my mask off most of the time. I’ll have to get in the habit of pulling it back up when I leave my office.
It took me two weeks to get used to not reaching for a mask, now it’ll probably take me two weeks to get used to pulling it back up.
Cath says
Had temperature yesterday. Negative lateral flow test. Had temperature and no taste this morning. Positive lateral flow test. Went for proper test and awaiting results now but I know I have it so am isolating up in the attic. I am double vaccinated and have done nothing differently from the last year. I am still mask wearing, I’ve not been out to restaurants or cafes and can only think I was lax in my hand washing after my weekly shop. Be alert out there!
Moderator R says
I’m so sorry, Cath! Speedy recovery <3
Debra L. says
I’ve been wondering how characters verbally express MII for Montgomery’s company. “Em 2?” “Me?” “Em Eye Eye?”
I know it’s easy to read but thinking about how people would say it out loud somehow stuck in my head, lol. I’ve been thinking of it as “Em 2” but wasn’t sure if there was an official way to say it?
I think it’s because when I was a kid and we played Warcraft 3, we’d abbreviate it as “WC3” but saying it aloud was like “Double U See Three” and didn’t really work, haha. “Em Eye Eye” would be similar I suppose (so I doubt that’s the one lol).
Moderator R says
“Em Eye Eye” is used in the audiobooks and I’m pretty sure I even heard House Andrews pronounce it this was in Q&A sessions. It stands for Montgomery International Investigations, m i i, so it makes sense that there’s no “2” in there ????.
Hope this helps ????.
Debra L. says
Yeah, that makes sense. It just doesn’t seem to roll off the tongue that great which was why I wasn’t sure. Thanks for the response!
Tink says
Reminds me of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy series. The werewolves play pirate games as a group and the games have long fricking titles, so they end up abbreviating the whole thing, except the abbreviation is 8 or 9 characters long. M-I-I is easy in comparison to that.
Patricia Schlorke says
I tried to follow all those abbreviations, but after a while when the werewolves would talk about one game and another one at the same time, my eyes glaze over. MII is much easier to follow. ????
Mercedes says
Been there many times ???? thanks for the awesomeness and sharing this little day to day things…
Monday sent good here .. survived.. kids in 1 piece and now sleeping and mommy getting ready fore “reading time” ????
Just finished (again) Kate series .. so looking for something nice to read ( accepting suggestions)
Jo says
A good day for chardonnay just released. Darya Jones ?Spelling. Sequel to bad day for sunshine. I really enjoyed both.
Last guard from Nalini singh pay changeling series also just released.
I love IA. Nalini singh. Patricia briggs. Like eileen wilks. Mercedes lackey. Just if that gives you some indication of reading taste
nrml says
Yes. Last Guard is a very good addition to the series. I recommended it to the library, they put the hold on it the instant it arrived, I am re-reading it for details I always miss the first time I rush through a book to see what happens. Enjoy it.
S says
I have a conference coming up that my team will likely have to present at. We were discussing ideas for what we could talk about and decided to consider the trials and tribulations of newbie workers when they first start the job and some survival tips and tricks that we could help.
It’s a good plan….
But all I could think about after someone wrote survival tips was the idea of packing for a hike that will go badly because of large, cranky bears. I don’t why. I mean, in some ways it actually fits but yeah…no idea.
And I really don’t know why I decided to tell the group about that that particular thought process. Even virtually you could hear the crickets.
Can’t say it’s gotten any better.
lynneb says
I wish I could back on track that quickly after being interrupted! heehee
Love it!
njb says
Ok I love the snippet and have to laugh about the interruption. Thanks!
SJ says
???? love this. No mention of needing to pee a billion times, but very very funny! Good luck for both House Andrews and Houses Flames & Jewels!
Bill G says
My Monday has not been nearly that brilliant.
Judy Schultheis says
I’ve had that sort of phone call happen. Condolences. It doesn’t look like you lost your place in the story, though.
My glitchy computer, very soon to be replaced – just waiting on delivery – let me onto my credit union’s site today so I scheduled a couple of payments that need to happen mid-month and checked the new stuff in my Excel account file against what was online.
The problem has been that I have been getting a plain white screen after logging in practically every time I’ve tried for about three months, and the credit union’s computer is absolutely convinced I’m seeing exactly what I should be.
Otherwise, things are more or less fine where I am – the biggest fire in eastern Oregon is about 85% under control, and the winds are driving the smoke east. Also, I keep hearing rumors that we will be getting some rain this next week or so. That would be good, but it is our dry time of year, so I’ll believe it when it happens.
Emily says
Words are hard. I recently got a new job. It requires me to word on the fly all day, out loud, in front of people. which means when I crash and burn, everyone knows instead of when I’m typing and can proofread and edit before sharing with others.
Sometimes I sound as intelligent as I am, I speak in complete and eloquent sentences. A couple of weeks ago a teammate moved to a new job outside the company and my thank you/goodbye to her on her last day nearly brought our boss to tears.
Other times I sound like the vocal version of one of those commercials for gimmicky cleaning equipment where they prove how horribly inconvenient traditional cleaning supplies are by having someone trip over the mop and land in the mop water. I stutter and trip over words, I forget obvious terms (but not the $5 words), and I switch words like I have aphasia. This morning by 10am, I had already thrown my hands up and exasperatedly exclaimed “WORDS!” twice because I was floundering like an actress who forgot her line. Sadly, I am not a rehearsing actress and as it turns out, when you yell “Line!” in real life, nobody pulls out the script to let you know what you meant to say.
rlaWTX says
I’m sorry. But that was a totally understandable and (whatever the word is for your shoes fitting me) explanation.
Whenever I have to speak in front of people, I start off with a warning that I get nervous and words may escape me. Thank heavens public speaking is only an occasional event…
Barbara Kay Swanson says
oh, how even a very interrupted snippet leaves me hanging.
Leanne says
It’s hard to switch the gears in your brain from the people and world you are writing to the normal everyday world, especially if you are very focused. I’m sure with more time you would have remembered the insurance terms.
Chris Carroll says
The scammers/spammers are definitely getting more information than they used to. I answered a local call recently thinking it might be a contractor returning a call. When I answered “Hello”, they asked me if I was (my 22-year old son). When I replied in the negative, they flipped that into asking me if I was the homeowner and launched into their spiel.
Jacquie says
Our phones still have Oregon numbers even though we’ve been in Colorado for 10 years, and same as you, all spam calls are from Oregon. Though we have recently gotten calls with Oregon numbers, they no longer have Oregon towns listed but say United States. Really Weird. Thank you again for a look into your life. I enjoy your sense of humor.
Regina says
Thank you for the snapshot of your day and for the snippet you folded into it.
Today I replaced the brown wood chips in our long entry way and rearranged the patio furniture there for a more cozy-yet-socially-distanced experience. While rinsing off the wood chip confettied walk way, I saw one of the largest spiders I’ve ever seen outside of captivity. It was so big… I may have to move.
Ellen Solensky says
See the thing is I was having dizzy spells and disorientation. So I went to a neurologist, he ordered a brain MRI, no fun. Results came back, as he expected it is a kind of “swimmers ear” thing even thought I don’t swim at all anymore but it also effects old women, of which I am one.The reading of the MRI said” normal brain atrophy” too. Cheered me right up as you can imagine. The point is not being able to remember is completely normal,cough, and not a sign of diminishing capacity. Feel better now?
Amy R says
At least you kept what you were going to write. I would have hung up, looked at the screen and and started chanting “words of power”.
Smmoe1997 says
My Monday went pretty well, I got enough sleep this weekend so I woke up before the alarms (yes I have to have multiple alarms to wake me up) went off. Work went pretty well, until about 3pm, at which point I developed a cough that has just not gone away tonight. I introduced another coworker to your books today. I read her the quote from Sapphire Flames where Alessandro was talking to Ragnar about the differences between adults and children, it was very apropos for the topic we were discussing. Here’s hoping I have added another reader to the BDH!
Jo says
Ooh which book/page. Want to read that bit now…
Ellen D says
Love the snippet! Today was just awesome. Got to work to find out we have to wear these freaking masks again! We must protect our unvacinnated customers as they frolic maskless down the aisles looking for the perfect nuts & bolts that will make life worth living.
wingednike says
I had to retract and send a work email three times because my brain was not processing correctly. Fun times
gracefulegg says
I won’t lie, it took me two read throughs to a figure out that I didn’t forget a character Gordon in Hidden Legacy or the Baylors living in Washington in the history and realize that it was a phone conversation that happened in real life. So moment of brilliance right here.
Squeaks says
Got stuck trying to get the word “bamboozled” out Monday night… then couldn’t remember what “con” word I could substitute it with (it was “confused”, btw). So i just blurted out “confuddelled”. Twice. In serious sentences. My team mates were like “Aren’t you a writer?” ???????? Really should hang up my keyboard!
Moreen Carvan says
That little snippet perfectly describes my Monday, thank you!
Inga Abel says
I wonder, why did this “female person” not introduce herself??? Like: “Hello, this is xy from company xyz. I am calling about the xxx-issue, may I speak to Mr. Andrews?” That would have helped everyone. And would have been polite and professional, too. Just my opionion about calls from a company, of course 😉 !
Greets from rainy wet Switzerland…
Inga
nrml says
Well, yeah, but the name isn’t “Mr. Andrews”. I detest people who do not tell me who they are when I answer the phone. It’s common courtesy to state who you are and why you are calling when you call someone who is not your friend, and who you are when you call a friend.
Sarah says
McCormick used to make a pasta salad vinaigrette seasoning packet that was the best thing ever. Gone.
John Frieda used to make a hair product called Chunky Monkey that was the best stuff I ever put in my hair, texturized it perfectly without the stiff weirdness of most hair products. Gone.
Uncle Ben’s used to make a Brown Rice with Mushrooms that had the perfect seasoning packet for chicken wild rice soup. Gone.
Yes, these are first-world problems. Yes, they still hurt me a bunch. Boo.
Sarah Jackson says
Also whoops – just realized commented on the wrong blog post. Sigh.
Moderator R says
No worries, I can delete it from here if you want to copy/paste it in the right comment section? 🙂
Penni Ferguson says
We used to make the best BBQ sauce – my Gram’s home recipe – that started with Lipton Tomato Soup mix…much like the one you were talking about. Can’t get it any more and so cannot have that food memory revisited.
Burned out in PNW says
I finally hit burnout at my job two nights ago(in healthcare) and so things can only improve from here. Yesterday I pretty much laid in bed staring at the ceiling all day. Today I’m sitting up staring at the knitting in my lap. I start a new job in 3 weeks, and my coworkers are coming together to cover most of the remaining shifts I was scheduled to work. I feel like an absolute failure this morning, and shouldn’t even be posting this, but I don’t know. Maybe it will help me feel better. Sorry. Hopefully everyone will be healthy, but if you do go into a hospital please remember that it’s not our fault for the wait times. We really are doing the best we can to get everyone seen quickly. But right now it’s hell.
Ilona says
You are not a failure. Right now things are terrible. We thought we turned the corner except we didn’t, and everyone is so very tired, because we all know now that we are in for the long haul. The stress never ends; everyone is upset and exhausted, and people just keep dying.
When I went to ER with Gordon, a few weeks ago, it was empty. When kids went to ER a few days ago, there was a huge wait.
We are not designed to keep going through this for so long. We are not robots.
You stepped up and picked up a burden, and you carried it as long as you could. You gave all there is to give. It’s your turn to recharge now, while other people step in and carry the load for a little bit. When they become exhausted, someone else needs to pick that burden up. If nobody rests, if everyone just keeps pushing and pushing without taking a break, there will be nobody left to carry the weight.
Melisa M. says
I sure hoped that helped “Burned out in PNW” because that made even me feel better and I’m going through something different. So thank you!
Burned out in PNW, good luck out there. I’ll say a prayer for you to recover soon! And sending good vibes your way as well! You will get through this!!! I’m having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel too but it is there somewhere. I promise. Maybe it takes a little longer to find than we want but we will get there.
Mushy says
I was at my desk… sitting sipping coffee… and turned to the left to set my coffee cup down and a sharp pain tore through my left wrist down to my elbow and up to my pinky. I do this same motion every day and have since I was fourteen (I am now 53). I Guess today is the day it (my wrist) decides its had enough of my shenanigans and its not taking it any more. Fast forward twenty four hours… sits sipping coffee with her right hand waiting for Kaiser to open so she can get an appointment to get her left wrist looked at.smh.
Michelle says
I feel your pain. Pier One, gone, CJ Banks, gone. About the time I find something I really love, it’s gone. I have been looking every where for Vinetta!! Beautful Love by Este Lauder, gone. Being Scotts, Irish, English, French, Swedish, Indian (yes really, have the 23 & me to prove it) and that bit of squirell in my DNA. I’m also buying the TP, paper towels and Kleenex.
Love your posts!
nrml says
My Monday actually went well. Eat your hearts out! LOL!
My nephew, son of my eldest sister, was found to have lymphoma and finally got it figured out to mix the chemo, and his first chemo ran 8 hours, made him violently ill, but stopped the pain of it all. It’s wrapped around his vena cava, stopped blood from coming back up from his legs, shrank enough that the diuretic is working, and he’s passing the fluids again. So Monday was good for him and that was good for me. Also, because potassium goes out so fast with diuretics, I ordered him a case of apricot nectar, which is chock full of potassium and will help him stay steady. It’s pretty much what kept me alive.
My other nephew, son of the sister closest to me in age, decided not to be vaccinated against covid and was exposed to the delta variant. His younger son got it, got over it. He is hospitalized because it’s harsh and he nearly died a couple of times, so thank heaven he had nurses and doctors at hand instantly in ICU to keep him alive. He moved into a step-down room, not needing ICU anymore, but then his youngest child developed it at home with his wife, who was fully vaccinated and tested positive for the delta variant anyway. Please note, all you people who are not vaccinated, that she is home and feeling as if she has a cold, while he is hospitalized and no one knows how it will go for him. Yes, his wife got the disease. No, she does not need a hospital to get her through it. We are all waiting to see how the 8-year-old who cannot be vaccinated will come through it. Their oldest child is 13 and was vaccinated. No word on him being ill at all.
The stuff my palliative doctor told me to buy works well against my spinal arthritis pain, so I at least feel human again. Monday would have been my mother’s 97th birthday and today would have been my father’s 101st, so I’m no spring chicken, but at least I’m still alive because chemo keeps me that way.
Chin up! All days are good. It’s just a matter of degree. No matter how many things drive you crazy, you’re alive, so make the most of it!
Ilona, you spoil your husband. I’d have walked that phone into the bathroom and handed it to mine! I hope it all got settled. Nice snippet! I’m eagerly awaiting the book.
EliEden says
I was feeling ‘eh’ for so very long. I kept thinking “It’s pandemic fatigue” but then I started tracking my macros and weight training for 20 minutes daily, lost 30 lbs and still felt… tired and yucky.
I’m a project manager and I could feel my work slip as I would forget things, even after writing them down… I stopped making lists, I cannot tell you how disturbing this is.
So I went to my doctor and found out I had a B-12 deficiency, like super low, around 100 and they want you at 600. And I eat meat!
A monthly shot of B-12 and a daily complex B vitamin later and I feel amazing. Best Thing Ever.
Worth getting it checked out if you haven’t.
Emily07 says
I’m 74, retired and living on the Oregon Coast. The weather is a balmy 65, with a slight wind coming in from over the ocean.
I took the bus to Safeway this morning to go shopping, and walked two blocks home passing these wonderful ripe blackberry bushes. I put my groceries away, and went back and picked a bunch of those juicy ripe blackberries. Yum.
Retirement is wonderful and life is good on the Oregon Coast. Enjoy the simple things. Peace and blessings to all. Have a great week.
Burned out in PNW says
Thank you. (Sniffles). I think I’m taking it this hard because I’m admin, not clinical. So the limit of what I can do, really, is paperwork and fetching things and I feel as though nothing I do really helps any of them. As you said, it’s never ending right now. I’m fortunate that my doctor saw this coming a month ago and did some magic on her end and got me an in-person therapist right away, which is a blessing not a lot of people have. I’ll be OK. I just have to get through this a little at a time.
Jenna says
Do we have an eta for the inkeeper novella? If it was already announced or something, sorry. Must have missed it.
Moderator R says
Hi Jenna,
There is no ETA on Innkeeper yet. Anything that is official news is always updated on https://ilona-andrews.com/release-schedule/ so you never need to worry about missing it 🙂 .
The latest unofficial update was “I hope that by the end of August we will all be on the same page regarding Innkeeper’s availability.” in https://ilona-andrews.com/2021/lets-be-pedantic/.
Hope this helped 🙂
Kate says
Things I can no longer find: Campbells beef consommé is no longer available in my local stores. I use it as the base for Beef stroganoff, stew, and French onion soup. Aunt Nellies pearl onions in a jar – which saved me a lot of time making creamed onions for Thanksgiving dinner. And a particular Panache smooth T-shirt bra, which did not have those foam molded cups (which do not mold to my breasts, no way, no how, EVER). And my favorite musk oil perfumes are not made with real deer musk, even though deer musk is now available through humane and non invasive methods. I have been able to find a few things available from eBay and Amazon – like the B&M raisin brown bread, and my favorite Mexene chili powder, and Lawrys spaghetti seasoning. But yeah, I have put in a lot of effort to track down these items, and I now know to stock up when I find them.
Bill from nj says
One of the top ones was Octagon laundry soap bar. I am a very retired gearhead, back in the day when I had the time and cars were repairable that stuff was the only thing that would get the grease off my hands,it was amazing. The orange hand cleaner w pumice sort of works, but not same thing.
Then again there were all the toys of my childhood that were so wonderfully dangerous I miss, the best was the creepy crawler thing where you put this plastic goop in a metal mold and you put it into this heating unit that was really hot….
My wife like you Ilona is an ex eastern block Denizen. Long before lockdown she and a few other ppl hit Costco w a vengeance, our basement looked like a warehouse, still digging out. I don’t know about you but my wife was really weirded out going to the stores and seeing such depleted in inventory,Target and the like were bare. She said it was like the stores back home.
Bill from nj says
We are supposed to go back to the office in September, 2 days a week. The way things are going I wonder if that is going to happen.
My heart goes out to the healthcare ppl, delta is no joke. Around here it is still pretty calm, er full of the usual, like me calmly slicing open side of my hand cutting sheetrock…around here it is a bubble because most ppl got vaccinated, in other parts of the state, specifically two shore counties, vaccination rate was low and the hospitals are slammed ….and many of those complaining about the service at those hospitals per the local cable news are the reason the rate is low.
All we can do is grit our teeth and get through it, pandemic fatigue is a real thing, I feel it every day.
Bigmama Battillo says
My brilliant computer repair guy was able to bring my computer back to life from death by lightning! He is the most amazing repair person I have ever known and I worship at his extremely talented and competent feet! As I result of my repair I discovered a new screen saver that is fish swimming around a coral reef. I am completely entranced by this screen saver! I can spend literally hours gazing at the vibrant colors of various ocean creatures as they slowly slide through the changing seascapes. My brain has already atrophied and is soon to be completely …
Christine says
Today I ran out of swear words. I am an expert in a very specific software. It refused to do The Thing. I need it to do The Thing. I ran out of swear words trying to get it to do The Thing.
I either need to learn some new swear words or make some up. We’re a very multi-lingual office, maybe someone can teach me some.
Tara says
So happy to hear the family interactions!!!! Please more! Id love to see connor with catalina and arabella!!! Thank you ????
JL says
Your posts just…make me happy. I am not delighting in your “blahs” or irritation over discontinued stuff. I just love hearing from you. Knowing you are in the same world, sharing your life like you do with the talent you have. Thank you!
kelly Mormino says
Taking care of my poor pup with a tummy issues so yech. Though I’m still laughing at myself because I was reading the snippet and you segued into the phone call and it took me a sec trying to figure out who Gordon was in the book. Eye rolling commences! I hope kid 1’s boyfriend recovers quickly.
Up here in CT we lost lots of restaurants, several private bookstores . And sadly we lost Storytellers Cottage.