Arontius of Bygelswade

.....The first reason I had to miss An Tir / West happened today. I had to attend my very first formal critique meeting at work. Last month I was in a hurry in trying to get a formal agreement established on who was responsible for what tasks on a job we were about to start. Because I was in a hurry I bypassed several steps in the process and the agreement was incorrectly signed off as complete.

.....Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal as these agreements are non-binding in any real shape or form, but because of the type of work involved my mistake gained instant attention from people whom you really want to avoid if at all possible.

.....I went into the gathering and stated right off that I made a mistake and then immediately worked to correct it as soon as it was recognized as a mistake. However, I think that the reason the Navy likes to do these critique things is very much like some people rub the noses of pets into the mess they make. The very awfulness of the nose rubbing is a serious reminder and deterrent against doing the same thing in the future.

.....After two hours of digging into the weeds of the issue, I was drained. But I survived Round 1. Round 2 is the 'Management Brief' in about two weeks. The Boss told me that it would be fine and he is the type of person who wouldn't tell me that if he didn't believe it, so I took comfort in that. I was also reminded by others that people I highly respect have several critiques under their belts and that having my first at the twenty-four year mark was not necessarily as bad as I thought it was.

.....I would have preferred to have gone my entire career without having to go through this process myself.

.....I'm in a whinny mood tonight. I did not feel well yesterday and feel tired and crabby tonight because of it. I think it was something I ate as I was up and down all night. Ever since the surgery my stomach and intestines do not have the teflon coating they used to. Things I used to eat with no problem cause me all kinds of grief these days. It has been interesting as things I used to love to eat I've been avoiding. The most depressing being some spicy foods.

.....Then there are the merchants. The deadline for the July Coronation Marketplace was three weeks ago. I extended that deadline to last weekend. And I'm still getting frantic requests to get a copy of the application and space saved. And the worst part is that the people giving me the most grief are the same people giving me the same excuses for being so late as they gave me over ten years ago when applying for June Faire two weeks before the event. Sigh!

.....I think the reason I'm so whinny is that I would rather be at An Tir / West War where everyone else seems to be. I need to stop moping and start thinking of everything I'm going to be able to get done this weekend because I'm not at the War.

.....Tomorrow is Friday and the start of a three day weekend. So I think I'll also take comfort in that. I have a long laundry list of things I want to get done. But there are a few fun things on the list as well. There is a Bar-B-Que planned for Saturday. That'll be nice.

.....I think I also sold a couple of circlets as well. If the orders actually do come through I think I'll have enough in the hopper to get another sheet of designs ordered and delivered. My stock is starting to run low and I haven't had the capital to stock up.

.....I should get the garage straightened up so I can get the circlets done. It is rather a mess, especially with June Faire 'stuff' piled up everywhere. And it would be good to go through that stuff anyway in preparation for July Coronation. Which reminds me that I have to go up to Poulsbo and bring Lobelia down to be cleaned out in preparation for July Coronation.

.....Now my 'to-do' list is starting to wander. I need to stop the wandering and make up a 'to-do' list for the weekend. If I can get at least a little organized maybe I'll actually get a few things done. :-)