Weekend Report

I was hoping to get a lot of writing done this weekend because there is SO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT! I got exactly zero writing done, but looking back on my weekend, it turns out I did some pretty cool stuff.

Friday night was supposed to be a night of relaxing and hanging out with the Virtual Drinking Skeptically (VDS) gang. Unfortunately, work setbacks trashed that idea. I didn’t have all my ducks in a row and ended up working until midnight 🙁  Long story short, I grabbed some material (calibrators) for a study and forgot to check the expiration date. After doing all of the set-up on Friday morning, I went to use the calibrators and discovered that they were expired. No problem, I’ll just go grab a new lot, right? Ohhhh…so sad for me: there are no unexpired lots left in the freezer. Luckily, my company makes the darned things on site, so I’ll just go over to manufacturing and pick some up. Three hours later…

At some point during the morning’s series of fiascoes I noted with that sort of inappropriate hilarity that often precludes a mental breakdown that I was going through various stages of grief as my Friday night went up in flames.

  • Shock/Denial: WHAT? How the hell are the calibrators expired? What do you mean we don’t have any extra calibrators in the building? How is that possible? I am NOT letting this get in the way of Virtual Drinking Skeptically tonight.
  • Pain/Guilt: How could I be so stupid as to not check the expiration date before I started!? How could I have everything in place and forget that? I haven’t been to a VDS in months and I feel horrible for not showing up and supporting it because it’s awesome and I can’t believe I’ve ruined my evening like this!
  • Anger/Bargaining: How did NO ONE stock calibrators? Why did this have to happen tonight!? Maybe I could use the expired cals and write some sort of justification. No? Okay, if I can just get the study started, I can sneak away and come in over the weekend to finish things up.
  • Depression/Loneliness: This sucks. I hate working late on Friday nights. Everyone goes home to relax and start their weekend and I’m going to be stuck here pipetting samples until kingdom come. Which isn’t coming, so that means FOREVER. I’m not making it to VDS.
  • Upward Turn: Okay… I have new calibrators. The instruments are all ready to go. Let’s calibrate and see if the controls pass. Samples are thawed, time to start pipetting. If I can load 20 samples per hour and I’ve got 149 samples to load… awwww, man. Wait, calm…I can do this.
  • Acceptance/Hope: Okay, there’s no way I’m getting out of here in time for VDS, but I’ll just have to plan to make the next one. And hey, everything’s running well and I’m going to make it through at least half of these samples today. I’ll come back on Sunday and finish ’em up. And I’ll still have all of Saturday. Every little thing… is gonna be alright.

That’s a whole lot of emotion to go through over the course of a day! Like I said earlier, I left at midnight, but I did get to come home to a sympathetic partner and a whiskey nightcap. So that was nice.

Saturday was jam-packed! I woke up at 8am and went downtown to the abortion clinic to escort. Things were pretty laid back, but there were a few obnoxious moments that I enjoyed tweeting. At one point during the morning I tried to chase down a car to let the driver know he was going the wrong way down a one way street and a protester yelled at me as I ran past her:

The snark runs high on escorting mornings. Tweeting and playing with my phone is the way I ignore protesters between clients. And I’ve started a new hobby of obviously holding up my phone and taking photos of the protesters who get in my face. They don’t like that and tend to go away when they see me aiming my phone at them.

Here’s me in my bright yellow vest with my coffee. Can’t forget the coffee.

Afterwards I stopped home and picked up the Hubby. We headed over to the Super Moon Buffet in Saint Louis Park for a friend’s birthday party. That buffet is over the top. Aside from the normal Chinese buffet-style foods, Super Moon has huge selections of dim sum, sushi, teppanyaki and a gazillion different types of seafood. Omnomnom.

Then back home to drop off the Hubby and out to St. Paul for a Minnesota Atheists meetup. We volunteered at The Family Place, a secular 501(c)(3) day shelter in Ramsey County. We prepared chili, salad, fruit salad, cornbread and cookies for about 40 guests, which was all sorts of fun chaos.

Bowls of salad being prepped for the tables. Our volunteers provided all of the food that we served.

When everything was ready we shared dinner with the guests. Food was served family-style. The staff member who runs the program explained that a lot of shelters will offer pre-plated food or cafeteria lines, but with family-style, the parents get to serve food to the kids (and themselves); they are able to retain a portion of control over providing dinner to their families. And people take as much or as little of exactly what they want. There’s less waste and no one feels panicked about having to wait to see if there’s enough for seconds. If a table runs out of food, people ask the neighboring tables if they’ve got any left of whatever they’re looking for. The kids that I sat with were awesome about their dinner manners (Would you pass the chili? Can I go get more fruit from that table? Mom, can I have a cookie?) and it felt very relaxed and friendly.

During the orientation we learned a little about the emergency shelter services in Ramsey county, and some statistics regarding homelessness in Minnesota. It was a sobering reminder that there are a LOT of residents who use emergency assistance services at some point in their lives, that it’s often a temporary situation, and that unexpected circumstances can lead people of all types to the door of organizations like The Family Place.

After that I drove home and took a nap. Yay sleep! The Hubby and I went over to a party that night to hang out with friends, which was all good and fun, but we didn’t get home until 1:30am…

…which leads us into Sunday.

At 7am I woke up to host yesterday’s Atheists Talk radio show. We had Dr. Matt McCormick on to speak about his new book Atheism and the Case Against Christ. Dr. McCormick doesn’t argue against the existence of Christ, but he does question whether the resurrection of the big JC happened. It was an interesting interview. You can listen to a recording of the show on the Minnesota Atheists radio show webpage. It’s also on iTunes if you subscribe to the podcast.

Aaaaand then back to work at 10am. By 6pm I had finally completed the testing that I had started on Friday. When I got home the Hubby and I went out for dinner at Las Teresitas. Somewhere in between everything else that was going on I managed to watch the new Doctor Who episode, hang out with the pets, catch up on a couple of podcasts, read a chapter or two, stop by Target, and sleep a few winks. All in all, not a bad weekend.

{advertisement}
Weekend Report
{advertisement}

579 thoughts on “Weekend Report

  1. 1

    Sorry your Friday night went pear shaped. It has happened to me, albeit never because of calibrators.

    Nice to know I’m not the only one with intrawebs drinking buddies. It’s pretty cool to hang out with folks on three continents drinking and goofing and arguing about whose country makes the best beer.

    And all this volunteering of yours is inspiring me. It’s been a couple years since I volunteered. I do believe I shall look for something…

  2. 77

    A person necessarily assist to make severely posts I might state. This is the first time I frequented your website page and thus far? I amazed with the research you made to make this particular publish amazing. Magnificent task!

  3. 129

    I will right away grasp your rss feed as I can not find your e-mail subscription link or e-newsletter service. Do you have any? Please let me recognize in order that I may subscribe. Thanks.

  4. 252

    Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this blog. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appeal. I must say that you’ve done a fantastic job with this. In addition, the blog loads very fast for me on Safari. Superb Blog!

  5. 261

    Greetings, I think your blog might be having web browser compatibility problems. Whenever I look at your web site in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in IE, it has some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to provide you with a quick heads up! Other than that, fantastic website!

  6. 268

    Seriously a lot of helpful data!
    mail order pharmacies [url=https://canada21health.com/]canadian pharmacies without an rx[/url] legitimate canadian mail order pharmacies

  7. 293

    I absolutely love your website.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you build this site yourself?
    Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own site
    and would love to find out where you got this from or just what the theme is called.
    Kudos!

  8. 373

    Hello.
    This time is a precious time.
    I want to have many memories and good memories with you.
    I always want to support you and remain a good memory.
    We hope to help you a lot in the future, and I always want to be with you. I will always do my best and support you! 토토사이트

  9. 382

    Hello.
    We always share happiness with many people with good writing.
    I want to become a good friend with you and share a lot of things with you.
    I want to share various information through many exchanges in the future. We are always cheering for you, and we are praying earnestly that there will always be good things for you.
    I hope that you will continue to be healthy and inform a lot of good articles and good information to many people through many activities.
    I wish you always happy and good things. Fighting.! 사설토토사이트

  10. 397

    Hello.
    I always see and feel a lot from you.
    Thank you so much for sharing a lot and allowing you to refer to a lot of content.
    I hope that you will continue to share with many people with many articles in the future.
    I want to be a good friend with you and do a lot of things together.
    I think you give hope to many people.
    I will pray that you will always be strong and be full of only good things.
    We look forward to your continued activities.
    Thank you. 사설토토사이트

  11. 410

    I’m impressed, I have to say. Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have got hit the nail on the head. Your idea is outstanding; the issue is one thing that not enough persons are speaking intelligently about. I’m very pleased that I stumbled across this in my seek for one thing relating to this.

  12. 455

    Cheers! An abundance of knowledge.
    how to write a critique essay on an article [url=https://homeworkcourseworkhelps.com/]interactive homework[/url] cheap resume writing services

  13. 458

    Whoa plenty of amazing info!
    how to write good argumentative essays [url=https://englishessayhelp.com/]how to write evaluation essay[/url] website that writes essay for you

  14. 472

    Nicely put, Thanks a lot!
    college admission essay prompts [url=https://topessayservicescloud.com/]https://topessayservicescloud.com/[/url] personal statement writers

  15. 474

    Really plenty of awesome information!
    how to write a five paragraph essay [url=https://theessayswriters.com/]https://theessayswriters.com/[/url] us government resume writing service

  16. 475

    You mentioned that exceptionally well.
    writing scholarship essay [url=https://paperwritingservicestops.com/]top paper writing services[/url] best content writing websites

  17. 479

    Appreciate it, An abundance of forum posts!
    good college application essay [url=https://englishessayhelp.com/]personal essay for college[/url] professional article writing services

  18. 490

    Many thanks, Lots of posts!
    how to write an introduction for an expository essay [url=https://topessayservicescloud.com/]essay writer[/url] help with writing a personal statement

  19. 493

    Regards, Terrific stuff.
    how to write a compare and contrast essay thesis [url=https://englishessayhelp.com/]how to write an argumentative essay[/url] custom writing sign in

  20. 497

    Amazing all kinds of very good material!
    a website that writes essays for you [url=https://writingthesistops.com/]https://writingthesistops.com/[/url] essay paper writers

  21. 498

    Incredible many of excellent tips.
    how to write a good comparison essay [url=https://topessaywritinglist.com/]https://topessaywritinglist.com/[/url] top essay writing service

  22. 502

    Appreciate it, Plenty of knowledge!
    how to write a hook for an essay [url=https://homeworkcourseworkhelps.com/]common core homework help[/url] website content writing services

  23. 504

    Amazing quite a lot of helpful info.
    how to write scholarship essays [url=https://topessaywritinglist.com/]writing opinion essay[/url] personal statement writing service london

  24. 535

    Best Online Data Science Course training with job assistance and internship opportunities .At ‘Technology For All’, we believe in sharing knowledge. Our focus is not just on teaching but involving you in each aspect of learning. With us, you get an opportunity to innovate on projects, work on case studies, gain quality industry knowledge, professional perspective and become job-ready.

  25. 544

    Incredible loads of great material!
    how to write a essay for a scholarship [url=https://englishessayhelp.com/]my custom essay[/url] websites that write essays for you

  26. 547

    Valuable stuff. Thank you!
    writing essays custom [url=https://paperwritingservicestops.com/]how to write a paper on an interview[/url] help on writing a personal statement

  27. 549

    Point effectively applied!!
    custom essay writing service org [url=https://quality-essays.com/]difference between highschool and college essay[/url] essay online writer

  28. 554

    Perfectly expressed really. !
    steps to writing a narrative essay [url=https://paperwritingservicestops.com/]https://paperwritingservicestops.com/[/url] wanted freelance writers

  29. 563

    электро рохля с подъемным механизмом
    [url=https://samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru]https://www.samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru/[/url]

  30. 564

    электро рохля с подъемным механизмом
    [url=https://samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru]https://samokhodnyye-elektricheskiye-telezhki.ru[/url]

  31. 567

    подъемник телескопический
    [url=https://podyemniki-machtovyye-teleskopicheskiye.ru]https://www.podyemniki-machtovyye-teleskopicheskiye.ru[/url]

  32. 569

    It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d definitely donate to this outstanding blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Talk soon!|

  33. 570

    You could certainly see your expertise in the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers like you who are not afraid to say how they believe. All the time go after your heart.|

  34. 572

    reduslim como se toma [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/reduslim/]reduslim[/url] se puede comprar reduslim en farmacias
    reduslim parafarmacia el corte inglГ©s [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/reduslim-kaufen/]reduslim kaufen[/url] reduslim pantoja
    cialis [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/it/cialis-5mg-prezzo/]prezzo cialis 5 mg originale in farmacia[/url] cialis 5mg prezzo
    [url=https://huntscammers.com/scammer-7911-aleksandra__609_sk3in]reduslim segura[/url] 3c3a69b

  35. 573

    opiniones de reduslim [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/reduslim/]reduslim[/url] reduslim se vende en mercadona
    reduslim farmacias [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/reduslim-kaufen/]reduslim kaufen[/url] quГ© es el reduslim
    cialis 5mg prezzo [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/it/cialis-5mg-prezzo/]cialis 5 mg prezzo[/url] cialis 5mg prezzo
    reduslim fake [url=https://comprarcialis5mg.org/]comprar cialis 5 mg[/url] para quГ© sirve el reduslim
    bitcoin https://sites.google.com/view/bitcoin-up-app/ bitcoin up
    bitcoin up [url=https://sites.google.com/view/bitcoin-up-app/]bitcoin[/url] bitcoin
    [url=http://travail.portailoniria.com/node/108#comment-12984223]comprar reduslim en amazon[/url] 24557fe

  36. 578

    Discover the beauty of THC oil culture and its myriad benefits at our website! Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or just beginning your journey, our platform offers a wealth of resources, from educational articles to product reviews and community forums. Join us in celebrating the versatility and potential of this remarkable plant. Let’s cultivate knowledge, wellness, and advocacy together!”

  37. 579

    Discover the beauty of THC oil culture and its myriad benefits at our website! Whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or just beginning your journey, our platform offers a wealth of resources, from educational articles to product reviews and community forums. Join us in celebrating the versatility and potential of this remarkable plant. Let’s cultivate knowledge, wellness, and advocacy together!”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *