Averygoodun's Personal File

Excel and/or businessy-talented people, would you help me, please?

I have a table that I need to sort in order to "[d]isplay subtotals for sales by year, month, and territory." There's also a product category not mentioned, but when omitted makes for a very messy table.

How would you interpret that directive (with the assumption that it needs to remain one table)? There are two years, three territories, and five product categories. Would you make separate columns for the years (and maybe territories), then sort from there?

I know how to sort and subtotal; it's just I'm having a very difficult time visualizing what the final table should look like, and so having a difficult time figuring out what levels each section should go on.

Geoff was a bit silly and booked a business trip today, so he's off in the wilderlands (OK, Boston-Lite (or dark, depending on your view of Worcester)) while I'm sitting here trying to get motivated to do the stuff I need to do. But computer programs are booooooooooooooorrrinnnnngggggggggg.

And I'm sleepy.

But. Needs must.

( Just a regular 'To do' list )

Life has been relatively calm of late (well, except for my intense bursts of anger, which I've mostly held in check to maintain the outer calm). Page's health hasn't been top notch, but then, that's not surprising given how many bananas he's been eating lately. And he whines about me not buying anymore raisins... *rolls eyes at him* I'm trying to provide him with lots of foods he does like, but, being the negative nellie that he is, he's focusing on what he can't have.

On the plus side, for the most part, I'm feeling more energetic on this diet. I'm not yet convinced it's worth it, and I have "cheated" with a few cups of tea with honey in the past few days (probably why I'm so tired today), but it's interesting having the energy and the will to cook properly. And, oh my god, what a lot of food we eat! I've been filling half our large kitchen table with each week's shopping, which consists mostly of vegetable matter. I am very grateful we are able to eat this way.

ION, A lot of my friends around here have been wondering if they, or family members, have mono in the past few weeks/months. That makes me think that Geoff and I really did have it in November. No wonder that was such a tough Fall! At least we've both basically pulled out of it. Geoff hasn't really regained much energy, though, so his meds are now being adjusted. I hope that goes well and solves the energy and motivation issue.

Even though we now seem to be in the snowy season, I am starting to feel like Spring is coming. I think it's the lengthening days. Anyway, it's making me more flighty than usual, as well as making me anxious to go seed shopping! I might not get to buy any decorative plants this year (except for those mosquito-shoo geraniums), but my veggie garden needs planting! Of course, that means I have to decide what I'm going to be planting this year, especially as I have to give kale a break so the aphids don't take over again. :-( Turnips, I think. And cucumbers. And celery? And squashes of all sorts, of course. And that's on top of the garlic I planted in October.

But, it seems I've run out of quiet time. Page has decided it is story time and is dictating at me. *sigh* I love him, and his imagination is enviable, but I wish he were an introvert and would just write the stories down.

Ah well.

I dreamt that I lost my memory while at school. Not just my knowledge of the courses, but almost my entire memory. I couldn't remember where I parked my car, and then I realized I couldn't remember whether I had even driven. Or where I'd come from. Or where I was going. I knew my name, but that was about it.

To top it off, the class I was taking suddenly veered into learning Ancient Greek. (The worst bit about that was I couldn't keep up in my notes, and the teacher kept erasing the board.) Oh, and one of my classmates decided he wanted to kill me.

So, yeah. Not exactly a restful night.

On the other hand, in one of my dreams, as I was making my way through snowy, cold, empty-feeling neighborhoods, I passed a large man dressed in a dark blue, robe-like, hooded coat. I was keeping my head down, since I didn't belong in that neighborhood, but just as I passed him, I remembered some gleaning of a a community meeting I'd attended the day before (in real life) about the need to greet each other, so I turned and said, "Good day!" He turned and smiled at me, giving me a friendly greeting back which I didn't hear because I was stricken by how much he looked like my brother.

No metaphor there, or anything. ;-)

It is possible that my lovely husband is finally coming out of his mid-life crisis/slump! No details yet, but I am hopeful at this time. A bit worried, too, but mostly hopeful.

I think I am beginning to wake up. Seeing as I've been out of bed for the last five hours, I'm viewing this with a fair share of surprise. I had lost hope for the day.

Of course, this means that I need to start in on my homework now rather than later, but, well, needs must. It's either that or vacuum out the computer, and really, cleaning doesn't need wakefulness. Well, not really, anyway. Not that I now know not to remove the CPU. ahem.

( Television: BSG )

( Obligatory weather update )

( A possible new school for Page )

( Computer woes )

Heh. Totting everything computer-related that I want/need in the next year or two, I'm thinking I'd better go do my homework so I can get a job closer to a year from now rather than 18 months. Modern life is expensive.

Hope you all are well, as are your families.

Mold remediation. Full house mold remediation.

I am so not looking forward to the amount of work that's gonna be, but, lordy! I just watered the plants, and I've been itching, wheezing and uncomfortable since.

On the positive side, it's not like the house is falling apart due to mold. (Yet.) It would take another ten or twenty years of ignoring the problem before that would happen. The family would succumb to many various and nasty illnesses before the house's stability succumbed to anything.

But, oh. The work. I dreads it. Just the idea of re-potting every single plant in new soil (after having scrubbed out their pots with bleach) is daunting, let alone the massive overhaul of the basement that's needed. There's basically ten years' worth of crap down there!

*sneezes*

But, yeah. This is a sick house, and I'm pretty sure mold is at the root of it. So mold remediation it will be.

Bleh.

shower
la un dr y
make toothsoap
Hannaford (trip 1 of 2)
window pane thingies
Christmas cards (6 of 7)
other cards
BSG catch-up
roast chickens
chiropractor

Tomorrow I will resume the OCD scrubbing.

"Global warming" is a term that needs to die a swift and very public death. It is at best misleading, and at worst diverting.

The Arctic is warming. Climates are changing. Those are irrefutable facts. Another fact is that weather records only go back a couple hundred years, which is approximately a nanosecond (and I'm being generous) in terms of a global timescale. Hell, it's only a nanosecond in terms of ice-age cycles!

Yes, the ice samples taken from Antarctica give evidence that there hasn't been a drastic warming like this seen, well, ever. But, well, they also recently uncovered evidence that, under approximately a mile of ice, there's a MONSTER canyon in Greenland that was formed by river erosion, like the Grand Canyon, rather than by glaciers. And that points to the arctic going through occasional severe warming periods.

Basically, the global climate is an amazingly complex interweaving of regional climates (with each regional climate being an amazingly complex interweaving of millions of factors) that we have only started to assess in any meaningful way. Kinda like studying biology in the early 1800's.

That said, the main reason I HATE, LOATHE and DESPISE the term "Global Warming" is because it is so easily dismissed.

"Oh yeah, global warming is a real serious issue," the chucklehead jokes as they put on their warmest coats to go shovel the last two feet of snow dumped on them.

But, well, climate change did bring in the cold and the unusual snowfalls. It is a serious issue that's going to continue impacting billions of people.

Is climate change coming from greenhouse gasses we're pumping into the air? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Correlation does not equal causation. If it did, then there would be a case against vaccinations due to their link with autism (which is purely correlative; they have definitely disproved the purported causation link).

That said, should we work hard to severely limit future greenhouse gasses pumped into the air? HELL YES!!! Not only because they could be causing climate change, but because they have been proven, over and over and over again, to be bad for us individually and collectively!!!

But let's lead that charge with hyping up "Climate Change" rather than "Global Warming"! Because only the most stubborn, obtuse or money-grubbing will deny that the climate is changing.

(Though really, how about we lead the charge with something that's closer to home/more relatable? Like, oh, the pandemic spread of asthma and other bronchial diseases; the increase in cancers and immune disorders; the dying fishing industries worldwide; etc.)

- New Year's intentions:

-- call my diet what it is - a lifestyle. 'Diet' implies impermanence, while 'lifestyle' is a far more accurate description of what needs to happen.
-- exercise at least half an hour a week. Build up my sodding muscles to the point where I can start exercising my heart.
-- attend those parent corner meetings at the school.
-- Cut down on ellipses.

( The rest of the bullet points )

That's about it. I hope this coming year brings all of you more pleasure than pain, or at least brings the changes that are necessary for you to become healthier, wealthier, and wiser. ;-)

Cheers!

Geoff and I both have strep throat pretty badly. On the plus sides, it expressed itself today instead of this Tuesday, and urgent care was open to give us drugs. Feeling like this on Christmas day would suck donkey balls, so I'm glad that shouldn't happen.

Holy Mother of Medicine, though! Geoff's scrip cost almost $100!!! Ouch! Mine only cost $16, which is almost a steal for 80 pills. (Because I'm allergic to all the cillins, I get to take 8 pills a day for ten days. yay.)

Ah well. Hopefully we'll feel better by tomorrow. And hopefully the antibiotics won't mess us up too badly.

On another plus side, this will keep me from eating (what's left of) the rum balls. I've only had two so far, but Page secretly pigged out on them this week. And he wondered why his stomach hurt! *rolls eyes*

Besides the illness, life is pretty good. I'm looking forward to Christmas almost as much as Page is, but I'm enjoying the anticipation more than he is, I think. I'm sad that I won't be able to do all the cooking I wanted to do before hand, but hey, the holiday season doesn't end Christmas day!

But now I need to go be horizontal again. I've been horizontal an awful lot this last week, but, well, it's what feels good, so I shall continue to do it.

If I don't get back on beforehand, Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it, and Happy Holidays to everyone else.