Hmmm...

Where to start? Dr. M and the jaw issues? Work? Dunno.

One good thing to note: I got my Gruve yesterday. Remember, the accelerometer that measures almost all the calories you burn because it does the X, Y and Z axis? Yes, they finally came yesterday. Auspicious day to begin, don't you think?

Anyway, charged it up and have been wearing it since, except for when I sleep. Unfortunately, they don't have the Mac version of the app ready yet, but they are working on it. I can upload from work, since it requires a PC. It does store data for 30 days, so if I can't get to a PC, it will be OK.
I suppose, push comes to shove, I can give in, get Bootcamp so I can actually load Windoz on my Mac (try to see if a PC can run Mac OS X - no can do), then I can deal with the Gruve here at home.

The goal with the Gruve and the whole Muve program is to gradually ramp you up in Non-Exercize Active Thermogenesis or NEAT. Basically they want you to walk to get your body moving. It starts at 10 minutes three times a day and goes up to 20 or more minutes three times a day.

I, of course, am going to throw a monkey wrench in that one. I'm going back to my PACE program and do that in the morning, then take walks at 10 and 3, possibly on the lunch hour as well.

The first week wearing it is a freebie. The company wants us to go about life as we normally do so they can see what the baseline is. Then we start ramping it up to subtract 500 calories a day from what we are doing now. That 500 calories can be from a combination of less food and more activity.

I'll keep y'all posted on how things are going.
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Dr. M - love him or hate him, he does put the body back to rights.

This jaw thing has continued all week. He told me that my jaw had been skewed to the right since Tuesday, so it's no wonder my face hurt. Having him work on it was more painful than usual because not only did he want me to bite, he also wanted the jaw moved side to side as he poked. Not easy to do with as much pressure as he was using.

Chewing hard stuff still hurts like hell, and chewing gum is out of the question. I may be doing a liquid diet for a few days to give this thing time to calm down.
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Taez has his oil change, so he's happy. Got quotes on how much it would cost for a front end alignment ($70) and to replace the power steering hose ($150). Perhaps when the cash rent check comes I'll get those things taken care of. I need Taez to keep running, cause I'm not about to ride Chael in the winter.

Although, I did see a guy on a bike with a side car out and about one morning a week or so ago. I remember reading about him in a cycle newspaper a couple years ago. It's a Russian made bike, so it's made to be ridden in the winter. The side car gives him stability with the third wheel and extra weight. Good for him for riding, I'm just not up to doing that in the winter. Forty above is about as cold of weather that I want to ride in.
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What to say about work... Well, it's nice to have a boss that I see eye to eye with on the really important stuff. She agrees with me it's time to be doing what is right, not what's easy.

There's a gal in purchasing we're trying to get data from to make sure we account for all licenses bought from all sources. She's unwilling to let us have the data. I told my boss I have no problems going above her head to get what we need, and she agreed. Our endgame is the same, stop trying to protect your territory because it only hurts you in the end.

Then there's the whole horror story with the Vista rollout. Frankly, not near enough testing has been done with all the legacy systems. There are known incompatabilities with some stuff that if we lose that data, the FDA and several other government agencies will be at our throats in no time flat.

People are being stupid, playing politics, trying to protect their territory. They are also hiding what is going on from the VP pool at the top, although there are rumors that there's a lot of bickering at the top about Vista as well.

The IT department is at a place where they need to do what's right. Quit putting bandages on stuff, fix it correctly so going forward doesn't break the system. Bring the lagging software either up to compatability with Vista or end up putting it on a Citrix box so it can run in it's own contained environment. And most of all, the top people need to talk to the people on the front lines actually dealing with this stuff to find out what the hell is going on in the first place.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: command structure has it's place. There are also times when you need to scrap that structure and put everyone on a level playing field. Command structure is choking this company and could create an IT catastrophy they may never recover from. What will it take before people wake up and see what is happening, a total IT meltdown? Probably.

Sometimes it's good to be a contractor.
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Got yogurt on the stove and a sink full of dishes to do. I need to find some recipes for stuff I can make up ahead for supper, like I do for lunch. I'm feeling in the mood for sweet potatoes... Perhaps something like the camponata recipe I have, which is roasted veggies. Go heavy on the sweet potatoes, add in some beets and other root veggies, then toss in some lentils and other beans for some protein.
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Yes, it's Valentines Day. Bah humbug.

Perhaps I'll make a cake for myself, or some brownies. Something sweet and delicious.