Author Archives: Michael C. McGreevy

Health Update

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Weight Tracking Summary

Your current weight | 279.6 lb 
Weight change since your last recorded weight | -4.2 lb 
Total weight change to date | -139.6 lb 

52 pounds in 52 Weeks
Week 6 Goal : -8 pounds
Week 6 Total : -6.8 pounds
Difference : -1.2 pounds

Hooray for breaking out of a rut.  So what did I do differently this week?  I really focused in on making sure I got all the “healthy living” guidelines in every day.  The Flash enabled points tracking tool on the eTools site has these little check marks that will give you a smiley face if you fill in enough of them.  I really focused on making sure I got all my smilies in, and with the exception of last Thursday I did so.  Obviously, the results paid off.  I figure if I really buckle down I can possibly get back on target with my 52 pound goal for the year (2.2 pounds this week…I think it’s doable). 

So I went to the dermatologist earlier this week.  Some of you who have seen me recently have probably noticed that I shaved my goatee.  Those of youwho saw me right after I shaved it (the night we went to see All the Great Books, Abridged).  Saw the reason why.  The goatee was literally tearing my face apart, and the skin underneath it was red and horribly flaky.  I started shaving and putting lotion on it, which helped, but if I let it grow back at all it would get red and start flaking again.   As I damn well love my goatee, this was not acceptable.  I’ve also been dealing with some crap on my hands and elbows for a long time now, and figured it was time to get it all knocked out.  Turns out that on top of my roseacea, I have Seborrheic dermatitis.  Because, you know, my face wasn’t enough of a pain in the ass to begin with.  So to treat this I am now using a rotation of three different dandruff shampoos, oral medication, and four different creams/gels. 

Fortunately it seems to be working.  Kind of a pain in the ass that my bathroom routine is now about 30 to 45 minutes long.  I’m going to spend a few more days shaving and applying the creams to the areas that got really bad, then trying growing the old goatee out again.

Because damn I miss it.

Definitely can feel and see the muscles starting to tone up again, so that’s a good thing too.

Hooray, healthy!

Orlando Folks – I'll be in town…

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From April 1st to April 7th for some Flash Training.  I’ll be arriving Sunday afternoon and staying in the Hawthorne Suites Orlando near International Drive.

Training is from 10AM – 6PM every day, so I’ll be able to bop around at night and see folks.

Holy crap I'm busy!

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But even still, I thought I would share what is, perhaps, the worst photo of me EVER taken.

SEXY!

Corporate Mike!

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Listen to me shillin’ the company goods!

(I’m the most current one – 02/19)

Yep…etcet and I gots sexy voices.  The company recognizes talent.  heh.

Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life

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So.

This is my first official day as a manager here at work (yesterday was a holiday).

Mind you, my boss is out and I have nobody to manage yet. So I’m just kind of sitting here going “now what?”

At this point not much has changed other than my pay grade, which was a pretty nice increase. I realized this morning that in the last three years my income has jumped right around 25%. That’s not too shabby, my friends. My plan, as it currently stands, is to try living as if I did not get the increase at all. I want to use that extra money to pay off the credit cards. I don’t know how successful I’ll be in that, but I’m going to try. I want to at least make a dent in them.

Did my taxes yesterday, and that turned out pretty well. I’ve got enough coming back to pay off my back taxes from last year and get my property taxes paid as well. That only leaves the balance of the homeowner’s insurance left to pay, but I think I can handle that. I’m also half way done towards paying off the saint who helped out with getting the insurance policy going in the first place. Once I get all THAT straightened out I can start getting some money to my Mother to pay off the car she gave me.

Whee. Money is fun!

Unfortunately it’s looking more and more likely that Dragon*Con isn’t going to happen this year. etcet has been informed that Labor Day weekend is most likely to require him to work, and while the current plan in our department is to be done well before that you never know for sure. aishlynn is also doubtful about her ability to get that weekend off, and it was having the two of them along that made it a worthwhile trip for netgoth.

And while I could go without three of my favorite people, it just wouldn’t be as fun. Especially if Brooks doesn’t go again this year.

So I dunno.

Had a big heart to heart with K. last night. Didn’t start out in such a pleasant manner, but in the end I think it was good. We’ve been distant recently, and from what came out last night it’s pretty clear it wasn’t something that was intentional from either direction. I think we’ve both just been dealing with so much outside of our relationship we haven’t taken the time that is needed to focus on each other every once in a while. It makes me sad that we let things get to that point, but I’m glad it’s out there now and we can deal with it. These kind of issues are the type where if they are left to fester they just get worse and eventually cross a point of no return. Fortunately, we didn’t get there.

Very lucky indeed.

Maybe I don’t say it enough, but I’ll never forget how fortunate I am to have K. in my life. I can’t. I remember it every morning. Every time I wake up and feel her next to me I am just overwhelmed by gratitude and comfort. I know what it’s like to wake up and wonder why you’re in the bed with the person next to you. That never happens with her. If everything else in my life is going spectacularly to shit, I still have that moment every morning when, very briefly, all is right in the world – and it’s her presence that does it for me. She’s been behind me as I’ve dealt with a three year plateau in my weight loss, and her continued support has kept me from throwing in the towel on more than one occasion. She can make me feel good about myself when I’m feeling ugly, and she never, ever takes the things I do for her for granted. I don’t think there’s a meal I’ve cooked for her that she hasn’t sincerely thanked me for. She shares my love for gaming and theater, and has introduced me to a ton of music that I now listen to on a regular basis.

And, of course, there’s those…private…things she does for me that I won’t gush about here.

I don’t say it often enough, love…but thank you. For being in my life. For loving me. For being you.

And if you’re still reading after all that gush, faithful reader, I salute you.

Edit You know, this WYSIWYG editor that LJ has is nifty and all, but you’d think they would have written it so that it didn’t convert your LJ cut tags into escaped code and would ignore ascii spaces in the spell check.

Sheesh.

The rest of the story

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So on Wednesday my co-worker and I got emails saying that we needed to be in the office on Thursday to discuss a new project.  Not terribly unusual at all, and we frequently get away with only working from home two days a week (sometimes less) so no real reason to bitch about it.  I rolled in a little late, but other than that things seemed like your pretty typical morning.

That changed fairly early on.

Two employees in our section of the company had their positions terminated yesterday because the department is being restructured and their jobs aren’t needed anymore.   I went out for a break and came back to find my co-worker gone.  Got the word on what happened a few minutes later, and was pretty much in shock.

Of course, there was more shock when shortly after that I was offered a management position.

Basically, I’m going to be the person who would have been my boss had that position existed before yesterday and we’re hiring someone to take my place. 

It’s a very exciting time for me, but kinda scary too.  My job is mostly going to stay the same, with a little less programming and a little more paperwork, but I’ll have that “title” over my head.  I also don’t get to work at home as much any more.  As of next week I’ll be working in the office three days a week, and after we hire the new person I’ll be in 4. 

I’m also exempt now.  No overtime for me!

The sobering moment yesterday was when my first new task as a manager was to go through the desk of my former co-worker and see if she left any personal items that needed to be returned to her.

I’ve gone through several people’s possessions after they have died.  This was pretty similar.

Oh, and last night?  I was up 4/10th of a pound again, and last week I didn’t even use all of my flex points.

Very, very, very frustrated on that end…but I’m not giving up – no matter how much I want to sometimes.  Going to keep my focus and break this plateau if it kills me.

Ok, off to get ready for work.  Later gang.