Welp, winter was nice while it lasted. Last week started out with half a foot of snow on the ground and ended with a whole bunch o’ brown grass. I know we’re not out of the woods yet – we can and do get snow well into April – but Tara’s got her grow lights up and the peppers and tomatoes are already sprouting, so bring on spring, I guess!
That’s the nice thing about living in the Midwest: I love the four seasons! (Not The Four Seasons, as in “Sherry, Sherry bay-beeee,” though I’m hip to the Frankie Valli jive, too). Because each season is so distinct, I have an appreciation for all of them. Winter is just long enough to make me yearn for spring, spring for summer, summer for fall…and by the time the Halloween decorations go up, I am ready for snow again. It’s a great balance. Too many places I’ve lived were climatologically one-dimensional. As a fella who believes variety is the spice of life, I always found this boring.
Speaking of variety, it was 56° on Friday and 28° on Saturday. In other words, 50% off. A little annoying that the nicer weather couldn’t have waited for the weekend, given that we’ve got yard work to do, but when life hands you lemons, make cocktails! Or have someone else make cocktails – in this case, our local Irish pub. Tara and I parked ourselves at the bar for a few hours and enjoyed each other’s company (not to mention those Reuben egg rolls we’re obsessed with).
Nine times out of ten we’d stay home and play cards on a Saturday night, but that 10th time is always a blast.
Not a blast? Rhinovirus sufferitis, aka, the common cold. Of which I have now had two in the past six weeks. As a guy who never gets sick – truly, I usually go years between colds – this is about as rare as a Republican having the balls to say “no” to the Dictator in Chief. The culprit seems pretty obvious to me: those shared flex spaces at CheeseGov.
Because we’re not just sharing space. We’re also sharing keyboards and mouses (mice?). Yes, there’s disinfectant and hand sanitizer, but I’m not always religious about using them – and when I do, it might not be until I’m all settled in, meaning I’ve already used the equipment to log in. Given that the cold virus can live on surfaces for 24 hours, plus I’m rarely in contact with people anywhere else, it seems logical that my sneezing, coughing comrades are to blame. Plus, I had my own cubicle for nine months and never experienced so much as a sniffle. Fortunately, both times the colds were minor, and I’m already better. But it’s annoying.
To combat this, I decided to start bringing my wireless keyboard and mouse from home with me. And maybe a pair of latex gloves so I can avoid germs while disconnecting the shared equipment. (I’m only half kidding.) Can’t do anything about the monitors, but it’s not like I’ll be licking the screens.
Note to self: replace the ice cream cone screen saver with something less appetizing.
I was proud of myself for remembering to do this last Wednesday, but after getting everything set up, nothing was working. I tried switching the devices off and back on, rebooting the computer, swapping out the batteries. Nada. Finally, I realized I’d forgotten my dongle.
Duh. Talk about a rookie mistake.
Second note to self: don’t forget the dongle!
Perhaps sensing how difficult it might be for a guy who forgot his dongle to have to cart a wireless keyboard and mouse back and forth every day, my coworker Randy rustled me up a spare set I can keep in the office full-time. Score! I may have to start calling him Red, because apparently – like Morgan Freeman’s character in The Shawshank Redemption – Randy is a man who knows how to get things.
It’s doubtful I’ll need a rock hammer or a Raquel Welch poster, but you never know.
Mark My Words 
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