Huzzah for 3-day weekend!
I have today off from work, and man, am I glad I did, even though I'm still fighting the urge to go into the office just to check on e-mail. See, work has (as I've mentioned previously) been insane for the better part of this year. Short version: I love my job, but there's so much OF it right now, and it's likely to stay that way until the first week of November. Taking time off means my teammates have to cover for me, and everyone's pretty much at the same level of overload even on the good weeks. The problem, as I said to my boss, is that this is a team full of people who are pathologically prone to take responsibility for something and try to solve the problem, even if "the problem" is supposed to be someone else's job.
I'm really very lucky, I know. I love my job, and I've made it a career, which right there gives me a big advantage over many other people these days. I haven't really hated my job in ... y'know, I'm not even really sure I've ever hated working in this field. Years ago I had a department manager I loathed and despised, but I knew the difference between the boss and the job--and since my immediate supervisor wasn't loathesome, it wasn't as bad as it could've been. It was still a dysfunctional and not very healthy work environment, but I survived and the experience has served me well. Even last year when my old team was dissolved and I had to take a demotion, it wasn't so much the new position I hated as the fact that I'd moved on from doing that, and I knew I could do better, and I'd enjoyed other stuff more. Going back to that post-demotion position felt like a punishment, even though in my more rational moments I knew it wasn't. How many companies, after all, would offer an employee another job elsewhere in the company when their old team was dissolved? With a promise (confirmed by my friends in HR) that you'd get moved up to something better as soon as something opened up? Considering all the (very valid) complaints of people who are treated as disposable resources by their more evil employers, I am, as I said, really very lucky.
So what am I doing on my day off? I've been catching up on TV episodes I've missed. Last night's Burn Notice was fun--I've really enjoyed the new season. I know some viewers out there are grumbling that Jesse is the Cousin Oliver of the show, but I have to wonder how many of those grumblers actually watched The Brady Bunch when Cousin Oliver first came on. Going into Old Cootessa mode here: Cousin Oliver pretty much got pitched in outta nowhere, and the character just wasn't really all that appealing or interesting. Jesse, on the other hand ... there's a very good reason for Jesse to be involved with Team Westen, with plenty of associated dramatic tension. Plus Jesse himself is a good foil for the other characters. He's a bit like Sam, a bit like Michael, not very much like Fiona (though he has the good taste to admire her, in the best sense of that verb), and those similarities make for good differences, paradoxical as that may seem. When Jesse and Sam are in a scene together, I'm reminded of Jesse's similarities to Michael, but since Jesse is not the same as Michael, Sam isn't going to react to him in the same way, not least because of the painful secret of who's actually behind Jesse's burn notice. But most of all I love how Fiona has gotten some truly awesome moments, especially in the recent episode where she tells the billionaire's wife, "Sometimes you have to be your own white knight." Indeed. Damsels wait to be rescued. Strong women work on rescuing themselves, and "strong" doesn't have to mean the physical kind of ass-kicking. There have been plenty of opportunities to showcase how Fiona's resourcefulness isn't just about making things go boom--and I might add, it's been a pleasure to see that Fiona's expertise hasn't just been about the absurdly large explosins we saw in earlier seasons, but about the tactical application of explosions. In other words, given limited resources, even a small explosion can be extremely effective, when it's deployed appropriately as part of a larger strategy.
I've also been enjoying this season of Royal Pains. We've been getting more of an ensemble approach to the stories, which I tend to favor in a series since it keeps things interesting. Evan is getting less annoying, as he should, considering all the growth opportunities that have been thrown at the character. Perhaps best of all, Hank has been shown to have very human flaws, which is good. It's all too easy to make a doctor into some kind of secular saint, and Hank's been doing some logically stupid stuff lately. "Logically stupid" I can handle. "Stupid because the script requires it" should be kicked to the curb.
I meant to blog about In Plain Sight more, but I haven't really had the oomph or the chance to until now, when the season is over. Perhaps that's just as well. This past season had a more ensemble approach, and while I miss Eleanor, I think Charlie's an interesting addition to the mix. Plus, yay more Marshall time! I especially loved the episode where his father came down to join in an Operation FALCON. How lovely to see the senior Marshal Mann as an example of the older generation of US Marshals, with Mary as his this-generation equivalent (the tough-as-nails LEO who thrills at the prospect of hunting down bad guys), and with our beloved Marshall serving as an example of a different kind of marshal uniquely suited for his position as a WITSEC inspector.
I've already written about how much I've enjoyed The Good Guys, and since my favorite-to-date episode "$3.52" is about to vanish from Hulu in 3 days, I urge everyone who enjoys buddy-dynamic shows to give it a try. Seriously. You don't really have to have seen the pilot to follow this episode. Yes, it will be more awesome if you know more of the characters' history with each other, but I really will be surprised if anyone watches it and doesn't laugh at least once.
I've also been knitting on sock #2 of my baby sister's Christmas pair. Baby sister is, btw, now back from Harvard and getting ready for her regularly scheduled undergraduate semester. Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of that kid? 'Cos I am.
I'm really very lucky, I know. I love my job, and I've made it a career, which right there gives me a big advantage over many other people these days. I haven't really hated my job in ... y'know, I'm not even really sure I've ever hated working in this field. Years ago I had a department manager I loathed and despised, but I knew the difference between the boss and the job--and since my immediate supervisor wasn't loathesome, it wasn't as bad as it could've been. It was still a dysfunctional and not very healthy work environment, but I survived and the experience has served me well. Even last year when my old team was dissolved and I had to take a demotion, it wasn't so much the new position I hated as the fact that I'd moved on from doing that, and I knew I could do better, and I'd enjoyed other stuff more. Going back to that post-demotion position felt like a punishment, even though in my more rational moments I knew it wasn't. How many companies, after all, would offer an employee another job elsewhere in the company when their old team was dissolved? With a promise (confirmed by my friends in HR) that you'd get moved up to something better as soon as something opened up? Considering all the (very valid) complaints of people who are treated as disposable resources by their more evil employers, I am, as I said, really very lucky.
So what am I doing on my day off? I've been catching up on TV episodes I've missed. Last night's Burn Notice was fun--I've really enjoyed the new season. I know some viewers out there are grumbling that Jesse is the Cousin Oliver of the show, but I have to wonder how many of those grumblers actually watched The Brady Bunch when Cousin Oliver first came on. Going into Old Cootessa mode here: Cousin Oliver pretty much got pitched in outta nowhere, and the character just wasn't really all that appealing or interesting. Jesse, on the other hand ... there's a very good reason for Jesse to be involved with Team Westen, with plenty of associated dramatic tension. Plus Jesse himself is a good foil for the other characters. He's a bit like Sam, a bit like Michael, not very much like Fiona (though he has the good taste to admire her, in the best sense of that verb), and those similarities make for good differences, paradoxical as that may seem. When Jesse and Sam are in a scene together, I'm reminded of Jesse's similarities to Michael, but since Jesse is not the same as Michael, Sam isn't going to react to him in the same way, not least because of the painful secret of who's actually behind Jesse's burn notice. But most of all I love how Fiona has gotten some truly awesome moments, especially in the recent episode where she tells the billionaire's wife, "Sometimes you have to be your own white knight." Indeed. Damsels wait to be rescued. Strong women work on rescuing themselves, and "strong" doesn't have to mean the physical kind of ass-kicking. There have been plenty of opportunities to showcase how Fiona's resourcefulness isn't just about making things go boom--and I might add, it's been a pleasure to see that Fiona's expertise hasn't just been about the absurdly large explosins we saw in earlier seasons, but about the tactical application of explosions. In other words, given limited resources, even a small explosion can be extremely effective, when it's deployed appropriately as part of a larger strategy.
I've also been enjoying this season of Royal Pains. We've been getting more of an ensemble approach to the stories, which I tend to favor in a series since it keeps things interesting. Evan is getting less annoying, as he should, considering all the growth opportunities that have been thrown at the character. Perhaps best of all, Hank has been shown to have very human flaws, which is good. It's all too easy to make a doctor into some kind of secular saint, and Hank's been doing some logically stupid stuff lately. "Logically stupid" I can handle. "Stupid because the script requires it" should be kicked to the curb.
I meant to blog about In Plain Sight more, but I haven't really had the oomph or the chance to until now, when the season is over. Perhaps that's just as well. This past season had a more ensemble approach, and while I miss Eleanor, I think Charlie's an interesting addition to the mix. Plus, yay more Marshall time! I especially loved the episode where his father came down to join in an Operation FALCON. How lovely to see the senior Marshal Mann as an example of the older generation of US Marshals, with Mary as his this-generation equivalent (the tough-as-nails LEO who thrills at the prospect of hunting down bad guys), and with our beloved Marshall serving as an example of a different kind of marshal uniquely suited for his position as a WITSEC inspector.
I've already written about how much I've enjoyed The Good Guys, and since my favorite-to-date episode "$3.52" is about to vanish from Hulu in 3 days, I urge everyone who enjoys buddy-dynamic shows to give it a try. Seriously. You don't really have to have seen the pilot to follow this episode. Yes, it will be more awesome if you know more of the characters' history with each other, but I really will be surprised if anyone watches it and doesn't laugh at least once.
I've also been knitting on sock #2 of my baby sister's Christmas pair. Baby sister is, btw, now back from Harvard and getting ready for her regularly scheduled undergraduate semester. Have I mentioned lately how proud I am of that kid? 'Cos I am.