It's been a randomly eventful commuter week.

During Monday morning's commute, I watched a bicyclist attempt suicide. (Note: Riding down the sidewalk instead of on the road does keep you away from cars. But it also insures that drivers will not see you when you decide to ride through a red light. You were very lucky.)

During Tuesday morning's commute, I was happy to discover that they have finished the road work on my direct route to work. Why they only had one southbound lane open, I don't know, but it cut my commute time in half. I've been oversleeping a lot recently, so the return of the Ten Minute Commute was quite welcome.

During Wednesday afternoon's homeward commute, I was dismayed and appalled to discover that they have now closed the northbound lanes of my preferred route. I got to work easily, but getting home took longer.

During Thursday afternoon's homeward commute which, owing to my extreme dedication (and inattention to the clock), I was making ten minutes later than my normal time? I discovered that the closing of the northbound route meant that when rush hour traffic really got started, it--stopped. Then backed up and stacked up for five or six blocks in every direction. Due to a weird combination of events not unrelated to the presence or absence of turn lanes on various roads and a significant miasma of Driver Psychosis hanging over the entire area, I drove in circles for a while, trying to get to a road that would lead me home, then wound up heading back southbound until I could get to the interstate at a place a mile or two south of my office. With one or two more narrow misses caused by other escapees from the traffic jam, I finally arrived home--40 minutes after I'd left the office.

This morning, I neither overslept nor ran into massive traffic, but I'm looking ahead to this evening's commute with a certain amount of trepidation.

It's been a randomly strange food week.

For Monday lunch, I ate more of the leftover Chinese food from Friday. When I got home that evening, I put the rest of it down the disposal. It may have been a coincidence, but my stomach was upset all Monday afternoon.

Yesterday I had a desperate, really desperate need to go to the bookstore. I saw a book last week that I wanted but did not buy. I've been thinking about it ever since, so I went and bought it. (I read it last night and it was depressing, so that was a waste of $6.) I bought another book and two magazines at the same time. Then I needed food and, for reasons I may never understand, I found myself at McDonald's. I never eat at McDonald's. I'm just not a fan. But I was in a hurry, Wendy's was a traffic jam away, I had only a little cash left on me, and there was no one in the drive-through line, so I went to McDonald's.

Did you know that they have this thing called a "dollar menu"? I was going to get a small cheeseburger and French fries, but it turns out that for $1, I could get a "double cheeseburger." (For another $1, I could have gotten a "small fries" as well, but I knew I couldn't eat that much.) I got lunch for $1.07! I hate to think of how many calories and how much fat were in the burger. (I think this is why poor people are so often overweight. Cheap food is anything but healthy.)

Last night I decided to be a bit more restrained. Wednesday, I'd chopped up some ripe Early Girl tomatoes and tossed them in with some minced garlic and onion, a bit of basil, and some olive oil. (I had no plans for this mishmash of ingredients. I just had all of them and thought that if I mixed them together, I'd figure out a way to use them.)

I drained a packaged of pre-cooked chicken and heated it with a tiny bit of olive oil (and, let's be honest, a couple of teaspoons of butter). Then I dumped in the tomato mixture and let it all simmer for fifteen minutes. I boiled up some spaghetti, tossed it with the resulting weirdly pink mixture, splashed on black pepper, and actually ate it. It--had potential. Next time I'll put the garlic, onion, and spices in to cook with the chicken, then stir in the diced tomatoes just before eating. Also, it needed pine nuts. And maybe a recipe or at least someone who knows how to cook to add or subtract additional ingredients.

It's been a randomly unusual work week.

One of the receptionists--two women job-share this position and I'm never really sure which of them is which, so for convenience, we'll refer to the combination as DebLor--got the flu this week. The other DebLor was unable to cover all of the hours, so those of us who do regular phone relief were asked to pull extra "shifts" on Wednesday

Which is fine, for those of us who have jobs that can be done other than at our desks, but that doesn't include me. I wrote the R.C. a letter (I'm practicing writing with my right hand. I don't know why.) and then tidied up the reception desk area. Then I got bored, so I wrote weird and unlikely tasks and occupations next to everyone's names on the In/Out board.

When (the un-sick) DebLor got back to the office the next morning, she found it funny, which was what I intended. She also showed it to half the people in the office, which was not.

When I Receptioned on Wednesday, I put out chocolate for the office candy dish again. Only two people came by but I made them both take candy and promise that they liked me more for providing good treats. (People always insist that they already like me, but I'm pretty sure they like me more when I feed them chocolate.)

This afternoon is the in-office party that's replacing the company picnic this year. They're threatening us with promising us games.

Hmmm, what else? I've almost finished end of month reporting for September. I've almost completed getting the new bulk email service up and running. I should be able to use it for the Argonut News issue that comes out on the 22nd. (TeamChaos has an idea that we'll switch to one issue of the 'NutNews each month and they'll produce a multimedia powerpoint/audio presentation of other information once a month, in place of the second 'NutNuts issue. I'm staying far away from this insanity.)

I spent an hour working over a retirement spreadsheet, satisfying myself that the little dab of money I have is enough to live on, with social security, as long as I'm willing to die at 70. Open enrollment for the 401k here is coming up. The match is something pathetic--1-1/2 percent or something--but it's free money, right?

Oh! Speaking of money! I got a surprising email from Vela! She said if I get to studying and get my certification by the end of this month, then she would want to talk to me about a salary increase! I almost fell off my chair, I was so astonished.

And now, of course, I feel a guilty. I haven't been studying for the certification exam this past week. A couple of evenings I was too tired, so I just read a book. A couple of other evenings, I was busy with a massive plan I'm putting together to completely reorganize all of the advertising campaigns.

I'll study this weekend. The promise of a raise (even if it turns out to be small) should be all the incentive I need, right? Even if the campaign reorganization is much more interesting, involving, as it does, multiple spreadsheets and colored charts and, if I play my cards right, colored pens.

I approached Gidget about this. I knew she had something to do with the raise idea since she also knows, and has said multiple times, that they hired me for 'way too little money. I had no idea, though, until I talked to her that she'd told Vela that she, Gidget, would be happy to forego a raise this year as long as I got one.

I don't deserve my friends.