It's a sickness, really

Wow. First of all, thank you to those who sent me emails about GERD. I'm hoping I don't have it but going to make adjustments as if I do have it so that hopefully this cough will go away. I'm feeling optimistic about all of this right now, and I didn't realize so many people seem to have it themselves. Tips of ways to get through it are always welcome and helpful. I don't mind coaching. :)

Because of my job, I am often informed of tobacco items in the news, whether in the US or in other countries. I read recently about certain places that banned adults from smoking in cars with children under the age of 16, and I have read of more places that are considering similar bans. What a great idea! I find myself frustrated when I hear people talking about non-smokers and legislators imposing on their rights by trying to tell them when & where they can't smoke. As far as I'm concerned, people can do whatever they want as long as it is not causing harm to others. And regardless of what smokers want to tell themselves, second-hand smoke kills. In fact, with me trying to find out more about my cough, I wondered if my exposure to smokers when I was a waitress and when I dated people in the past who smoked might have something to do with my cough, and I got really angry at myself for putting myself in those situations. I also got angry with smokers.

I also recently read that there are still effects from second-hand smoke when parents smoke outside the home but not inside. It does make sense that outside air comes into the house, but I didn't really think of how it would be a noticeable affect.

Anyway, despite the fact that yesterday was my day off of work and I wanted to relax, I found myself busy doing things that weren't necessarily enjoyable and were definitely time-killers. One of those things was working on creating a webpage for our family through Comcast. It's not the most user-friendly or even flexible space they give you, but it is free. So I started creating it, hoping that Joe might jump online every now & again and update some things there and maybe write a blog entry or two. It has some nice features, but I don't know if we're going to keep it around. I might continue to try to talk him into creating an account through here so I can add him as an author for this blog, or I might just write for him (because I do like writing and wouldn't mind if I really knew what he wanted me to tell people about things going on in his life). We'll see. But if I decide to keep that website around, I'll definitely let everyone know what that website address is.

So, even though I've been working from home since Tuesday, it's been a rough week for me. I got my first paycheck as an official employee and realized that I had mistakenly thought I was getting more money this month than was actually the case. That really put a damper on my Monday.

And since they had me decide if I wanted to start working from home part time or full time on Monday (and I hadn't made my mind up yet), I felt pressured into making a decision that I don't know if I'll be happy with. Then, they threw me into the least-liked system for this whole week, where I end up getting less calls and more frustration as the days wear on. Luckily, tomorrow I won't have to work in that system, which will be a nice change.

Anyway, because of that, I decided to put in a request to see if I could leave work early today, and they approved that request for me to end my shift 2 1/2 hours early, which is why I'm writing this now. I think I'm going to play a little bit on the piano or watch a movie or pull some weeds (we have like a BILLION in our yard, and they seem to be ever-increasing) or something else. I should've just taken the day off yesterday to relax, but I'm hoping to get a bit of that in today.