12/1/21 December Is Looking Like A Major Pain In The Ass?

     I have usually enjoyed the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Break, work seems to slow down a bit and we have vacations book ending both holidays, so what's not to like?  This year, it doesn't feel like good times so far.  I went back to work Monday after a week off and usually Mondays suck because work piles up from the weekend, but we were all gone from Wednesday afternoon, so it is a little worse.  To add to that, we have two tools we do analysis on, we share the lab space with the big fab, used to be AMD, and it changes names so often, I am not sure what it is right now, but one of the tools is down waiting on parts from Germany, so we have to share the one.

    I have been able to finish my nights early a lot because I double my throughput as it were by running both tools at the same time.  The process is a little annoying, you set a sample and it'll take 2-3 minutes to analyze, then we usually run a blank in between any other samples, plus standards, so a simple job with a handful of samples will turn into a 2-3 hour production, not including the prep time.  Because of the time waiting, it is fairly easy to set up both tools and just bounce back and forth and keeping up with both of them.  With the one tool only, I am having to run old school and be there well past what I have become used to the last two days.  The word is that the other tool will get its parts and be fixed next week.  I hope so.

    The other and more pain in the ass thing is the schedule of wrestling.  I am not sure how it works, but there are matches scheduled for Wednesday nights then tournaments on Friday and Saturdays for the next three weeks.  I love watching my boy do his thing, but leaving work and then coming back afterwards, probably close to 10:00pm is going to suck a lot on Wednesday nights.  This seemed to be the best way to do it.  I talked to my supervisor and he said this would be better for me than coming in and working Sundays to cover the Wednesday.

    I know that like everything, it will pass.  It is fun to watch Mijo on the mats, and this is a way to get them more sparring time with different people, I just wish work didn't get in the way.  Wife will have an even harder time trying to get here from San Antonio and getting up north in traffic to get there.  The meet tonight starts at 6:00pm, so my plan is to go to work around noon or 1:00pm, then leave at 5:00pm, go watch the fun, then head back to work afterwards.  I should be happy that we have the flexibility to leave work and attend my son's activities, but I guess since it is close to the holidays, I also want to be lazy and drag ass a bit.