OMFG. Pollen counts are currently through the roof! Consequently, I have not breathed through my nose in the last three weeks. And I am all jacked up on Zyrtec and Flonase. Wtf! Burning eyes, swollen nose, itchy face… Fucking A. Thankfully, there was a cancellation, and I am going to see the Ear Nose Throat doctor tomorrow. I mean, already I have seen the family practitioner, an allergist (twice), and you know what? It’s now time for the big guns. Seriously. I cannot live like this. It’s screwing up my productivity, not to mention cramping my style. Who can be seen in public with a swollen nose? I feel like a goddamn elephant seal. Ok fine. Enough groaning. I’m just sayin’.

Anyway, in other news, after my parents left, John and I jetted to Atlanta the very next day. I was in town for a tech conference that was– as always– so energizing and inspiring. I learned so much in the three days. Outside of the sessions, John and I walked around downtown in search of tasties, and we spent a couple hours at the world’s largest aquarium. Super impressive. Yeah, ticket prices were definitely steep, but that 6.3-million gallon tank containing 4 whale sharks is pretty damn cool. Good times. I came back and cranked out a shitload of Yelp reviews for ATL. The bummer about the conference? No Anderson Cooper sighting, damnit. Some friends insist he is gay, but like I said, he has never confirmed either way. In other words, shut the hell up and let me have my fantasy encounter. As an AC stalker on Twitter informed me, he’s actually based in NYC. Well fuck.

So this week, I’m back at work feeling ready to take on new challenges. I already have a million ideas floating in my head. I had a meeting with the head head honcho today– it went ok. The one thing I can’t stand about my workplace? Conservatism, fear, and stodginess. Seriously. And I don’t mean political conservatism. I mean that they are so damn out-of-touch and out-of-date. Like telecommuting is still a novel concept. Really? In 2010? Like we aren’t even debating true telecommuting… we’re still stuck on the VPN sub-policy. The biggest concern? People will log in and their kids will hop on the computer and delete agency files. Give me a fucking break. The insane level of fear is so damn paralyzing. It really is painful to observe. And unfortunately, it only exacerbates those stereotypes about government workers. Ugh.

Ok well I’m drifting off to sleep now. More this weekend hopefully.