I despise the summer heat, but with the exception of the crazy hot heat wave where it was a heat index of 113, this summer hasn't been bad. Not that I've done a lot of summery things since I've spent most of it stressed and/or sick, but the fact that my AC can actually keep up so far is a very positive thing.

It's also Restaurant Week (which is actually 3 weeks, but whatever), yay! On Friday a friend and I went to Maloney & Porcelli, and while the steak was oversalted and a bit too charred on top, the appetizer of sweet corn ravioli was to die for and the sorbets a nice refreshing end to the meal. Sunday was brunch at David Burke Tavern with the family, where the food is inventive, a bit hit or miss but overall quality dishes.

I'm debating if I want to go to Ammos Estatorio some night since it's literally a block from my midtown office and it was a strong contender when I was looking at places initially. I always wonder what it must be like for the bankers I work with since you know they can toss money at these places at regular prices without blinking, whereas I was trained by upbringing and limited salary potential that I will never have that luxury.

For now I'll take what I can get, enjoy the deals available, and then wait 6 months to do it again since RW is twice a year. At least there's some nod in NYC to those of us who aren't the uber-wealthy. It restores some of my faith in the city.

I've proposed (in my head) a simple manual for my coworker related to a children's book. However, this one would be called Calm the Fuck Down, with little vignettes of the many times, sometimes multiple times a day, he calls or contacts me upset because there's a screw-up.

He wants concrete answers to everything, but the point is that nothing is concrete and this database is flawed so you have to roll with it and check with the client as to what they're really looking for. Then he gets stressed out and contacts me to solve what he's done, or tell him it wasn't possible in the first place and I'm tired of being the brunt of this.

I've mostly held my tongue around our boss, only giving hints that this is happening since I technically have no direct responsibility, but I may have to blow his cover just to preserve my sanity. He's getting himself into situations that are not appropriate for our department, sending wrong results, and I've counseled him against every single one because I know what would happen.

He also spends days on these mishaps when we have dozens of other requests that need his attention, but it's like he has blinders on. I'm on the verge of letting him fall victim to his own dogmatic insistence, but I'll give him a few more chances. It's what I do, but seriously. Calm the Fuck Down.

It's amazing how much you can recover when you don't have to work, even working from home means I wasn't getting the rest I needed. I probably wouldn't have made it in to work if I had to physically spend an hour getting there, and possibly would have thrown up on the subway, so it was still a better option to log on from home.

I finally got four days off over the 4th weekend since I took Friday off, majorly over-exerted myself on Sunday, but still managed to get to Brooklyn today. I really need to stop driving myself nuts and running myself ragged on a simple day to day basis. Maybe someday I'll get there, but for now I'm hoping this is enough of a second wind.