One thing I've read a few times is that mercury retros in particular are a time when issues from the past can reappear -- it's an opportunity to review and repair.
Add in the Martian (aggression) full moon in Virgo (healing) and suddenly it all makes sense. Within 3 days, 4 issues from the past reared their ugly heads demanding attention:
1. just as I thought it was done with and I was barely recovered, the issue of my working 12-hour night shifts came back on the table. This time, I told the supervisor it was not an option. And I very quietly told her I will *not* be threatened again and that the lab manager is *not* the only person with a lawyer in the family. We negotiated me into working half of the shift, which turned into 8 hours, which in reality turned into 9 hours, but she also told me exactly *when* they need me to work nights, which clued me in as to how to avoid it in the future.
2. Since I *never* bluff, I finally wrote to my sister who hates me. I had back-burnered the situation when Algiers got sick. I don't know if I mentioned that my sister who hates me is a former asst. DA, former Judge, and a practicing litigation attorney, has run for a public judge position, and has been active in the democratic party for most of her life...so is probably a bit connected.
3. So that night (Wednesday, the 7th) I showed up dutifully, and grumpily (really, on a tear) at 6pm. I *barely* walked into the lab and "Loverboy" appears with his mop and physically blocked me at the first intersection, struck a "pose," leered, and said loudly, "Hey, how ya doin'?"
I am more than a little enraged by this situation now. A couple weeks ago, Loverboy attempted to force my attention on him when I was running and resulting a critical arterial blood gas by shoving past me (the puter is just inside the doorway) not once, not twice, but 4 times. As a result, I made a mistake running the verification test, and furthermore, his shoving me jostled the desk and computer, entering weird "data" into what should be a blank area of the result page. This is what goes on the permanent medical record and is sent to the physician. ABGs are truly critical -- lives are at stake. And this mistake is on MY record now. So I have been simmering with rage over this ridiculous situation that clearly is impacting my ability to do my job and making me look more incompetent than I already am, as well as wrecking my emotional well being.
Anyway, Loverboy *finally* got the conversation he's been trying to force on me for months. "Hey, how ya doin'?" I answered him with 2 words. "Fuck. Off." He left me alone for the rest of the night, thank effing gawd.
And I determined that from now on, when I am there in the evening I will have an advance snarl prepared for Loverboy and be prepared to tell him "FUCK. OFF." Only the next time it will NOT be under my breath; it will be loud and it will be repeated. And if her DARES to touch me again in any way, shape or form (and I have no doubt that forcing his way past me 4 times was a way to "touch" me or "run into" me) I will be screaming at the top of my lungs until security comes running.
4. It was the next morning, on 4 hours sleep, that I got the vile email from the nasty vet. But in a way, she did me a favor. After raging and venting, I put myself to bed and sobbed for an hour or two in a way that I've been unable to since Algiers got sick. I needed that, desperately. A lot of energy is freed up now to fight for myself and my furfamily.
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