12:43 a.m. - 2003-03-15
Mercureality
Another Mercury(ial)day. The good news was that the temperature here went from �22 C/-5 F to +10 C/+50 F overnight. That meant the snow melted and the skyscrapers downtown exchanged their �watch for falling ice� signs for �watch for the waterfall� signs. The thaw yesterday cleared about half the snow off the ground, meaning that the other half turned into sheets of ice overnight. The walk to the bus stop this morning was very tricky. When it warmed up again this afternoon, flooding closed vehicle underpasses for hours.
I bumped into the woman who had been faced with a walk down the icy escarpment a couple of mornings ago, on the bus this morning. She said that it hadn�t been so bad after all. Her connector bus had been delayed too, so that she still had been able to get to work the easy way. I�m glad - it is always so frustrating when there is nothing you can do to help someone other than offer them empathy.
At work first thing, visibly heightened security as we walked into the building � reality bites again. Upstairs, both my supervisors moving boxes. The day before, I had been told to move 60 boxes from the lundys(moveable shelving)at the far end of the library to sit next to my desk. It took me an hour on my own to do that. That�s the current data that comprises my project. This morning, those were replaced on the lundys by the material that they moved from behind my work area. Apparently, another 400 boxes of material are expected to arrive from various sites. Space has to be created where there really isn�t any.
The team meeting this AM was interesting. I had found several odd things in the records left in the PCs office in terms of the data capture and coding on them. B had sent a memo to the software specialist detailing the anomalies, but indicated that it had been the PC who had discovered them; not, she had created them. The specialist�s response had come back, that the only way the anomalies could have occurred was if someone had gone into the database and had been able to manually override the program to force the changes noted. B said she didn�t understand what the specialist was saying.
The brief lunchtime walk was blissful � no jacket required. Lots of sun starved people out enjoying the day. Got back to the office and decided to watch the on-line video of the employee�s meeting that I had received an invitation to, but had been told I wasn�t allowed to attend by T2, in which the state of the company address was delivered by its CEO. T2 came bustling up to my desk with D and stood there talking loudly so that I couldn�t hear. It was my lunch break, but no privacy or respect for my choice of how to use it. The library is huge, T2 could have chosen to have that discussion in any number of other places, without making it impossible for me to continue watching the video.
Opened up my e-mail to find a note from K at the data management firm. As a result of the merger, some hiccups had developed in the accounting transfer, would it be ok if she couriered my paycheck to me today instead of the usual direct deposit. Fine with me. It was still before 1 PM so there was plenty of time, or so I thought. At 3:45 pm it still hadn�t arrived, so I called the company�s courier desk � nothing in the records about it. Called K � had it been sent? She said she would track down the details and call me back. Yes, pick-up at 2 PM and signed for at this company�s courier desk at 2:30 by GD. By this time it was 4 PM. Called the courier desk again, oh yes of course � it had been sent to the mailroom. Call them because they deliver mail to our floor at 3 PM. Checked the mail basket again � no cheque. Called the mailroom - they�d have to call me back after they searched for it. At 4:15 they called back to say they did indeed have it. Now one of the earliest jobs I had after the boys� Dad left, was in the mailroom of a company with a couple hundred more employees more than this one. Rush couriers always meant a call to the recipient as soon as possible, and all couriers after the afternoon mail delivery also required a call to the recipient. Couriers are expensive � the decision to send something that way means that the delivery is considered critical for the recipient. Leaving a courier package undelivered overnight,let alone over a whole weekend, was considered grounds for firing. Anyway, I told them I would come up to the mailroom immediately to pick it up. Just a little frustrating; especially considering the glares I got from T2. Sorry, but paychecks aren�t something I can just leave when I have mid-month cheques for various services like heat and water pending. Besides, I was still doing data entry while I was doing the phone calls and in between while I was waiting for responses. I don�t take coffee breaks on any workday, so I wasn�t doing anything that wouldn�t be covered by an entitled break anyway. It was 4:30 before I got out of the office. Luckily, a branch of my bank is on the way to the train platform and it wasn�t very busy. I only missed three trains as a result.
Must have been meant to be for some reason though. The stand-up comedienne I�d mentioned in an earlier entry was in the same car as me, so the ride home was very entertaining � a lot of people in stitches all the way home. On the connector bus, I met one of the ladies I know, who has worked in our justice system for years. I�ve travelled with her quite frequently over the past decade. Red-headed,Irish-Italian descent with a biting sense of humour. Her tales of a day in the life of a court worker are worthy of a novel. We discussed the international situation. A lot of people around us on the bus these days visibly wearing symbols of their faith community and intensely studying their scriptures for support or enlightenment about the situation.
Met one of my number five son�s ex girlfriends on the walk home, and collected news of her life plus a hug. I�m really sorry that relationship didn�t work out although I really like his current girlfriend too. Finally, after saying good-bye to my son�s ex, meeting another young woman who often talks with me about her children on the bus or while walking home after work. She had already gone home and was on the way over to the grocery store when I finally arrived in our community. I finally got to meet her daughters � very pretty and well mannered. She�s a single parent too. Wonder if I should introduce her to my son of the same age. Nope. I really like her, but I know how I react to people thinking they�ve found me the perfect match. Guess I should practice what I preach. I guess being held up at work this evening was a good thing. Look what I would have missed otherwise. Mercury.
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