10:46 p.m. - 2004-07-19
Watershed
My supervisor arrived at our workplace not long after I did this morning dear diary. New suit, with a deacon's collar shirt - he looked really sharp, but sounded exhausted. I know that when I really dress up it's because I'm so wiped out that the clothes are the only thing that's sharp about me. When I wear them I work hard to live up to the image I'm trying to project, but it usually also means I'm running on empty.
He was so tired that he was struggling to be clear about the issues he wanted to discuss or resolve. I hope I got the drift correctly. He apologized for not realizing how strongly I felt about not going back to the previous contract and I apologized for being such a bag about it. No one's fault just the way it works out when you have a client like that one. Nothing anyone can do will deal with the underlying problem.
I bumped into one of the women I worked with ther at lunch just after coming out of the chiropractor office. She asked me what was new with a nudge nudge wink wink. I just told her that mt supervisor had raised the possibility with me but that I hadn't heard anything further on it. She seemed awful excited by the possibility though. She said that a lot of things had changed for the better and that data that had been missing for a long time that we had been lookming for had finally shown up. Hmmmmmmmm. My back was feeling fine up until that point but it hurt a lot for the balance of the afternoon after talking with her.
Got back into my current assignment and spent some time with one of the scientists who has come to trust what we are doing enough to turn over his personal files. Now that is a mark of acceptance. We chitchatted a bit about where his family is off to next. A holiday in a mountain resort for a couple of months with his spouse a five year old and a newborn then off to the head office in Europe. He was more focussed on h is family than on work and that was very nice to see and hear.
Chatted a little bit with my co-worker and our liaison at different times during the day too. The scope of our project keeps changing and growing as the staff see the benefits to them with respect to the resources we are building for them. Nice to have people who aren't afraid to see change happen.
On the way home I was getting up to go to the exit of the bus when a woman started telling everyone that her husband, who was talking with her on her cell phone, said that he was caught in a torrential downpour on one of the southern freeways in our city. We're up in the far northeast. As I stepped off the bus the first drops of rain began to fall. No problem! Another scorching day meant any cooling down in the atmosphere was welcome. Besides it saves me watering the grass. Right? Well, I'm not quite sure how long the walk from the bus stop to my home is. Yes technically two blocks, but depending on conditions like weather, ice, friends stoppoing to chat or what have you I just am of the opinion that when travelling by transit one gets there when one gets there.
That notwithstanding,by the time I had gone about one block and reached the shelter of the back lane the heavens had opened and were pouring forth without restraint. No problem a warm rainshower is good for the hair and skin. Right? I don't mind being wet but the lightning was getting awful close and the wind was so strong that I was finding it difficult to keep my footing. Ducked to the south side of the lane because of the row of high fences and garages. Shelter of a sort. Besides at half way home it didn't make a lot of sense to try and find shelter when I didn't know how long it might last. By the time I got to my back gate even my underwear was soaked and my runners were filled with water too.
The cats were so freaked by the weird weather and the pounding thunder that not one of the fourteen would emerge from under whatever they had chosen to hide in. It wasn't until a half an hour or so that they would even meow or move. Poor little things. Food and wter finally calmed their nerves and we hav just spent the evening writing the report my supervisor asked me to cobble together detailing the work our team has done over the past month. Six pages to start but now down to three. Sometimes the most important part of writing is the editing. Eh? My youngest wandered in about two hours after I got home -he'd been at the gym with his buddy. So he says anyway as he brings in a new hotshot keyboard and some other electronic dodads for the computer. So much for saving money. He made supper and cleaned his room while I continued to write. Penance of a sort I guess. Anyway time for bed. Good night dear diary.
�
�
