11:23 PM - 30.12.04
Work
This morning I had to go hunting for underwear again. I don't know where the cats have hidden it this time. Finally found some and made it to work on time, but we're going to have to have that discussion about respecting boundaries soon, I guess. Made my point a bit tonight though. My back was really sore today - I think it had something to do with the fact that, with the windchill, the temperature was probably below -30 C. Even more reason why I wanted particular pieces of underwear to protect me from the elements. That plus sitting in front of a laptop without a break for nine hours straight really did a number on my spine.
The reason for the marathon was that I wanted to make up the time spent on my cell phone yesterday trying to settle all the loose ends with the Employment Insurance claim so I can get paid. Got my first "where's our money" voicemail today. Considered leaving the caller a voicemail suggesting they call that government department, but I don't want to make the agent feel any worse nor do I want to burn a bridge I might need later. Nor do the creditors care anyway - do they?
Anyway, by the time I got home tonight I was really feeling pain. Found the remains of some Terebinth Oil (think turpentine smell) and slathered it on my lower back and my neck. Those cats wouldn't come near me after that - not even for cuddles or food. Hmmmmm. If it didn't smell so awful, I could dab a bit on my underwear so it wouldn't go missing so often. Since my nap - to recuperate from the stress of the cold you know - I've just been going through all my old clothes trying to find enough warm pieces to throw together to make about four layers to wear tomorrow. According to the forecast, it is supposed to be much colder tomorrow. Better than a tsunami though. Quit whining right?
Work was very quiet today. Part of that is directly attributable to the fact that most people stayed at home wherever they could. Means shorter commutes because of less stopping and waiting at train stations and bus stops and enough seating for everyone still left to travel. The only blip in that scenario was on the way home tonight. The train going in the opposite direction was jammed full and so was the next one after it going in the same direction. The reason? There is the big yearly International Junior Hockey tournament going on. Big game for Canada tonight and no "professional" hockey to divert some of the support or interest. Just really good games, man, that's all the fans really want. That isn't too much to ask, is it?
The other reason for the quiet was that I don't think too many people were really on task any way. I noticed a lot of visiting/chatting but very little desk time. Given I sit right next to the coffee station I see a lot even though the headphones block out most of the noise. That one male who seems to be a problem? Caught him peeking around the door at one point, but I just kept on with what I was doing. Two major client service requests - one initiated by them and one by me took up as much time as I felt I could lose. Interesting requests though. So I've now got a list of "topics" I need to cover with my supervisor when we next meet arising out of all the things that have come up this week. He called me at home Christmas Eve just to say hi and Merry Christmas, which made me feel much better on what had been a very bad day for me feeling down and left out, and promised he would make the time to spend with us on our work site. I appreciate his intentions, but unless the data management company opts to reduce his workload I don't know how he'll be able to follow through. Even with best intentions there are only so many hours in a day.
When I was doing the election administration in the summer, I would have given a great deal to have had the time to spend working directly with my staff, but all the other responsibilities loaded on to my plate made it nearly impossible. That small luxury would have allowed for more clarity in communication, early intervention or prevention where personnel issues were concerned and more opportunities to train and assess workers' skills for later assignments. That matters right now, because I've had three communications with Elections Canada just today. One was a request to start the first level of staff recruitment for the next election - yes seriously. Training to begin soon. Next a follow up about that one expense for a table that broke that I have been told I have to pay out of my own pocket. If I can supply written justification that they find acceptable for my choice they will cover it themselves. I understand their point of view - it is taxpayer money - but it was an incident over which I had no control because I didn't even know that the staff member in question had brought it in until after it was broken. Never even occurred to me that anyone would do that given that we had enough workspace to get on with. Report number 101 coming up this weekend I guess. The third thing was a voicemail about a potential assignment that uses my skills, but not for a Federal event. Called them back and left a voicemail asking for more information when I got the message after the commute home tonight. It will depend on timing, because I can't afford to give up this contract - one I'm really learning a great deal doing, my favorite part of working - in order to take a shorter term - although better paying - contract with them. The dilemma is that their assignment would open up a whole range of opportunities I wouldn't otherwise have access to and I would also have the opportunity to learn a great deal of unique and fascinating skills. Hopefully it will be something I can work at part time evenings and weekends. We'll see - I don't want to let this client, Elections Canada or my supervisor down but I also have to think of what is best for me - something none of them have done yet. Guess I have to deal with that issue too.
You may have noticed that this post was interrupted for a time during my talk about the new election assignment offer. All of a sudden some program took over my PC and disabled the security features I have. it took three attempts to remove their installation and then to restore the security software. It seems to me that there must be a fundamental flaw in the security software itself, because the other robot is still trying to enter that way. In addition, while I was waitning for my system to reboot after I'd fixed it - I hope - I went to visit Ms Pasha and her new babies. Ms Pasha was there but I couldn't find those bitty kittens anywhere. Apparently Mama thinks hiding them under the bed is a better choice than where they have been. They were all sleeping peacefully so it took a while to track them down. Now it time for me to sleep peacefully - good night dear diary.
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