23:32 - 26.05.05
Crazy
Peculiar. A blow me to Bermuda (Sword in the Stone) type of day.
I brought eucalyptus oil to work this morning. Even when there are allergens in the air, the oil seems to be able to overcome and open up the bronchioles even against the effects of the toxins. The work area was as bad as ever. It was as if as though the perfumed woman had scented the chair, the desk, and every other surface before leaving when I had last night. Poured some of the oil on a cotton pad and stuffed it in the strap of my bra, so it would be close to my nose. That way I didn't have to overuse the substance. It is pretty potent and there are other people who find the scent difficult to handle. I didn't want to find myself doing the same thing to someone else as has been done to me. Stopped the coughing and the sinuses from closing down any way.
The perfumed woman very badly wants the job of the woman who was let go about a month ago. Problem is that she was let go because she wouldn't learn the detail necessary to do the work properly. Given the perfumed woman's disregard for same and her lack of work ethic, it isn't likely that she will get considered, especially since she has no background in the discipline. That was the reason she had wanted access to my supervisor the other day. She knew she was the one who would be making the final decision. At the time the other worker was let go, and we were called into that group meeting, my supervisor had stated at the beginning that no one from the current workers in the department would be considered for the position, because none had the skill sets required. Now I understand why that was done.
At lunch today the perfumed woman and her ally tried to work around that by arranging to be at the same restaurant as the direct supervisor of the area. Trying to talk her up. When they returned from lunch, about two hours later, the perfumed woman was pressing her quite hard, but was told the supervisor was wanting someone extra special and that she was willing to wait until exactly the right person appeared. Ouch. I had gone out walking by the river later in the lunch hour and had kept bumping into people I worked with about six years ago. I was musing about the synchronicities that made that happen now, when I hadn't seen so many of the scientists I really enjoyed working with since I'd left that company. I hadn't put my headphones on yet as a result, so was treated to that little vignette to chew over too.
The reverie didn't last long since the Tech support person had arrived to switch out my computer with the one of the woman who agreed to trade work stations with me. He said the movers would likely not be there to move the balance of our stuff for a couple of hours, so we could disappear for a while if we wanted. We both looked at each other and then back at him. Now I understand how twins must feel. We spoke at the same time using identical words - "We are consultants and get paid only for the hours we work. We don't take breaks like salaried staff", Beides that, our supplies and work gear is all pretty small and easy to move. Waiting for three burly guys to show up to shift our in-trays is ludicrous. At that point things got a little weird. The perfumed woman and the ally made a big fuss about me not lifting anything "because I was too fragile". Right. I do more work than the two of them combined. I pointed to my backpack to illustrate that my physical stamina was just fine. "Well, we're very concerned about you. You know, neither of us has worn any perfume or deodorant since we were told last week about your allergies, but you're still having breathing problems. What else could it be?" My supervisor had been in the work area yesterday and had smelled the perfume, so I couldn't figure out what game they were trying to play. One gave me the company fan she had at her desk and they made a fuss about plugging it in near the coworker who was switching with me. The coworker I was trading places with and I just took turns emptying and filling up the space at each workstation left by the other, ignoring the antics of the other two.
Our move took about an hour all together. Then the telephone specialist arrived to switch our phones. When she dialled my number the perfumed woman's phone rang and the reverse. The perfumed woman had climbed under the desk earlier on, saying she had worked for the telephone monopoly here and was obviously trying to switch the jacks around without success. That might explain the weird stuff with my phone I guess. I rearranged the layout at my station to suit my workflow, then took a bio break. One of the women who had made a point of grabbing the elevator with me last night, when the perfumed woman followed me at the end of the day, followed me in to the ladies room. When we were washing up she looked at me and said "You're not crazy you know. The things you've been telling us about "Fred the Ghost" doing really have happened." It was as if she knew about the little skits that had been going on in my work area all afternoon. She talked with me for some time, commenting that moving around was good, since it made it harder for the people creating the problems to find me. Suggesting that I take certain additional precautions, to make it harder for them. She kept talking for quite some time as we moved back into the department, staying in one of the more remote work areas where we wouldn't be overheard. It seemed as though she really felt it important for me accept that there was something going on other than just departmental politics or interstaff rivalries. Made me feel better because it was apparent by the time she finished that there was knowledge of what was going on among other staff and that it was being monitored. Guess I'm not crazy after all.
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