How are Things?

Tag: #work

  • Friday 19th July 2025

    Finally, this week is over. I have been so tired and so uninspired this week, and now there is a chance to rest for a moment.

    I made an appointment with my councilor, a woman who by now knows me way too well. Then I had lunch with a fellow colleague where we got a chance to raise our concerns about senior management.

    Problematic person has done a lot of crying but has broken up with terrible person but I’ve gone ahead and notified security about his awful ex; if only because apparently my name was mentioned in the break up conversation. The Problematic person’s emotional wave has gone out from shore, and in fact is now heading back in: they have texted me to say they’re annoyed with the other people being annoyed with them. This is a mess, and I’m going to get myself out of it.

    Dinner was made by my son and it tasted amazing, mainly because he is a great kid. I’m listening to Amy Poehler and going to bed. Night all.

  • Thursday 26th June; Part One

    I have long suspected that I am a character in a TV show. One of the reasons for this is that each year there is one day that is a culmination of all the events and themes of that particular year; a season finale, if you will. This year, that day was this Thursday.

    I was up at 5am as I usually am, and I carried out my meditation, exercises, and tried to get as many emails as possible done. However, at 11am, there was to be a reception that my unit was hosting, seeing every other unit in our section potentially joining us. A complication was that I was due at a hugely important meeting from 10am. A further complication was that Problematic Colleague was no longer available to assist; in fact, it was quite likely they would show their face so as to point out errors, demean me to others, and likely have help in their efforts from my boss. A secondly supposedly helpful colleague frankly refused for no reason other than she didn’t like my boss.

    The new online finance system saw delay after delay in getting the purchase order system to the Caterers. I finally got it out to them Wednesday evening, and when I arrived Thursday morning I wasn’t sure if the items would be there in good time; even if they would arrive at all.

    I needn’t have worried. Tea, coffee and thirty beautifully arranged cupcakes were delivered at 9.30 am, giving me plenty of time to rearrange the boardroom tables, set out the catering, and… the vegan options? Where were the vegan options? I thought briefly about contacting the caterers, but remembered the pale faces of the two men, already worn out before 10am. So instead I grabbed my wallet, and got two large vegan bags of cookies from the online shop, as well as grabbing a handful of napkins as well. By 9. 45am everything was set up.

    I took the time to remove old coffee stains from desks, and gave everything one last stare. It is impossible to see every error, every gap, especially by those who strive so hard to locate them. All I could see was a neat and calm set up, with chairs and tables dotted around, treats made ready and welcoming, and a proper reception ready to go. Was it enough? Would fault be found?

    No, and yes. But there was nothing more I could do about it now. I was due at my Hugely Important Meeting. So I locked up the boardroom, handed the key to fellow colleague, emailed my boss regarding all the details, gathered the rest of my papers, and moved on to Part Two…