Good morning.
It’s 37F and partly cloudy. By the afternoon, the skies will change to mostly cloudy, and the expected high temperature is 64F.
Wheelz, I’m very sorry to read about your Chloe.
Nellie, I’m sorry that scammers ripped off your sister. There should be a special place in hell for people who do that.
JtC, I’m sorry to read that the injury is indeed a break. I wish you the speediest of recoveries.
Metal Mouse, yay for leaks, finally FINALLY being fixed for good!
I know there is so much more, so I’ll send my best wishes, yays, and boos as appropriate.
The workweek was horrible, and we continue to deal with the fallout, making our jobs nearly impossible. I am deeply frustrated each workday, still worried about my job, and expect RIFs to come down any moment. I am preparing the office for the return of remote employees, and three of them have contacted me. One sounds like she will be a PITA, but maybe she’ll surprise me.
The folks who occupied the area the remotes will now occupy have moved to my side of the building. I’m already aghast at the noise and the sloppiness. I spent a lot of time cleaning up our side of the building so it looked professional, clean, and uncluttered. These people moved their “coffee station” over to an open area adjacent to a row of cubes, and it was a huge mess. I was surprised at how stressed out I became. At any rate, I took it upon myself to clean out some of the stuff and let them know they needed to clean up the rest. I also firmly nixed the idea of them bringing their leaky fridge over and plugging it in. I did it right before my boss and the other two management team members, and they all agreed. The following day, I looked at their Keurig and was grossed out at how filthy it was. I slid the cup tray out and found at least several months’ worth of coffee drips, grounds, and mold. I promptly took it to the kitchen to scrub it all out.
I was going to clean up more but then stopped myself. I’m not the maid, but I will bring up the cleanliness during an all-hands meeting this week or next. I need to give them a minute to settle in. If I don’t notice a move to tidy up, I’ll address it then.
I was pretty disgusted that I actually had to tell three of them to clean out their old cubes and wash or wipe down the work surfaces. One took care of that the day she moved over, but the others seem to think there are magical cleaning fairies there or something.
I know part of my reaction to this chaos is because it’s the one thing I can control right now. I control the space and how it’s used, and I’m not letting them come over to create a large mess, especially in an area that VIPs or visitors would walk past to get to the SD (when one is appointed).
It may seem petty to some, but other stuff slides if I let that slide.
I send my thanks to those of you who continue to make noise. Everything we do is being watched, to the point where we now have additional banner warnings on our computers, and they have locked down access to many sites that we used to be able to get to.
Feel free to skip below.
In the end, all I want to do is my damn job. I want to manage my budget, ensure my staff have all their supply, training, and equipment needs met, ensure we can travel for our inspections, outreach, and leasing issues, and ensure we, as an agency, can continue to serve the population we serve. I want to meet with those communities to find out what else they need and find ways to improve our services. Because that’s what we do; we SERVE our nation. We are not criminals, nor are we corrupt, and finally, we’re not slaves. We work hard and put 150% effort into it.
I did most of my laundry yesterday. Today, it’s bedding and towels. I should probably dust and vacuum, too. My weekends have been nothing more than catching up on all the stuff I can’t get to during the week, like most people. I get up at 2:45, shower, dry and style my hair, gather my stuff, make sure the pups have fresh water, and am out the door by 4:00 a.m. I’ll be at the office just after 5:00 a.m. I make my coffee and get the day started. I work all day, and if I’m lucky, I’m home by 4:30. I have a few hours to eat, spend time with the pups, and am usually ready to go to bed by 7:30, but I try to hold out until 9:00. The next day, I start all over again.
Feel free to skip the spoilers.
I know I’m depressed, and I can’t seem to find my way out of this funk. I have no interest in doing anything other than ensuring the pups are taken care of, the clothes are clean, and the house is orderly. I can’t focus on much of anything else. By now, I’m excited about getting out in the dirt, prepping my planters and beds, and starting to peruse nurseries. I’m not even a little interested in that.
Alright, I need to finish my coffee and shower.
I am sending my best to all of you.
Meanwhile, Lego sells 
!
Jyst very glad none of those bullets came your direction. Be well.