Office Life

I've had the good fortune, up until now, to have been able to work in a field I really like. Most of my work and educational experience has involved a ton of hands-on work and patient care. Before I came to this office, I was working on an inpatient mental health unit. It was a fun, difficult, sometimes emotionally-demanding job, but it was the best job I could have ever imagined. There were many times when I would find myself doing something at work, or seeing something happening there, and it would make me feel so proud or happy or thankful to the universe for putting me there to be part of it. I left every day, even after double shifts, feeling thankful for the chance to have been there. It was the kind of job I'd still do if I won the lottery. I loved it.

For a bunch of reasons, I left that job to come here, to my little cubicle, which is filled with paperwork and things that need to be organized and flowcharts tacked to the walls.

*Side note: Flowcharts are the bane of my existence, except for this one: http://www.nytimes.com/images/blogs/laughlines/panflute-flowchart.jpg.*

About 2 days into my employment here, I had two thoughts. Thought One: Oh, my God...I'm trapped here. Thought Two: Why did they hire me for this kind of job?

It's difficult to explain what I do, but here's the boil-down: I cross-check a bunch of information with a log of information and make the necessary changes. Then I call people, often without result, in an attempt to offer to schedule therapy and other kinds of appointments. Yawn!

The thing is...I've started to shift my outlook on things as a result of working here. Little things really bug me--things I never expected to bother me, and probably shouldn't. Here is a Top Ten list of things that are bothersome in my office life:

10. They just told us we can't listen to the radio on our computers because it takes up too much bandwidth. The radio used to be the thing that kept me sane here. It's too quiet now!

9. The candy dish. My boss continually fills a little glass dish in our office with candy. No, it's not the temptation or anything that gets to me. I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, which is great because if I did, I'd have packed on about 20 pounds by now because it is always, always full. No, the thing that bugs me is my boss and the candy dish. She comes over and gets candy about 10-15 times a day, each time telling me how 'if the candy dish is far away from her desk, she at least has to get up to get some, which makes her eat less of it'. She also sings little songs about chocolate when she's over there. She's like a heroin addict, but her addiction is glucose.

8. The temperature. The office next door is affected by our thermostat, so there is a little, passive-aggressive war waged every time the heat is adjusted. Minutes after we turn up the heat, someone from the other office will slink over and make it look like they're using the fax machine. Then you hear that little 'hisss' noise of the thermostat being turned down. It is alternately hot, then freezing, then hot again, throughout the day. I don't know how to dress anymore.

7. The bathroom. I could write an entire book about the psychology of women in a shared bathroom, but I won't get into it too far. A few weeks ago, someone left a note that said, "I KNOW MOST OF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW CLEAN THIS BATHROOM IS BUT SOME PEOPLE DO SO WHY DON'T YOU RESPECT US AND CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES!" I love the all-capital lettered, poorly-punctuated sentiment.

6. My boss. My boss is oddly passive. As in, she'll send out an email to everyone that is not really directed at anyone, but is clearly aimed at one person in the office. She uses 'sandwiching', which is a Psych 101 classic. It's where you tell someone bad news, but cushion it on either side with good news. Like, "Hey, you're doing a great job here. We're going to have to let you go, though, because you really screwed the pooch on that report last week. Your hair has never looked better, though!"

5. The technology. I hate the copier and fax machine with most fibers of my being. Their beeping and malfunctioning may someday give me an ulcer.

4. Smokers. Why is it that this office rewards people for leaving their desk, going outside and standing there for 10 minutes every hour while polluting their bodies and my air? What if I took my cup of tea outside for 10 minutes on the hour, and then still took my lunch hour? Oh, that's not OK? Hmph.

3. My cubicle. It's like being in a small, cramped, messy shoebox full of post-it notes.

2. The fact that they're turning something as important and humane as mental health care into a money-making business, and I'm just sitting in my cubicle, along for the corporate ride.

1. It's not my other job.

With that said, I feel incredibly lucky to have a job. Maybe I shouldn't even post this....nah, I'm going to.

Hope you all are well!
xo

I'm Taking My Lunch Hour Back!

It's a little childish of me, but I'm writing this on company time. This is because yesterday, one of my co-workers was out and I ended up not only working late, but working through my lunch hour, and because they had me sit through an hour-long presentation about what my own department does, complete with statistics and facts, during today's lunch hour. Note to management: Giving me pizza does not affect my judgment. I'm not fooled into thinking I've had a break from work!

So, I've been doing a little looking around at what other people blog about, and it's come to my attention that I am in the minority as a blogger because I don't write about God or babies. Seriously, click through the 'Next Blog' feature at the top left. It is almost certain that you will run into a blog about people's babies or their opinion about God in less than 3 clicks. That got me thinking about who exactly reads people's blogs. I happen to know exactly who is reading this one (hello Chris, Mom, my father-in-law Peter, and Mary!). Maybe all blogs are limited to people's close friends and families, which explains all the baby news. But the God blogs? Who's reading those?

This blog won't venture into the topic of God or babies. Wait, I will mention that my mom did remind me to start taking Folic Acid if I want to have babies soon, and my dad recently bought a set of children's books 'for the future'. And while I'm sure that any babies Chris and I have will be quite literate, I'm also surprised that the biological clock's tick is loud enough for my parents to hear, too. That's all on that!

Since I last wrote, Chris and I have been out to Scotland for his sister, Alison's wedding. It was an incredibly beautiful ceremony and was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. I would post some pictures, but once again, I am at work. Alison was a beautiful bride and I'm pretty thrilled to have her husband, Martin, as my new brother-in-law.

Chris has kept his employment at Wunderlich-Malech. They like him a lot over there, and he doesn't hate it, so it's a win-win situation. I am also still employed, as you know (since I'm writing this from work) and it's pretty OK. Meh, I don't want to talk about work. Plus, what if they have some kind of 'Internet spyware thing' and they read this? Trust me, you're not missing anything interesting.

Chris, my mom and I ran a 10-mile race on Saturday! I keep thinking back to my college years when running 2 or 3 miles felt like a big deal. I also think back to my mom's first run, when she ran less than half a mile and announced she didn't want to run anymore, ever. We both kept going and then we did this, and it's pretty amazing. Also, I'm amazed at how awesome/unfair it is that Chris can just decide to run 10 miles and be done with it, while I have to really give it some effort and train for it for months. Lucky duck...I acquired some bruised toenails during the race, which I've been told are a badge of honor for distance runners, so I feel legitimate now. The day after the race, I managed to step on a rusty nail and had to get a tetanus shot. Between the nail mark and the toenails, I've had to accept the sad truth that I will never be a foot model. Sigh.

OK, that's it from me for now! I hope you're all doing well.
xo