oh, I give up

On trying to accomplish anything here at work today. New Person J is back from two days off and got her new desk this morning (it only took 8 months) so she’s been rearranging all day long. Rearranging and chatting at me. I do like the new desk arrangement because now our big lateral file cabinet is kind of between us so we can’t see each other, but she just will not quit yakking at me. The phone has rung and rung and rung. Mine, hers, K’s, Insane Boss’, and everyone up and down the hall including about fifty various cellphones. I don’t know what’s going on in the copy room that’s right beside me, but it sounds very much like a herd of elephants is busy moving in. BANG BANG CRASH THUMP BANG!!!

It’s Spring Break, so I was really hoping for some quiet. Oh, well. I’ll just write in my journal. Everything I need to do requires considerable concentration. At least the parking lots are nice and empty.

And it actually feels like spring, which is VERY exciting. Very exciting, and very misleading. No way will it stay like this – blue skies, no wind, almost 60 now and in the mid-60s all weekend. Even though I know it can’t last – and it will probably snow again, since our biggest snows are always in March and even April – still, it’s very heartening.

This is a terrible picture – it was bright light and dark shadow and I couldn’t manage to find a happy medium – but that’s okay because it’s a picture of the first flowers in our yard!

This is NOT our yard, I’m sad to say. It’s a fancy inn in Blowing Rock. That always has gorgeous flowerbeds. I take lots more pictures of their flowers than I do mine.

We got all industrious this weekend and did some major house cleaning. Well, it wasn’t so much being industrious as it was that someone was supposed to come check out our foundation and we were embarrassed to have anyone see how we live. Our house is falling off the mountain. It has a serious foundation crack, and is starting to tilt noticeably. It’s kind of scary. It was a little tilty when we bought it – it was built on fill dirt and had settled – but it’s getting bad and the crack has to be fixed. A guy that works with Baker B knows someone who does stuff like that, so they were supposed to come out on Saturday and take a look. Naturally they never did show up. I’m of two minds- if they don’t show up, we don’t have to hear how much money it’s going to cost and what sort of an ordeal it’s going to be. But we have to get it done, so they really need to show up. Well, at least we have a clean house now. That itself makes me feel less like just moving.

Never did get the plague, but K is still sick and one of the other assistants came in sick today too. They compared notes this morning about having spent the whole weekend in bed, and still how they’re still feeling horrible. But perish the thought of staying home! K has a serious migraine, which she gets a lot. This one is worse than usual, and she looks like death. She says she has too much to do to stay home. I could kind of see her coming in last week – at least for the first couple of days – because it was the week when all the advisors meet with students and a big hunk of her job is wrangling their files. This week, it’s break. Advisors are gone, students are gone, and I do not know what the hell she thinks she has to do that’s so important that she must drag herself in with a horrible migraine, but I’m having a hard time being sympathetic. One reason she never gets over being sick is that she will not just rest. She’s always going. She does laundry and cleans house before she even comes to work. She cooks, she does all the housework, she does yardwork, she keeps her grandkids, she goes to all their ballgames. She NEVER STOPS.

Naturally, being terminally lazy, I don’t understand this at all. I call in sick when I’m not, just to have a mental health day. In fact, I was REAL tempted to call in today. But then I decided maybe I’d just legally take off Friday instead since I want to go see my parents and it’s always good to have an extra recovery day. Since it’s spring break and quiet (quietish), it’s an excellent time to take a day. Now, of course, I will feel guilty if I do because K will be here after dragging herself in when she’s been sick for two weeks. I guess I’ll wait and see if she wants to take Friday off, and if she doesn’t I will. Or I’ll just wimp out and call in because I don’t want to say, "Hey, I know you’ve been on your deathbed for two weeks, and you’ve drug yourself in anyway, but I need a day off! See ya!!!"

Aaaaccckk. I can’t even concentrate on this. We’ve recently been told that we’re getting a new building, and we all get our own office, but it’s going to be at least three years from now. Also just found out that the old apartments they’re tearing down have ghosts – from old houses that were there previously, and the graveyard right beside the site. At least that will be interesting, anyhow.