Just Another Manic Monday

So, I go into work yesterday at 7:15am. I've been going in early on Mondays so I can leave early so I can try to beat some of the rush. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It was a moot point yesterday because I had book club and it was pointless to go in early, except that Judy and Lucas were up at 6:15 and I might as well be too.

So, I no sooner walk in than my co-worker is there. He is absolutely hopeless at the computer, bless his heart, and he had forgotten his laptop at home, so he was working on a reception area computer. I no sooner sit down then he's asking me to come help him find files and stuff on the new computer. Ok, fine.

Then my officemate, Kris, comes in and reminds me that we have to take down the Christmas tree. But we also get an email from our boss that we have to take terrorism awareness training--and I had lost the original emailing detailing exactly how to take terrorism training, to which I got a reply back that the email had been sent in December. Fortunately, I was able to recover my deleted items, find that email, and I figured I'd work on it after I got the tree down.

So, Kris and I take down the tree, while at the same time James is sitting there next to me, asking for computer help. Get done with all that, and Kris and I decide to polish off this terrorism training.

Now, the training requires that you create a log in on some state employees "university" thing, and then you take the modules. Only, we had gotten the handbook for the thing attached to our emails and were under the impression that all we had to do was read it and we'd be done. Surprise!

So, I read part 2 of the email which said about the logging in and crap, and I was like, "Hey, Kris! We have to log in and do the modules." Well, I followed the easy to read instructions about the whole thing--how to get to the website, how to log in, where to go after you log in, and how to take the tests. So I'm sailing merrily along when all of a sudden, a string of curses comes like a blue streak from the other corner of the office. Kris can't figure it out.

So I go to her desk and walk her through it and we're both ready to take the test. So, lo and behold, we start. And it's audio. And we haven't started at the same time, and we can't seem to synch up the sound on each slide, despite a hilarious "1...2...3..." countdown system we try. Finally, I shut down my sound and she plays hers loud and we're sitting there learning about terrorist groups and how to recognize pipe bombs and such. Well, in walks Alex. And he's coming to inform us that he doesn't have to take the class because it's not accessible. "Ok, fine, get the hell out." Then Candace walks by. "Are you guys taking the terrorism test?" "Yes, but it's not accessible to JAWS users, so just send the boss an email and tell him you can't take it and he'll tell you how to get credit for it." Then Shelley comes in. "Susan, are you taking the terrorism test?" Ummm, we're trying to. I'm missing half the slides and I'm going to fail the quizzes if this keeps up... "Because I can't figure out how to log in." So I tell her to read the email from Bob and just follow the directions, it's all laid out very simply, one two three, and come and let me know if she has any problems. Then Debbie the Secretary, who I LOVE, strolls in and asks if I'll help her put a new shelf together. "Yes, as soon as I'm done." Then James walks back in and asks if I can help him find the forms he needs from the intranet.

I'm really losing it at this point. Then Shelley walks back in and asks if I can help her log on, she doesn't know what she's doing.

So, I tell her to hold on till we finish the section we're on and Kris and I shut the door and soldier through, by which point she has to use the bathroom. I go down to Shelley's office and walk her through the log in same as I did Kris. James is straightened around, Debbie's in a holding pattern, so Kris and I go back to taking the modules and quizzes. We JUST finish and it takes us both 20 minutes to figure out how to print out the transcripts and the certificates that we completed the damned things. I take them down to my boss who tells me "I don't need this, you just need to take the classes." AUGH! So, we basically could have just said we took it without all that nonsense.

So I'm settling in, I'm going to listen to my phone messages, when Kris comes strolling back in and says, "You have to go help Debbie now." So I go out and get Debbie and she has a 6 foot tall shelving unit she needs built. And it weighs about 600 pounds.

So we drag that into the back room and Alex, who is still strolling around trying to find things to do that don't involve working, comes running with the tool kit. The file room we are working in is about 8'x8' and already has a copier and 4 shelving units in it. so now there's all that, plus me, Debbie, Alex, and the pieces of the shelving. Finally I tell Alex that if we need him, we'll come get him and he leaves, his place taken by one of the mobility instructors. The three of us women are trying to put these shelves together and one of the VR counselors comes in and starts stepping over us, and it has to be the one who is pregnant and has told us we all have to be very careful around her per her doctor's orders. I'm pounding away with a hammer, there are pieces of shelving all over the place, and she's buzzing in and out. We get the shelving half put together when Debbie and Vijaya decide they don't like the spacing on the shelving, so we take it all apart again. I'm on the floor on my hands and knees hammering the shelving up when Shelley buzzes in and says, "Susan, I know what your'e doing is probably important, but my computer has just frozen up and I really need you to help me RIGHT NOW."

So I say, "Shelley, I'm not really in a good place to help you right now, but if you give me 5 minutes to finish this, I will be happy to help you." So this pisses her off and she turns to Debbie and says, "Debbie, you can help me, right?" So just to keep her quiet, Debbie goes to help her.

We get the shelves back on, and we're turning our attention to the finishing pieces when Kris walks in and announces she HAS TO USE THE COPIER RIGHT THIS MINUTE. So we were using the copier as our kind of workbench--the tools were on it, the instructions. Finally, I say, "Kris, give us two more minutes and we'll be out of here." I just wanted to cry at this point. But now. She insists it has to be done NOW. So I'm like "Fine, give me the papers and I'll copy them."

Well, for some reason, the copier doesn't believe me that there is paper in it, and Kris accuses me of jamming the damned copier. I said, "Kris, it's not jammed, it doesn't think it has paper in it!" So she's yelling, "Turn it off and put it back on." This doesn't help. So I try again and it still doesn't believe me. Finally, she says I'm doing it wrong, so I say, "Fine, go ahead and copy" and take everything off the copier. Well, she has it copying fine, but it's copying the wrong way on the wrong size paper, and she starts cussing a blue streak again. Meanwhile, I'm hammering the final shelf on, and the shelves are metal mind you and it's loud as hell in there, and she starts yelling at me to stop pounding on the shelves.

By the time it was over, it was nearly noon. I finally checked my voice mail, everyone was eating lunch, so I decide I'll go over to BOA, deposit my sister's money, and then get lunch and go eat with everyone. I need to cool down, so I walk. I get to BOA, and guess what!? NO FREAKIN' CASH DEPOSITS! I was so pissed off. So I stormed back over to work, got a salad and sat there and ate.

All this in about 6 hours, mind you.

So, last night was also book club night, and of all nights, the girls chose last night to give me a thank you gift for being the fearless leader of the book club. It was a night I really, really needed a little lovin', and they all chipped in and bought me gas cards since I have so far to travel for book club, and they all signed a beautiful card for me. Ladies, you rock!!

At the end of such a crazy day, it was just what I needed. It took all the fight right out of me... I got home last night and all I was thinkin' about was LOVE. :-)

But my brilliant husband, at one point I asked him yesterday, "is this ever going to stop?!" and he emailed me back and said, "It will when you say 'no.'"

Hello, wake up call!

Next week, I'm going in, shutting the door, and doing MY work. What a concept!