Well, There It Is.

A few months ago, we decided that in order to better serve our customers, we should take on the same work schedule as them, namely beginning work at about 7:00 every morning. We did not finish this thought by deciding to end the day at 3:30 as our customers do, and remain in the office until 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, even later on some days. This is the thing: nothing ever happens between 7:00 and 9:00 in the morning. No one ever calls. No one sends us email. We know our customers are out there working at this time, but maybe they just have something else to worry about in these two hours.

Thus, coming in at 7:00 in the morning is a complete waste of time if we end up staying late anyway. Of course, there are tons of other stuff we do between 7:00 and 9:00, but the reason behind coming in this early was to be there for our customers. Where are they?

It seems more to me that the decision to be in early was nothing more than one co-worker’s effort to display her “power” (which she confuses with “managerial ability”) over those about whom it is well-known they are not morning people.

It’s shiny and silver. It opens and shuts. It has blinking lights. It playes music and movies. It does a whole lot more, and I can take it with me. Yes, I bought a notebook computer. I just couldn’t deal with my desktop anymore. How can I afford it you ask? How could I not afford it?

It’s got a 1 GHz Pentium III CPU, 128 MB RAM, a 20 gB hard drive, a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, FireWire, USBx4, standard ports, a built-in modem and built-in Fast Ethernet. On top of that, I get to take it where ever I want. I can access the Internet from hotel rooms and watch my own movies on airplanes!

Happiness costs about $1500. (Thank you Mr. Best Buy Financing Guy.)

So, I flew this weekend. It really wasn’t too bad at all. I did my best to enjoy it, while I wasn’t asleep. When it comes to airplanes, my favorite feeling happens right at the moment of lifting off. The acceleration, the feeling of weightlessness… it is quite relaxing.

On the other hand, my computer at home is starting to really get on my nerves. It won’t stay on for five minutes (sometimes much less) without freezing or complete shutting itself off. I cannot do any work, I cannot burn CDs… it is affecting my emotional stability. At the moment I am using an old laptop I borrowed from work, an AOL account I borrowed from work, and a phone line from the dude who is letting me live in his house. It’s not a happy situation.

So I took an extra-long lunch break today. I sat down in a diner to eat a chicken caesar salad. I spent my lunchtime on the phone talking to a high school band director who is looking for an assistant music teacher for his expanding program. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but this sounds like a really great place to be.

So I got my flight information for the weekend. I’ll have to be at the airport at 4:00 am Saturday morning for a 6:00 am flight, stopping over in Cincinnati on the way to South Carolina. I don’t know exactly how I’m feeling about flying. I’m sure it will be okay, but there is always a little bit of doubt.

This horoscope is the story of my life at work:

Don’t expect smooth sailing through this day. In fact, you are more likely to find yourself in the middle of a major naval battle today. Your coworkers might be complaining about the tasks that are piling up. Your boss might be behind closed doors and unavailable for discussion. Though you would like to take on the role of peacemaker, you can’t. So instead, try to be patient and don’t let other people’s stress affect you. You might get some ideas about how the staff could pull together as more of a team. Make some suggestions at the appropriate time, perhaps when people’s emotions have cooled a little!

I’ve discovered a potential problem with me teaching. No matter what, high-school-aged girls, for some unapparent reason, seem to think I’m hot. I can’t quite comprehend how they come to this conclusion, or why just as mysteriously it seems to stop once they enter college. It’s been this way for a while. How can students learn from me if all they are really thinking about is my sexy body?

There’s something wrong with this picture here, and I’ll be the first to admit it. And if you think I’m full of myself–I’m not. I don’t find myself attractive. I only bring this up because I hear it just about every weekend during the fall. It’s truly odd.

You might be in a social and talkative mood, so try not to let your business affairs get in the way of making contact with friends and acquaintances. You could enjoy inviting a friend out to lunch to talk about the latest news in both of your lives. Lighten up a bit and share what’s on your mind. Joke around and lose yourself in laughter. Try not to take life so seriously, because it will only drag you down! You’ll feel better if you can be more lighthearted. This day promises to be very joyful!

Work is just a little stressful at the moment… Lots of details are backfiring on us for this weekend and the whole week was scrambling to make alternate plans.

I’ve made quite a few great contacts in the high school instrumental music scene these past few years. It’s time I started using that to my advantage. I hear South Jersey calling my name.

Here we are in October. Already. It seems like just yesterday I was moving out of my last apartment and I didn’t have a place to go. Two friends offered up an extra room in their house, and I took them up thinking I’d be out at the end of the summer.

No such luck. Unfortunately if I want something I can afford in the area close to my work, I’d have to find a cardboard box for rent. Without air, without heat and water, without an opening to get in and out of. In a bad neighborhood.

Okay, maybe I’m exagerating, but there really is nothing in my price range.

But here it is now, October, and although my two hosts have been gracious, I need to give them some space.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to get my life in gear when I’m in the office from 7:00am to 9:00pm. (You wouldn’t think that there’s that much work to do, but there is.)