knackered
January 16, 2008

It�s been catch-up time, after all of the craziness of last week. Catching up at work, and in life. I hate weeks like this, where every day brings another post-work appointment, and I don�t get to just come straight home and decompress. Monday was chiro, and that I was quite ready for. I needed all the stress wrung out of me and all my bones put back in place. Tuesday was the shop, for the oil change I�d already put off for nearly a thousand miles. Today I got my hair cut, because if I was afraid that in my present state of mind I�d end up shaving my head out of the frustration of dealing with my unruly and overgrown mop. I�d thought to have a night off tomorrow, but then I got a call to remind me that the dental appointment I made 6 months ago was for this Thursday, so that means yet another after-work obligation. Shit.

And work has been a real nightmare all week, as well. On top of having one of those �putting out fires everywhere� weeks, I�ve got several major deadlines looming large, a boss that�s quite literally (and I am using that correctly, as in standing behind me while I work) breathing down my neck, and several major interruptions on my calendar, including seminars and training classes. GAH! I�d feel more excited about those, if there was a chance in hell that the company was actually going to let me do things the right way, but that place has a long history of paying for all these methodologies, but never actually buying into them. So it ends up being a huge waste of cash, time, and other resources. That ends up being frustrating, morale-crushing, and generally counter-productive for the actual workforce, while management pats themselves on the back for being so forward-thinking and supportive.

And it doesn�t exactly make my day when I am forced to attend an interactive workshop where they keep demanding to know what you are passionate about. Umm�yeah. How many times lately have I bemoaned the fact that I�m not passionate about anything anymore? Makes it hard to answer the question. The first time they asked it, I fell back on �reading� as an answer, because that�s had a forty-year run as an enduring passion of mine. When they asked for a second example of my passion, I snapped �privacy�, and they backed off a bit.

What a difference 12 years makes in one�s outlook. When I showed up for my first day there on January 16, 1996, I was starry-eyed and thrilled to be hired. Now, I wouldn�t give you ha�penny for the lot of them.