h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Bet you all didn't need me to indicate whose journal this is.

It's not just the holiday, though. You all have known me long enough to know all that I dislike about the commercial aspects of it. And the insistence of certain people on trying to force their religion and me and my spouse into the same space. That's not what I'm moaning about this time.

It's work, and the special sort of hell involved in trying to shove a month's worth into two weeks, then either being bored stupid or being busy as hell for the last two, because I can't bring myself to waste what little PTO they compensate me with at this place taking off when everyone else does.

Honestly, why even bother sending notifications, and several subsequent reminders, of accelerated deadlines, if no one is going to enforce them and I'm going to have to scramble (and likely work late) tomorrow and Friday to do what should have been done Monday?

And I'm definitely considering leaving my out-of-office on next Wednesday through Friday, even if I am in fact going to be in the office.

Can I come and commiserate? I was going to right a similar journal, but I'm so sick and tired of the whole damn thing I couldn't even be bothered typing it. I only need to make it through two days until I have a good stretch of time off, but I don't know if I'll make it without eating someone. I feel like a marathon runner who's hit the wall.



Humbug! Go for it with the out-of-office. To hell with them all!

I'm skipping their little holiday "party" this afternoon, too. It's off site, at some lame restaurant which is basically a bar and arcade for adults. Not a single thing on the menu I could possibly order to eat, I'm not into craps and pretend horse racing, I don't drink at company functions, and it'd mean transferring trains so my commute home would be hell (we're supposed to be getting rain, a wee bit of snow, and some pretty wild winds all evening, so that'd just make it more annoying). As they're closing the office at noon - to "encourage attendance" - maybe I can actually get some work done this afternoon.

Sounds pretty dire!

For the last few years I've been trying to figure out a diplomatic way to phrase "but can't I just go for a drink with people I *like*, instead?"

The people who did the event planning at my previous employer were really big on the forced socialization thing, much more so than my current employer.

But come on. It's the same at every office. You've got all your various cliques. People sit together in common areas and stop speaking when someone else walks in the room. Etc.

Why can't I just come to work and get my work done? Here's an idea... in lieu of the money they'd waste paying for me to attend and be unable to eat anything, how about a cash bonus like most other companies do (and which, in fact, several departments at MY company do... I've spent the last week processing holiday bonuses for other people, but I don't get anything).

You get to process everyone else's bonus and you don't get one? Lame!

for PC.

>You get to process everyone else's bonus and you don't get one? Lame!

Quite! Though "lame" wasn't the word I was muttering under my breath while I was processing them.

I'm even more annoyed today, with the stupid receptionist. She's supposed to sort our mail. Those of us who are in next week, need to process the mail for those who are not. Fridays are my slow day and I could leave early, except this idiot has been working for nearly three hours on half a tub of mail (which should take about 30 minutes to do). I'm probably going to have to chase after her with a papal dispensation to get my mail so I can get it out of the way before I go. She is absolutely useless, I don't know why they keep her around.

Ahh Christmas...it's the most marketable time of the year!

Hi, Ramya! How's the weather doing over where you are?

For four days, the weather service was predicting a huge blizzard for last night. I dug out my mittens and new snow boots expecting snow halfway up my ankles this morning.

We in fact had so little acculuation overnight, had I gone out in flip-flops I would have had to jump in a puddle in order to get my feet wet.

Some of the rain managed to freeze over, so there were some slick patches. And it *was* pretty blustery this morning (50mph or so)... I had to hold the handrail on the bridge while crossing the river from my train station to my office, to keep from blowing over into the water.