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

The contingencies are removed from the sale contract on my house. So, I've been trying to prepare to move. And get rid of a lot of stuff, since I'm downsizing. And my kitties are living in my garage. And wetting the concrete (but not the new carpet). And they hate living in the garage--they are meowing themselves hoarse.

And work has been a zoo. The new building is not really finished yet. I wish they had waited another two weeks before moving us in to it. There was some office trading, so some of the phones have to go a second round to work in the correct rooms. And, our telecom department is working overtime on the University's new football stadium--the first game of the season is tomorrow, so everything is taking longer for us.

The BEST lock company can't possibly be the best lock company in existence, the whole job has been botched from the start. So, there are about four hundred people moving in to an unfinished building, many want to go places they don't really have any reason TO go and are unhappy they can't, the conference rooms don't have phones, the painters are still at work, some of the labs don't have doors yet, the "punch list" grows daily, and my department lost my far-more-experienced and well-loved counterpart. So, I'm trying to cover the front desk and solve some huge problems while taking complaints as plentiful as ticks in the National Forests. And I brought some "homework" home from work.

The reception area is still short 1/3 of its file cabinets, so nothing is organized very well yet. These file cabinets have been missing for over two months now, and their "replacements" may be in next week. Wow. That's underwhelming customer service.

The architect must have been raised on Mars, since there are so many dumb mistakes in the building's design. The counters and desk in reception are made of very soft wood, so there are already scratches in the finish and dents from writing. Expensive lighting was specified to accent a "negative space" in the front of the reception desk that serves the purpose of being mistaken for a rubbish recepticle. But, you can't tell when that light is on; meanwhile, the "work" side of the desk space is under-lit, and the space from the work surface to the counter height won't accomodate a standard size notebook. The fire alarms are too high on the wall for most of us to reach. The building stores rain runoff in cisterns to flush the toilets, but one side of the system lacks filters; fresh manure was put in the planters around the building, so the toilets appear to have been used but not flushed and the smell is "tangy." The HVAC system has not been load balanced yet, and the faculty have not recieved any instruction for operating the climate controls for their individual offices. The huge floor tiles ring from vibrations generated by the HVAC system. The grad students are panicing because their workspace drawers were locked and the keys removed and put in large "porcupines;" guess who has to look through them to find each student's key one by one... There are no clocks in the main office, or anywhere else I can think of. The fax has worked almost half the time. The department director does not communicate information to me she should about tours, visiting donors, decisions about lock access, changes in office assignments, etc.. The people in individual offices all want me to do their menial tasks, and half are not following the procedure set up by the office manager for having their guests announced (and that will likely be blamed on me, too). I haven't had a full lunch break since before the move started two weeks ago, and then a faculty member wanted me to figure out where he should hang his raincoat, since there are no coat hooks (or space for them) in the individual offices. The business cards all have the wrong zip code on them. I could really use a bottle of damitol (damn-it-all).

I'm ready for a three-day weekend. Now, if I could just round up some help to pack and move some furniture. HA. I'm also trying to get ready for a garage sale. And I can't find a new HEPA filter for my vacuum cleaner, so there are still little loose yarns all over the carpet. At least the new-carpet-smell is starting to go away.

I did manage to get my updated application packet in for the step-up position that would pay more. I'll only get it if I can avoid nervous breakdown, though. And if they hire me for it, it will be another hiring round before we get a second full-time person in the front office. But, to be fair, I am EARNING that raise.

I treated my little pickup to a well-deserved oil change last weekend. I still have to have another problem attended to, though. It's either the oxygen sensor, the temperature sensor, or the pressure sensor that replace the EGR sensor in this era truck. I'd like to have it done soon, since the smallest price I saw for gas was 2.65.9/gallon on my fourty to fifty mile drive home. My 1994 truck has just over 61,000 miles on it and it's in otherwise VERY good shape. Fortunately, the town I'm working in has a really good transit system--I can leave my truck parked all week.

Wow Lady, Wish I could be of any assistance. All I can say is that I believe in you and I'm sure that you will succeed beyond your expectations.