Oh Boy~ Here We Go?

EEK! I thought the office was going to implode Wednesday. I mean, I was told the first day that they didn’t have screaming and yelling and other such nonsense going on there. All things are pleasant here, big smiles and stuff. Ok, I get to keep busy during the door and not have time to tap out a blog or two. Busy is good! It means the day goes faster. YAY! So Wednesday was a bit off and otherwise iffy when someone winds up in the office behind a closed door screeching. Oh shit! So we all got a 15 minute break and shoed out the door for a bit. Since then, things are going well. This is a good thing; otherwise I’d be asking my temp boss to get me the hell out there. That’s all I got to say about that.

Tammolly ~ Relieved

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

It’s A Brand New Day!

So I didn’t have time today to type up anything from work. The new job is pretty decent so far. I work with two other ladies, one of which is a temp, and the other a perma-employee who is transferring out to another office. So we’re getting another temp Wednesday. This means the current temp will have approximately 3 weeks seniority on me. That’s kinda funny actually. Other than that, I am so glad to be out of that other office and I truly hope that this one continues to go well. So nothing exciting, witty, or sarcastic today, just an FYI!

Tammolly ~ Who has to remind herself that when someone says Molly, it’s the perma-employee they’re talking to.

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

Moving Right Along… Move Along Now… Yes You! Move Along!

I’m free! I’m free! I’m free! I’m free! Yippee!!!!!!!!! I’m free!

No, I’m not excited at all about getting out of this particular office. I start a new campus gig on the other end of the world from here. It makes me giddy for a number of reasons here:

1. I can continue on with uninterrupted pay days.
2. I can pay next month’s bills!
3. I get to go shopping for other office clothes really soon.
4. Did I mention pay bills and shopping?!
5. I’m outta here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today’s latest drama point is the coffee. Yes, THE coffee. Oh sacred bean of life and energy that brings forth the almighty beverage of daily morning joy. It has just come to my attention that we're out of the happy coffee with caffeine in it. I mentioned it to the officemate and she told me it wasn't her problem! Ok. Fine! Be that way, it's my last day. Technically not my problem either. I asked the former occupant of this job about it, and she passed it on to the boss to deal with it on Monday when the new person starts. He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice. He’s gonna turn it all in to HR with all the naughty not nice stuff she’s pulled since I’ve been here. (Ok so it doesn’t scan well to Santa Clause is Coming to Town.) I feel sorry for the new person coming on Monday. It’s going to hit her like a Mac Truck and I won’t be around to deal with it thankfully. See #5 in my list.

I have been told that the officemate has *always* been the purchaser of the coffee, as well as THE KEEPER OF THE COFFEE MONEY! She doesn't drink it, but she has always bought the coffee and made it when she gets here in the morning until the big blow up about a month ago. It's not the boss she's bothering by not making the coffee, it's the rest of the faculty that drinks it like water that it bothers. It’s all passive aggressive bullshit she’s pulling and she’s gonna get shit-canned even faster if she keeps it up. If she thinks she can annoy or inconvenience him somehow, I’ve seen her do it. Coffee being the classic example at the moment; I’m sure there’s something else I have not noticed.

Of course I can get the money and do it myself, but when I am going to have time to get more today? I’m not going on my lunch hour. I'm not here Monday, so I’m not going out tonight to buy more. Technically not my problem anymore, but I am a nice person and therefore have concerned myself with being considerate of the needs of others at the moment. I have already been making coffee this week in particular because I have been drinking it, otherwise the guys make it and it's a mess. Ick.

Meanwhile, my time here has been highly conducive to researching various masters degree programs within a reasonable driving distance. I have settled yet again on the MSW ~masters in social work for those who don’t know~ down at IUPUI ~Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis! I can dedicate the next 2 years of upcoming Saturdays for part-time degree pursuit and still work full-time. After that second year, it gets tricky with classes and practicum required during the weekdays. Looks like I can complete some of that in Lafayette as well, which will be nice. We’ll just see how that goes. Perhaps I’ll write some more later when I have not just been handed something to do.

Tammolly ~Feeling feisty today.


...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

Son of a Beach?

So this Friday is my last day in this particular pit of Purdue. I have basically attempted to just keep my head down and avoid the flack and canon fodder known as the office mate and the boss snarking at each other periodically since day two on this particular assignment. At times I have decided the boss can be a little too abrupt, impatient, and make assumptions that aren’t correct; yet he’s made up his mind ~ there’s no reason for one to attempt an explanation. Simply put, he’s made up his mind, don’t bother with getting your side of the story and/or assumption he’s made already. I essentially sit here feeling like I have done or am doing something wrong whenever he gets flustered and walks away. This is especially so when he’s feeling like I am part of some conspiracy or “purposely” didn’t write a message as specifically as he would like. Well hell, get some friggen voice mail set up to your phone and take your own messages. No one wants to leave me a detailed message when they want to talk to him. Plain and simple, such is life and Friday couldn’t get here fast enough.

It gets better though. After I leave here, the office mate is still here, stuck in this job for a minimum of 6 months. The boss does want her out of here; he wants her gone due to the shenanigans of yore. Only the kicker is, because he filed a grievance, she can’t apply out of this office for 6 months due to some screwy Purdue HR policy. The boss wants the grievance to stick, so he’s not dropping it, yet he’s stuck with her because he won’t drop it so she can apply out of the office. HAH! HAH! I say HAH! What better way to stick yourself in the eye than be so stubborn that you can’t get what you want? It makes me giggle at the moment. Yet the boss’s comment about, let me see if I can paraphrase this one, “Despite some people thinking I am a son of a bitch, I am not the bad person you might think I am.” M’Kay, I never said he was, perhaps the office mate may think and feel that way, but I am genuinely trying to stay clear of this crap y’all have but me in the middle of; it’s really not appreciated actually.

Sadly the situation is just that, sad, two somewhat decent and nice people can’t get along. It’s tough on the rest of the faculty that happen to like the office mate and get along with her really well. Apparently there’s always been some kind of tension with this two and when he became acting department head, things just kinda boiled over without the veteran office assistant to buffer things. And people wonder why we’re at war in Iraq (or embroiled in disagreement with extremists and the like for that matter) when they can’t get along in their own friggen office?! ARRG!

You’d think I have PMS the way I am feeling right now. That was a few weeks ago and I didn’t feel nearly so cranky about this place at the time. I look forward to starting at a new location on campus simply because I am tired of the tension and the feeling of being caught in the middle. The rest of the faculty are pretty spiff and have good attitudes; did I mention they seem far more laid back than the boss? Conversations are much more relaxing and fun. Kudos to this department’s faculty!

Meanwhile I am counting down the minute and hours and days and moments to when I can get the hell out of here for the weekend and out of this particular office. I can hardly wait for that to happen. I hope the next office will be a bit more relaxed and less neurotic. I heard clerical is drama filled and a bit neurotic at Purdue, I sometimes think it’s the faculty that make the peons neurotic. REALLY! After three weeks here, I am beginning to believe that’s quite possibly true. Oh well. I need to make myself busy with something else now. Yeah right!

Tammolly ~ Master Thumb Twiddler

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

So We May Never Forget

~BEGIN RANT~

This whole weekend, at some point or another when the television has been in view at some point or another, I was either inundated with football or 9/11 documentaries. Football was kinda irksome, because I worried/wondered if I would get drunken phone calls in the wee hours of the a.m. The 9/11 documentaries were kinda worse than the actual day it happened. I remember not being able to look away from the television then, watching in awestruck horror. I remember the eerie sensation of not seeing planes in the night skies, not a single one, and if I did, I knew it was a military plane, because they weren’t grounded like the rest.

Needless to say, I was reminded of the ill feelings and the anger of what had happened 5 years ago this day. It doesn’t seem like 5 years ago, because by seeing the images and hearing all the documented phone calls people were making to loved ones as they died was a bit too much and all too painful a memory like it was fresh and happening again. Perhaps I should take a cynical view because maybe all these documentaries were put out to stir up these exact feelings so we forget to complain and feel pissy about our troops still being in Iraq.

What’s it all about? Can someone tell me this? Are we missing some fundamental reasoning that doesn’t allow us to understand that the extremists only feel that they are doing right in fighting the infidels? That some of these terrorists grew up in an environment being indoctrinated into this belief system is only one of the problems. Let’s see, send American troops to these places to get shot at while flooding their country with Western culture, goods, ideals, and the like. Let’s make the youth want our way of life and the stuff we have instead. Buzzzzzzzzzzz…. Nope, come on people! Wake up! We’re still infidels in their eyes. Actively funding Israel and perpetuating the violence in the Gaza does not and has not helped the situation. All the crap in Lebanon is merely a prelude to the ugliness that’s going to keep growing me thinks. Maybe I am wrong, maybe I’m not.

Something has to change. People need to wake up and look at the world for what it is and get their heads up out of their collective asses. I don’t claim to understand all the causes and effects of the situation, nor do I claim to have solutions. Although I’m sure someone has a better grasp of the problem and has a better solution than what’s happening right now, I don’t see anyone doing anything to fix it. Damnitall! Let’s do something and stop this nonsense!

~END RANT~

Anyhoo, other than feeling rantish, things are peachy! I’m finally getting a paycheck this week. I’m actually excited about paying bills. YAY! I can pay bills! I know that sounds strange, but the past 9 months of unemployment, rejections letters, stress, working at the restaurant that didn’t pay enough, and then finally landing this temp job, it’s a relief to be able to think about paying bills and not panic this month. I’m so relieved. It’ll also be nice to be able to do stuff without having to pester poor Adam for things like the smelly fabric softener he doesn’t like, getting my hair done, PARTY HAIR! YES! Red and blonde is back! Ok, it’ll be back once I get the bills paid up. I can buy clothes again and-and-and-and… It does boggle the mind to think about a budget again. YIPPEE!!

It’s now time to find a place to hide so I can eat my lunch in peace. Apparently the lunch room was reserved for today and tomorrow, so no microwave or quiet room, or a even a chair to sit in. Grrrrr. I will deal I guess. CIAO BABY!

Tammolly ~ Attempting to keep a sense of humor.

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

He’s BAAAAAaaaaaaack!

So I have to wonder what is going on in good ol’ JM’s head to suddenly, almost a year after the whole bug out on the T~Meister, why would he suddenly send me an IM on my Yahoo! Messenger at 3:45 AM this morning?! I find it disturbing, almost invasive into my mindset of security in believing that my Zen is pretty darn stable. Zen should just be the go with the flow and all that happy jazz. Now, when I go to bed tonight, I will be all paranoid about the phone ringing with Jason on the other end.

Oh, it gets better. Adam joked about football season starting up the other day. I kinda laughed. I figured it was meant to be funny. Now, I see the Steelers played Miami last night. Dun-Dun-DUN! I get an IM. Nice. I mean it wasn’t a phone call. That’s an improvement. Now I wonder if the phone calls will start up if the Colts play instead. Who knows? I’m not really all that eager to find out at the moment.

I can’t say that I’m not worried about the boy. I can’t say man, because he has to be drunk to call me or even speak to me. The remorsefulness should last only so long before you get over it. Did JM hurt me? Hell yes! Am I happy now? Hell yes! I care very deeply for Adam, he’s a wonderful man. I love the Adam. Adam is good. I don’t even want to hurt him either. I don’t ever want to inflict upon him or anyone else what it felt like to have the emotional roller coaster ride handed to me like JM did. It’s just not cool and no one deserves that.

Only time will tell what’s gonna happen with the boy. I hope he gets his shit together and seeks help soon. I worry about Kaitlin being around him when he’s drunk. He swears to me that he doesn’t drink around her, but I have to wonder. Then again, there’s another part of me that’s less sympathetic or would it be empathetic? Either one boils down to me wanting to put my foot up his ass and telling him to get it together, because I don’t need static in my life. I am quite content with life and life with Adam. I couldn’t ask for a better guy really.

Tammolly~ Just trying not to flip today.

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

Brain Pans and Lack of Common Sense

So I think this is week three of working in this office. I’ve seen several interviewees come and go; some have even come back twice or more. I don’t know if the boss can’t make up his mind or if he’s just being careful to find the right pick for this job that I sit around and do nothing all day long. I was even told by another temp not to be surprised about being stuck doing nothing all day long. It’s just the way it goes for temps on this campus. Ok ~ whatever; I just want to pay the damn bills!

At this very moment, the office mate and the boss are in his office talking very loudly again. I know she had an appointment with HR yesterday afternoon. I am sure that HR contacted the boss once again about a potentially bad situation for him. I really don’t know what’s going on, I really don’t want to know. It’s a real pain in the arse to come in here and have stuff like this going on all the time. Ok, not ALL the time, but a goodly portion of the time it seems.

She’s just come out crying and I am thinking she’s going to go home or something yet again. Strangely, she disappears about the time an interviewee comes into the office. I think this is a pattern up to a point. My office mate is living in Egypt! It’s called a state of denial! Or however that expression goes. I am sure all of this is getting noted in some book somewhere for employee records or some crap. For fook's sake, use your brain pan woman and stop the drama! Ugh. Oh well, time go find something else to do.

Tammolly ~Tired of all the drama.

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin

Guns A’Blazin’~ It's Too Early for This......

I walk into the office this morning about ten ‘til opening time here. The metal security Venetian is up but ALL the doors are closed. So I open them up, prop things open the way they’re supposed to be and then I am asked to go for a 15 minute walk downstairs. Essentially go buy a coke or something, just don’t sit here, we’re talking. I commented, “This is kinda a strange way to start the day.” I was told to keep my comments to myself and just go away for a bit. FINE! Let me grab my keys.

I grab my keys, walk down to the copier room and grab a free coke. I decide I don’t want to drink a free coke this early in the morning damnit! So I wander the hallways looking at the bulletin boards and glass cases with departmental stuff in them. By this time, a few profs come in and see me in the hallway and just kinda make that knowing expression that something’s going on and they really don’t want to know either. I am feeling the same way, the less I know, the happier I will be, because I don’t want to be in the friggen middle anymore. :(

Now they’re both back in the office and no one is talking. Yay-rah. I love this job! NOT! Again, I suppose I gotta look at the bright side, I am getting paid to do nothing and I’m almost fine with that scenario. It’s time to go do other things now. Like make a packing list for MKAOD this weekend. MKOAOD! wOOt! YAY! Fencing! Arrrrrrrrg. :) A pirate’s life for me.

Tammolly ~ Slightly cranky today but hopeful about a three day weekend.

...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel
...I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin