joy!!!!

I really shouldn’t be so filled with glee about this – but I was overcome with joy to return from lunch and find my boss gone for the day. Which was VERY shocking, as I’m taking off next week (we’re going to Charleston tomorrow!!! Yay!!!!!) and she is freaking completely out and had something like 50,879 things she has to have me do  before I leave. So I was totally counting on staying here till at least eight tonight as we go over lists and go over notes and I try to reassure her that things are fine and we are in great shape and everything is okay.  Because she’s insane. No, no, she’s NOT insane, and I really do like her – I do – but this Crazed Overachieving Mode has been a nightmare.

Anyhow, I’m hoping that she’s going to start thinking about her Crazed Overachieving Behavior, because of the reason she went dashing out of here without even waiting around a few minutes for me to get back from lunch so she could give me ten zillion things to do this afternoon. Yesterday was her daughter’s birthday, and she forgot  it. Her daughter is a grown woman, not a little kid, so it wasn’t a case of devastated feelings, but her daughter did call New Boss while i was at lunch, just to make sure she was okay, since it wasn’t like her mother to just ignore her birthday.  And New Boss was tremendously upset with herself, according to K, and was verging on tears when she left.

So. Yeah. She’s really needing to take a little time out for herself and quit stressing out over this job. And stressing ME out. But anyway, sorry as I am that she forgot her daughter’s birthday and is now having a guilt-induced breakdown (she’s really driving to Raleigh right this minute to spend the weekend with the daughter) I am SO HAPPY THAT SHE’S GONE!!!! I’m so happy that I’m writing an entry to celebrate! I have to make it quick since I STILL have a zillion things to do, even without New Boss thinking of more stuff she has to have me do immediately, but it’s better than nothing. Which is what I was going to end up doing.

My dial up woes have not ceased, and I’ve been so busy here than I can’t even think of getting on OD. It’s been incredibly annoying, and night before last was just the final straw, when I got kicked back off three times in five minutes, got really pissed off, bitched at Baker B about how sick I am of NEVER BEING ABLE TO GET ONLINE EVER anymore, and having HIM get all mad at ME because he thinks I shouldn’t be getting all stressed out about silly things that don’t matter. And yeah, I have to agree to a point that not being able to get online is a small thing in the scheme of what’s important and what’s not important, but when I haven’t been able to get online at home for weeks and I can’t get online at work for weeks and I’m having some major OD withdrawal going on and I miss my cyberfriends because I don’t have any in Real World and it is looking like I’ll never be getting online again for the rest of my life, THEN it starts seeming to me to be a kind of a major and important thing that does in fact matter. And you’ll note that Baker B does not have this problem on his dinosaur computer (at least not to the extent that I do – however, it DOES kick ME off constantly just like the laptop does), and he also has skads of spare time at work to do whatever he wants so his internet time hasn’t been the slightest bit compromised… well, honestly, I’m still kind of mad. He’s also supposed to be researching our DSL/ cable/ whatever options, because who doesn’t have time to do it herself?? Me, that’s who! And as far as I can tell he’s not done a thing. Because he’s not having internet problems.  

But, I am happy to report that I have found a solution. The campus library. I took the laptop up there last night, after staying here till 6:30. We have this beautiful new library that I’ve only been in a couple of times, so it was like a whole new world. The entire campus is wireless now, so I went up on the second floor, found this enormous comfy overstuffed chair with a big ottoman so I could stretch out and kick off my shoes, and I was beside the huge windows and it was quiet and peaceful and I was even right beside an outlet so I didn’t have to let my battery run down. It was great, and that’s where I’m going to be spending lots of time next week, I can already tell. It’s a very big library so there’s lots of room to spread out and it’s very airy and peaceful. I have NO idea why I never go up there. There’s even a coffeshop on the first floor. So until we get away from dialup, the library is my new second home.

SO, I’ll be a better noter and writer next week, when I have unlimited wireless access. I was hoping the motel where we’re staying in Charleston would have it, but apparently it doesn’t. Oh, well. It won’t kill me to be away from the computer for three days, now that I know I’ll have plenty of time next week. I’m taking the whole week off, even though we’re coming back Tuesday. Because I need to get away from this madhouse, and I’ve got FIFTY FIVE HOURS OF OVERTIME that I have got to use. We keep track of our overtime via the honor system here, because if you report it and go through proper channels you have to use it within the month and you can’t use it on a week you already had a normal day off and you can’t do this and you can’t do that – so we just keep track of our own and don’t report it. But it makes me nervous to have over a week’s worth, because if the unthinkable happened and I, oh, got a new job, I’d be out of luck. But by taking next week off, I can use up a big hunk of it.

Naturally, they are probably going to interview the people who have applied for our new position while I’m gone. Since I’m the one who has to train them and I’m the one who has to share an office with them. Of course they’re not going to wait till I get back! This has drug on for something like three years now, that we’re getting a new person in here, so naturally when they finally do interview they can’t wait a few more days till I’m back and can take part in it. Oh, well. Whatever. The scary thing is that none of the applications looked all that impressive. We had something like fifty of them, and THREE were people who are already working on campus. Which tells you what kind of reputation our office has. One where nobody wants to work, even if it’s a grade higher than you already are. Well, either that or all the people who used to be 59s have gotten bumped up to 61s, which is what we are. And we should be 65s and nobody will bump us up. ANYHOW, whatever the case, we don’t have much of a pool to start with. So this should be fun.

  Oh, well. Now I really do have to go, since I’ve got plenty to do even without New Boss being here. I’ll leave you with some pictures of Asheville –

The odd, slightly creepy, and totally not-PC Mountaineer Inn – it’s been on Tunnel Road for as long as I can remember, and I’ve finally taken a picture of it! I suppose calling Hillbilly Inn would be worse. Although now that I think of it, it may have been Hillbilly Inn years ago.  

<img alt="" src="http://static.flickr.com/96/224680448_41c3f4bcb2.jpg&#8221; />

Even they have wireless, I see.

Yep, we hillbillies cain’t do none of them right-side letter writing  thangs!

Why, no, I’m NOT obsessed with this sign. Not at ALL.

And these are my parents’ Outside Cats – JD on the car, Tabitha the tabby, and BIg Head Todd. Who is more popularly known as "Pretty Girl". I prefer Big Head Todd. She showed up when she was still a kitten, and her head looked like it was three times the size it should be, compared to her teeny little body. Now she’s much more balanced looking. She was a stray – the other two started out as my niece’s cats and moved down the hill.