The way the office smelled every morning: newspapers and fresh brewed coffee. How can a workday be bad if it starts out smelling like a Sunday morning? (workday suck often triumphed over the pleasant aroma)

My plucky family of coworkers.

Proximity to shopping. There are no stores in lunchtime-walking-distance to TNP.

The patch of grass in the parking lot where I used to pitch my beach chair and read in the warm weather.

Admin privileges on my PC. Every day there is an Adobe update I can’t install. Drives me crazy.

The pride of working for the local newspaper. Love it or hate it, everyone knew of the Courier-Post. And we did good things. I believe if we weren’t owned by Gannett we’d have done even better things. But I used to see the trucks go by and smile because I was a part of that. It used to be really good.

…and that’s about it.

I’m so happy it’s Sunday because this past week was one of the worst ones I’ve had since 2006. Let’s have a crazy week in review…

1) Sunday: Father’s Day. Talk to Dad & learn that he’s having some nonbloggable (but not health) issues. Ugh.

2) Monday: Calm, which is good because I needed it for Tuesday…

3) Tuesday: More layoffs at the Courier-Post. We lost 13 that day including my manager, whose position was eliminated. This means more work for all of us. I don’t know how many times I can go through watching my friends and coworkers leave HR with teary eyes and an envelope.

Also, Tuesday was Mom’s first follow up post ankle break. She was told that the bones were healing wrong and she had to have surgery to pin it together. Plus, this resets her recuperation calendar. Grand!

4) Wednesday: Mom gets the call that her surgery will be Thursday. John* and Kristen take Mom to Jefferson in Philly for five hours of pre-admission testing.

Meanwhile, I get an email saying that I didn’t get a job I was hoping to get. I’ve been working that prospect for over 2 months. I made it through 2 interviews and didn’t get the job because I don’t know Drupal. Feh. I should really learn Drupal, I guess.

5) Thursday: Mom’s surgery. I take the day off. John and I leave her place at 5:15am and I don’t get home ’til after 8pm. Luckily, sugery goes very well and now the offending ankle is pinned and plated together. She’s back to “stay off your feet as much as you can for 2 weeks” meaning we’re all still going back and forth to make sure she’s fed and her dog is taken care of.

6) Friday: Back to work. The day is piles of crazy, because we’re all trying to adjust to being shorthanded again. It’s just a stinking sad day.

7) Saturday: WM (remember him? He’s awesome and wonderful because he’s been keeping my home fires burning and our dogs fed and happy while I’m running around like a nut. Everyone should have a WM.) and I go to the Celtic Fling at the PA Ren Faire site. We have a GREAT time until I’m felled by the Vile Goddess Menstrua. Now seriously…it’s been YEARS since I had cramps so bad that I’ve had to mention her. Plus I’m remotely trying to fix some advertising problems that I have no control over anymore.

Along the way, I gnawed off all of my fingernails, hemorrhaged cash, exceeded my text message allotment and was hit with a round of stress-induced rosacea.

But today’s a new week. Right now I’m off to Mom’s to take care of the lunch & dinner duties. Tomorrow I’ll go to work and try to juggle some more responsibilities.

*John’s week was worse than mine – he took last week off entirely to just chill at home. Worst. Vacation. Ever.

This week’s theme is WINTER. Boo! Hiss!

1. Where have you been that could best be described as a winter wonderland?
We had a crap-ton of snow here last year, so… New Jersey!

2. In what way might you describe this as the winter of your discontent?

While the yoots blog away about the quarter-life crisis I’m careening toward the middle of my life and most certainly the middle of my working life. When I took my job in 1999, I wanted to innovate, to design, to cultivate and grow the company’s website. But as the years passed, all of the design decisions were taken over by the corporate office. Leaving us here with heaps of data entry, no design input and really precious little infrastructure input. And no marketing money to fight off the competition. While I don’t agree with those decisions I understand why they were made.

So I’m thinking: is this where I want to work the rest of my days? Do I toss away my desire to “make a difference” so I can stick with my 4 weeks vacation & 3 personal days per year? Don’t forget my unpaid furlough week to be taken in March.

Now, take a look at stories about the newspaper industry (or read between the lines of the furlough comment above) and you’ll understand that this decision on whether or not to continue here may not even end up being my decision to make! I could be out on the cold streets pounding the pavement with a flash drive full of nothing. Then won’t I be sorry?

Speaking of which, a large chunk of what I do now will be taken over by the corporate office in March. (nervous laugh)

Aren’t I a buzz-kill?

3. What was the last wintergreen-flavored thing you tasted?

Wint-O-green Lifesavers. Eat’em in front of the bathroom mirror with the lights out and they spark!

4. Is there anyone in your life who could be nicknamed Old Man Winter?

WM is quite fond of cold, snow, and the absence of sunlight.

5. Now that the holidays have passed, is there anything good about the winter that remains?

NOTHING! BRING ON THE SUMMER! I hate this crap! I HATE WINTER!

Let Go: What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why?

I let go of the naive hope that I will end up retiring from my current job. I think unless we spin off our Horseless Carriage lab from the Buggy Whip factory it’s attached to, I’ll be unemployed within a year. And unfortunately, the buggy whip sales still pay ther Horseless Carriage employees’ salaries.

Next is to let go of the “What do I do next?” fear and just FIND a niche for myself.

One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell)

Disappointment.

>> And I know it sounds maudlin, but really, 2010 was disapppointing for many reasons, such as:
>> Despite a forest’s worth of resumes and cover letters sent out, WM has yet to find a full time job. He’s subbing, which sucks.
>> I thought the paper was doing better, but was disappointed to find that not only were we not doing better, but there was another round of furloughs.
>> The unresolved thyroid crap. I’ve taken myself off of the medicine entirely and feel fine. No more sleepy, no more freezing, etc. But I’m disappointed that I felt like crap for the entire spring and summer. I’m going to make an endocrinologist appointment in January.

>> I was disppointed by some people this year, too. Just, stuff.

(WHOOOSH!)

Whoa! It’s 2011! Neat! This is a cute hairstyle!

2011 was triumphant! How could it not be?

>> WM has a great classroom of kids this year.
>> My job is troublesome still, but I’m supplementing my income with a fledgling jewelry business.
>> We’re paying off all of our debts and are finding extra money everywhere!
>> Did I mention that we could also afford a vacation again. What a blast!
>> And I finally did that thing that I was afraid to do. You know that thing? From earlier in the year? Done. And it was great.

Too bad the world’s ending in 2012.

Oh, how silly I was.

In commemoration, here are 11 things I enjoy about my job:

1. The knowledge that we put out a brand new product every single day. It’s really cool!
2. The Courier-Post is truly a part of SJ. It’s over 130 years old!
3. Every morning, the office smells like fresh coffee and newspapers. So it smells like Sunday morning every day of the week!
4. They pay me weekly. Not many places do that anymore.
5. I’ve played a large part in building courierpostonline.com from a flat page with 7 stories on it each day into a growing and vibrant website that’s updated all day long.
6. Unfiltered internet access. ‘Nuff said.
7. Ninety-five percent of the people here are smart and funny and hardworking and a pleasure to deal with every day.
8. It’s across the street from a great pizza place.
9. Uh…Mountain Dew in the vending machine? When it works?
10. Numerous layoffs result in fantastic parking spots for those who are left?
11. ???

Okay… looks like I should have planned this out a bit better. Anyway, I bought some flowers for my desk and I have my fingers crossed that I’ll be getting my first raise in 3 years.

It’s a living.

***
No Play-Doh today. NaNoWriMo is taking up all my creative juices.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I caught wind of the rumors last week, so that’s why I haven’t been very bloggy. I’m blue because I thought this was all behind us.

And yeah yeah, I’m thrilled to still be employed. Or am I? I can’t take much more of the uncertainty and dodging bullets. I have to DO something about this hot mess.

Or, take it this way – at the end of the day our HR dept sent out “helpful” pdfs about supporting your laid off coworkers and coping with your own survivor’s guilt.

I read the guilt one because I struggle with that a lot. The anecdotal woman in the article survived round after round of layoffs. I shit you not…this is how the article SENT TO US BY HR ends…

**
Every day for months, real estate agent Beckstrom wondered when the end would come — and crossed her fingers that it wouldn’t.

Just before Thanksgiving, it did. Bank officials foreclosed on the ailing housing project and Beckstrom and a few final employees lost their jobs.

“People from our home office came and packed up all our stuff,” she said. “It was very, very emotional.”

Now she’s working with headhunters, trying to figure out how to keep her home — and to explain to herself why she stayed so long. (emphasis mine)

“With all your heart, you just cling to that hope that something will happen,” Beckstrom said. “I was really clinging to that hope.”

**

Okeydoke. Message heard. Yeesh.

Photographer: sloopjohnb via stock.xchng

Ew.

I turned where I always turn for girly advice (the internet) and apparently I’m supposed to use a base coat under dark colors. Good thing Fairy Teal has a base built in. Which didn’t work. Well, now I know. In the meantime I’m leaving them polish free and trying to hide my Statue of Liberty fingernails.

***

The dogs don’t eat unless I’m home. Even on the days that WM isn’t subbing and is home with them all day, they only eat when I’m there. I guess it’s a pack thing – that they’re not comfortable unless all of us are together. In any case, the “Mom’s home, let’s eat!” mentality is a bit disturbing. Charlie, on the other hand, eats constantly.

***

Here’s a newish pet peeve of mine: When somebody wants you to do something for them (or more likely instead of them) so they stand in front of what needs to be done and announce it. Now this is acceptable if the human is a child…

Young child: “Oh! Oh! The phone is ringing!”

But what I mean is…

Grown-ass adult: “Oh! Oh! The printer is beeping! It says it needs paper!”

According to Wikipedia, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education. Ah…a teaching term. I’m the daughter of a teacher and the girlfriend of a teacher so it makes sense that the term is buried in my brain. Oh hey, here’s a list of verbs. Wonder what this has to do with these questions though…

1. What did you do this week? (knowledge)

This week I worked hard, mostly scheduling ads and trying to make sense of how our classifieds are displayed online (very poorly, imo). I attended an exercise class. I ate like absolute crap.

2. Why did things turn out the way they did this week? (comprehension)

I ate like crap because I worked hard and I quit biting my nails (again again again). Working hard stresses me out. Apparently I need to chew on things so if I can’t chew on my nails, I’m chewing on crackers and chips. Our classifieds are displayed poorly because I neglected the system for so long (it’s never been a priority) that categories have been added and deleted and the site hasn’t kept up. And it’s really dark.

3. How will this week’s events affect next week’s, both positively and negatively? (application)

Negatively: The scale, baby. Since the wedding I’ve been eating all the delights I missed out on this summer.
Postively: It might not be next week, but I’d love to see a better-designed classifieds section before year’s end. Like most of my projects, I can only work on this 10-20 minutes at a time.

4. What were this week’s pivotal moments where things might have happened differently and changed everything? (analysis? synthesis? Buh???)

Yesterday I decided to let a delivery truck have the right of way in our parking lot. He had the stop sign but chose to ignore it until he was halfway through the intersection. Since “Delivery Truck vs. Saturn” would end poorly for me, I decided to be smart and stop. That could have changed the week. Plus, I keep forgetting to buy the winning lottery ticket that’ll let me give a 2 week notice at work.

5. How was your week? (evaluation)

I’d say I completed the workweek with about an 90% proficiency. Then again, I’m writing this at 7:30am. We’ll what today brings.

***
Moment of cattiness: The Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News have been re-re-auctioned to their creditors. There are 3 people there whom I’d love to see pouring me a latte at Starbucks if they get laid off. Wait, scratch that…that’s mean. I wouldn’t wish their incompetence on the good people of Starbucks.

Moment of clarity: People who didn’t vote for President Obama (hi!) aren’t all Tea Party members. We clear? Sheesh. I think you’re a hoot, Vice President Biden but you’re wrong. (Click that link for the best Biden “I’m sowwwwy” face ever.)

1. What kinds of nagging injuries do you have?

My knees have bugged me forever. They make a very impressive grinding sound when I slowly unbend them. My wrists are strange from years of working at the PC. They go numb, they ache. It’s pretty obvious that it’s some sort of RSI but I really don’t want to pursue that yet. So I try to stretch and shake every few hours.

2. What long-procrastinated task is nagging at you lately?

Getting back on my diet. My size-down jeans are tightening as I type. But…toffee mocha!

3. In what way have you been a nag to someone else?

I’m a nag at work because if I don’t, things don’t get done properly. Example: In February of 2008 we started a new procedure where I need a sales copy of every online advertising order. This very day, two and one-half years later, I still have to send emails out asking for sales copies. It’s frustrating and I don’t want to nag but I can’t do my job unless I get that paperwork.

Outside of work I don’t nag people to do crap that I wouldn’t do. I’m a very relaxed (read: lazy) person and if *I* don’t want to scrub the toilet, I’m not going to lean on someone else to do it. I nag for benevolent reasons. Such as…

WM: I feel feverish.
Me: You should rest.
WM: (cleaning kitchen)
Me: You should rest.
WM: (takes dogs out)
Me: How do you feel?
WM: Pretty crummy and I have a headache.
Me: You should rest.
WM: (organizing books)
Me: WILL YOU REST!??!??!?!????!?!?!?!?!?

4. Who in your life is a world-class nag?
Those travelling pony-ride ponies that are at town fairs! Ninety freaking degrees and people are making ponies carry kids across hot asphalt. Those nags deserve a blue ribbon.

What?

5. Nag is such an ugly word. What would be a nicer way to describe someone who exhibits nagging tendencies?

Conscientious. Thorough. Maybe even caring.

AND WILL YOU REST ALREADY????

***
Tomorrow we’re going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. I’m really excited because although we’ve going to the Celtic Fling for the last 4 years, this is my first dusty, jousty & prithee-y Ren Faire.

I don’t know what to wear. I don’t have anything Ren Faire-y but I don’t want to look like a tourist either. What’s in between brocade & T-shirt?