Piling On

Okay, so we're into Day 2 of nuisance-level bad luck. While it is not to be confused with real, genuine bad luck, it's still a pain in the butt.

The boss was getting on my nerves again today, asking for lots of silly stuff ahead of an even sillier meeting. Ahem, exactly why do I have to keep reporting on project budgets that are no longer part of our department? And no, "We're doing it for OtherGuy," doesn't cut it. I've been in meetings with OtherGuy and he hates your reporting template, boss. Hate, hate, hate, you hear? He throws these reports in the trash. I've seen him do it! Just admit we're doing it because it gives you the illusion for a few more weeks that they didn't take the project away from you and give it to someone more competent.

Then around lunchtime I got a call from my other boss. We're usually friends, but today she pounced on me using her Angry Mommy Voice and asked a lot of rapid-fire questions about a contract I sent her last week. Not having a copy of it nearby, I couldn't answer her questions, so I simply asked what she was unhappy about, wrote everything down and said I'd fix it right away.

Feeling like a total idiot, I started on her laundry list. But I was puzzled. She was asking for documents I hadn't had to submit in years. She was asking about weird things. Time warp things. Who was crazy-- me or her?

I figured it was me until I went to the Contracts Office website looking for a particular document. I couldn't find the darn thing anywhere! I called the Contracts Office secretary, who laughed a tinkly little laugh and said, "Oh, that's not on the Frequently Used Documents list yet. Try looking third from the bottom on the 1999 docs list."

Uh, excuse me.... 1999?

As it turned out, the contracts forms and procedures had changed. Now, part of the blame for not noticing the change is mine. When you've clicked the same link for years, though, you sort of expect to keep getting the same document unless someone tells you otherwise. You don't expect that they will change the fine print because that's not the part you look at every time you fill out the form. You're thinking about the vendor name, product, dollar amount, etc. Not re-reading the fine print each time. But no, the fine print had changed and things had been taken out. Things I had to add back in by printing additional forms. From the 1999 docs list.

Nice.

Well, at least I'm not crazy. And when I talked to the Contracts Guy for our area (who had made the same mistake I had and also gotten Angry Mommy mad at him), I suggested that maybe, just perhaps, he could maintain a list of current required addenda and email us whenever there's a change to documents and procedures. Just a thought!

Then when I got home I found that the cat had had diarrhea in the closet. Good job, Pix. So I cleaned that up and since he's been having intermittent problems of this nature for awhile now, it was off to the vet with him. $165 later they had no diagnosis and no recommendations. Don't you hate it when you spend money to find out nothing is wrong? It's such a dilemma-- I'm glad everything seems okay, but for $165 I at least want a few Latin-based medical terms to get thrown around, you know? Maybe some frowns and pondering? Or is that extra?

I got home late, hungry (hadn't eaten since 11:30) and in need of my athsma meds. And now that I've eaten and can breathe again, it's late enough that I'm not sure I'll digest my dinner in time to get a workout in.

That'll teach me to be too grumpy to work out yesterday. I should've gone for a run.

But my attitude was better today, so that's something. We're making progress!

Today's Workout
Cat Wrestling-- Small Pet Carrier Division