This week’s theme at my office was how to juggle people around to accommodate the space needs of an interim director and his secretary. Space is always at a premium at our university and even though the people moving into our area are from a different part of IT and we won’t report to them, they’re still going to be housed with us, for lack of other options.
Fortuitously (for the space issue, not for the employee who left us) we had a resignation that freed up an office. For at least Round One of the office moves, this made everything work out. It’s been a big job, though, getting offices cleaned out, furniture moved and phones moved and installed on short notice. The director moves in Monday!
The employee who resigned had been out for medical reasons and was unable to return, leaving my staff to pack her personal belongings, go through her files, etc. That left me handling things I might have otherwise delegated, and I had one day where it seemed everyone was determined to keep tasking me things without ever giving me a chance to work on them. I finally got frustrated and told my boss she couldn’t give me anything else to do unless she took something else away. She laughed, but left me alone after that. I got caught up. Funny how that works.
On today’s run I stopped at my office to get water and because I saw a co-worker’s car outside and wanted to see how the office moves were going. My co-worker was busily going through files, and when I went to my own office I noticed that a lateral file had been moved in there, so I can only assume our space management guy showed up in the wee hours as promised to do a little heavy lifting. In addition to the lateral file, I also acquired a printer out of this deal, so I’m happy. I work on a lot of confidential documents and it’s a pain to have to run down the hall and wait for stuff to print so I can grab it before anyone else does. Now if only I could get a proper desk chair, I think I’d be set!
I’m hoping that having the interim director and his secretary in our suite will set a more serious tone for our business office. My own team are usually quiet and professional, but there’s another group that seem to spend a lot of time ordering take-out and giggling over popcorn shrimp or whatever it is they buy. As far as I know they do good work, but appearances mean something and they don’t always give the people we serve a good impression. I have a feeling things are about to change.
Recent Workouts
Monday: 30 minute elliptical, weights
Tuesday: 5.5 mile run
Wednesday: 45 minute spin, weights
Thursday: 45 minute elliptical, 10 minute row
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 19 mile run
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9 comments:
The Bag Lady is grateful she no longer works in an office and doesn't have to share. Anything. On the other hand, she occasionally misses the camaraderie. She just doesn't have the same relationship with THESE cows. Oops, that came out wrong...
Oh, say, you didn't mention cooking - the Bag Lady's been meaning to ask (now don't get offended, she's just a curious old bag) do you ever just order a big ol' pizza? Really. You make the Bag Lady feel inadequate, 'cause she doesn't hold down a full-time job like you, but sometimes, dammit, she just gets really f**king tired of cooking! Of course, we can't have anything delivered way out here in the country, but gosh, it would sure be nice.
BL- Pizza is pretty rare around here. When Dan and I used to both go on long (50-100 miles) bike rides together, we would sometimes stop and pick one up on the way home. But Dan stopped doing those rides and I have transportation issues getting to them myself.
We're very picky about pizza. When we do eat it, we don't just order in Domino's or Pizza Hut. There's a really nice local place called Star Pizza that we like, but they're expensive and we're no longer in their delivery area, which complicates matters.
In general, I'm a big believer in maximum bang for your caloric buck. I would never eat a lousy pizza just because, "Hey, it's pizza." If I'm blowing my diet to that degree, it's gonna be for the GOOD stuff. So even though I'm walking distance from a Pizza Hut, they never see me at their door! :-)
lol - yeah BL I agree - makes me not miss an office (i work from home and have my own web biz) but do miss the camaraderie from time to time! instant messaging isn't the same ;-)
glad to hear you like the pizza too - i am the same way - why i don't eat fries, rather get that degree in fat from something yummy like ice cream ;-) there's a really good pizza place about 15 mins from here but no pizza for me for a while - gotta get the body in better shape!
The last time I was in town, I noticed that the best pizza place in town is no longer. They were in a sleazy area, and I haven't gone there in forever, so have no idea how long they've been gone, but it makes me sad. That means that all that's left are the chains.
One good thing about summer around here are the pizzas we make in the outdoor oven. Home-made dough, home-made sauce... and any topping you can dream up...yum! Gosh, I'm really looking forward to summer...
Thanks for answering my question, BG!
Holy Crud .... here you give us all that incentive about workouts and everybody else just talks about pizza!
Rabbits' Guy worked for a rather large Airplane builder here in the NW. He got moved about once a year ... what an effort! But ... if he played it right he could often grab some extra goody that someone else didn't have room for or forgot or whatever .. kind of like you did. Good luck scamming a chair! We would be happy with an extra chewy box!
BL- If I had a groovy pizza oven like you, I would probably make my own. When you do your own cooking, you can control the quality and quantity of the ingredients, which is important to me. And homemade pizzas can be so delish! Do you ever do margherita pizzas (tomato slices and fresh basil)?
BG - those sound yummy! Do I marinate the tomato slices in tequila first, or just put it in the sauce? ;)
Come summer, we'll have a huge pizza party - when can I expect you?
How well I remember the office musical chairs / musical offices and whatnot! A short time before I left, the office I worked in was completely redone and renovated. But the renovators mis-measured in several crucial places leaving one office much smaller than just about everybody else's.
Guess whose office that was.
*ding ding ding ding ding*, right answer -- MINE.
I was considerably less than thrilled about having worked there for fourteen years and winding up with a mousehole when newbies who'd been around for only two months or so had plenty of office space.
But I didn't put up a fight; I knew I was leaving soon. :)
I wonder sometimes, though, about my replacement, how she felt about the job, its qualifications and position vs. the mouseholiness of the actual work space...
I must say, while I miss the people part of working in the office, I don't miss the giggling group, the loud talking, miss post-nasal drip, etc... I'm a born teleworker :)
Glad the move is progressing well.
Great workout week you have posted there!
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