My children were decidedly less adorable this morning. Karin came in crying from the aftereffects of a nightmare at 4:30 a.m. and crawled into bed with us. Which was fine, but an hour later, still in the pre-dawn darkness, we were rudely re-awakened by the swelling strains of a Disney feature presentation at jet-engine volume from the living room where Martin and Karin (who obviously decided that hey! why give the boogeyman a second chance by falling asleep again?!) had decided to camp out to start their day.
argh
Work is crazily wonderfully busy. I love it. I love it so much that I can hardly stand it. I love being one of the first in my department to arrive at the office, and opening my office door (DOOR!) and flicking the lightswitch and looking out the window (WINDOW!!) to see what the flags are doing (zippily flipping? limply hanging? desultorily waving?) and how fast the little wind whirler thingamabob is going. I don’t know why it’s there or if anyone is actually monitoring it, but right outside my 3rd floor window is a little whirligig with a trio of melon-baller-looking cups that whirl around with the wind. My window faces southwest and I can see the weather that is coming our way from Copenhagen. It’s like looking into the future.
I get to work at, give or take a few minutes, 8 o’clock in the morning. I fire up my computer, put my coat and purse away, check email and read my morning comics. Most everyone else gets in half an hour later, and at 9 a.m. some of us head downstairs to grab breakfast. Which is free. Fresh-baked rolls, butter, 2 kinds of cheese, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and red peppers, soft cheese spread. Orange juice. The smell of coffee. On Fridays, in addition to all this, there are sliced coldcuts and liver paté as well. I usually sprinkle a little Aromat on my half roll with butter, cheese and tomato. I’d never had it before I started working here, but now I’m addicted.
Today, the work just kept rolling in. The flow of projects has been steadily increasing since the first month, and so far I’ve been able to keep it organized and under control. Today I finished revamping a presentation that required creating several schematic illustrations, put together an 8-page product guide, did the layout for a magazine ad, worked on the layout for a 4-page newsletter, created 2 web banner ads, updated the materials for a promotional campaign, and coordinated several printing projects that are being put together for 2 separate events. Tomorrow I have an 8-page newsletter layout to start and a 2-page brochure insert, plus another set of web banners. I LOVE THIS JOB.
My mom sent me a newspaper clipping about the dangers of blogging about work, especially AT work, but to be honest, I don’t have a lot of worry that I’ll ever end up dooced. I don’t write the kinds of things about work that would get me in trouble, and I rarely, if ever, write about the people I work with. I get along with just about everyone anyway, and I pride myself on keeping my journal a fairly clean, public place that I wouldn’t be ashamed of ANYONE finding or reading. The few times I ever feel the need to bitch about someone specific are usually aired for my husband’s entertainment and that’s the end of it.
I have a residual amount of regret for the surfing time I used to spend at my previous job that I no longer have time for, but it’s pretty fleeting. I’ve always claimed I’d rather be busy than bored at work, and I was right. It’s another thing on the list of things that make me happy about my job.
A Few Things I Really Miss Sometimes: woolly-bear caterpillars, fireworks in summer, caesar salads on every restaurant menu, my childhood.
In other news, Karin apparently cut the hair of one of her playmates at daycare today…enough to make his mother say Oj! when she saw it. Karin claims Henrik asked her to do it, but she was obviously aware, during questioning, that the intelligence of her decision to go ahead with the request was dicey, so we’re not sure we have the whole story. Her continuing barbershop career has been sternly curtailed.
Really Great Writing Out There Right Now: You Know You’re There When…