Be Careful what you Ask for

The temperature in my office soared to a crazy 80.6 degrees after hovering around 61 degrees for weeks.  This, after it was fixed, and fixed a bit too well, if you ask me.  Still, I'd rather work in the 80s than the 60s.  I couldn't really type with cold hands, but in this heat, I am all limber, but craving a piña colada and wondering where my sandals are.

After leaving my office door open, and permitting some of the heat to flow out, it drops a bit, but it is still a bit too hot.  I'd hate to complain, and be thrust back into the ice age.

On the downside, the high temperatures force me to remember to put my lunch in the fridge, something I normally forgot to do, but with such cool temperatures, it mattered not.

Oh, and I think (as I crack a yawn) that the warm temps are causing me to tire more quickly that when it was cold.  I need to create space under my desk to sleep, like George Costanza.  That would be sweet.

Heat!

Finally, I have heat!  My office has been cold, very cold, as cold as 60 degrees, necessitating the wearing of a fleece.  It was so cold, I had difficulty typing.  I hated coming back to my office, preferring to stay wherever was warmer, like my bed.  But, finally, after some visits from the folks who are supposed to fix things, it is fixed.

The dude climbed into the ceiling and noted that the vent to my office was closed.  He opened it and I can actually feel the heat coming in.  It is so nice.  Of course, if it gets too warm (unlikely in this brutal building), I might need a nap.  Wait, I need a nap anyway, owing to the difficulty I had in sleeping last night.

I am generally a good sleeper, taking no longer than a few minutes to fall asleep.  But, last night, the hours ticked away and nothing.  I hate it when that happens.  So, I am yawning.  In fact, I am yawning while I type this, but at least I am warmer.  No more long underwear in my office!

Moving Offices, again

As I pack up my office for yet another move to a temporary office (my 7th office) and, ultimately to my brand new office (my 8th office), I am left to ponder movies. You have seen the segments where disgraced employees are escorted out of the building. Or, in other cases, people who have quit walk out of the office. Inevitably, they carry one file box with a few items including: a picture frame, a coffee mug, maybe a pennant for their favourite baseball team. That's it. It's always the same. I'd need a small van. Seriously.

In three years, I will again move to a new office. It's a fact, kids.

Temporary Office

It's always a bit weird using someone else's office. You never know what you might find or what you might see. In this temporary office, I have to contend with the pretty pictures on the wall, the odd things tacked to the bulletin board (like one newspaper item on proper business attire), family photos, a series of post-it notes with indecipherable notes, and the general orderliness of the place. I can help but contrast it with mine. My office is in a state of general disorderliness.

But, it's the ergonomics that really gets me. First, the computer monitor is so far forward on the desk, it looks as if it's about to tip over the edge. How could anyone work with their nose pressed against a computer screen? It makes no sense, and I am certain it would have given me a serious headache to use it like that. Of course, I still remember the days when people placed their monitors on top of telephone books, in an effort to make them as high as possible and strain their necks. That made no sense either.

The first thing that I wondered about, however, was how the hell anyone could sit in her chair? It's the same chair as mine, but it has been organized to make it produce only discomfort and pain. (I should point out that there is an even more uncomfortable chair at our reference desk. We have a staff member who transforms this chair into a device of torture every night. Sitting in this chair has given me insights into the practice of medieval torture.

Don't believe me? Imagine sitting in a chair that causes your feet to lift from the ground and your buttocks to feel as though they have been placed into a vice and pulled down towards the floor. It's probably what sitting in a nutcracker would be like. Both chairs suck.

P.S. Just as I was writing this, someone came in to tell me that I can return to my messy office. Hooray! Back to my comfy chair and sane environment. Oh, happy days.

Messes

Moving Mess

I have moved the contents of my office to my new office and am trying to put everything in its place, but everything doesn't have a place because there is a distinct lack of places to put things. So, the old saying, a place for everything and everything in its place doesn't quite work yet. It might, once I get some places to put everything, and then I'll be sure to keep everything in its place, at least for a while.

Political Mess

I am laughing at John McCain (ha ha, ha ha). Maybe if the republicans hadn't deleted all of that information about birth control on government web sites - and replaced it with all of that abstinence crap - he wouldn't be in this mess. Anyway, his choice of a woman VP is so transparent, despite the spin he tried to put on it.

I my recent reading review, I forgot to mention:

Platform by Michel Houellebecq - This is a novel about sex tourism, or about a company that sets up sex tourist resorts. It is an interesting read, with lots of sex and some death. I gather that the praise and outrage have been handed out in equal measure in reviews of this book. There is some anti-Islamic sentiments in the book, but it's impossible to say if they are those of the protagonist or the writer. The Arab League condemned the writer when the book was published back in 2001. For some reason, I just got around to reading it recently.

Digging Out

Not much to say today, as I have just carted the contents of my old office to my new (and slightly smaller) office with less furniture. I am out of space and trying to figure out where to put everything. The keyboard tray has been installed in a crazy place. It's useless where it is. I wonder how they expect anyone to work with a keyboard tray in this location. I need a bookcase, a garbage pail, a recycling bin, chairs for visitors, and a filing cabinet that works, for starters.

I am planing my fall TV schedule. So far, it includes Fringe.

Hard Hat Zone

No, this is not a post about Thinkman.

Moments ago, I popped a hard hat on my head and went up to investigate the recent renovations and to select my new office. I had a choice of two offices, both roomy but lacking windows. I will have to give up my windowed office with lots of natural light pouring in, for a equally nice office illuminated by artificial light. In my current office, I rarely have to switch on the lights, which I like very much.

I regret not taking my camera along and getting a photo of me in a hard hat. I think I looked good and it made me wonder if I had made a wrong carer choice along the way. I think I'd rock the hard hat, tool belt, work boot look. Plus, when you are in that uniform, you get to whistle at the ladies with no reprisals. It's expected behaviour.

Of course, I'd probably have a stupid nickname, but that is good news to me, 'cause I've never really had a good nickname, except for Zydeco Fish, but few people in my real life know about this blog and so no one calls me that.