Forgotten

We're having a staff meeting tomorrow at work, and they just sent around the notice for it a bit ago. It's one of those mandatory things that all employees have to attend, so you know it's going to be boring and probably be about something that's either going to be bureaucratic bullshit or some kind of policy change that is sure to upset someone. It's split up into 2 meetings to make the groups smaller, and is scheduled first thing in the morning.

I'm not listed on the schedule for either meeting. The lady who organized the meetings and sent out the memos about them said she forgot to put me on the list, but I'm free to attend either one I choose. Now normally I wouldn't really care about it; I'd make a joke or two about not having to go since my name wasn't on the schedule, and then forget about it. But this isn't the first time she's "forgotten" to include me in staff-related notices. It's not the 2nd time either. It's starting to become a pattern with her, and I'm beginning to worry about it. I'm probably overreacting about nothing, but I'm wondering if she has some kind of problem with me and is doing it on purpose.

I hate work drama.

Out of Character

I did some things completely out of character for myself today. Nothing big or anything, just a series of small things. They weren't anything that I planned to do either.

I started a conversation with someone at work that I hadn't really talked to before, completely at random. We kept the conversation alive for quite a while, and I was truly interested in it and the person. And I learned some cool things about them on a personal level that I otherwise wouldn't know.

Even though I did find myself getting a touch upset with the driving habits of some of the dumb ass mutha... friendly drivers around me at times, I calmed my anger immediately and kept it in check. I even listened to music instead of having the radio turned off like usual.

I used a cart at the grocery store and took my time, instead of rushing mindlessly through the store with a handheld basket. Then instead of the self-checkout line like usual (so I don't have to talk to anyone), I went through a normal line and chatted with the clerk while I bagged my own groceries so she wouldn't have to.

I also smiled a lot and was in a fairly good mood all day. I even talked to the neighbor's kid for a bit as I was bringing groceries inside. He looks to be around 12 or 13 and gave me a thoughtful look before going inside and said "You know, you're kinda cool." (I've received this reaction from my nephews as well and I think it's because I find it easy to talk to kids. I try to speak to them like adults instead of children and it takes them by surprise at times.)

Tuesday

Well the website thing at work went ok today. I played around with it on and off for most of the day and have some ideas on how to spruce it up and make it more functional once more of our offices get used it it and start using it more. Even if it doesn't go much beyond what it is now I think it's definitely going to rekindle my interest in work for a while.

After last week's unexpected boredom, I've been thinking about things I can do to get myself out of the house more. And I'm not talking about going out to a bar or working the street corner or anything; other than quick bursts, I'm too old for that kind of thing anymore. I'm thinking of some kind of social group or activity that I can join up with and actually get to know some new people. Some kind of volunteer type of thing isn't out of the question either. I just need to find something that interests me or something that I think I would enjoy learning more about. I'm not really known for my follow-through when I come up with ideas like this though, so we'll see how things turn out.

Back

Today was my first day of work after taking the entire week of Thanksgiving off, and I was actually looking forward to it. I've done the week-long vacation thing for the last several years, but I think this is the first time I was ready for the vacation to be over so I could go back to work. It's not like I was looking forward to being there since my job is completely vapid; I think I was just bored sitting here at home all week. And that's unusual for me as I typically find being home alone is the only time I feel completely comfortable.

Then again, after a single day back at work I'm already bored there. Things are looking a bit brighter though; I get to "launch" a website tomorrow and that should give me something different to do and be interested in for a while. It kind of fell into my lap right before I went on vacation so I didn't have time to think about it much until I got back this morning. It's nothing fancy or anything, but it'll at least be something new and creative for me to play with for a while. And who knows, maybe it'll turn into something that will hold my interest for a long time.

This Again?

Had lunch with my boss today. We talked about a couple of new people that have been recently hired and are starting work next week. We also talked about me going back to school and getting an engineering degree so I could eventually get my PE license and become a Professional Engineer. I've been getting the impression from him lately that he wants me to do it and today pretty much confirmed that. Thing is, I don't know that I want to. I mean, I'd love to get me engineering degree since I never finished it the first time around, but I don't know that that's what I want to do. I know I've got to do something to change things around or I'm going to be stuck in mindless jobs for the next 25 years. At the very least, this has given me something to think about and give consideration to again.

Free Food

Today was one of those unusual days...it started out extremely sluggish and I just knew it was going to be a slow one. It was the kind of morning where you stay in bed as long as you possibly can before you have to get up and start the morning processes. And even when you do pull yourself out of bed and get moving, you're still going in slow motion. But somewhere along the way time seemed to slip by and the day was suddenly over. I wasn't very busy either, so it wasn't a case of getting caught up in something and losing track of time. The day just kind of happened.

Work was a typical day; phone calls, faxes, and idle chit-chat until 5:00 rolled around. We have what they call a Lunch-n-Learn scheduled for Wednesday. Someone is coming in to discuss contract document changes for some construction stuff that the State now requires, and they'll be telling us about it and providing lunch. Extremely boring stuff and I'm not really looking forward to it, but hey it's a free lunch. I can sit there for an hour or so and listen to someone speak for a free sub and chips. I also have a lunch meeting planned with my boss on Thursday so that means a second free lunch this week. Yeah, I should probably be focusing on the work aspects of it more, but I really enjoy food.

And speaking of food, I enjoyed grilled steaks this evening with the Smiths. I'm watching their pets for them again over the next week and a half while they're vacationing, and Nancy was kind enough to have me over for supper. The steaks were perfect and it was a nice evening spending time with them and their kids.

For a day that I started out dreading, it ended up being not so bad.