Epic, I hope your family is all right.

Yes, get your resume done by Erin The Resume Dominatrix, to whom you pay to have pain inflicted on yourself!

cowers and whimpers

Can I have a quick anxiety breakdown over here? I haven't been able to work all week, and I'm leaving for 9 days in the UK next Thursday, and since no one else has been able to work this week either, there'll be no one with the time to take on my work. Presuming work can resume on Monday, I'll have three days to complete nearly three weeks of work. It's impossible, and my manager has made no mention of what's to be done. I'm afraid there will be a lot of missed deadlines and it will be marked down as my fault.

So next week, there's the election, and work, and travel, any one of which is enough to send me hiding under the bed.

Yikes, Zen. That does just sound like...a lot. Um, keep breathing? If you can't do anything before Monday, try hard not to let it eat at you before then - no letting work take over your brain when it's still your time. And you'll do as much as you can do, and hopefully you won't get marked down for Acts of God, I mean, it's not like you're slacking. Anybody will be able to look at the dates of missed deadlines, and anyone with any sense will see that they're right on the heels of The Perfect Storm, and understand.

And if you were just looking to vent and didn't want any feedback, please disregard the paragraph above and know that I'm nodding and ma-ing.

Certainly didn't need to be repeated.

Fuck 'em; Sandy is a MORE then reasonable excuse for pushing back deadlines.

One of my NYC clients is without power, the whole shebang, and are working on getting back together, but I KNOW the substantial check I NEED will be postponed. I'm concerned, but SO not their fault. I am glad thet are OK, and a shitton of peeps have it way worse off than me, so...

Here's a virtual Valium and an icy cocktail of your choice, love. (Squeezing into intertubes....THERE!)

Damn, Zen. Seriously, you can only be held responsible for that for which you have control. All you can do is give it your best. No one should hold you responsible for this, least of all you!

Zen,

I recommend two things:

a) do what you can before you leave

b) LEAVE. And don't check any work related email at all while you are gone. You have stated here - and I recall - that you tend to be a workaholic. Tamp down this tendency have a fucking great vacation. You have had family drama and work weighing on you. Just enjoy yourself.

You can't control weather or time so fuck it.

Nods vehemently.

Plus if it takes eight people to replace you they might realize how much they need you.

I wonder what I could do if I weren't fighting for my rights all the time.

Thank you all, I needed to hear all of that! When I leave, I'll have no choice but to be entirely away from work, because I won't be able to access anything from the UK. I'm pretty sure my phone wouldn't work, and even if my laptop would work, I'm not taking it with me. So I'll be forced to take a real total vacation, which is great and I need it badly! But now I'm worried about what a mess I'm going to find when I get back.

breathing

not rocket surgery. no one will die

I wonder what I could do if I weren't fighting for my rights all the time.

You're pretty amazing. I wish you didn't have to fight for your rights all the time.