IMO a lot of workplaces have a lot of unnecessary stress culture. Yours sounds like one of them.

That is definitely true. I would have taken a random day off at some point in the last couple of weeks, at any other job I've had. That really feels impossible here. Which is clearly, obviously ridiculous.

So my day got off to a creepy start -- there was a bike accident on my behalf! A car stopped to let me cross the street, and two bikes slammed into the car! Clearly the bikers were assholes (too close to the car, going too fast, not paying attention to the crosswalk right there), but yikes. I figured there wasn't actually anything for me to do, so I just kept walking.

Yikes, Jesse! What a thing.

Got my cheesecake made and assembled and chilling in the fridge in the dept. kitchenette. It's not gonna get the 5 hours of chilling recommended by the recipe, but it got most of an hour at home and was sitting in a not very warm kitchen over night. I'm sure it will be fine.

That cheesecake sounds amazing!

Oh, one more thing about the talk with my boss -- she suggested maybe I just need to work more hours, which is hilarious, because I spend MANY fewer hours screwing around online here than I have at any previous job.

How is that ever the right answer? Unless you are getting paid overtime or as a really short-term solution to a problem with a definite end date, anyway. Argh.

I do feel kinda good that going on vacation has demonstrated how much work I do to the people who were backing me up while I was gone (and hopefully to my boss who is also their boss and so probably got complained to)

Awkward conversations in the elevator at work: Guy follows me in, pushes the button above mine. I don't make eye contact, I don't make elevator conversation with people, I'm already in Hurry mode because I'm late. He does the "How are you" think, I smile briefly and say "fine." Elevator slows for my floor, he says "So, are you the one retiring this week?" I look over my shoulder at him as I'm heading out the door, "No," with possibly more "are you dumb?" tone of voice than I should have had.

Hopefully he wasn't an executive, but most of the executives know me by site since I've been here so long.

Weird, Connie.

Strix - would you get the full quote? Or a fancy "Me"? I'm not picturing what you are going for.

Wooohoo Amych.

And now I want cheese cake.

In looking around the apartment, trying to see what can be sold, donated, tossed, or packed, my eyes are on my wee demitasse collection. I have done nothing to grow the collection, in fact I've lost pieces in the last couple of moves. I know there are a few folks here who collect and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in rehoming some of these? If so, message me and I'll send you pictures.

I do feel kinda good that going on vacation has demonstrated how much work I do to the people who were backing me up while I was gone (and hopefully to my boss who is also their boss and so probably got complained to)

Ooh, that is a good result of vacation. Which I am also taking at the end of this month! And maybe again in June, if I don't want to lose days...

How is that ever the right answer? Unless you are getting paid overtime or as a really short-term solution to a problem with a definite end date, anyway. Argh.

I'm with you. Overtime towards a particular goal is one thing, but as an ongoing answer its a sign of something wrong.

I need to be a few miles from where I am at 11am. I got up and walked to starbucks and ate my dad diet breakfast, but don't wanna do any work right now. Or get dressed up. Or figure out the best way to get where I'm going.

Obama is in Utah today. People are twitchy and don't want to admit they're afraid their neighbors are going to be stupid in public. Nothing drastic, but LaVerl could get up on his hind legs and decide to be a Tru Patriut Hero were someone could see him.