Trees are down everywhere here! People have had roofs blow off their houses! It is a little nutty, but other than the bus being re-routed I haven't had any trouble-- I have electricity and my roof is still on my house.

I'm glad the weather didn't do you and yours any damage, Sophia.

There's a "phone room" next to my cube where people are supposed to be able to make private phone calls. I'm discovering the privacy factor is highly overrated and learning far more than I wanted to about one of my coworker's divorce and child custody woes.

Oh, lordy, now she's giving her ex dating advice. Thank goodness I can escape to another room for a meeting now.

Yikes, Sophia!

And an entirely different but nonetheless sincere yikes, Calli. Overhearing my coworkers phone conversations bugs me, being near a dedicated not-as-private-as-it-should-be space like that would drive me up a wall.

Calli , you might wanna let someone in HR know that the room is not soundproof.

Yikes, Sophia! Glad your stuff is OK.

Oh my, Calli. Walls are not what they used to be....

Feel better, -t!

Wait, which did you miss? Hope it's truly ok either way.

I missed the big boss meeting, but it was totally fine. People still don't really remember I work here now!

An old cube of mine was just outside 2 conference rooms. Folks would excuse themselves from a meeting and then talk on the phone just outside my cube. Drove me nuts!!!

Working from home, the main thing that hits my sound issues is when Jack decides to loudly lick himself. I prefer the snoring, personally.

Due to high winds, apparently my sister lost power at her house yesterday and won't get it back until Saturday. BANANAS.

What's good feedback to give a junior person when you are senior?

shrift, when I was junior, I worked for several people that gave feedback primarily on where I needed to improve. So (1)I thought I was only doing things wrong, which led to depression, poor morale, and other problems, and (2) I'd be surprised at review time when my supervisor told me that I was doing fine. So I'd suggest telling people what they're doing right as well as what they're doing wrong.

Another thought is to anticipate what might concern or confuse junior people. On an admin note, I work for a government agency that doesn't close during lack-of-budget government shutdowns (because we're funded by assessments on the entities we supervise and not tax revenues). So I've taken on the role of making sure new people know that fact whenever the media start talking about the threat of a shutdown.

And ~ma for your sister.

Shrift depending on how junior they are, some of the best advice I ever got was to write up processes. The thought was that no one is indespensible and also people get sick, leave, whatever. Have your tasks documented to CYA and also to help if/when you leave. It makes people think about how they do tasks also.

Another thing was to document things. Having worked for 1)unethical people 2)forgetful people 3)people wanting to fire me 4)unmediated ADD people - it has served me well to ask questions in writing, to follow up meetings with an email outlining what I understood to be my responsibilities from said meeting (same with phone calls). Lots of "as we discussed today by phone.....).

And last thing I was once told, although it is never in any job description, part of every job is to keep the boss happy. If a clean office makes your boss happy, then it is in your best interests to try and maintain a clean office, even if it does not affect your job performance.