Category: Work

Don't worry, be happy now

The coworker has been amusing me with her antics since back. True to her old form, on her first day back from a FIVE WEEK vacation, she showed up 2 hours late, took an hour and half lunch, AND still left at her normal time. Even though we’ve got TONS of work to do. She took at least 4 hours to do one of the most basic tasks that shouldn’t have taken more than a fourth of that. When we were discussing the fact that she would have to do overtime because of the workload, she tried to imply that I could come in on this Saturday and work. Um. Hi, no. My vacation starts at 4:30pm on Friday. She’s been off for 5 weeks, SHE can damn well do the work & overtime.

Every day, the topic of her working overtime has come up. “I can’t stay late because I have to pick up the kids at school” Fine. You can work Saturday or Sunday. Or you can do like I did all last week, and just not take a lunch break. That way you work an extra hour, but you’re not here any later. “Oh no, I can’t do that! How can I not take a lunch?!” Oh, it’s really easy. And please remember that lunch breaks are only 1 hour, not your normal prior 1+ hours! She even said yesterday “I don’t do overtime.” I just flat out laughed in her face when she said that, and responded with “It’s not a matter of ‘want-to’ anymore. It’s a ‘have-to’ to get the work done”. She just doesn’t get it.

To top all that off, she keeps whining that she doesn’t know how she’s going to do all the work with me gone. Um. Hi. I did it all by my damn self for a MONTH while she was on vacation. If I can do it, she damn well can too. She keeps trying to say that other people can do parts for her. Um – 1 of those people just broke her elbow and can’t do the check runs. EVERYBODY is already overworked pulling their own weight and then some. They can’t add her load to their own too, just because she doesn’t want to work. She’s going to be in for a really rude awakening. At least I did get the satisfaction of her saying that she can’t do it all because “she’s not me”. Damn straight she ain’t, and at least she recognizes the fact that I’m damn good at what I do. Hell, even if I did a lot less, I’d still be better than she is, since she avoids work all day.

I’m doing my best to take it easy this week. I’m not forcing myself, I’m just doing what I can without busting my ass. She’s back, she can help with the workload. I certainly hope she doesn’t think I’m going to keep doing it all so she can sit back and talk on the phone all day, like she used to. Today I even woke up relaxed and happy – something that hasn’t happened in a few weeks. Everything is amusing to me today, making me giggle. I’m having fun. I refuse to let her, or the work, stress me out anymore. The count down is on: 2.5 more work days, then it’s vacation time!!

I have more to ramble about .. but I think I’ll do all that in a separate entry. My lunch break is over anyway.

I’m a sight for my sore eyes

I’m still snowed under at work. Every time it feels like I’ve made some sort of progress, finally, then the next day I get absolutely snowed under again with new work. Initially, I was going to put in some OT this weekend (I’ve already been working through my lunch breaks every day this week.), but I think today’s jump in the workload made me change my mind.

I’ve just got to remind myself that I’m really not Superwoman. While I get pissy when other people in the office get mad that I’m “behind” when I’m not and expect way too much — I also have a tendency to get mad at myself when I can’t do it all. I just need to sit myself down and tell myself that I’m doing an amazing job and doing more than most people expect me to do and that I’m only human and can’t do everything and that I should be proud of myself for what I have done instead of punishing myself for what I haven’t. That’s so much easier said than done though.

But yes, I decided to just go ahead and not work this weekend. Both of my bosses said I shouldn’t, and that I’ve already busted my ass and should take it easy. So I’m going to try. At least it’s nice to know THEY know how hard I’m working, even if other departments are jerks.

I was getting closer and closer to feeling like I was about to have a nervous breakdown. My mom actually helped a lot there, she brought me flowers at work on Thursday to make me feel better. She and I might not get along all the time, but she does have her really really nice moments. That made me smile a lot, and helped make me decide/realize that I HAVE to take it easy. It also helped break the stress – some. It’ll take a while before it dissipates completely.

On a completely unrelated note – the random giggle of the day: I saw this in the MSN Gossip column this morning, and I have to admit that the parenthetical comment made me laugh:

Back on Valentine’s Day, Drew and Spike (hey, is anyone else having a “Buffy” flashback right about now? Anyone? OK, must just be us) were reportedly spotted “cuddling and looking very lovey-dovey” while rocking out together at an Arcade Fire show in New York.

Footnote: I actually wrote this post last week (3/16), and never finished it. I decided I’m still gonna post it today (3/20) as-is and back date it. I have it set in my head that I need to post it before I can write a new entry, even though there’s not really a reason. Ha. Oh well. The workings of my brain are strange.

I can't be the superwoman that you want me to be

Sometimes… sometimes being very good at your job is a curse instead of a blessing.

People are starting to claim that we’re behind. Um. We’re not behind. I’ve been busting my ass doing the work of 3.5 people, and sure I might be barely treading water, but we’re still not behind. I’m current. I’m thisclose to still be every bit AS current as we were when we were fully staffed. It’s still another 2 business days before the oldest work I have on hand becomes “late” — and we’ve always guaranteed all work submitted would be processed within 5 business days. Sure in the past, because of me being as good as I am, we were able to pamper them and get it done even faster than that. But guess what, it’s ONLY me right now, and I am doing the best that I can, am STILL current and keeping things within my time-limit; yet that’s not good enough for them.

Gee, do they not remember that we just had a MASSIVE layoff and over 50% of the company is gone and that maybe, just maybe, there might be delays in getting work done? I’m doing the best damn job that I can, and would it be so hard to say “thank you” instead of bitching about work that I still have time to do?

Today? Yes, today I know I am going to get more behind, and possibly start drowning in the work. I’m going to have to pull some overtime this week and maybe on Saturday, to get caught up. But, in addition to the work that @ 10-20 people submit (that I am processing all by myself) and are complaining about, I just got FLOODED in work from the bank, plus a MASSIVE wire came in that I have to process ASAP, plus I have my normal daily duties of the cash disbursement half of my job.

I told my boss yesterday that when the wire came in, I was going to jump out the window. I jokingly tried to when he came in this AM and told me it was here. On a good/normal day, that wire takes me 6-8 hours to process and apply. So there is an entire day that I cannot work on my other duties, and that WILL make me behind on those. Sigh. I cannot win for losing. Why couldn’t the damned wire come in next week, when my coworker will have finally returned from vacation, so that I could have some kind of help?

Sigh. Speaking of vacation — I am SO fucking happy that mine is in 1.5 weeks. I NEED to get out of here and away from this place so so so desperately. The knowledge that soon I will be getting away from here and getting to spend time with Emily are the only 2 things keeping me going right now.

Note: Yes, I know I sound egotistical about me being “so damn good” at my job. But, let me just say I’m not being delusional here at how good I am. It’s been noted upon by many people in this and other departments. On multiple occasions, my boss has said that he does not expect anyone else in our dept to be as fast as me, and he will not use me as a measuring stick to compare them to, since I’m just that fast. And I also know that I am NOT the fastest little keyer out there — I’m just the fastest/best in THIS department. If I were to go to a different company, I’d probably just be average.