Caterwauling

Heard from my bank today about the extended overdraft fee. They said you get charged that if your account is in the negatives for more than seven days. So, kids, float, don’t bounce, your checks!

Work was its usual cyclone of stupidity. Due to an outstanding invoice, I am not getting the paper to press tomorrow as scheduled because I don’t HAVE the paper. I can only wonder how many shades of purple Cruise Director is going to turn over this, and I’m certain Demure!TM’s head is going to explode, but I am at peace with it. I haven’t finished proofing the beast anyway, but I am not doing it tonight, that’s for sure. I don’t get paid more when it does hit the newsstands on time, so I’m not crying an ocean over a delayed schedule.

I talked to Demure about Angie’s raise, which is of course above the up-to-3 percent that everyone else is getting. I am fine with this because she deserves it, although I am torn because she walked into an easy situation, whereas the designer and I did not but we didn’t see any real bonuses out of creating order from chaos. I asked if I were getting a special favor raise-wise, and I was told that NOBODY else in Demure’s staff was even getting near 3 percent. Surprisingly, I wasn’t angry. I am going to budget for a raise for the designer, and I will approve Angie’s increase. The thing is, I took the high road in every possible instance, and when I have my own company, I take with me a sense of knowing that, where my staff is concerned, I will take care of them wherever and whenever possible. Yeah, that and $3.50 will get me a grande sugar-free vanilla latte right now, but you know what? This unpaid-invoice crap will hopefully awaken them to the fact that I have kept these messes out of their hair for more than a year, and now that a situation has cropped up that I haven’t been able to resolve (because it’s out of my hands), maybe just maybe they will see how large a role I play in keeping everyone looking good. Or, more likely, it won’t do anything but antagonize them, but let’s face it, do I care? Not right now, no, not particularly. No incentive to.

I got a regular (read: non-furloughed) paycheck this time around. Woo hoo! In great news, my rental company is convinced I overpaid my rent last month (I’d turned it in a day late and added the $50 late fee). They said to forget the late fee and to pay $50 less this month. I ain’t arguin’ with THAT! It’s so sad when $50 will literally make or break you.

The H.R. assistant is one of the happiest people you will ever meet, but we have an unwelcome guest in the office this week, and she was uncharacteristically frustrated today because of this person. I told Angie about it, and she said you know someone is a really bad human being if they “break” the happiest person on earth. LOL. Sad but true!

On iTunes: “Let Me Touch You For Awhile,” Allison Krauss

Everyone at work is in a funk. You can tell it’s performance appraisal season and, in my case, deadline season. Anyway, for all you worker bees out there, here’s an article on how to land your dream job.

I checked my online bank statement today. They charged me an extra $30 insufficient funds fee, only they called this one an “extended” fee. I shot them a nasty note that if I had the money, I would’ve put it in sooner, for cripes’ sake — did I really like having my account at -$230 for the past 10 days? I am hitting the bank tomorrow and closing my account, and I told them as much. I titled my trouble ticket “insult to injury.” Have you ever heard of an extended overdraft charge? Damn. God forbid my car insurance check didn’t clear for two weeks, so I’d forgotten all about it. Without all the $30 charges for lack-o-funds and bounced checks, I might not have been so destitute.

Does it ever get easier? Wait, don’t answer that. I did have a coupla fabulous things happen this month (that are simply not blog-worthy just yet; let me enjoy them and start to get used to them and try not to fuck them up!) to offset the agony, but it’s always such a precarious balance between pleasure and pain that you just can’t forget that the other exists and is equally as powerful.

On iTunes: Nazareth, “Hair of the Dog”

I *~heart~* my new computer. That’s all I have to say today.

Got it set up with relatively few injuries, save for hitting my head on the underside of the desk and getting a two-inch, bloody scratch from Kadi, who thought the 10 wires I had in my hand looked mighty tasty.

Spent today uploading MP3s. Still not done. What a PITA! I’ve got about 2,000 songs total, including the 350 that were on there, waiting for me from the darling lad who configured the beast for me. I’ve been happily grooving all day. I deserved for something to be good in my otherwise stressful existence!

On iTunes right now: “She’s a Lady,” Tom Jones.

My Internet was down overnight. I’d brought work home and couldn’t tackle it till Comcast left around 10 a.m. I spent the last four and a half hours working on one document, after spending six hours on it yesterday. Someone had given me an Excel spreadsheet full of crap submitted by 40 people, unedited. I thought the editing part would be the easiest. Turns out that things were not inputted in date order and could not be sorted, so I exported the load of crap to Word, where it turns out that after my sleep-addled self went and formatted every entry, only to find that nearly half of the entries were duplicates — the two people who compiled the document put in the same events only with different contact information for the parties responsible for the events. Is 2:30 p.m. too early to have an adult beverage?

In better news, I got a new computer. I have a shitload of work to do this afternoon/evening, but tomorrow, I get to set it up. Yee-haw! It will be nice to start using Panther at home! Today, my little crappy system kept crashing because I had too many documents/applications open. Oh , to move into the new millennium technology-wise! Hurrah!

Word to the wise: please pause your iTunes at work because when your boss might just be standing at your desk when Lords of Acid’s “You Wanna Suck My Pussy” comes blaring on. *sigh*

Is this month OVER yet? Angie and I are convinced that the month of June is the root of all evil and that we are adopting the saying, “That’s so June!” whenever shit sucks.

I am inspired by a fellow blogger (who shall remain nameless) who is changing the focus of her blog to be more about the good things she’s doing and less about the bitching (although we all know and adore her for her superior rants about asshats, fucktards and the intellectually underachieving).

Somebody made things “right,” or at least “even,” for me at work. That’s not to say that I have any inclination to retire from this place, but I do want to be at peace and be able to take things in stride while I am still around. I think a big part of my problem was an altogether too clear picture of the unfairness of it all. But I have to keep remembering that no matter what they say or do, I should be treated as their secret weapon instead of as a thorn in their side or a bug up their asses. Isabel made it crystal clear in previous comments to not give work my all because I will have nothing left when I can enjoy my personal time. Of course, I’m in crazy-busy mode again now at work, but there is a lot to be said for going home, enjoying a cocktail (or a cold glass of soda, which I tend to enjoy even more), watching a mindless sitcom and getting a good night’s rest. It may not be the most productive use of my time, but it does allow me to recharge and not have to think too hard about the injustices of the working world in general. Because, as one of Shan’s old friends put it, workplaces are nothing more than the same cast of characters in different buildings with different names. So in my hurry to job-search, I have to remember that there are going to be trade-offs, and jobs that sound damn good in print may only sound good that way. This clarity gives me the freedom to go into an interview and truly say that I like what I do and to wait for the employer to impress me just as much as I am expected to impress him or her.

Speaking of a good night’s sleep, I didn’t get one. The apartment cooled down to 84 degrees, and I slept for two hours, after 5 a.m. The a/c is supposedly going to be back on today. Turns out that my whole block in my complex lost the a/c, and we were being offered temporary shelter at a local middle school. I sat on my balcony most of the night and enjoyed the breeze. I hate having the screen door open because Kadi knows how to get outside, but she only tried to get out once, and I had to take my chances during the night. But she was dancing on my head around 7:30 a.m., so all was well. I am dressed like a hooker today, practically. Just a T-Shirt, short skirt and some shimmery scarf around my waist. I know I’ll need to meet with my boss later today, and I know she’ll eyeball me like she always does when I’m not dressed too well for work, but my ass was hot and I wasn’t about to bury myself in layers of clothing in my hot little abode.

Ergh. Anyway, back to work! Another working weekend awaits, oh joy! Happy Friday to all!

It is 89 degrees in the old hacienda this evening. Shit.

I knew the a/c was going to go, so I did put in a call to maintenance late last night. But it totally went kaput today. By the time I got home from work (’round 8:15 p.m.), it was blazing hot. The cats started bitching at me the second they saw me.

Oy vey. I guess that means no getting any sleep tonight. Bah.

In better news, other things are just peachy. Peachier than ever, if I dare say so myself. And one thing I must mention, the H.R. director showered me with compliments today over Angie’s review. Really complimented my writing and my extensive comments. I refrained from making any snarky remarks about what a sham I anticipate my own review to be — best to keep her thinking I am a true professional! 😉

Oh, and I was caught headbanging again in my office by the same executive who caught me last time. Today’s music? Winger. LOL. I think he’s just surprised to see any signs of life in the mausoleum we know and love as the Veggie Patch!

Mom just sent two loaves of banana bread to the inferno workplace, which I am sharing with Scot and Angie. And she even finally sent the recipe! It is a good day in the ‘hood. Mmmm, bananas. …

… for Cheerful Sunshine Muffin Panda!

You have GOT to read the full cartoon of the Cutie Bunch Friendly Pal Pack!

Angie suggested we hire him at our newspaper to be our cartoonist. LOL. The Newspaper Gestapo already wants us to not have a toon anymore in the first place. 🙂

So today is performance review day (not mine, thank god. I’m writing them for my staff.) Demure!TM called to tell me, in not so many words, that my review of Angie doesn’t mean crap. Apparently she is hoping to just give her a better salary in line with some salary survey that the mcmanagement got their hot little hands on. And no matter how I rate her performance (which will be decent), we have to pick a percentage number out of the air, but I have been told to go beyond the up-to3-percent that the rest of us are working with.

Shit, at that rate, the way Demure!TM hates me, I’ll end up OWING them money for the negative percentage I’m sure to get!

Anyway, about the salary survey, I was FURIOUS! I reminded her that they paid me less than than she’s getting when I was in that position myself; furthermore, I’ve seen no compensation for holding the department together when the previous editor left, not to mention that my salary is about half of what it is supposed to be (per the salary survey I brought in when I earned my recent job).

Not to mention, we were careful to keep her salary at a safe distance behind mine because mine is so low for the skills I have and duties I perform. I don’t hear anything about adjusting MY salary!

What did I do to constantly be overlooked? I feel like I am bound and gagged and held prisoner in somebody’s trunk when I’m here. I told my boss to skip giving me a review and just send me a check for my aggravation. 🙂