Well, it seems that while I wasn't paying attention (I'm usually not), Extension 17 has only been here one day out of the last two weeks. (That, for those of you who are curious, would be today. Payday.) Presumably, from what Buehler was saying earlier today (before Extension 17 showed up, which he didn't so until noon) we'll be having a change of staff soon.

Part of me doesn’t want to pass judgment on someone else's lifestyle or problems but part of my thinks, rather bitterly, that since I have to show up and work every day, other people also collecting regular paychecks should have to do the same.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Anne. I had Monday and Tuesday off. I left an hour early on Wednesday. I left at 1:30 yesterday. Who am I to be pointing fingers?

Still. I usually show up. And I do have to work late tonight. I've been sick for four days, but I'm not whining about it, I scheduled the meeting and I'll get through it.

I also heard myself (well, "read" since it was in e-mail) volunteering to take a 6:00 a.m. meeting next Friday. (The Mad Doctor's computer crashed and he's not sure he'll have it fixed by then.)

I can usually be counted on to come to work regularly.

BossyBoots was in here a few minutes ago, telling me all about how he dials in to listen to his voice-mail but he can't hear anything. I didn't volunteer to go look at his phone. Either he really has a problem and someone else will also report it, in which case we need to call the company who sold us the system and ask if they're having problems, or he's doing something wrong.

At the moment he came in, I was in the middle of lunch and didn't feel inclined to abandon my nice sandwich to go stare at his phone. (There's little else I can do but look at it.)

He's sort of on my list since the day he came in and announced he was going to be mailing something to someone and he was assuming that once he had his document printed, he could just hand it to me and I'd find him a stamp and an envelope and stuff. Pissed me off. It's not like he could imagine I'm a secretary. I'm the one giving him instructions what work he's supposed to do half the time.

It's because I'm female. Men automatically assume a female must, regardless of her other responsibilities, be the one to handle purely clerical tasks.

I don't feel good. Sort of dizzy. Maybe I ate too much lunch. I had a big hamsammich, a handful of (low-fat) chips, and some cantaloupe. Doesn't sound excessive, does it?

I'm sick. That's why I left work early Wednesday and Thursday. A summer cold or something, courtesy of Buehler, who was kind enough to show up for work for three solid weeks while he was sneezing, coughing, and saying he didn't need a doctor.

This is the third time I've been sick in the last three years. I never used to get sick. I hate getting older. (I'm sure it's because I'm getting older. I have hot flashes, too. I'm a crone.)

The problem is that I don't exactly feel bad enough to go home to bed, but I don't feel coherent enough to consistently focus on work, either.

I'd like to promise myself that I can sleep this weekend and really get rested, but I don't seem to be able to sleep in on the weekends any more. Not like I used to. (I hate getting older.)

I'm a sick, wrinkled, flabby geezer.

But, enough about me.

Some time later

I couldn't think of anything else to talk about. Sorry.

I could talk about what I've been reading, but I've been reading "The True Believer: Some Thoughts On Mass Movements" and I don't think you'd find that fascinating. (I did, FWIW.) I'm also reading, "The Emerging Democratic Majority" but I'm not far enough into it to talk about it and in any case, I created a different space to talk about politics. I could talk about my novel, the one I meant to go back and work on during my two vacation days this week but since I was sick, I didn't work on it, so that's pretty much the end of that conversation already.

Besides, I was going to stop talking about myself. I remember that now.

I relented and I'm calling the phone company to see what's wrong with BossyBoots' phone. I shouldn't take advantage of my heavily medicated state to make myself unpopular with coworkers. I may want something from one of them some day.
Besides, it all looks like work, right?