I have a freakazoid attack every time my boss asks me about anything that hasn't been at the top of my list for a while. This is because I've worked before for the kind of person who plays gotcha with the To Do list.

They never mean to do it, but no matter how tightly you pin them down to prioritizing, there's always something they thought should have been #1 that didn't get done.

Or, you know, five minutes after you've locked down the priorities, they toss something else at you casually and you don't find out until 9:00 tomorrow that it has a drop-dead due date of 10:00.

To be fair to Bernie, he did mention that he wanted Project X by next Monday. To be fair to me, I have another project, Project Z, due tomorrow, that needed all my time. I found out on Friday and I should have to ask DiamondGirl if she'd told Bernie, that what he wanted for Project X wasn't possible, but I just didn't. Think of it, I mean.

I tend to expect too much out of DiamondGirl, knowing as I do how burned out she is. And knowing that she's actually here about 6-1/2 hours a day, instead of the 8 she's paid for. And knowing that she spends a lot of her day IMing with friends and stuff.

I tried to keep the list prioritized. Really, I did. About six weeks ago, we spent six hours in meetings setting priorities. We spent so much time prioritizing that I didn't get a lick of work done for two and a half days. (I kept having to retype the task lists, then we'd meet about them again and everything would change and I'd have to retype them some more.)

Today, in an attempt to ignore the stress around Project X, I sat down and tried to deal with a lot of those other little items that keep coming back at you again and again because while they need to be done, they're not directly client-related and thus are not associated with any projects or invoices. (You know. They're not the "billable hours" he's always yelling about.)

Project Z, due tomorrow won't get done, but I told Bernie it wouldn't when he started asked me about these other things this morning. All he did was suggest that if I got these people on the phone and scheduled a call for later, I should be able to get it all done. (What part of, "I haven't been able to get them on the phone" was he not understanding? What part of, "If I do get them on the phone, I might as well just discuss the issue with them" doesn't strike him as more efficient? What part of, "I can do the necessary research and then make those seven phone calls or I can type these 500 e-mail addresses" was not clear to him? What part of calling a client about a question they've asked before you have an answer does not strike him as stupid and unprofessional?)

You know what I hate? I hate someone who thinks "multi-tasking" is spending fifteen seconds at a time on twenty projects and then shouting because nothing ever gets done, or things get done in a half-assed fashion.

So, I also told him that if he stopped yanking us around every ten minutes, we'd be able to focus on each project for long enough to actually send him the information he needs in a timely fashion. For instance, the piece of information he needed for Project X would have come to him last Friday, instead of at noon today.

At which point he said he was done for the day. (Not that he stopped e-mailing, because he didn't, but he did take a 30-minute break, after which we both played nice again.)

Yes, we had another e-mail fight today. Then I spent 30 minutes having a meltdown.

I think, in spite of the fact that I spent a fortune last weekend, I may have to leave this job. I can't take the crazy.

Or, I could start working 10 or 12 hours a day. That way I'd get more done each day, leaving me more time to monitor what DiamondGirl is doing and maybe we'd make some actual progress. I just have trouble convincing myself I want to give up evenings and/or weekends for a job where I took a 20 percent pay cut and that I already doubt is right for me for the long haul.

And. Having DiamondGirl tell me at 1:00 today that Project Z, the one that has, has, has to be done by tomorrow? Wasn’t done until three weeks after the Conference in previous years? Does not inspire me to give my all on the say-so of Bernie's deadlines.

I did spend a fortune last weekend.

On the other hand, I haven't fought this much with another person…well, in my whole life. I was raised with three siblings and I didn't fight with all three of them as much as I squabble with this one guy.

Life. Is not all joy.