Friday, July 10, 2009

Short-timer's syndrome

Only one more day before we fly to Paris.

But here I'm still embroiled in work. I have a maintenance contract in the renewal process that has become snarled up because a lawyer has decided a clause needs to be deleted - despite the fact that this contract has been renewed three times already, over the past nine years, with the clause intact.

I have a key staff vacancy due to extended medical leave, and her desk will be staffed by a temp while I'm gone.

A client has requested a service my company provides, though so rarely I've never actually done it since being trained four years ago. I have three days one hour to get the paperwork together and make the request - or provide instructions for the temp to complete the task while I'm gone.

My office has provided some administrative help to another department. We just completed a step in a multi-stepped project. Can the next step wait until I return?

Lunchtime, I'm at my desk with a sandwich, reading tour books. A coworker asked me - Are you excited? Are you packed already?

At four o'clock another task lands on my desk. Go back and analyze some data for the previous year, crunch sideways, lay it out in a table. We need it tomorrow morning.

Sign off this form. Log on to the Finance module and enter a Request for Warrant, or search the General Ledger. Answer the phone. No - I'm not available next week!

Clean off the desk. Email clients to touch base one last time.

Click the box saying "Turn on Out of Office Assistant.

Au revoir!

8 comments:

  1. Au Revoir Indeed!!! Doesn't it feel GREAT? I am on vacation too (the last thing I did was create my "Bron's Vacation Inbox" folder and put it in the middle of my desk - I'll deal with it in 10 days.

    In the meantime, I'm leaving for northern Michigan and a friend's waterfront/in the woods/on a sand road house on Tuesday. Can't wait

    Have a good flight, a good hotel, a good trip, etcetcETC!!!

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  2. Lucky duck....have a good time in Paris!

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  3. Bon Voyage! Hope you'll manage to update us periodically while you're gone, but no pressure or anything!

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  4. Have a great trip. We loved Paris. Can't wait to hear all about it.

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  5. Have an amazingly fabulous trip! Just this afternoon I was reading David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day and his time spent in Paris .. so your post is timely.

    Bon Voyage!

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  6. Sounds like every Friday at my husband's job. Ugh.

    I'm chanting "Vacation in PARIS!!" for you, in a happy voice. :)

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