personal hello
I’m in between boring meetings right now shoveling lunch into my mouth, and my mood is fairly close to what I imagine it feels like to run a gauntlet: “Wow! That sucked! Good thing that’s over…OW, dammit!”
I don’t know why I despise meetings so much because once I’m in there, I’m not working. Maybe it’s because my brain feels compressed and my fist involuntarily clutches imaginary throats when people start having circular discussions, or maybe it’s because most of the time during a 2-hour meeting, I will talk for maybe 4 minutes.
I also fret about the work that’s piling up in my absence; work that’s spilling over my desk and gaining lifelike properties: an extra torso, five legs, its own brain stem.
I think the weather is really getting to me this year for some reason. This morning, I was personally insulted when I saw the sun shining, like really? You’re pretending you’re all pretty and warm outside when the only thing you’re accomplishing is making me snow-blind right when I have to navigate that tricky turn into oncoming traffic?
Because of this weather, I’m now opposed to the idea of having a leap year. I originally thought a leap day was cute; an extra day in a short month. But now I’m thinking I’d like to get to March 1st as soon as possible. So I’d like to relocate February 29th to sometime when I’d enjoy it more, like say, at the end of July. Yes. I propose we move February 29th to July 32nd.
I’m going to submit a vacation request for July 32nd and see what happens.
I despise meetings, but I hate conference calls the most. HATE.
Circular conversations? Passive aggressive insults? Rhetoric? Asshattery? Ugh. I feel for you.
But! You are one more day closer to going to Denver to watch the Twins!
I can’t wait for April 4 – OPENING DAY!
Comment by Artemisia — February 21, 2008 @ 2:10 pm
This post made my day. I agree, July 32nd, it’s just got a nice ring to it.
Comment by Flibberty — February 21, 2008 @ 2:25 pm
I hate meetings because I am one of those annoying bitches who thinks that everyone is SO INNEFFICIENT and that clearly I am the ONLY person who is working smart and not hard in the whole organization.
Also, the people at my meetings are all dumb and annoying and I hate them. That is all.
Comment by Tessie — February 21, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
NICE MOOD TESSIE.
Comment by Tessie — February 21, 2008 @ 2:28 pm
But I hate July. Couldn’t we have May 32nd instead? Plus then Memorial Day Weekend could have an extra day in it sometimes.
Comment by Jess — February 21, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Artemisia, I’m not a fan of conference calls, but at least I don’t have to even pretend I’m paying attention. And I think we’re going to purchase our tickets this weekend for Denver – yay!
Tessie, Jason thinks I complain about meetings too much, but I really hate them. Just seeing a meeting invite in my email makes me instantly bitchy. And don’t even get me started about having to conduct research calls over the phone to clients – I have to do about 25 of them (and they last 45 minutes apiece) and I am NOT thrilled. ARGH.
Comment by Shauna — February 21, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
July 32nd – good one.
I hate meetings too… unless I’m the chair of the meeting, because then I get to set the pace and stop all the circular conversations.
I also like your weather-related snark. My least-favourite weather phenomenon is a couple of days of sunny warm weather in March, followed by another week of snow and cold. The tease is unbearable.
Comment by LoriD — February 21, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
Thursday’s and FRIDAY’s of all days are my worst meeting days. I’m taking tomorrow off in protest. The majority of mine are conference calls though, since I work in NY and report to NC. This is what allows me to be the internet maven I am.
Comment by Saly — February 21, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
Yes to the idea of adding the extra day to a different month. I don’t care which one, as long as it is NOT in winter.
And couldn’t they have PROVIDED lunch for you? Cheap bastards.
Comment by JMC — February 21, 2008 @ 3:20 pm
Once upon a time, I worked. Whenever we had meetings, my brain would seriously go numb. I don’t know what it is about meetings but they made me stupid. Of course, I could listen for really stupid sayings (My favorite was “It’s low hanging fruit”, which is really funny when you even work in the agriculture industry. Or maybe it was my numb brain that thought it was funny.
Comment by Shannon — February 21, 2008 @ 3:21 pm
I don’t care what month we add the day to, as long as it’s one that normally has 31 days. There’s something so endearing about a month getting to have 32 days. Love it!!! Much better than trying to compensate for February’s short-changed status. I mean, if February is do dang needy, why didn’t we just pull a Robin Hood and take a couple of the 31sts away and give them to February?
Sorry, that’s enough calendar politics for one day…
Comment by Gretchen — February 21, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
I never said Shauna “complains about meetings too much”. It has been said (I’m pretty sure, only by me) that she complains too much. Period. I never said it was ONLY meetings that she complains too much about.
Comment by Jason — February 21, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
Okay, maybe I shouldn’t admit this, but I actually ENJOY meetings. And conference calls. And the immense time-wasting that happens for the duration.
Comment by Amber — February 21, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
For some reason meetings are physically draining. I had an impromtu one yesterday and I came home exhausted.
Speaking of impromtu, last minute conference calls and last minute meetings are what gets to me. I’m in sales. I had a whole day of appointments scheduled yesterday (Thursday). Wednesday night at 7:00 PM I received an email from our VP in another state saying he was flying in and would like to meet at 12:15. So at the last minute I had to reschedule my whole day. Maybe that’s why I was exhausted…I did a whole days work before noon. They do the same thing to us with conference calls. And the whole circular conversation really wears me out. I’ve got a million things that aren’t getting done while people are taking up my valuable time having their own discussion. With that said, I better get to work…it’s 6:05 AM already!
Comment by Becky — February 22, 2008 @ 6:19 am
My workplace decided we were having too many meetings because we have so many committees. What did they do? Set up a committee to review the committees. In their final report they decided meetings should only be on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. Gee, thanks.
Comment by Sara — February 22, 2008 @ 7:25 am
Meetings make me feel like a prisoner. I mean, when I’m working, I am stuck at work. But I can move around, go to the bathroom, uh, read blogs. In meetings, you have to appear to be interested.
Comment by slynnro — February 22, 2008 @ 11:08 am
Dick’s Perky Pickles are SUBLIME. In fact, I need to order some now.
Comment by Heidi — February 22, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
[...] 4b. What alternatives do you pose for utilizing the extra day? I wish to move it to July 32nd. If that is not possible, then February can stick that extra day up its [ERROR: maximum characters allowed 103] [...]
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