Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bitter Is The New Black.

Today has been terrible.

To start, its doing the rain/fog thing with the added bonus of also being really cold. A shitty combination. This also adds difficulty to walking as you have to constantly dodge people swinging their umbrellas (open and closed) around like crazy people. Usually I don't really mind going to work- yes the commute takes 40 minutes, but its basically just mindless following of the masses and time to read. Plus I know I am on my way to DO something, specifically to teach kids, so it makes me more willing to wake up early, stick to the time frame, etc. Alas, that is not so this week.

When I heard I would be deskwarming this week I had wonderful visions of relaxing at my desk, doing anything I wanted. Sounds awesome! Psych. By 10:30am yesterday I was ready to beat my head against the wall. The following is a basic outline of what my days have looked like. There has been some variation between yesterday and today, but, lets be honest, very little. Times are approximate.

8:20am- Arrive at work, say hi to vice principal, sign in, go upstairs, change into my work shoes, go into my office.

8:27am- Boot up mycomputer (the only thing doing any work all day).

8:28am- Check my e-mail for the first time, log on to Facebook to read any new status updates (to be clear, these are only "new" if they have occured since I checked my Facebook before leaving home 45 minutes earlier).

8:30am- Begin to play Bejewled Blitz on Facebook games.

8:50am- Give up on Bejeweled Blitz because the voice is creeping me out and my eyes are starting to hurt, check e-mail for second time, switch to reading website updates on sites including (but not limited to) allkoreangossip.com, popseoul.com, notalwaysright.com, postsecret.com, mylifeisaverage.com, fmylife.com, textsfromlastnight.com, probablybadnews.com, oddlyspecific.com, passiveagressivenotes.com, and nataliedee.com.

9:42am- Exhaust complete list of time killing websites, check e-mail for third time, start playing Tetris at freetetris.org (which sounds like a organization working to abolish the imprisonment of tetris...es? tetres?).

10:22am- Right hand is tired of pushing arrow keys so tetris bites the dust, chat with Renee or possibly Amanda for a bit, check for Facebook status updates.

10:31am- Get online and try to find something interesting to watch, which has included an hour-long Google documentary on living in a North Korean prison camp and a few TED talks about poverty and human trafficking. Alternate useage of time: Solitaire or Spider Solitaire.

11:28am- Check e-mail for fourth time, use Facebook to stalk former school mates by aimlessly clicking on faces in the "common friends" box (it's official...everyone is engaged or popping out babies).

12:09pm- Finally time for lunch.

12:27pm- Lunch is complete, head back to the room of mindless imprisonment.

12:30pm- Check e-mail for fifth time (respond as needed), check for Facebook status updates, make comments on a least two things on my Facebook feed.

12:44pm- Pull out Kindle and delve into yet another book that I bought specifically to save for myvacation (three have already been read and I'm quickly moving through the fourth).

1:43pm- Ponder whether time could actually be moving slower, like is it possibe I'm in some sort of other dimension? Check e-mail for sixth time.

1:47pm- Co-workers spring into short-lived but frantically paced cleaning spree (during which the giagantic windows are both opened, effectively dropping the room's temperature by at least 20*F) and feeling like I have to do something I take on some meaningless task like removing magnets from recyclable items, check e-mail for seventh time.

2:00pm- Bejeweled Blitz. Again. Check e-mail for eighth time.

2:26pm- Tetris. Again. Check e-mail for ninth time.

2:54pm- Pretend to be productive by creating a packing list for vacation, printing out all of the confirmations for various things I've booked for the trip, go dowstairs to print my Cambodian e-visa in color, send reminders to Erich/Mike/Ayzia about things, e-mail hotel people for a final confirmation.

2:37pm- Wish those tasks had taken longer. Check e-mail for tenth time.

2:38pm- Watch an episode of a television show online (X-Files, How I Met Your Mother, Law and Order: SVU, and the like.) Check Facebook for updates. Check e-mail for eleventh time.

3:20pm- Watch another episode. Check e-mail for twelfth time.

3:57pm- Apply Mango Mandarin lotion my mom sent me in hopes that the burst of citrus scent will wake me up and snap me out of the funk I am in.

3:57:30pm- Realize that's not going to work. Check and see if any of the blogs I stalk have been updated. Check e-mail for thirteenth time.

4:00pm- Bejeweled Blitz, my old friend. (Check e-mail for fourteenth time.) And a little Tetris thrown in for good measure. (Check e-mail for fifteenth time.)

4:28pm- Slowly start to pack up. Put everything on my desk away. Arrange post its and pens like a crazy person.

4:35pm- Check e-mail one final time and shut down computer. Change back into my street shoes, put my coat/sweater on, say my goodbyes.

4:40pm- You better believe I'm already on my way to the subway.


IT IS MIND BLOWINGLY BORING! I CAN ACTUALLY FEEL MY BRAIN SLOWLY TURNING TO MUSH.

I don't know how I'm going to survive another two and three-quarters of a day like this! Then I come home exhausted at night because I haven't done ANYTHING all day. I have a bunch of stuff to do for my trip and I have to clean my apartment since my brother is coming straight back with me. I just hate sitting at school and knowing my time could be better used at home. I considered calling in sick tomorrow because I really wasn't feeling too hot and I have NOTHING to do at work, but then I thought about the chance that my Vice Principal would then tell me I couldn't go on my trip. Not risking it.

**Update: Now I know how I'm going to survive! I am going to work on making Creative Memories digital albums for my first six months in Korea. It will keep me busy and it's something I want to do anyway! The only downside is it requires me to schlepp my laptop to and from school. Honestly to avoid another day like today, that is a SMALL SACRIFICE.

Sorry for the bitching, sometimes I just need to get it out.
And of course I got a reality check tonight when I got a message from Adam (from SAS) saying "Your life sounds like it rules. I'm jelly." And you know, my life does rule. Today sucked, but in general, I can totally understand why he's jealous. I remember how jealous I was of others last year when I was miserable at my job. One day of shitty weather and an even worse mood is just a blip on the radar screen of my life.

6 comments:

  1. meaghan, I'm not exaggerating when I say that what you described above is a typical day for me, except that I can't access half of the games and various websites that you can.
    mind-crushing boredom and feelings of uselessness, only somewhat soothed by the fact that I'm being paid for this (barely).

    as insane as the job can be, I am jealous that you get to work with kids directly. I miss it.

    enjoy your vacation.



    <3 shannon

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  2. I just want you to know that first of all, I miss you in my life. Second, I am reading your blog because the way you felt all day today is the way I feel in this class every Tuesday. Thank you for keeping me sane!

    Meghan :)

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  3. I've had a lot of those days recently, so I can understand. Sometimes it gets tiring and boring living such an awesome life. :)

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  4. Haha I'm stealing your idea! Hang in there... it's almost vacation time!

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  5. I like all those sites too. Also www.pleasedontforward.com and www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

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