The View From The Office Window

   Like many others I have been secluded at home for the better part of a week, my state having gone to Emergency status last Wednesday. I support our governor in his decision though I wish it had come a bit earlier.  The week all the major state Universities decided to suspend classes would have been excellent timing - but it is what it is.

  Our state isn't in the eye of the storm yet, though it is definitely coming. It has been an unsettling and anxious week. Like everyone else I have worries for family members, specifically my daughters who live in other states. One just returned from her honeymoon overseas so is in quarantine after a nightmare 36 hours where she and her husband were denied entry into two countries as the miasma descended upon us. They made it back safely and are showing no signs of the bug, thankfully. Though it may be due to the diligence of the Asian countries they visited and those country's extreme efforts to track and stop the virus. We are crossing our fingers that they didn't pick it up going through customs in this country due to our lack of serious preparation. The governor of her state was early to lock the place up, so hopefully they will remain safe. My other daughter lives in a state that is more of a free-for-all but her city took steps to shutter the place before they turn into a hot spot. It is a popular destination for many vacationers, so I hope it works.

   Back at the ranch, I am adjusting to working from home. I am one of the lucky ones, I have a job and surprisingly, business still coming in.  I have never been one that could work at home efficiently. When my kids were small, they wanted my attention and I found it difficult to get into a routine. I have always tried to separate work from personal and leave work at work. Working from home seemed counter productive to that goal, so even though I am home I try to keep to the same course as I am one who needs down time in order to stay semi sane, which is about the best I can do.

  What seems to work best is to treat the day like any other work day and begin my routine as I always do at 5:30 a.m., coffee, dog walks, shower and then down to work  While things are moving along, I am used to working alone and I find I am having difficulty adjusting to the co-workers in this office space.

  There is this one:

  She is constantly distracted from the task, wants to play unauthorized games, take excessive breaks to go outside to chase the squirrel population, and from time to time flashes and licks her private parts for the rest of the office to see. I think that is a violation of the harassment code. I will have to check with HR to be sure. I'm on the fence about reporting her.  She has a sunny disposition, but tends to be loud, using an outside voice to communicate with the other co-workers in the office. She is also hard to motivate, unless given a food reward. And that only seems to keep her in line for the moment. One of her jobs is to empty the waste baskets but she's so easily distracted that the contents don't always make it into the dumpster.

The office assistant manager is old. Should I say that? Well, he is, and not quite up to the job.  He reclines and directs. "You do this, you do that." He growls a lot too.  And naps-no wonder the others follow his example.

You see what I mean. The least he could do is shut the door so we don't have to hear him snoring. He's a window rattler.

    I was given a personal assistant as the work does seem to be piling up and I am not as efficient from home as I am when I have a fully functioning space with office machinery. The least he could do is help me with the e-mail but his help is limited to strutting across the keyboard and shutting the whole operation down as I normally have to reboot after his help.

  He's taking a nap while waiting for the email to come up again.

  If necessary we have an on- call. She avoids coming in as much as possible. She doesn't have a winning personality which is a requirement for the work we do here. She's a loner, growls a lot and has been known to bite. 

  She's as charming as she looks. I don't call her in unless I'm desperate. She doesn't work well with others-especially my assistant. She chases him around the office hissing, spitting, and knocking carefully sorted piles of paper off the desks and tables which is counter productive and probably against the rules. From the moment she turns up her focus is on when we will break for lunch, Not that I should comment on anyone's weight as I lost my girlish figure long ago, but she resembles a basketball on short little legs, so my opinion is she should redirect her focus. But what do I know?

  It's not a well oiled machine around here but we are making it work the best we can. Meanwhile I go out to the mailbox or drive to the post office to deposit correspondence and bills. I have researched the risks with ordering items with Fed Ex and UPS delivery and learned that it is unlikely that one could pick up the bug from a delivery unless the person bringing it to the door sneezed or coughed on it as they walked to the porch.  That alleviated some anxiety.  I also ventured out to fill in the pantry choosing the local organic market rather than the big-box grocery closest to me. I was very pleasantly surprised. I chose the senior hours. (Boy does that sound strange to me-to be a senior citizen-though I guess I have been for some time. I don't do labels very well.) In any case, there were only about ten customers in the place, and they were fully stocked. It costs a bit more which may explain the low traffic. 

  I am at a loss to explain why there are stores still packed with folks hauling their whole families along. (single parents excepted) Why would you risk the health of your kids? No matter how dedicated a parent you are, no way you can keep up with where those little fingers poke and prod. If you have multiple kids, you have many multiple fingers that get into nooks and crannies that are full of crud and germs. The only conclusion I can come to has to do with IQ and potted plants.

 Folks - stay at home. If you have to go to the store - one adult per family. I realize grocery shopping is the only shopping left to us - though I guess the big box stores are still open. Don't treat it like a middle school field trip. Be smart, stay safe. It's up to each of us to protect our friends, family and neighbors, and yes, even strangers. Hope to see you all here next week and that I don't kill my office mates.