So I’ve just spent the better part of a week in bed with the death (or as others might speak of it, ‘the flu’). It was made especially delightful by the fact that the kid was also sick. And even more so by the fact that grocery shopping was on my to-do list, so when we finally emerged from bed and felt like maybe we could eat something, our options were expired cottage cheese, the moldy ends of a loaf of bread, or five strawberry Jolly Ranchers. I let my son have the Jolly Ranchers (I can’t believe they haven’t given me “Mother of the Year” yet).
I arrived back at work just in time for spring break, which students and faculty have off, but for which staff must be present. This would be annoying except for the fact that I can get a lot of work done when it’s so quiet around here.
For example:
9:22 am – I arrive over an hour late, for no reason in particular. Five minutes later, my coworker buzzes to ask if she missed anything. Apparently she arrived shortly after I did.
9:45 am – The fire alarms go off. I grab my cigarettes and lock my door and spend the next twenty minutes smoking in the courtyard.
10:30 am – My coworker calls from the copy room and asks me to bring her a file.
10:32 am – I bring my coworker the file. She photocopies it.
10:40 am – I re-file the file.
10:40:32 am – 11:15 am – I catch up on some blogs.
11:16 am – Two faculty members roll past my door in office chairs.
11:17 am – noon – I mediate office chair races for a handful of bored faculty members who have nothing better to do during their spring break than come into the office and participate in office chair races.
12:01 pm – Co-worker steps out of her office and tells me she’s heading out for the weekend and that I can go home.
12:02 pm – ten minutes ago – I sit in my office and contemplate going home, but decide that I will just have to come back for the kid and there’s nothing better to do since all of my other friends are either faculty members on spring break or servers on shift at the restaurant.
Ten minutes ago – Now – Start writing a crappy blog chronicle of my day.
