i need purple veins + scenic greens/they can make me soar + touch extremes

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 @ 4:18 p.m.

I got myself all riled up over stupid work stuff. But I am actually having a decent day, due to the fact that the weather has dropped down to a reasonable low-mid 70s, with a chill when the sun goes down and a few leaves beginning to turn colors. I was able to wear a new outfit (plum-colored sweater and deep mauve skirt, red shoes) today.

Also, I have never in my life had a yeast infection, which is a positive thing. Ah , the subjects that come up when more than 3 women gather in 1 office. I believe I have frequent consumption of yogurt, limited antibiotic intake, and loyalty to natural-fiber undergarments to thank for that. And genetics probably has something to do with it, because my mother has never had one either, and she’s in her 60s.

So: Nice weather, new clothes, and a balanced pH level. I guess I can't really complain.

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 @ 1:52 p.m.

mood: stressed

Work has been bugging the hell out of me lately. I haven’t really mentioned it, because talking about it is boring even to me; plus I hate to be one of those people who can’t stop yapping about their jobs. My work is a small part of who I am. But I feel the need to vent and sort out my thoughts. If you skip this entry, I won’t be offended.

The problem is with the medical certificates. The students get certificates for passing certain classes. When I first started this job, it was only for a few classes and they received them after they’d completed the entire program. But when E. became medical director, he wanted them to get a certificate for almost every class and he wanted them to receive them a week or so after finishing the class. That was fine with me, the problem was that he never passed them out and he lost a lot of them, so students were constantly getting on my case about certificates they had never received and I was wasting time making and re-making them. Plus, that certificate paper ain’t cheap.

So a few months ago we get a new medical director, C., and I think everything is going to improve. But he’s even worse about losing them and not passing them out, and I spend all of my time dealing with certificates, certificates, certificates! It’s only supposed to be 1 duty out of many, it’s not supposed to occupy my every working hour!!

I try to make improvements to the process, such as eliminating the instructor’s signatures and signing them myself, because a lot of them were getting “misplaced” in the step from C. to the instructors and back again. But it doesn’t seem to help any, and meanwhile I am constantly in a bad mood because I am having to deal with high-maintenance medical students and their snotty attitudes.

I finally asked to be responsible for handing them out myself. That way, they can’t possibly get lost and if there is a problem, such as a misspelled name or an incorrect date, they will be able to tell me right there and I can tell them to come back tomorrow, instead of them getting the run-around from C. and having to wait for weeks and months. I figure this will help to improve morale.

I get the go-ahead from my boss, and I print up flyers announcing that certificates will now be picked up at Student Records on the 2nd Wednesday after the end of x,y, and z classes. (We also decided to eliminate the number of classes they get a certificate for, because it’s just not necessary. They’ll get a transcript that shows which classes they took and passed, they don’t need a gad damn certificate for every. single. class. Besides, the students in the other programs don’t get them, so I think it shows preferential treatment to the medical students and that’s not right.) I hand out the flyers and attach 1 to every medical student’s report card.

Today is the 2nd Wednesday, and I came in early expecting a deluge of students coming in during the morning break. 10:00…nobody. 10:15…nobody. 10:30…2 students. I have had a total of 4 students pick up certificates so far today.

Wah-waaaaah.

I give up. I truly think that they only care about their certificates when it means they can bitch and moan to someone about them.

“This job would be would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking cutomers”.

Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 @ 12:39 p.m.

june vs. the ants: the battle rages on!

When I got home yesterday, there were a few who had managed to creep under the tape. It wasn’t sticking down entirely because the spackle makes an uneven surface. I killed the ants that had re-established a trail, then I had a brainwave: seal their entrance off with hot glue! I suppose caulk or silicone putty would have worked as well, but hot glue was what I had at hand.

So I applied liberal applications to the edges of the faceplate, but after a couple of hours I saw a few had managed to worm their way back in. I then coated the entire fucking faceplate in a layer of hot glue. This morning I found a few crawling around.

!@#$% ANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s it. I am coming back with ant spray. I really didn’t want to resort to spraying clouds of toxic poison, but I’ll be damned if something with no brain to speak of is going to invade my house. You’re toast, ants!!

june = 1, ants = 0!

frozen + fresh