Some Days are Like a Dilbert Cartoon

Day job has been exceedingly busy lately (maybe because we have lost nearly a third of our staff since the Great Recession....). I seem to spend more and more of my time in meetings.

Today I went to a meeting at 10AM. As the meeting went along, I lost track of all sense of time, which was easy since I didn't have a watch. The meeting went on and on and on. The discussion topics moved along incrementally at a nearly imperceptible pace.

I knew it had to be at least 2:30.

Maybe even 3:00.

Did this meeting start before or after lunch?

Finally! Done with meeting.

I bet it's nearly time to go home.

It was only 11:30AM...

On the same day...

Can Someone Please Press Pause???

I am not ready for November. In fact, let's rewind back to October. I am still trying to wade through blog posts and emails. If I haven't commented or replied, I am sorry and I will get through everything and I thank you all for commenting and emailing and just being out there in bloggyland.

Since I returned from Michigan, I have been running around like my hair was on fire, working working working. For my day-job, our office relocated over the weekend which means all last week was packing packing packing, supervising movers late at night and on the weekend, and starting tomorrow unpacking unpacking unpacking. So I worked all weekend there and at SBux and missed Bad Melisa's Spooktacular party , and missed watching "Nightmare Before Christmas" and singing along with all the songs and missed carving pumpkins. Foo!

I also missed posting a photo of my super-fantastic-best-birthday-cake-ever that I had in Michigan. (thanks again Mom!!!)
I always ask for Halloween-themed b-day cakes since it's a week before Halloween. Lots of purple, a moon, plump frosting pumpkins, polka-dots and a witch--now that's a cake!!
The cake is marble cake with buttercream icing and is from Sweet and Savory Bakeshop. This was the BEST bakery cake I've ever had--perfect tasty cake and perfect not too sweet, creamy frosting. I heart Sweet and Savory Bakeshop but am REALLY glad it is nowhere close to me or I would have to make up some holidays to celebrate....I'm just saying.

Oh hello is this blog ever going to get back to quilting????? you are asking. Yes, I am working on something right now that should be done this upcoming weekend since November is dragging me along with it....

No more bad news for now

A very quick post as I just got home from Starbucks and need to get to bed soon. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for all your support, kind words, and commiseration!!! I am so grateful to you all!

The meeting today went OK and there are no planned cuts to personnel coming from the department. Troops are rallying in the office and we are moving onward.

Quilty and cat-related posts coming up :)

Rough End to the Week

(photo credit: www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey)
If a tree falls in state government, does anyone notice? Thursday we had a terrible blow to our office with 1/6 of our staff eliminated. Out of the blue. No warning. No rumbles of more budget cuts (we are only in the second month of the state fiscal year!!!). The furloughs were supposed to take care of the shortfalls.

I was not eliminated but we lost two positions in my work unit of seven. We are now five. One position was vacant; the other was a intelligent, witty, loyal public servant of GA who has worked for our office for 22 years. Fired and his program eliminated. Just like that. He was part of our work family and then given a cruel corporate firing when his boss was out of town and he was told at the end of Thursday, your fired, hand over your ID and key, and you can arrange to get your personal things later but now you are escorted out of the building. Just like that.

We had always been assured that our department didn't get rid of people. That in exchange for working for state government for low salaries, you had stability and some security. Apparently not.

The photo above is how I have felt for the past two days. Friday, the office was abuzz with speculation, with sadness, with gallows humor. Monday we have a staff meeting and the deputy commissioner is coming over from the department on high to speak to us. We were not told why.

So with this uncertainty and worry and fretting and sadness and anger, I decided to stay home last night and not go to Bad Melisa's Midnight Madness sale. I hope my dear friends understand.