Inside My Head (Don't forget your helmet)

*Please keep in mind that these stories aren’t in chronological order cuz frankly, there’s just too many, so I’ll write them down as they come to me. My boss is intelligent, in the sense that he knows a lot of stuff. However, I feel intelligence is null and void when there is a lack of common sense and my boss is as clueless as they come, when it comes to common sense. He has none. No sensitivity to people’s feelings, to things that shouldn’t be said, etc. Case in point, back in December of 2011, we had a position open in our department. So…one of my co-workers, ex-co-worker actually, was lucky enough to find a new job and jet it out of here. She was the Administrative Coordinator, I’m sorry, Assistant Administrative Coordinator, because another thing to love about my boss is that he likes to show people their place via job titles. He also likes making them up, so when you try to find a new job, potential employers wonder what the hell you did at work, because of your made-up job title...

So I've been referring to my boss as just "boss" in this blog, but for the purpose of this post, the time has come to finally give him a name. So we will call him Bill Lumbergh, for fun. If that name doesn't sound familiar, it should. Office Space anyone? So yes, Bill Lumbergh is called "Mr. Lumbergh" by most people in the office. There's a handful of people who either just call him Bill or Lumbergh, without the "Mr." I've always just called him Mr. Lumbergh because that's how I've always known him. So two of the girls in my department, S & J (S is long gone by now, lucky girl) would both call him Bill. S referred to him that way because that's how he introduced himself to her the very first time she met him. Ever since her first day, she called him Bill. She was here for a little over a year. J has known Lumbergh for longer than that. She is a former employee who returned to work here after she left a few years ago. I can...

I woke up this morning, determined to not let anything phase me this week. My vacation starts Friday after work and I am more than ready to get away. But I have to get through another week at work, and that won't be easy. Last week sucked, just plain sucked. Stress, stupidity, my psychotic boss, it just all piled on and I was having a rough time of it. I'm not letting that happen this week, at least, that's the goal. So I'm trying to remain positive. It's not going to be easy. Already today, I woke up late, but, since school's out, there was no traffic and I made it to work right on time, so that wasn't even bad. I got news that the car we're going on our road trip on had to be taken to the mechanic. Oops! Hope that gets fixed by Friday. I really, really, really hope it does. I'm receiving more stupid and border-line threatening questions at work from co-workers. What do you mean I don't have any vacation time when I took 17 days off during winte...

So when I first started working here, my supervisor K, was pregnant. She was only there about 2-3 months after I started and I was supposed to cover her maternity leave, so I was trying to learn as much as I could from her and we ended up becoming really close. I love her to this day. Every time I remember this story, I kick myself for not seeing the red flag, which is obvious to me now. But here is what happened: K was in her 3rd trimester, very pregnant and as it happens with pregnant women, suffering the usual symptoms: fatigue, swollen feet, etc. Unfortunately, she worked here, and well, we don’t have time to slow down. My boss though, for once, did notice that she was tired and so he decided to do something about it. What did he do, you ask. Did he tell her to go home early and get some rest? No. Did he tell her to take an extended lunch and relax? No. Did he allow her to work from home? Nope. He walked into work one morning, with 2 sleeping bags in tow. He proceeds to walk into t...

My boss suffers from NPD, Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty convinced that's what's going on with him. I thought I would share my crazy work stories and title them the "NPD Chronicles". Here is the first...of MANY. I clearly remember the day my boss kicked me out of his office. Oh yeah, you read that right. He kicked me out of his office. Even as I write those words my hands tremble with the unfulfilled desire to punch him in the face. This is also the occasion in which K, my old supervisor quit. It was a sad and crazy week. So here’s how the story begins. K's son’s pre-school was closing for some professional development and so she had no child care for a week. She has no relatives living in Chicago, other than her husband, and therefore was forced to request that week off. Nothing was going on that week, no deadlines, no proposals, nothing we couldn't take care of, and she had time available, so she figured no big deal....

So I have a co-worker, we shall call her M, who is in the same department as me, and thus also exposed to the crazy that is my boss. For that reason alone, I try to cut her some slack, because as victims of the same narcissist, we have to stick together. But if I'm being honest? She's crazy as hell. I like her, but she's nuts. This is just my opinion. She means well, and I don't think she's a bad person, it's just that I don't always understand how her mind works, or her priorities, and sometimes she does/says things that I consider a little "out there". She's super organized though, and as far as co-workers go, she's awesome and definitely entertaining. One of M's many quirks is that she's an animal/insect lover. As in, don't harm any around her. I hate bugs and spiders, and when I see one, my instinct is to squash them, but I've quickly learned that around her that is not allowed. "Waiiiiit!", she yells, as she r...

Just had a quick, funny story to share today. By the way, T-minus 17 days until I'm outta here!!! Anyhoo...I've been trying to make working out part of my daily routine. Since I have bad knees, I kind of use that to gauge the intensity of my workouts. Yesterday was a bad day, knee wise, so I decided to stick to my low impact routine of doing 30-35 minutes on the treadmill, at a speed of 2.5. It's what causes me the least discomfort when my knees are bothering me. So I get home, already not feeling like working out, but that also seems to be part of my routine: saying I won't do it and talking myself into doing it anyway. As I pull into the garage, I find my husband there doing his own workout (he prefers the garage because the heat makes him sweat more, weirdo). I hate sweating, so, so much, which I know, makes no sense when you're trying to lose weight, but I am how I am. So I work out in the basement. It's cooler down there than in the basement. So seeing my h...

So...a lot going on. Well, not really, it just seems like a lot. T-minus 18 days until my vacation is here. That's what's really keeping me going, though the thought of packing and getting everything ready is overwhelming me already. Ugh. I have like 3 different lists already. I'm crazy, I know. Planning is my THING! So this weekend was eventful. Let me start from the beginning...Friday. At work, it was fine, nice and quiet, my boss was busy with that proposal they've been working on and hardly spoke to me. It was great! After work, the hubby and I went to our first joint Community Group meeting with the other couples. It was a nice time. Luckily, it was near my job, but it was super stressful for my poor husband, as he was troubleshooting something work-related remotely for like 2 hours as he tried to drive over to meet me. Poor guy. I hate his job. I remember when he first started, he got so excited because they gave him a free iPhone, and my "glass half empty...