Blog Week 117: Taking the piste.
Sunday 17 February 20.31
On Friday Mockney told me that Barbie will be spending part of her maternity leave on the ski slopes. I know he reads other people's emails but that sounds wrong, right?
Even if it is true I should not let Barbie's antics bother me. There is more interesting stuff going on in this upstairs/downstairs office world.
Monday 18 February 22.31
Calamity James has failed to live up to his pre-match billing. Since he arrived in our office nothing has gone wrong (that I have heard about). I wonder if he outgrew his nickname or it was never accurate in the first place? Perhaps some mean-spirited person came up with something totally unjustified and it just stuck. Pesky things office nicknames: insufficiently adaptable to deal with the evolutions of our office life.
Calamity gets on well with my Hot Stagiaire, someone who I have not seen much of him lately. Hottie used to flirt with me. I cannot remember when it stopped. Or, more importantly, why it stopped. Was it something I said or did or something I didn't say or do? I'll probably never know. It was nice though.
Tuesday 19 February 23.11
There is the smell of desperation in certain parts of the office about how to cut expenditure. Unable to magic up any meaningful suggestions of my own, I now only have to implement the ideas that others have thought up.
It's all a relief really. When I have told support staff about some penny-pinching way they have to save money, they look back at me in disbelief and ask why. I agree it is a mad, crazy decision of "them" (whoever consitutes "them" always remains unclear: our partners; Pierre and/or Old Timer; or some people sitting in another office somewhere). It is just not me. These are short-term decisions with a long-term impact. Why should I get caught in the cross-fire of simmering resentment?
Wednesday 20 February 22.42
Hedgehog, our prickly-yet-cuddly Library services person, is not happy with the proposed cuts to his "exceptional items" budget. Hedgehog is in a difficult position: everyone agrees that there is a budget to observe but also believes their pet demands are a justified exception to that budget. So whenever a partner sees something we must definitely, absolutely have then s/he puts pressure on Hedgehog to order it. Hedgehog was complaining to me that they are all taking the piss. I think he is feeling a little bitter.
Thursday 21 February 21.24
Calamity James came in looking quite dishelved this morning. Mockney said CJ and some trainees in other firms were out "on the razz" (translation: getting drunk) last night. Something to do with some of them returning to London and a new batch about to replace them. I wonder if Calamity's true colours are about to show?
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