this kind of day

I'd like to say that my life has somehow become violently interesting, but no.

We'll split this into three separate but equal categories of sheer boredom.

Rabbits

Not litter trained. Basically, against the advice of every book and webpage a I have bought or hunted, mine are the messy, messy exception to the basic rule of rabbits. All four of the little bastards. Reggie recently discovered a new mutation in rabbit abilities--teleportation. In which you put him in a pen that's about three or four times higher than his body length, and he still gets out. I--really have no idea how he's doing this. Gravity is kind of working against him on this one. All the laws of nature and man are working against him on this one. But no, six fifty-five this morning, he's out, running the living room.

Work

Last Tuesday, called into another Manager's Meeting to seriously discuss the entire cake and card thing that apparently outranks world hunger as an important part of our jobs. I wish I could explain how surreal it is to sit in front of four managers, one soon-to-be manager, and an associate commissioner and try not to ask, "Are you all crazy? Why do you care? Why in the name of God am I revising this again? Why did I need to revise it in the first place?" The really worst part is, none of these people have a sense of humor except my manager, and even his is fairly low-key, so I'm beginning to suspect that the position requires you to be as deadpan and boring as possible and he's just barely escaping being sucked in. Apparently, the entire time I'm seriously, seriously arguing birthday policy, he's staring at the wall so as not to break up my very serious, serious speech by giggling himself sick. Afterward, he snickered his way through our unit meeting explaining how I made an argument for an office scavenger hunt sound like a speech on behalf of world peace.

I mean. On one hand? I kick ass. On the other. Oh dear God, what am I becoming?

For those interested, the policy in question is under the cut. This is, theoretically, the final draft of the policy covering 2006 and implementation is retroactive to February--and no, I have no idea what the hell that means, it's a *birthday policy* but you know what? Maybe they'e building me a time machine.



Topic: Change from quarterly birthday celebrations to monthly celebrations

A.) Monthly birthday celebrations would be held the first Friday of every month, celebrating all birthdays within that month, beginning in March.

B.) All OO staff will be invited to contribute a covered dish for a potluck extending from 11:30-1:00, to facilitate networking and OO office come and go. Denisse is in charge of cake and card information.

Benefits

· Increase office participation
· Networking opportunities
· Introduce new staff.
· Facilitate each person to feel a valued member of the team.
· Big fun. ( I am a big fan of this one)

C.) A cake and card will be contributed by the birthday committee. However, on date of actual birthday, or if on weekend the Friday before or Monday after, the office will be decorated and a small gift and/or balloon given to the birthday person. Cards for birthdays will be signed by the managers only, with an email sent to the OO to invite other members of the OO to sign it before presenting it to the birthday person.

D.) Birthday staff will record monthly meeting with pictures to be kept in scrapbook. See next topic.


Topic: Scrapbook of Events

The Birthday Committee wishes to add an OO Events Scrapbook, which would chronicle special occasions and/or events of the unit, including birthdays, recognition, parties, and awards given to various staff. Helen Green will research and begin the scrapbook.


Topic: Other Occassions

The managers will need to keep the Courtesy committee informed of special events in their units such as marriages and births, and unfortunate circumstances such as hospitalizations and/or deaths, and supply appropriate cards and a small token of the OO unit’s appreciation/respect for the person in question.

1.) For an employee’s illness requiring hospitalization, a plant and card will be given to the employee on their return. For extended hospitalization, a card may be sent to them directly.
2.) For funerals/death in the immediate family (parents, children, spouse), a plant and card will be sent to the funeral. The OO unit in which the event occurred will be asked to contribute $1 each toward the plant, with the option for the entire OO to participate as they wish. The balance will be paid by the committee.
3.) For births, a card will be provided.
4.) Card policy will match birthday card policy; see above.


Other events: TBA.


Topic: Birthday Committee Meetings

Quarterly meetings for the birthday committee will be held to plan the next three months of events/celebrations, discuss inter-unit issues and OO issues regarding these events, as well as check funding for birthday celebrations. Emails regarding payment of monthly dues will go out as appropriate at the end of every month for those paying on the monthly plan.



Other occassions subsection was revised *six times*. And I still have hand-written notes that I'm pretending I never got, because seriously, my nerves aren't up to this.

Stumped

Okay. So. If I just said, I want to do a challenge! But don't tell you what it is until after you sign up--would anyone do that? Okay, right, probably not. But see, it's on my New Year's Resolution list and I really, really want to get some of that stuff out of the way before I end up scaring myself on New Year's Eve trying to do it all.

In further news...ohh, new comptuers at work! Oh wow.

Comments

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*sits with you*

we fail as small animal caretakers. Or...maybe Other People are crazy. I mean, it could all be lies. Lies to make us feel bad.

*narrowed eyes* Yes. Yes yes yes.

[ratcreature]

Yeah, I have that thought that I fail as a rat caretaker fairly often, and it gets just worse when one of your pets is ill. I mean, like I couldn't even get the third type of antibiotic into my rat that the vet tried for his lung infection. No matter what I mixed it with, he just won't eat it, even though the vet said that most rats like this antibiotic syrup, and I can't manage that forcefeed grip either, because he struggles so much and even if I do get the syringe near his mouth he spit things out again, and he gets all panicky and I'm afraid for his breathing, which is worse with exertion, and I can't handle injections either so for the antibiotic the vet tried before that I had to do daily vet visits for over a week, and before that when he got that diuretic med when the vet supposed there was water in the lung I could never answer whether he peed more or less and how often, because I just don't know. I mean how am I supposed to judge the volume of his pee? But apparently you are supposed to be able to tell these things and these miraculously competent people can hold their pets still while giving them injections themselves without hurting the animal, and are able to get oral syringes in their pets' mouth.... and I just think I suck and feel horribly guilty and afraid all the time.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Yeah, I am totally with you on that feeling. I cannot hold my pets still for simple nail trimming--I have to have someone else do it while we both hold them down, so I am--yeah. I have no idea how they do that. And god, yes, keeping up with their excretion processes....*boggles*

But honestly? I think most people can't keep it all up. I just don't see most people *able* to, no matter the pet.

*moer hugs* You are a good rat owner. Promise.

[djinanna.livejournal.com]

Nail trimming ... 15 pounds of feline muscle, like a freakin' coiled spring, wicked scimitar-like claws on all four paws commensurate with the size of the boy. His *fangs*? Were a half-inch long. Half an inch! They hung out the sides of his mouth, he was a freakin' sabertooth domestic shorthair.

How did I trim his nails? I ... I played feline dominance games. I *bit* the back of his neck, where his momma would to make him behave. He'd go limp for long enough to let me clip all his nails.

Maybe there's a rabbit equivalent you could use? Because I don't think the biting thing would be good ... you don't want your face anywhere *near* Reggie's claws, no you don't.

(Cat reference above is dearly departed and now dwells with Bast in the great catnip field in the sky. Or wherever.)