2012-08-23 - 6:11 p.m.

The corn was completely eaten and stalks turned brown by this AM. I should have picked the little bit there was a couple of weeks ago. Last weekend was busy with family visiting that we didn't get out to the garden.

I had a really nice time at the Lucketts Fair with all the kids and my oldest brother who flew in, and my younger brother and his wife who drove down. They kindly picked up the oldest two in Philly at their grandparents there as I found a bus they could take there last Thu. Katerina enjoyed her time being pampered by Grandma who brought her to receive hair coloring, a manicure and a pedicure. She never had a manicure or pedicure before, so that was a really lovely treat.

So this week has been the K & S Camp as Katerina and Soren have been in charge as I go to work.

The girls have been very, very good.

Katie however had an argument with someone (I forget who) , so seemed to be starting the day off on the wrong foot yesterday. I said- "Get dressed, you are coming with me. We will go to my office and then Starbucks."

She gathered her things to keep her busy- a book she is reading, and watercolors and her sketching book, and was quite content all day keeping me company quietly at my office. It helped that there happens to be a vending machine with Mike and Ikes that was exciting to her, and there happens to be a big vat of vanilla ice cream in the freezer left over from someone's "retirement" party that I give the girls when they come there with me.

We also worked outside on the rooftop where there are tables and chairs and it was just lovely, breezy comfortable day. Wonderful day to be outside.

I was very productive yesterday with her. She in fact woke me from a dozy moment a couple of times with her "I' bored."

We left at 3:30 pm which was rather good ! We then headed to Starbucks as promised and she was content there while I worked for a few more hours.

Today in fact was a really NON productive day! Amazingly , OH WAIT- that wasn't yesterday- that was TUE that Katie accompanied me to the office. Yesterday I worked remotely holed up in my bedroom and really did hit flow and get a good amount of work done (but for the nap in the midst of a REALLY BORING TRAINING! Thank goodness I have the presentation deck to read after a very strong cup of coffee one day, and not when lounging IN BED with pillows of comfort around me! It was truly the most boring training I ever had at work. Still valuable for the info-- but just really hard to be engaged in to for an hour and a half.

One interesting thing of note however is that my date from work- who I had no qualms about dating as we worked in:
* Different actual companys (one is a subsidiary)
*therefore in DIFFERENT Departments in
*Different buildings

just so happened to be on the call. His name just popped out at me- and I thought "Welcome to our world".

That other company entity he had worked for was absorbed into OURS, and not only that, his dept was ALSO absorbed into MINE. To boot , last week my one friend who sat on the other side of the room was moved to the once vacant cubical our former admin used- close to me and my co-workers in our group. I then heard the rumor of the move from the Exec Assistant who said there are four new employees coming there . When she told me who they are working for, I immidiately realized they are not technically new- NO they have worked together as a group for fifteen years for this entity we absorbed. I realized immediately that my work date- who I never minded dating as I didn't actually work with him- is now going to be sitting just a few cubicles away from me in the section I would have to pass every time I head to that kitchen which I use!

Now I can re-route and use the other kitchen the other way and do my best to pretend he is not there(and vice versa) except when we plan an occassional date. I saw him last about two months ago. We had a nice dinner one evening. Actually my favorite thing to do with him is get takeout and hang out with him and his roomie and eat and just relax a bit. He lives close to work and it has been great to have that as an emergency crash pad if I had one of those insane sessions of a project and ran late and was just too darn tired to drive home in the moment.

He is also a gentleman who has driven me home more times than I can count and politely drops me off and leaves never expecting or pushing for an invite. He was awesome to date for that reason.

So in great irony, the "Don't Date at Work Philosophy" which I lived by has unraveled just a bit. In other irony the attorney I am dating that I started dating when he was RIFFED from his company who are consultants to ours, was re-hired at that same company. Ironically I am the main point of contact for my group in interacting with and passing projects off to that consulting firm. Its hilaroous actually.

So now I go from the NO DATING AT WORK philosophy to the two men I met at work who were safe to date as they were not at my particular work both being involved in my particular work place/space.

So odd as the assigments I send to the folks that work for the guy I am seeing will come on his desk for oversiight and work load distribution review. Weird in a way- though I guess it shouldn't be that weird to think he reads my work.

THe good news in that is that I have a few particualarly quirkly, let me call them "modus operandi" marks of my own personal work. I have gotten much better over the past four years at things like consistency of font, format, margins etc. But there are still SOME mistakes that if made are telltale signs of who worked a deal. There is one Pricing contract manager I can tell the work of due to the one consistent error. There is the attorney I can tell the work of due to her quirk of needing margins to always be .38 on the left indent. It took me FOREVER... as in three years to catch on that she wants it that way every time.

So it was funny when once there was an attorney who literally took credit for this handbook I wrote, that the guy I am seeing commented "Don't worry- We all know she is full of it, as it has your personal mark on it." The reality is she only edited my work, and the even funnier thing is that that attorey who is overly critical of everyone made a funamental material mistake and left it in redline so the consulting firm saw her error and also knew it was my work and her mistake. Happily I hardly ever work with her anymore, but it was still really funny to hear from a third party in another group that regardless of my small errors- they actually think highly of my work and know who works what is sent to them by its quality and content ( good or quirky!)

I had another review, in which it was reiterated I am going to keep working on the BOSS BOOT CAMP plan as I call it. I do like my boss and she is whipping me into shape. It's just ironic that the same day we had the mixed review (with kudos for managing a queue of work and interfacing with our consultant group- engaging them as needed)- two attorneys in my group called me to ask me questions. I received an IM question from another one today. It's just funny as I am the go to girl form information on how to do something, if we can do it, where to find things, to get a form or template sent to them, to find a contact or to find out WHO the subject matter expert that can help is.

When anyone is stuck they seem to call me (with the exception of just a couple of attorneys). So its this mix of being very knowlegable and capable, but inconsistent with quality and at times careless with detail that my boss sees and is trying to manage. Tonight I realized I was just too tired to actually do anything well after hours of fighting sleep and losing. It was just one of those dozy afternoons after lunch. I had some volunteer work on our campaign collecting school supplies for some school with a good amount of Title 1 eligable kids needing some extra help. So my day consisted of a bit of work from home, volunteering, then lunch which made me dozy, and getting a couple of things done between dozing.

Tomorrow I will have to make up for it.

ON the work front socially, I have to say that it is absolutley hilarious that today the "Office Crush" as I will call him, came to chat at our school supply table and let me know he is separated in a phrase that was indicating he knew how to help his friend going through this, something like "As one who is separated myself..."

Now he had blurted out one day after I biked into work and we were chatting somethign like "Weird. It's like we are living parallel lives "

Weird as we NEVER talk (NO ONE DOES) and he noted my biking in, (He apparently does bike which I didn't know), and then started talking about hiking. ( I did hear he hiked too as the old admin who left us told me that, and actually I recalled thinking she was shamelessly flirting with him one time about two years ago saying something to him about hiking sometime- so apparently that is the in pick up line. I say shamelessly as at that time they were both married- and not to each other.)
So anyway, the funny thing is that about three years ago, this same admin- who was really fun and cute, one day say to my other co-worker and I something about "doesn't everyone have an office crush?" To which I immediatly replied
"No" and I think I then addedd " and I don't think I ever have as I have a strict policy against dating at work."

Which was true at the time. But then as I walked away I think I did think "AH- But there IS that really cute attorney on the other side of the building. He could definately be my office crush."

Over the next year I got to know him and we were office friendly. I have chatted in his office a couple of times. But then it was actually apparent that there was a bit of attraction that was mutual- so I think we BOTH just avoided each other. So lo and behold when we got moved around and then all moved to a different floor about two years ago, it was hilarious that my cubical is NEXT to the Office Crush! That totally freaked me a bit at first.

But it was helpful that he is married and always acted married. No crossing of boundarys at all thankfully.

And then it was more helpful that I was seeing the laid off attorney, who now works with us again- especially as they happen to have been classmates at law school together! I think University of VA, along with one other lady attoney in our company who happens to be the same year (but I think she left or didn't last.)

In any case, when the Office Crush asked me if I wanted to join him hiking one Sat few weeks ago, I said NO of course.

Today he made it known he is separated, but when I asked "How long?" I cracked up at the reply "Two weeks"

BAD IDEA !!! That just made me totally crack up!! And it was also a bit of de ja vu... of the attorney I am seeing. Damn, THEY have parallel lives! They should go out for a hike together!

Now the irony is that I have been attracted to this Office Crush. I am SURE That is psycologically because he is (was) off limits. I am SURE that is becasue it was SAFE To be so , as I wouldn't go there.

I LIKE the attorney I am seeing who is very attracted to ME, and who I have great chemistry with- but it is not the same thing as the feeling of attraction from AFAR.

And I just wonder why when what's his name.... I can't recall his knickname-- Oh yeah- McGill, is SO good to me, I still don't feel attraction to him much.

The mystery of relationships is one I have not come near mastering, or even understanding!

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