Saturday bits of random

 Rather than respond with multiple repeats to your comments on the last post, I figured I would respond here.  

I think part of the reasoning behind the return order is partially because we own our building.  I can see the thought of "Well, we are paying to keep the lights on, the HVAC running, etc...we might as well be IN the building a little."

I have been informed that the building is currently on the market - which may mean that the in office policy "could" (theoretically) change in the future.  We shall see.

And yes, I am grateful beyond measure that they have recognized that working from home has been a success (as they should.  I know for a fact that most of us have worked longer hours working from home than we ever did in the office - where we all just stopped working and went home at the end of the day usually) and will allow us to work from home for the majority of the week.

As I stated, my whole issue with returning to the office is the "mask optional" bit.  My plan is to continue to mask, avoid as many people as I can and continue to refuse when asked to go for lunch.  

Despite the nonsense the CDC has recently put out (most Americans can forego masking, etc. - which honestly, CDC - WHAT in the actual hell?); it just seems to me that it is too early to rush to judgment (IT'S OVER!).

No, it is not.  Even the American Medical Association stated that it's not over.  There are still those with compromised immune systems to think about and children under the age of five - or do they not matter?

Ok - enough.  The title of this post refers to random...so let's move on, shall we?

***

Thanks to Nicole's (HI NICOLE!) last two posts, this morning when I was getting dressed to head to the (thankfully) empty office, I actually stopped to take the time to spritz on my favorite perfume, add my jewelry and pick out a cute pair of red driving shoes.  While I have continued to wear actual clothes, apply makeup and fix my hair throughout the pandemic - I haven't had "fun" getting dressed.  Today, I had fun and actually looked forward to figuring out my outfit for the day.  Thank you, Nicole!  

Also, did you know that if you let your silver jewelry sit unused for two years it will tarnish?  Huh.  Guess I'll be cleaning jewelry tomorrow; not as much fun - but it will be ready when I want to wear them.

***

The home office.  It is sort of kind of together.  My initial plan had been to move the bed upstairs - but for now it's still in the home office.  And that's fine.  The desk could be a *smidge* longer but works.  The chair is nowhere near as comfortable as I'd like - but it works.  Having a dedicated space?  TOTALLY WORKS!

To the point that The Husband actually said, "I guess I'll never see you now..." as I walked in and shut the door to start the testing/training that was the impetus of the home office in the first place.

I love it - when I'm in the home office - it is quiet.  Imagine that!  I should have had one of these eons ago.  I have also turned to the home office during off hours just to experience the quiet...or compose a blog post (guess where I am right now?). ;-)

Speaking of the testing/training...OH MY GOD - the system seems fine - as long as everyone is properly trained (and they will need to be after spending decades doing something a certain way) - but the remote testing/training could be better managed.  So far, we've had five sessions.  Of those five sessions, only ONE was informative to me.  One particular session, we spent over an hour trying to get all of us logged in on our "mobiles" (said in a British accent).  And one session went nearly an hour over (which ok, if it is informative and NOT impeding lunch hour - which it did.  Lunch at 2:00 pm?  Not fun.)  Extremely frustrating.  Most of the other sessions were spent on a module that 90% of us in the meeting would never use.  As far as I can determine, we've got at least three more sessions; I'm hoping those will actually be useful and not a waste of my time.

***

I thought there was one other topic that I wanted to visit - but for the moment can't remember what that might have been.  

The memo I've been dreading has arrived...

As I've watched all the local restrictions and mask mandates drop away, I knew this day was was fast approaching and I have been DREADING it.

We have been summoned back to the office in two weeks - masks optional.

Granted, we have been told that the status quo from now on will be that we only have to be in the office two days a week and can work from home (or where ever) the other three days.  This particular bit of news was pleasant and also came as a shock because I never saw THAT coming.  And they aren't even mandating which days - we get to pick and choose.

But...it still feels to early to go back - particularly sans masks - and based on several conversations, I feel fairly confident that there will be a lot of people who will choose not to mask.  I hope I am wrong on that score...

I was talking to my boss the other day on another matter when he asked how I felt about the news.  I was honest and told him I wasn't thrilled - especially the mask bit.  I also told him how I have been told point blank by a few co-workers that they REFUSE to get vaccinated and that I really wasn't comfortable about being in the building with this information.

I know if he had a say in the matter, our little team could continue to work from home.  Sadly, he does not.

I also know - based on several conversations with various co-workers that they are "done" with the whole thing and think it's nuts that we are still being so very vigilant.  But here's the deal - we've avoided it so far and I'd like to continue that trend for the time being.  And the more I read about possible long term effects - and knowing our risk factors - the more I know that I REALLY don't want either of us to get it.

What baffles me is the insistence that we NEED to be in the office.  I mean, I can see having the building open and available for people to come and go as necessary; but what is the point of mandating that we NEED to be there two days a week; particularly since most of use have adapted and don't need to be there very much?  My usual method of madness, during the past two years, has been to head in on a Saturday/Sunday or random holiday (basically when I knew it would be just me and the security guy in the building) to check the mail and do a few tasks that I can't do from home.  This practice opened my eyes to just how much I CAN do from home (basically, 99% percent of my job can be done from home).  Usually, those once a week visits were wrapped up in less than an hour.  I can understand that there might be times where it's an "all hands on deck" kind of situation but that seems like that would be the rare occurrence.

I know things will have to go "back" to normal (no, we will never go back to the way it was, I don't think - some of us have been changed by this shared experience in so many big and small ways) eventually...but it just feels too soon to try to force it right now.

Waffling...it is what I do best

I've been pretty MIA around the blog-o-verse lately.  Sorry about that.

Life has been pretty quiet around here - well, not "quiet" exactly, since The Husband is now home a good majority of the days.  My quiet hours have drastically dwindled to next to never and I miss them.

Last week, I was informed that I am to be a "lab rat" to test a new system our company is hoping to roll out soon.  I haven't started this training/testing yet, but I can already hear the howls from many of the old-timers (of which, I am one now shockingly - just a few years ago, I was still considered a "newbie" even after being with the company for 15 years) at the thought of drastically changing the way things are done.  Maybe it will be a good thing; I've got my fingers crossed.

At any rate, this news finally lit a fire under me and I have ordered a desk and a chair to put in the current guest room - this training/testing will take place over several hours for several weeks; and it just isn't feasible for me to continue to work from the dining room table any more and expect The Husband to disappear or tiptoe around while I am engaged in this extensive training/testing.  

As is my wont, I looked at EVERY.SINGLE.DESK on the internet; narrowed it down to ten or so.  Then left the tabs open in my browser while I waffled about which one would best meet my needs.  Once I finally figured out which one I wanted (this was a DAYS long process, by the way); I then realized I needed a chair to accompany said desk and the whole process started all over again.

At any rate, they have been ordered and, hopefully, I will have transitioned into my new "home office" by the end of the week.

I must admit, I WILL be pleased to have all the office detritus cleared out of the main living area. 

Now I am off to waffle over what I will waffle over next.