My Kingdom for a Chair in Everyday Ramblings

According to the forecast today is our last day of light for at least a week. It will warm up a tad bit and get dark and wet. But for right this moment we have beautiful light from the south and quite crisp temperatures.

I took a sick day from work. I am tired and need to ground and recharge. Everything has been rush rush since we moved from summer into fall The amount of sick time I have factors into my retirement calculation so I am in no hurry to use up any more than I absolutely need to. Today was one day where I could do it without any serious catch up time.

Fingers crossed I manage to get to a straightforward retirement. With all the changes at work there is a very real chance my job might be eliminated or changed so drastically that I won’t be eligible for it.

But in the meantime, Pacifica, my cohort (and quite unusual coworker) has found another job! In a department far far away. She leaves a week from Friday. She is going to be replaced. If you are in a wishing mood could you help me wish for someone who actually has the appropriate skill set to do the job, can think for themselves, and (why not ask for the moon) communicate effectively.

I was in the pilot group of telecommuters. I was actually the first person in my department that went out over 3 years ago. I was only scheduled to be in the office 4 hours a week and one of those was usually in a meeting. I asked if I could take my wonderful adjustable ergonomically designed chair home for the duration.

As I don’t have a space to call my own now in the office when I am there I have to sit in all these uncomfortable locations in the dregs of the chairs that are available and my right hip hurt everyday when I came home after what I now call my “chair days”.

Last Tuesday I taught class at noon and then had a private yoga session at 5pm and Wednesday it only took about an hour in the hip killing chair I was allotted to get my hip all riled up. I started talking to the woman Miss M. that I get along with who was sitting cattycorner (diagonally) from me (Wow, really is that how you spell it?) about the chair issue and mentioned that I had no trouble with my chair at home.

A few minutes later a card carrying member of the Evil Empire sidled up to the space I was sitting in, she is not a manager, she is a grade above me though, and asked me to step into her manager’s empty office. She said she overheard my conversation and that the perception is that I took that chair home without permission and therefore was in possession of stolen property and could be fired for it. And that there were no provisions in our telecommute agreements about supplying proper ergonomics.

I got a little, well, mad at this intrusion.

But in spite of that, I acquitted myself with grace. I looked her right in the eye and asked, “Would it make you feel better (because clearly she was concerned about my future longevity at the institution) if I went home and got the chair?”

Listening to her I was thinking, heck, I am here more than I am home and my hip does hurt... it makes sense to just go get the darn chair.

I did.

Certain that while I was she was reporting to management I wrote the whole “incident” up and sent it to my current manager (who knew about the chair at home and my chair problems).

Then I started to worry that maybe the good chair would go missing on the days I wasn’t in the office. So I thought that I’d put a little discreet sign on the back saying that I was currently using it and my phone number. Well, Miss M. does inventory and when I asked her for a piece of tape she dug into a drawer and came up with a bright green florescent label.

I didn’t say the chair was mine, I only said that I was using it.

The next day when I came in the label was half pulled off.

The day after that, Miss R. came up to me first thing before anybody but us two were in and said, “You know…Mr. T. (Our brand new Treasury Manager from the East Coast) does not like this sticker here at all! He took it off but then put it back on.”

I pulled the sticker off and threw it away.

Guess who, starting next week, I am now going to report to?

Yep. Mr. T. My job is being transitioned to our allied department. Such an auspicious new beginning don't you think?

Things went well with my late arriving yoga student. More about that later.