Well, how's about this?
Yesterday on my way home, I bought myself a new sweater. It's the color of a new leaf. It is what some have called "Paris green".
I woke up this morning, determined to take on the world. I put on my pearl earrings and my Paris green sweater and a neat pair of black pants and off I went.
It was a fine day today. The wind was scudding the thin flat clouds to the east and as I was rounding a corner, saw the first robin of the year. In fact, central Jersey is positively infested with robins at the moment. I must have seen a hundred of them.
At work, I kept my chin up. I was tired of panicking about work, so I sat down and put everything I had to do on an Excel spreadsheet. I filled in details. I put in dates. I've used this system before and it works.
And when I was finished, children, what do you suppose I saw?
I saw the truth. I saw that in one day, I was supposed to accomplish what three people would be hard-pressed to complete.
Boy Wonder sent me an email. "Have you done XYZ yet?" I walked into his office with a printout of the spreadsheet in hand. I put it on his desk.
"That," I said, "is one day of my life. Where exactly do you see XYZ fitting in?"
"Holy crap," he said. "Have you shown this to True Boss? Does he realize you're spread so thin?"
I showed it to True Boss. He said, "Nice system."
Yentl sent me email. "Have you done ABC yet?"
I sent her a copy of the spreadsheet. "ABC is here. It's number 15 on the list. I suggest you talk to True Boss if you see a need to change that priority."
I spent today working. Really, really working as I haven't in months. As I crossed off one thing after another, more sprang up in their places.
I worked late this evening, but when I was done, knew I'd done a full day's work. And that I wasn't crazy for thinking myself overworked.
Today, I was complimented more times than I have been in years. "You look... perky," one of the programmers said. "We like you perky. You haven't been well for awhile."
No, I haven't. But I'm starting to feel better. There's a dance in the old dame yet, boss. Toujours gai, toujours gai.
