An Interesting Work Week

Yeah, another post about work. Sorry.

We've finally figured out exactly what they're doing in our parking lot that is creating such havoc. They're installing...landscaping. That's right: they're making it an absolute nightmare to find a parking spot in the morning just so they can put in some grass and trees. Is this absolutely necessary? Look, I'm in favor of greenery--I wouldn't exactly call myself a tree-hugger, but I wouldn't object too strenuously if someone else were to tag me with that label--but in this case it seems totally superfluous. The parking lot was barely big enough as it was, when it was just a big unbroken square lot. The construction has ensured that at least some people will be unable to find parking spots each day, meaning they have to park in the adjacent neighborhood, and I don't know that it will be much better when the construction is finished and the new landscaping is taking up space that could be better used for additional spots. I just think they would have been better off to just pave the lot and paint some spaces, and plant the trees somewhere else.

Even aside from that, it's been quite an interesting week. We had a meeting earlier this week to discuss some reorganization within our department. It seems as though everyone is having major responsibilities added or changed. This has led to some stress, as we've been given only two weeks to enact all of these changes. It's also led to some stress because at least one person is less than happy about having her major job function stripped away from her with no advance warning before the meeting. She's been given new duties, but she has been pretty vocal about her displeasure. I've been told that she's been subject to emotional meltdowns in the past, so I think everyone is kind of waiting for her to flip out. I wouldn't exactly say she's taken it well so far, but I guess it's better than it could have been. I just hope it stays that way.

While my primary responsibility will continue to be proofreading--I would have been pretty upset myself if that had changed, since that's what I came to this job for--I'm getting a new responsibility as well. It's been in the offing for quite some time, as it's the reason why I was given a bigger desk and a second computer (a Mac). I'm going to be responsible for scanning and tweaking some of the graphics we use in our catalogs and on our website. I've never done a lot of serious work with graphics before, so it should be interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to it, though. The guy who does it now has been showing me some of the basics, and working with Photoshop is a lot of fun. They're actually sending me to an all-day Photoshop seminar next week to learn the software on a more in-depth basis, which should be pretty cool.

When it was initially decided that they were going to have me learn how to do this graphics stuff, I think the main purpose was going to be for me to just help out when I had some free time and when the graphics people got backed up. However, the guy who's doing this now is being given plenty of new responsibilities himself, and it sounds as though scanning artwork will be pretty low on his priority list. From the way the department heads have been talking, I'll have primary responsibility for it once I have a handle on it. My proofreading duties will take priority, but I'll also have this graphics stuff. It sounds like a lot to handle, but I can't wait for the challenge. For me, the best days at work are the days when I have a lot of stuff to do, and it sounds like those days will be pretty common once I've got both of these things going on.

One thing I do have to say, though, is that I think my job is causing my brain to atrophy. Not really, but it definitely doesn't seem like I'm doing quite as much higher-level thought as I was before I took the job. It doesn't have anything to do with the job per se, but mostly due to the fact that I'm actually working during the day instead of spending most of the time on the Internet. In my last job, I was spending the bulk of my time on the Internet, and I was reading about a wide range of topics and had plenty of stuff to think about. At this job, Internet usage is more closely monitored, and I don't have as much time for it at any rate. I just need to remember to make some time each day after I get home to do some wider reading than I have been lately. It'll make me feel better, and hopefully it'll make my blog entries a little more interesting as well.