Microsoft and Hard

I updated all my mobile devices to whatever the new iOS is, and things went all swimmingly this morning... then came crashing down around 1 PM. Oh, not my life or anything important, just Microsoft Exchange. No Outlook, Sharepoint, a bunch of other apps that we all use to support our partners, all kaput. As of this typing they're still out of commission. I felt it pointless to stay in the office once my afternoon Teams meetings were cancelled, and especially considering the weather (I wore a rain jacket and still got pretty soaked at lunchtime), so I headed home and logged on again around 4:45, to find nothing had changed. Very glad I didn't stick around! It actually made my day a bit more relaxed, or maybe that's the rolling thunderstorms through which I often have trouble staying awake. In any case, we'll see what tomorrow will bring. May we all live in interesting times!

Making the Most

I continue to try and find equilibrium in my newest work assignment, and AI actually helped me this time, as I took all the notes she gave me in our Teams chat yesterday and consolidated them into a few easy-to-read action plans. Now if I could just figure out how to have an agent automatically create time blocks on her calendar as soon as she makes client meal plans I might have a leg up. In the meantime I'm enjoying another work-from-home day, the last before the weather turns nasty tomorrow and into the weekend. But it's fine, I've finally caught up and filed all my finances from like way back in August onward, and my godson is coming to visit on Friday and picking up all our plushies for Mango, so that'll be fun.

Mission Impossible

I had a long "talk" via Teams with my newest partner, whom I'm finding very difficult to support as balancing her calendar often involves breaking the laws of physics, which I'm reliably informed one cannae do. It's almost as if she's setting me up to fail. But I'm finding common ground with her, bonding over our shared love of pets (she cares for five adorable dogs of various poo-ishness, and I've texted her photos of Zed and Mango) and holiday decor (she goes crazy at Hallowe'en and Christmas, and I, um, I light Chanukah candles and have a lovely holiday table in the living room), and if I take a few more deep breaths I think I can start to get the hang of it. And if not, I can quit any time. I just don't want to, as I like the steady paycheck and my fellow exec assistants and just being useful in general. This too shall pass, I've been through far worse and have come out the other side!

Sleepytime Gal

Having been up in the wee smalls a bit the previous night, I opted to take Robin up on his offer last night for a sleep-aid pill. I don't know if I'm just under the weather in general or if the pill did something to me that it didn't do to him, but I had trouble waking up all morning, which made work tricky. I ended up taking a couple PTO houers, saving stuff that required more brainpower for my office day tomorrow. Now that the sun's gone down I find myself getting sleepy again, but definitely no more little pills for me!

Voluntary Inactivity

As the days shorten all I want to do is sleep. I'm making healthy choices, adding lots of veggies, and soon I'll be back on the exercise bike (just waiting for the toe-soaking routine to end), but still, sleep is like the best thing for me. And I did get a few naps in today, but it never seems like enough, as there are always interruptions, mostly consisting of noise from one neighbor or another. Still, not a bad day at all. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to sleep some more.

New Toy

The new iPad mini, the only one I can actually comfortably hold in my hands (I still have the smallest version of iPhone too because, you know, tiny hands) came out yesterday, and since my old one was limping along we decided to order me a new one, which arrived today! Robin handled setup, which was pretty zippy, and I'm up and running! I probably spent way more time on it than I should have, as my shoulders and arms are definitely sore now, but it was worth it. I thin I'm going to enjoy my online games a lot more now! It was a good day to spend with Robin as well, we shopped and had sushi and generally enjoyed each other's company, which is what it's all about.

The Keys To It All

I came back from this morning's blood draw (a 45-minute wait for a 2-minute jab and draw) to find our apartment door stuck. Not having a great deal of upper body strength, I naturally assumed Robin had forgotten that he wasn't supposed to lock the door before his morning nap, reached into my hip pack for my keys, and found... nothing. I started banging on the door as I frantically searched. Still nothing but a justifiably disturbed husband who assured me that the door was just stuck and I needed to put more effort into opening it the next time. "Never mind that," I exclaimed in a state of near panic, "I can't find my keys!" Well, long story short, they were buried in the hip pack we took with us to England, in a zippered portion I'd neglected to search the first and second time I went through everything. Robin being the calming influence he is, I was ore or less back to normal by lunchtime, caught up on job stuff, and the keys are now back in my current hip pack where they belong. I really dislike scaring myself so much.

A Calming Influence

That's what one of the partners who sits near my workstation calls me. She knows that, even though I don't support her, she's always calmer when I'm around. I can hear Robin laughing now, as he's MY calming influence, but I'll take it! And it makes the workday that much more pleasant when I'm in the office. Also, it's Bonfire Night in Lewes and other places in England, looking way forward to seeing it all televised once we're living there. In the meantime,

 

Remember remember, this Fifth of November

We foiled Republicans' plot

I see no reason not to prosecute treason

They'll reap what they've sown, that's a lot!

 

Mental Checklist

Well, I say mental, but poor Robin has to hear me list things all the time. It's part of my compulsion, I am the girl of 100 lists. Finally succeeded in getting meetings scheduled for my newest partner assignment: check. Made lots of headway on annual meetings for another partner: check. Printed out my October financials and remembered to finally make out my rent check: check. I mean, done. Made my favorite salad (arugula, tomato, onion, cheddar cubes) and ate it in under an hour: yup! All packed up and ready for tomorrow... well, one never knows but at least I'm prepared!

AI-AI-AI

My foot feels well enough that I could walk around Manhattan (even the two avenues from the office to the subway in the afternoon) with no pain at all, which surprised me considering how long I've had issues with the left foot and my left side in general. Believe me, at my age I take nothing for granted any more! And I'm grateful as today was full of schleppage from floor to floor, as I attended two AI-related sessions with fellow exec assistants. The sessions were interesting but all in all not terribly relevant to the job I do. I increasingly feel as though my work experience makes AI redundant in my day-to-day, but we'll see. Things were a bit better on the new-partner front but I still have a bit of unease there. Deep breaths!