Tag Archives: working from home

A Day That Failed to Deliver

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Having made a plan for the day I awoke with energy and determination, dressed swiftly and went downstairs with high hopes.

At that point the plan failed to survive first contact with the enemy, hit the buffers and the wheels came off, as the mixed metaphors fell thick and fast, along with the cliches. The ‘enemy’ was, of course, my dear wife, who was already up to her ears in phone calls and had a list of things for me to do.

As a result I am now typing close to midnight and have only managed to tick three jobs off my list, though I have managed to do quite a few jobs that weren’t on the list.You have to wonder why I bother having Wednesdays off, as they have become just another working day for Julia during lockdown.

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Red Tailed Bumble Bee Mencap Garden Wilford

This is the third attempt I have made at today’s blog post as the previous two have degenerated into a whining complaint about the unfairness of life, the unfairness of wife and the perils of working from home. When we are all back at work I bet her clients, who know no boundaries, will continue to ring in the evenings and at weekends and we (along with many other people) will be worse off in terms of relaxation and work/life balance, than we were before lockdown.

This, along with masks and governmental ineptitude, seems to be one of the big stories of the day.

I have just spent the last hour wrestling with the shopping list for tomorrow. I started it in good time but stopped to eat, fell asleep in front of the TV and woke, stiff and grumpy, to find that I had two hours to shop and blog.

There is half an hour to go, so I will add a few photos from the gardens on Monday and sign off for the day. I pursued a red tailed bumble bee around the cranesbill and lilies but these two poor shots were the only decent ones.The cranesbill drooped under it’s weight and didn’t provide enough pollen to keep it, while the lilies provided pollen, but the bee was hidden deep in the flower as it collected.

Tomorrow I hope to be more positive, more productive and a much nicer person. I suspect I am only going to managed two out of the three as a major personality change is unlikely.

Teasel - Mencap Garden Wilford Nottingham

Teasel – Mencap Garden Wilford Nottingham

 

Working from Home and Aimless Chatter

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Julia is busy on a conference call at the moment. People are taking it in turns to talk about their “case load” on a poor connection. I use the word ‘load’ with my tongue firmly in my cheek – talking to people on the phone is not hard work. It isn’t very interesting for an eavesdropper and is far less detailed than the reports she submits each week. In fact, it’s useless, but I suppose, like weekly meetings, it makes management feel like they are doing things,

There are, according to the manager running it, three more people to report in, and then they will move to “something else”. Julia rolled her eyes at that announcement.

One of the manager’s kids is now being told to be quiet because mummy is talking to people at work.

Such are the pleasures of working from home.

One of them is currently answering questions from his wife about his lunchtime ham sandwich.

I’m glad I don’t have to do it, I’d probably end up being rude to someone. Instead of that I’m being rude about them on my blog.

I just had my telephone appointment with the rheumatology nurse about my new medication. It involves side effects and a lot more blood testing. They have, they tell me, reorganised the phlebotomy department to allow for social distancing. I’m dubious about this, as true social distancing would involve a three foot needle.

woman in gray sweater sitting on wooden floor typing on portable computer

Photo by bongkarn thanyakij on Pexels.com

Somebody on the conference call has a dog barking in the background.

The telephone appointment was eventful.

First, they rang me early. I didn’t have my phone with me and they disconnected after four rings. Eventually they rang back. I had my phone with me. Unfortunately I had it with me in the toilet. We had to break that one off when they had a fire alarm. Finally we reconnected and discussed the new medication. Side effects may include loss of appetite, which would be quite useful. Two of the others are drowsiness and hair loss. I told Julia this and she just laughed.

The conference call is now suggesting weekly calls as a way of keeping in touch.

I can hardly wait…

The photos are from the free photo library – the reality is not quite so attractive and organised.