Category: Work

Covid

9:20am Monday morning after thanksgiving, in my office. The office girl that was out for two weeks with covid came back. She said she had a negative test but she sounds awful. A triage nurse is quitting rather than getting the covid vaccine so we don’t have coverage at night next week. Our clinical director is still out with covid and our marketing manager’s family is all sick with covid.

Thanksgiving eve

2:32pm in my office, Phoenix, Wednesday afternoon. It is quiet, and boring. Not much going on. The phones are silent but there are a couple loose ends to take care before the holiday. I spent most of the day scrolling through the newsfeed on my computer. On my walk this morning I felt gratitude, specifically for my time in Arizona. 2021 has been nice in that I can look back on the last 9 plus months and not hate what I see. Which is not nothing. Often when I think about the past it is like wandering into a mine field. Memories start happy but end up sad. Or worse, just plain suck. Arizona hasn’t been perfect but it has been pretty good. Good enough that I can get lost in thought, even just for a little bit, without devolving into sadness. It ain’t much but I will take it.

Monday

3:42pm, in my office, Arizona, Monday afternoon. The sky is a little overcast and the weather is cool for Phoenix (upper 70’s) We made it to the casino last night but didn’t win anything. We still had a good time. I got to the office early today. Traffic was light and work has been slow. It is still just me and one assistant in the office today however she noticed a flat on her car so she left to get it serviced. So far I have successfully fielded phone calls and inquiries.

Friday

3:42pm Friday afternoon, office in Phoenix. This afternoon many visitors came to the office. The regional team stopped by on their way to Tucson from up north. Originally they were going to stay until three but left at 2. It is Friday afternoon so I don’t blame them for leaving early. After they were gone a nursing assistant, nurse practitioner and registered nurse came in, one after the other. I invited each of them to come in because I had things to discuss about future assignments. The meetings went well and I felt they were mutually beneficial. Now the office assistant and I are working on new referrals and closing out payroll. It is going slow because the two other staff members usually in the office Friday afternoons are out sick.

Back in Arizona

7:45 pm, apartment in Arizona, Sunday evening. I am back in Arizona after a weekend in Orange County. I got a late start this morning and hit traffic just outside the city so it was dark when I arrived back at my apartment. After eating dinner and unpacking the car I started a load of wash and put away groceries. Now I am checking emails and charging my phones. I plan on going to bed early to get rested for tomorrow. This will be the last week corporate support people will be at the office Monday through Friday. I appreciate the help but it is stressful having to explain everything and learn new systems.

Time change

6:08pm, apartment, Arizona, evening. Sunday was the end of day light savings. In Arizona that means we stay put as time zones change around us. During the summer we are on Pacific time. In the winter, mountain time. I grew up in the mountain time zone so it feels familiar but I do lose an hour now traveling back from California. On a similar note Our office had a time change. We went from closing at 5pm to closing at 4:30pm (all the offices at the new company are on that schedule). You wouldn’t think 30 minutes makes that big of a difference but it does. 30 minutes means avoiding traffic. It provides more time to relax and the day is shorter. Change is hard but in that one small capacity things feel better. Sometimes it is the little things that mean the most.

stress

5:37am, Thursday, apartment, Arizona. I woke up this morning in a panic. My chest was heavy and I couldn’t catch my breath. I stumbled to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face while taking deep breaths. After a minute I felt calmer but it was frightening. Everyday the stress seems heavier and work more frustrating. I am tired of problems that never resolve, tasks that are not completed and excuses that are implausible. This causes me to examine so much about life; maybe I am not cut out for leadership, perhaps I should work for a different company, or is it a matter of making changes in key positions? Whatever the case the issues must be addressed before I cause myself serious harm.

Catalytic

8:30am at the office in Arizona. One of the employees had the catalytic converter stolen from her car yesterday afternoon. The thief crawled underneath her vehicle and dismantled the exhaust system. Upon starting the engine she knew something was wrong, it sounded awful, as you would suspect when the exhaust system is broken. She came back into the office distraught. I calmed her down and gave her a ride home. Her step dad brought her to work this morning and is taking care of the situation. It is an older car. I suspect after filing a police report and insurance claim the vehicle will be totaled out. It got me thinking about life. How the car was productive for years; Driving to work, taking vacations, running errands. Then, in an instant, the value is stolen by an unknown stranger. Life is fragile. Things change quickly and your value can diminish overnight.