cbtreks

I had an unexpected 4 day weekend last week and, understandably, by yesterday, Irish was a little confused as to what day it was, especially since we didn't do church (in person or on line). My mom is headed down to Georgia for about 6 weeks, so yesterday my mom, my sister, her two adult kids, Irish, and I met for breakfast at 10 in a town about 15 miles away. (I'm not sure why 10 since normally both my mom and my sister would also be in church at that time, but that's what we did.)

On the way there, Irish asked if it was Saturday. I told him no, it was Sunday. He said it really felt like Saturday. "No, yesterday was Saturday, today's Sunday."

"Ok, but it still feels like Saturday!"

"It's Sunday, so tomorrow's Monday. I need to get up and go to work. In the living room. In my pajamas. Or blue jeans."

"I remember when you would get dressed for work even though you were working at home."

That made me laugh out loud. I really did, when I first began WFH, dress for the office every day. I also went to bed and got up at the same time I did when I was going to the office, since it was originally only supposed to be for 2 weeks.

To be fair, even though I work at a law firm, the dress code is definitely business casual, (and blue jeans on Fridays) unless someone's with a client, so most of the support staff don't actually dress up. But it's also true that working from home, I wear blue jeans most days and it's not unknown for me to spend the entire work day in my pajamas (especially when I had shingles in February - they were the only clothes that didn't hurt). I also rarely wear makeup at home and tend to throw my hair up with a big hair clip. It doesn't matter really, since we rarely have video meetings. Perhaps it's time to make a little more effort in the mornings!

(I did put on a little makeup today since we had a video meeting with our new team-mate. I also did not wear pajamas!)

If you started working from home during the pandemic, what's the worst new habit you had to break/will have to break when you go back to the office (or wherever)?

I enjoy sitting with my coffee and reading in the morning before work. When I'm commuting, I wait until I'm ready - shower, breakfast, dressed - to do it because I know I can get so caught up I won't always notice the time pass until I absolutely have to be in the car now or be late. Since working from home, I sometimes don't bother to get ready before I begin reading - I can work in my pajamas and shower at lunch time. Since I could be told to go back to the office at any time now, I suppose that's one bad habit it's time to break. (But not today because I've been logged in for 50 minutes - it's a slow morning which is how I can be on LJ right now - and here I am, in my pjs, planning on getting a shower at 2:00.) I'm going to miss being able to do this when I have to go back to the office.

I started two weeks ago Wednesday and so far have found no drawbacks whatsoever. (And my job is particularly suited for it, which helps - I work in the word processing department for a law firm. We take everyone's messy filings and pleadings and make them look fantastic, as well as assisting with PowerPoint and Excel and transcribing dictation. Which I hate but no job is perfect.) I know there are people for whom WFH is really difficult because they need that in-person interaction with their co-workers but I'm fine with instant messaging and email. We'll see if I feel differently in a month, but I suspect not. I wonder if I can negotiate a day or two of WFH per week once things get back to normal.

As a side note - the weekend was mostly sunny and got up into the 60s. This week it's back to cloudy and in the 40s. That's pretty normal for here but it sure gets annoying. I want to put my winter clothes away and know I wont' need to get them back out!

That's what they're calling it in Alaska - at least that's what I gathered from news articles my cousins have posted on Facebook. That's what Irish and I have been doing as well. I began working from home last Wednesday and I love it. I don't like the reason for it but if they told me I could continue doing it after it's (relatively - every medical professional I've read seems to believe we might have to do this 2 or 3 times over the next few months) safe, y'all would hear me cheering no matter where you are.

There are 259 cases of Covid 19 in Indiana right now. It doesn't sound like a lot, but we only saw our first case I think 2 weeks ago and we've only tested 1960 people (we have a population of approximately 6.75 million). Of those 259 cases, there have been 7 deaths. The county I live in has no cases (that we know of) which actually isn't that surprising - it's a small county, very rural with lots of small towns and farms. Still, people in my small town go into the larger towns in other counties to work and shop and I don't doubt there are asymptomatic cases, or those that are so mild people think it's a severe cold, or people who can't get tested yet, in my county.

The governer issued a stay at home order that goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow through April 7. We can still buy food, gas, prescriptions, etc. and I expect I'll go to the grocery store this Friday on my lunch hour, as I did last Friday, and probably every Friday for the foreseeable future. I'm hoping we can continue to get what we need there and that I won't have to go into South Bend or Mishawaka for groceries, although if I do that, I can have them delivered right to the car and not have to go inside. I'd still rather not drive up there, though.

I'm glad for the stay at home order but a bit annoyed about it too, because I think if people had taken social distancing seriously perhaps it wouldn't have been necessary. One of my cousins, who is married to a cop (and therefore he has to be out and about every single day) was taking her kids to their grandparents' house to visit them. !!! My aunt and uncle are both over 70 and they both have underlying health issues. Neither of them look or act 70+ but they are. My aunt, who worked as an RN many years ago and kept up her license should've known to put a stop to that right away. My cousin did post yesterday that they won't be going over there anymore but that maybe when the weather warms up, they'll go and sit on their porch with them. She's not stupid and she's not malicious, but she's just not getting it. I imagine she's representative of more people than I want to know about. So I can't find myself getting worked up about a stay at home order. Granted, it's easier for me than for many people - I still have a job and can work every day, I'm generally introverted and love being at home, and I have plenty of solitary, indoor hobbies - and I really do have sympathy for those who aren't as fortunate. But still not really mad about the order from the governor.

Hunker down, everyone, stay safe and well - and I'm so glad this is occurring at a time when we have the internet and text messaging and inexpensive long distance phone calls. This would have beeen so much harder 40 years ago.

On Thursday I got (and replied to) an email from an attorney at a personal injury firm that I'd applied to Wednesday and as I was replying and thinking about what it'll be like to start a brand-new job, no matter where, I got some insight into my sudden reluctance about doing NaNoWriMo when I'd been looking forward to it before. I was wrong when I said it had nothing to do with the job situation - actually, I think it has everything to do with it. Looking for a job kind of eats my brain, even though I'm not actively looking 8 hours a day. It's still in the forefront of my mind all the time. Then when I get a job, getting acclimated and learning the new position and the new work culture will also eat my brain. My desire to do nothing but relaxing things when I'm job hunting directly feeds that reluctance to do NNWM this year. (I like writing but it's not relaxing.) Ironically, that realization may free up some words. I'm off tomorrow to spend a few hours writing at a friend's house; I hope I can put aside thoughts of resumes and interviews while I'm there. (I have an interview at that firm first thing Monday morning. Hate interviews! I never know what to say when they ask my strengths and weaknesses. Or what's the biggest accomplishment from your last job? Um, not quitting without notice after telling them exactly what I thought of them? Somehow, I don't think that will fly.)

I was ready to go home 15 minutes after I got to work today. The first e-mail I read was an announcement that the firm has hired a part-time paralegal. Why wasn't this job posted internally before hiring from outside? (Because we just don't do things that way, I guess.) If I'd known they wanted a part-time paralegal, I'd have applied. A bit of an hourly raise, combined with my financial aid and Irish's disability, I could afford to work part-time while in school. The new paralegal was introduced this morning and it turns out that she's still in school for her paralegal certificate and has four classes to go - about a semester - before she earns it. I have a paralegal certificate - more than a certificate, it's an actual college degree (associates - that is, a 2-year degree). And a bachelors degree. And I'm beginning my masters. Two years to go.... I didn't intend to leave this job until I got my MLIS and a library job but now I'm not so sure. (I'm not bringing this up with the office manager - if I intended to stay for a long time, I would, but I don't, so it's ultimately not worth it to me. It would just create tension that I don't need at work, it's highly doubtful it would change anything, and I really don't want to hear - again, as I did when I applied for an open paralegal position a year and a half ago - "You're valuable where you are.")

In my experience, which is certainly not vast but does cover several years and a handful of law firms, most law firms will not promote secretaries, receptionists, or file or project clerks. Some of them will post job openings internally, but it always ends up going to an outside hire. I'm sure there are plenty of firms where that's not the case, however it's true to my personal experience and observations. So that was the start of my day!

But - it ended on a high note with us splurging and going to Red Lobster (grilled scallops and shrimp with a side of fried clams - mmmm - and I saved half my scallops, a shrimp, and my chicken for lunch tomorrow). Then I came home and seasons 1 and 2 of Route 66 were waiting for me from Amazon. (We didn't come into an inheritance but I did get my financial aid disbursement. I got things for school then used some to pay the rent so we could treat ourselves a bit - dinner and dvds - and the rest just needs to sit there so if I do get a part-time job rather than what I've got, it can supplement our income.)

Route 66! Buz and Tod! I used to watch this show when it was being rerun on Nick at Night 24 years ago and taped them all, but those tapes are long gone. I've been wanting to see it again for 20 years. I'm so excited! And I also preordered Season 3 and should have it later this week. This is perfect study reward material - watch a lecture, watch some Route 66. Do the reading, watch some more. Work on an assignment, watch some more. Or, you know, I could just gorge on 4 or 5 eps at a time on a Saturday. I think I need to watch a few minutes of the pilot before I go to bed....