Do you ever do what I did last night? Climb into bed, ready to sleep and try to get comfortable but your arms are in the way? Or your shoulder points aren't cooperating and seem to stick up farther than they should, creating a crick in your neck against the pillow?
Sometimes I wish I could pop them out. Just like some modular thing I could drop on the floor or set on the night table because they get in my way.
Lay on my left side and my right arm drapes nicely, but the left arm sticks out at an awkward angle. Shift it and it isn't comfortable. Make it comfortable and it's at an awkward angle. I can't lie on top of it. I'd put it to sleep and then I'd move in my sleep, roll off of it or something and then it would wake me up with its complaining. Right side, ditto.
Lie on my back so my arms are 'happy' and my sinuses fill. Add an extra pillow and the sinuses drain but I get a crick in my neck. Turn on my side with that extra pillow and my neck gets wonky.
There are times when falling asleep is a lot of hard work. But I managed, and I slept pretty well once I got there.
Of course having a modular pop-off arm isn't such a great idea either.
Getting one off and putting it back would be okay. Most inconvenient for the other, though. And, on cold mornings, you'd wake up all nice and warm and cozy. You'd need that arm for something and it would be horrible! Like a block of ice. You'd have to thaw it under the covers, and it would roll against you and... there goes nice and warm and cozy.
If you left it on the floor because your night table is too small, you might step on it when you get out of bed. Then you'd have a bruise. Or, you might miss it on your way to the bathroom at two a.m., but kick it under the bed when you're coming back. Then, instead of going back to bed and sleeping, you'd be on your hands and knees digging around under the bed looking for it.
I guess modular arms aren't a great idea. And I did eventually get them under control. It was just one of those things because I was tired, I wanted to go to sleep, but the stupid things were in my way.
Oh well. On a happier note, I'm not entirely sure what happened yesterday, but I had a really good day.
It wasn't everything, or just one single thing. It was just a day on which I left work with a feeling of satisfaction for far more than it being the end of the day.
The MS Project files I've been beating into submission were received well. There were a couple of hiccups, but they were minor and no one got overly excited.
The director who was pushing back against the document control thing seems to be heading around the curve. We were talking about something that happened yesterday. Someone didn't follow procedures and went off in their own direction.
Whether it was ignorance or simple lack of attention, a combination or something else entirely I don't know and I don't care. It happened. It's over and done so we just have to do better next time.
However, it might have helped my cause because I was peripherally involved. I pointed out the problem to the initiator of it, and said 'you can't do this because it puts me in the line of fire. Here's what you need to do before you do the other thing.'
As such things do, it went around and hit a bunch of other people and there was a kerfuffle. In the end, I ended up laughing because it was all so stupid.
It's bad, but it is not Earth shattering. It's not the first time and, unless the world itself comes to an end, it won't be the last. What made me laugh is the fact that it is, at its root, silly.
The process is so damned easy to follow - just follow it.
Instead, one Lone Ranger took off and the cavalry followed, throwing up a cloud of dust and making a lot of noise. Instead of four or five people involved in logical stream, we ended up with probably a dozen - all running around, bouncing off one another, firing off e-mails and calling and...
We all of us learned something - about the process and ourselves and our colleagues, so while it isn't 'good' it's not bad, either. Not really.
The auditors will have knotted panties and wagging fingers when it comes out. There will be a review of the process because what we're supposed to be doing obviously isn't being followed, and what the Lone Ranger did obviously doesn't work.
The trouble needs to be caught at a much lower level and the people there have got to have the stones to stand up and say 'you can't do that - it's not within your' job description / purview / or whatever else they choose to say. That should be part of their job description and, as people doing their job per their job description, there should be no blow-back. They should be able to have confidence in that, and in their supervisors if someone does start shouting.
At the end of the day, literally, I was talking about it with the director whose heels have been dragging on Document Control. Because of this, it's apparent that more than just our documents are out of control. I suggested that what I'm going to be doing could help solve future problems - or at least raise the level of awareness of the procedures. Then, if people are aware of the process and are at least aware that the procedure is written down someplace, maybe they'll stop to think, 'I wonder...' and not do what shouldn't be done.
In any case, it's over and done. Live, learn, Luvs and get on with things (that Luvs thing was an advertising tag from a plastic diaper company - it fits, so I use it occasionally even though I am wayyyyy past wearing or changing diapers).
I have my second training group today. This is the big one - fourteen people participating but just one in the office. Everyone else will video conference which is good and bad. No embarrassing or uncomfortable bobbing and weaving - good. I can sit at the table and drive - good. No eye contact to sense how I'm doing - bad. No direct interaction - bad. So, I'll just have to play it safe and keep it straight .
Other than that, things are quiet around here.
I'm working hard on my re-write, and have chopped 'Shady' down to just about 118,300 - so 1,600 words from where it was. I know there's a lot more in these early chapters to cut. Thinking about it on my way to work yesterday, I've identified the next shrub to be cleared. Now I have to find the time to do it, which I will.
On the flash fiction thread on Authonomy we have a prompt of 'Flying High' this week which is intriguing. How do I approach that? I have ideas - some obvious, some not. I have until noon on Saturday to post something, so we'll see.
So there we are. My world on a Thursday morning. Quiet and hopeful, cheery and pleasant.
Hope you have a lovely day!
Best~
Philippa
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