working the escape plan

November?  Indeed.  I said the leaves were not so great this year, but last Friday in the warm sunshine, they looked pretty fabulous.  If only I could have taken time off work Friday to put my kayak in the lake, it would have been such welcome respite from the long, scathing work-week.  Some mornings, I trudge into my office and think that I just can’t do another day in that place.  But I do, and I live to go back the next day, and the next, and the next….ad infinitum (so it seems).

 

Beautiful hickory in our side yard



Maple in front of our house



The weekend is as good as gone.  It’s Sunday night.  Saturday is a blur.  Today, Someone and I took Gracie for a walk at the lake where I would have taken my kayak had the weekend been at least 10 degrees warmer and less rainy/windy.  Gracie loves to get out with us, and especially when Someone goes because he holds the leash and gives in to her every whim.  He lets her drag him all over the place – through the briars, into the creek, up the muddy bank, etc.   I would never put up with that!  It’s funny though, if I linger to take photos or to inspect some unusual plant, animal tracks, or something…..Gracie will double back to find me.  She doesn’t like me to get too far away from her.  I appreciate her concern but I don’t worry much out there.  The forest rangers report that bobcats and black bears do inhabit those hills, but I’ve never seen any signs of them.

 

Gracie taking Someone for a walk

 

 It’s going to be another busy week this week.  I have another new boss – third one this year.  This was announced Friday morning.  No doubt she will want to schedule a staff meeting early in the week to make sure we all know how many project status reports and weekly/monthly progress reports she wants, and when they’re due.  She might want everything reported in a specific format.  Whatever.  The rest…..the rest is just more than I want to think about.  It’s too much.  With so many things going on and so many people changing priorities for me, deadlines don’t mean anything anymore.

I applied for an adjunct teaching position last week.  That’s two I’ve applied for.  The truth is, it’s likely I’ll never hear anything back on either one unless I plant myself (in person) in front of the department dean or chairman….or whoever is in charge of hiring decisions.  It’s the only way.  They’ll have to say no to my face, which is much harder than just ignoring me until I go away.  In fact, this job-hunting is just another thing that needs my attention.  Still, it’s a good thing because if I’m successful in finding a job, it could be a stepping stone to the escape hatch I’m looking for.