The Obsessive Dilettante

Thinking about going onto Threads for the basic reason that one of the meteorologists I used to keep tabs on is there, and I can no longer check his updates on X because I haven’t logged into that site since it was still Twitter and the new site makes it impossible to see anything without logging in.

I’m naturally resistant to join more social media, especially something connected to the Facebook empire, and I remember hearing that it’s irrevocably connected to your IG account (which I barely use anyway, but eh, I still may want some space? Idk…).

Buuuut I miss being able to keep tabs on quick updates of weather and news and the like.

If you made the jump to Threads, was it worth it for you?

Big work event. That I planned and set up (with help! But my casual “I can the the point of contact” somehow became me being the Official Event Planner).

But now I’m hiding at the desk because a client asked me an easy-to-solve question but now I’m pretending it took me longer just so I can sit and take a breath.

Update: in the ten minutes I started writing that post, I ended up helping two random people who just needed to ask an office person a question. So I’m staying out for right now.

This is just a personal “need to vent for my own mental health” word vomit so please don’t worry about me.

But.

I think my boss assumes that because she thinks I’m young and naive (I am neither but it’s just easier to assume the “young privilege” in this line of work) that I can be easily “bossed” around.

No.

Just because she doesn’t have a clear demarcation between work and home life, doesn’t mean she will get me to cave on mine.

If she wanted someone to be there for her stupid after work hours business shmoozing, she should have planned in advance and not just assume we are mind readers with a free schedule tomorrow.

It’s weird how it’s the dumb, small things that can be a tipping point for some people, but more than one of us nearly lost our cool for her aggressively passive-aggressive way of pointing out that she doesn’t want to attend these events alone and attempting some weird guilt trip when all of us firmly said we had other plans.

Sigh. I like this place, I like my work, and I generally like my boss. But sometimes I feel like she speaks a totally different language than everyone else here. Or think she’s working somewhere more prestigious than it is.

Like, sure, be proud that you run a nonprofit “like it’s a Fortune 500 company” but you don’t pay us Fortune 500 wages or even overtime so you can’t get butthurt when we decline something that would extend our already full day by more unpaid hours with last minute notice.

And this isn’t even a life-and-death kind of nonprofit where people rely on us for food and housing and medical care. This is the arts.

Anyway.

I’ve decided that my boss officially has the emotional maturity of a toddler, so I will treat her like a toddler. By being firm, patient, kind, but also setting boundaries.

Boundaries that I will keep.

And if she doesn’t like it, then I’ll just find a new boss who will respect my very sane, very realistic boundaries.

First movie of the year!

I didn’t watch this in the original run so the “Minus Color” is all I know. But it’s such a beautiful film, and presumably just as beautiful in the original color.

I cried at least three times. Better than most standard war epics, plus there’s the bonus of a giant monster!

Hello my friends who are also enduring the arctic chill. I hope you are staying warm! We’ve reached our high today of 1 degree Fahrenheit (-17ish Celsius) but good news! Tomorrow we may just reach above freezing!

It’s finally stopped snowing, which is nice, but honestly other than the extreme cold, the roads haven’t been too bad because the snow hasn’t had a chance to melt and turn into ice. It’s definitely a day where I wish I was snuggled under blankets with something cozy to entertain myself.

I’ve actually been quite a cozy mood lately — I’ve been binging all things Jane Austen and it has been filling my soul. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I run out because I know I will still not be satiated, but that’s a problem for another day.

A hopefully sunnier, warmer day.

Had a dream last night where I needed to fill out a form for work(?????) and anyway one of the questions was “your thoughts on Shrek.” I later discovered that most of my coworkers(???) answered things like “Green! Ogre! Donkey!” Which were apparently the “correct” answers.

But I don’t see how my answer was so wrong:

I could technically leave work early today but I have grocery pickup scheduled at a time that I would normally be leaving, so what’s the point.

Anyway, I am officially a month (!) into this new job and I am learning that when I sold myself as a “well-rounded office person” they apparently took me seriously.

I can’t begin to tell you how many conversations and discoveries I have made so far just by asking what I think are simple things, like:

“Hey, where do you keep those documents?” We don’t actually have those documents, much less keep them.

(On being asked a simple office question my second week) “Hmm, I don’t know, what has your policy previously been?” There hasn’t been a policy, at least not officially.

I mean, I’m literally creating the office stuff from scratch. You can’t imagine how long my task list is already, just from me going, “Oh, okay, well that’s something that will need to happen.” And it will only happen because of me!

To be fair, this is literally why I was hired — the ED is too overworked to take care of the nuts and bolts of running the place. I’m here to bring everyone into compliance and get them organized and sail them smoothly into HR and accounting waters.

Which cracks me up because I see who I really am, an ADHD disorganized disaster who struggles with basic bureaucracy (I never went to the doctor the last couple years because I couldn’t figure out my new job’s insurance) and would prefer to daydream the day away if she could.

But for other people, I am an organizational genius who makes sure every detail is accurate when making sure we’re compliant with all the policies.

People sometimes think that this a job I seek out, that I enjoy, that I’m some sort of type-A perfectionist. When really it’s just what I could put on the resume due to random bits’bobs of experience, and here we are. The Office Genius.

I am quite fond of pens and sticky notes, though. Always have been.

Anyway, so this is me, bewildered at the path life has taken, but realizing that my basic experiences during my “just trying to get by” struggle years, now make me the kind of person who can fix a fractured and disorganized office.

Yeah, I’d rather be doing something more enriching. But I like bringing beauty and order from the chaos and nothingness.

Even if it’s just an Employee Handbook.

Did the iTunes version of the end of year thing and most of my listening habits are dominated by whatever kpop groups were touring to my area this year as I acclimated to their music, but this also seems legit:

Just heard about Lee Sun Kyun and am having a sad.

Hello from the 11th consecutive day of work and the third week at my new job.

This schedule isn’t normal and is the consequence of starting during an extremely busy time and being a decent person who is a “team player” and also knows that we get next week off (mostly, except for one day to make sure end of year stuff has been completed).

But! I am currently the only person in the building. Not just office. BUILDING. The other tenants have apparently taken today off. But not us.

To be fair, it will be busier in a couple hours because of some events going on but still. THE ONLY PERSON HERE. AFTER ELEVEN NONSTOP DAYS.

So I am tired and bored because I am a smart cookie but this is also only my third week. Because of “smart cookie” I already completed yesterday the tasks assigned while the boss is out but because of “third week” I would need further training to do anything else, but… no one is around… to train… BECAUSE I AM THE ONLY ONE HERE.

I still really like this job, though. I have good vibes. I am feeling more like myself these days even if it’s just having structure back in my life. Plus it’s fun realizing that, even though I haven’t been personally dabbling in the arts lately, the arts are now supporting me! Even if I just run reports and create spreadsheets! Whee!

Anyway plz send help before I eat all the leftover holiday chocolate in order to survive the next few hours until I finally get a few days off.

Mum picked Wonka for our Boxing Day holiday movie outing. She’s excited to see it because it looks like a crazy, colorful spectacle filled with old actors she loves (*cough* Jim Carter *cough*).

I want to see it to experience what happens when you combine the director of the Paddington movies with the cinematographer of Oldboy and The Handmaiden.

New boss talking to me about something, adding in a side note how “thirty years ago — longer than you’ve been alive, probably” before continuing on with her story, and I just quietly blessed her because really I didn’t think I could skew late twenties any more.

Hello from my first week at the new job.

This is a busy season for them so my schedule is temporarily all over the place as I fill in where needed (while still trying to onboard and being thrust immediately into pivotal things I will be working on, no, I am working on).

Anyway, while I am mildly stressed about organizing my finances because this was a notable paycut, everything else about the job is satisfactory so far. The people are great; the commute is great; when I have a chance to glance out the window, the view is great; my boss seems pretty great, too, and is excited I’m here and have already done a lot to help in just a handful of days.

But omg I am so tired. After basically being left to my own devices wrt scheduling for almost two years, now having to get up, make myself presentable, and then do the (thankfully not terrible) commute is exhausting. And I’m not allowed to take a quick nap in the afternoon and then finish my work in the evening! The inhumanity!

So there will be some adjustment the next few weeks, but that’s just a personal thing.

I’m just glad to not be looking for a job any more.

I think I may be close to getting a job! They said I was basically their finalist and it hinges on references (who will give glowing reviews, especially my last boss, who is still gutted that she has to let me go *shakes fist at stupid economy*).

It’s at a nonprofit, which is my jam, but in an industry that I haven’t really worked in before, so there will be a learning curve.

But I miss having more structure to my day and I am ready to not sigh when I see my slowly dwindling bank account.

This was the view from our apartment in Sydney. Which means I’ve finally achieved my lifelong dream of walking on all seven continents!

I apparently barely took any photos while I was there but we did see a show at the Opera House and enjoyed the beautiful weather at one of the outdoor restaurants along Circular Quay.

(Oh hey that’s the ship that brought us to Australia!)

I also got to feed a quokka.

And watch some sleepy koalas.

I’d love to go back to Australia one day to experience more of the country than just a few days in Sydney, but for now I’m happy to be home after a month of traveling.