A Day in the Life

Are you wondering where I've been? Or, if not where I've been, at least why I've stopped writing? Yeah, me too.

Suffice it to say that it's the end of June, which is the end of Microsoft's fiscal year -- which means that, come July, any project money they budgeted but haven't spent often disappears. So those of us who work indirectly for Microsoft (that is, a "solutions providers" for them) are working like crazy people right about now. I have four umbrella projects, which includes thirty-some inclusive projects, each with its own specs, timeline and deliverables. So yeah -- that's where I've been.

Yesterday went something like this:

6:00 AM: wake-up. Stumble into my office. Check e-mail. (I should mention here that we are a global company with teams both in Washington and India, so while we sleep, our friends -- and I DO mean friends... god, I love these guys! -- work. Think The Elves and the Shoemaker, except with technical and marketing projects!) I'm greeted by multiple deliverables that need vetting and distributing. I start in on the process.

8:00 AM: This is when I should stop working so that I can shower, dress, do make-up and hair, and commute to -- well, to WORK. But there's no time to get ready for work because there's too much work! I IM my boss and tell him I'm running late.

9:30 AM: I still haven't taken a break since stumbling into my office at 6 AM. I need coffee! I grab some and get back to the tasks (and there are always many simultaneous tasks) at hand. I still intend to head to the office once the current crises are behind me. This is the time of day, though, when the team in India and I can work together in real-time. So we do. They fix glitches, re-send, I review... You can feel the buzz of our worker-energy over the earth! We are crankin'!

10:00 AM: This is when I should be in the office, dressed and made-up. I haven't even brushed my teeth! I IM my boss again: "Maybe 11. I'm working here. No time to head to WORK!"

11:15 AM: I finally get into the shower. Out of the blue, there's blood all over my arm. No idea where it came from! What is going on? Yuuuuuuk! I realize that a mole (or something!) has exploded! ( I'm nothing, if not dramatic!) As you might remember, I had three moles removed from my back a few weeks ago, and two of them were found to be "troublesome," so they went back in last week and dug deeper, leaving gaping holes on my back (but perhaps warding off cancer!). Those Band-aids are still on... but here, my ARM was bleeding? And I mean BLEEDING! What gives?! So I called the doctor and they asked me to be there at 1:00. Riiiiiight! Hey, bub, I'm a busy worker-bee, I don't have time to...

"I'll be there."

1:00 PM: Doc took one look and said, "This one's gotta go too." So they numbed me up and sliced into me again, this time on my arm, leaving what will surely be a scar to mess up my summertime bare arm look. But hey, I'm happy to get sliced into at this point.

2:30 PM: My boss no longer expects to see me in the office. I've barely showered, have no make-up on, my hair is a mess, and I have a bandage on my arm. But I have brushed my teeth. I drive straight home and by 2:45 I'm back at work, playing harbor master. (Did I tell you about my theory about project management being like running a major harbor?! I will... eventually!)

3:00 PM: Work, work, work.

5:30 PM: Kat, who is now on vacation, chastises me for working "24/7" and demands I take a break. Smart girl! I IM Tom and suggest that we go out for dinner. Tell him I do not have the brain capacity to even boil water at that point.

6:30 PM: Aleks, Kat and I meet Tom at the local Red Robin for dinner. I eat way too many fries.

7:30 PM: We stop at the lake and park that's no more than a half-mile from our house, yet we too rarely go there. In fact, although I drive BY the lake daily, this is the first time in YEARS that I actually parked and walked around it, reminding me that I REALLY NEED TO STOP AND FEED THE DUCKS (and take pictures) MORE OFTEN!


9:30 PM: I get back online with my friends/co-workers in India. The conversation turns out to be about 20% work-related and 80% social. Having wonderful, dedicated and amazingly smart new friends in India is just about the best perk of this job, and the part I thought I'd like least about it (the dual-shore schedule) is probably what I like most about it!

But it's almost 9:00 AM now and I really can't dilly-dally because I need to shower, dress, do the hair and make-up thing, and get to the office -- because there is work to be done!