Hell Week

This week was brutal. As soon as I was done with a project, another one came up. I even had to stay an hour longer yesterday. There was also a day when I had to spend six hours working on a huge one (that 89' x 4' sticker).

I guess Tonie and Wendy were right in letting me not take my vacation; otherwise, there'd be lots of missed deadlines. (And so that Wendy could go to Mexico.)

Spoke Too Soon Again

I was bugging Tonie concerning the approval of my remaining seven days of vacation leaves because one was scheduled on Friday and on Monday, a four-day-long weekend for me. Unfortunately, she didn't have the answer yet for me when I called her on Wednesday. So, I asked her what dates she wanted me to take. She wasn't sure of them either because deadlines and priorities changed on a daily basis. Finally, in disgust, she said to take my vacations when I wanted them. That's fine by me, but now I had this guilty conscience. How was I supposed to enjoy my breaks when I felt I had let the team down?

Minutes after talking to Tonie, Wendy pulled a chair and discussed with me my leaves. She said that they could guarantee that my remaining vacations wouldn't be forfeited next year, that I could use them in January or February. It was a good deal because I won't be doing anything at home anyway with my Xbox 360 having a general hardware failure (which gamers affectionately call the "Red Ring of Death"). Besides, I was planning to visit my parents in Asia in the summer and I needed extra vacation days.

So, I won't be taking any leaves from now until our office closes on Dec. 23 for the Christmas holidays.

The First of a Series of Short Work Weeks

With me off on Monday and Remembrance Day on Tuesday, this work week became a short one. I was expecting some backlog because of the two days I was off; however, when I reported for work on Wednesday, not much was waiting for me except for the stuff I left started last week.

I also have seven vacation days left that I need to take soon; otherwise, they will be forfeited. I can take them in one fell swoop, but the office couldn't afford me gone for more than a week. So, I distributed them in the next five weeks. I now have four-day weekends after next week, and that's before the office closes for the Christmas holidays.

Spoke Too Soon

I was a worried on Monday because I only got to work for two hours at the end of the day. However, the rest of the week turned out to be busy, some days even busier. (I also took some time to learn Flash CS3.)

Tuesday, I spent a few hours reworking on an InDesign file that I thought I had already updated in September. I guess I didn't save the file after revising it and printing a PDF. It was a good thing I checked the copy deck; otherwise, I could have sent an old file to the printers and that would be the end of me.

On Wednesday, I started working on what could be literally the biggest project of my advertising career: an 89' x 4' sticker for a jet bridge at the Vancouver airport.

Then there were the usual posters for a contest where you can win a $50,000 Toyota Hybrid SUV.

And to top this week off, I'm off on Monday and Tuesday (Remembrance Day). That's 96 hours of vegetative state.

Two Years Ago Today

Nov. 3, 2006 — my last day at work at an online book retailer, three weeks after getting a pink slip on Oct. 13, Friday.

I hope history won't repeat itself. I remember my past and I will not be condemned to repeat it. That's why I'm doing everything I can to avoid getting laid off.

It's Monday; Time to Worry

Like I said on Friday, I'll worry about work on Monday. It's now Monday and I'm worried.

It's a little past 3 p.m. and I only have 1¾ hours of billable time. I hope things get better tomorrow.