Crazy Last Two Days

The city had a good dumping of snow on Sunday; so, the commute to work on Monday was hell. The bus was late and packed with people. It took me an hour just to get to work!

Walking to work, I bumped into Charlene. She said she was going home as the building was closed. A pipe burst on the fifth floor and flooded the floors under it, including the elevators. The maintenance people were working on them.

I sent Wendy a text message regarding the situation and told her that I was heading home. I took some pictures of the building on my way to the bus stop.



The next day, I reported for work and was met by the building supervisor. He said that I had to use the fire escape to gain entry to the office because the elevators were still under repair. Unfortunately for him, he had to accompany me to the 16th floor, where our office was, because the fire door was locked. The poor fellow had been up and down the building at least 70 times since he got there. I gave him two bottles of orange juice when we reached the office.

Since I was the first to arrive, I had to keep the fire door open for others. Charlene came in next, then Shelley. Wendy only made it to the sixth floor. She went down again and went home.

It was Charlene's last day and Shelley and I wanted to give her a send-off lunch. Unfortunately, it was impossible because of our situation. Instead, we went home early at 3 p.m. and greeted each one a merry Christmas and happy New Year. (The office was closed for the holiday season and would reopen in 2009.)

The ride home was a mess, too. A malfunctioning railroad guard rail kept traffic at bay for 30 minutes. This screwed up the bus schedules and the driver, whose shift had just ended, had to drop everyone off at some busy intersection 22 blocks away from home. I had to walk in the snow for 12 blocks just to avoid the crowds and catch an empty bus home.

Then There Were Three ...

Charlene tendered her resignation to Tonie last Friday. Hew new job would bring her to the airport. Her last day would be Dec. 26.

Also, today is Aileen's last day in the Toronto office.

Jennifer Update

She's nowhere in sight, which was good for us. Apparently, Wendy told her that Jennifer wasn't allowed to do her business here in our office because, although her company was related to ours, it was a different company.

Live from New York: Jennifer's Back

Yes, the bitch is back next week albeit temporarily. Everyone was caught by surprise by this odd news and no one took it well, Jim included.

Apparently, Wendy got this message from Jennifer herself, saying that she'll be working in the office beginning Monday next week. There goes the neighbourhood.

Visitors from the Centre of the Universe

Tuesday and Wednesday had us receiving people from our Toronto office. The first to arrive was Tonie. I don't know why, but she scares me. Maybe because she reminds me of Jennifer, who's currently wreaking havoc in New York. And she talks loudly.

The next day, two more — a guy and a girl — came. I had no idea who they were, but their voices sounded familiar, especially the big guy (I think he's gay). A little later, Jim came. All flew in for a big client meeting.

Another person who came in — but unannounced — was Julita. She looked great in spite of her being jobless still. She had a good long talk with Wendy and then with Jim.

We're also supposed to have dinner with Jim and Tonie tonight at some fancy Mediterranean restaurant downtown, but both are still stuck in a client meeting. I guess it's home cooking for me again.

Are Things Beginning to Look Up for Us?

I got this e-mail from our Toronto office, saying that we won a beverage company's digital advertising business, which, according to the sender, was significant for the following three reasons:

1. Substantial revenues
2. Another opportunity to expand the company's digital portfolio
3. Our first time to be selected as the digital AOR (area of responsibility?) for one of our clients

Reading the e-mail again, I noticed that the sender didn't mention print, only website development and online promotions. I guess we're left out of the equation.

Last Week Was a Slow One

Surprisingly, I didn't do much last week (only 22½ hours). I tried to learn advanced CS3, but I was either too lazy or too sleepy because of my cold medication. However, I was able to do some job search and I found a job opening at an international auction company that was very much related to what I was doing here: an advertising coordinator.

I quickly sent the details to my home e-mail address and mentally designed how my new résumé would look like. Over the weekend, I read the job details thoroughly. The office location wasn't that far from home, but it was almost a kilometre from the nearest bus stop! And most of that was walking on a bridge.

I couldn't imagine myself walking two kilometres every workday. So, I put off my application regretfully. I guess that job wasn't right for me after all.

Sleepy

Thanks to the cold medication I took this morning, I feel sleepy. I almost slept through my entire bus ride this morning. This afternoon, I almost fell asleep in front of my computer.

I've been fighting this cold for days now. There are times I thought it was gone, only to come back with a vengeance. My left nostril drips, my right is clogged. My throat is itchy, eyes watery. It's a good thing I don't sneeze often; but when I do, I give it all I've got.

Adding to my sleepiness is boredom. I don't have much to do now that the projects are with the clients for review.

Another Hell of a Week

Last week was a blur, but it sure wasn't a walk in the park. Twice I had to either stay late or come to work early. My admin time was only five hours. That's how busy I was.

Last week's highlight was this 12-page sales brochure I did for Aileen. Thank God, I knew how to use character and paragraph styles in InDesign CS3; otherwise, I would have a hard time laying out and designing her material. However, I enjoyed it a lot because I got to use my design skills. (The lowlight: Tonie's Skybridge project [that 89-foot thing]. She and Jim didn't seem to see eye to eye with what they wanted to do with the design.)

Also, Deb was around to cover for Wendy. Seeing her was a sight for sore eyes. It was nice to see a familiar face again in the office.

I don't know what this week will bring, but I finally have some downtime to blog and to take it easy before I call this a day.

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.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Friday and happy payday, too!

I managed to hang around this week, thank God! However, I wasn't that busy. I only clocked 21½ hours in client chargeables, half of that coming from our Toronto office.

I think Wendy is planning to close the office at 3 p.m. I'm heading to Blockbuster and rent Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Hulk.

I will worry about work on Monday.

Will This Be the End?

It was through this afternoon's WIP that Charlene and I found out that our small office got merged with the mother company's digital division. Right now, I don't know if that's good or bad.

According to Shelley, this was a good thing because it would help validate "the importance of [the mother company] to have a presence of in Vancouver." Charlene simply wanted us to keep our fingers crossed and even brought up the possibility of me proofreading stuff for other clients.

I also looked at the organization chart of the new digital joint and only three guys from our Toronto office — Jim, Gord and Artin — were included in it. It didn't even mention our Vancouver office.

I guess my days in the company are numbered unless I continue to make myself useful.

Then There Were Three — Just Joking!

Wendy took Friday off; so, it's just Charlene, Shelley and me in the office. It's really quiet in here, especially now that Nina left the company for better and greener pastures.

I was practically doing nothing the entire day when Charlene approached me, wanting me to cough up an ad for a client. With only two hours left before closing time, I was really hard pressed to produce one from scratch based on an old ad we had on hand. Fortunately, the client didn't like the idea of rehashing the old print ad. He put it off for Monday and let the Toronto guys do it instead.

All that adrenaline rush gone to waste, but I don't mind. It's Friday.

Hello, Small Printer. Goodbye, Big One.

I saw Wendy carrying a big box this morning. She said that it was a new HP all-in-one printer. Both of us wondered why the IT guys in Minneapolis sent us a new one when we had two black-and-white (one big and one small) and two colour printers (one big and one small). She thought that it could be for Toronto because our colleagues there was using a beat-up one. Well, she thought wrong.

Around noon, people from Canon hauled away the big, black-and-white, heavy-duty printer and copier. I guess this was only leased and the higher-ups decided to end the agreement, save money and send us a small one instead.

I don't mind them taking the big one because I seldom use it anyway. However, if they take away the big heavy-duty colour printer, that's a different story. I rely heavily on that one for my printing needs, but it looks like this printer's days are numbered, too.

Then There Were Four ...

Nina announced her resignation today. Her last day will be Thursday next week. Damn, she beat me to it!

And just when Wendy decided to let each one move to the vacant offices. Except me, of course. Maybe because the Mac just has too many wires attached to it. But I get to be the king of the wing again.

Is My Work Here Done?

I don't know what was Wendy thinking when she told Charlene that the DM piece for a client would be done by our production studio in Toronto. I guess they didn't like how things turned out with the latest project I did for them (it's the one with the huge files). Oh, well, that's one less project for me.

I was simply using what I learned from the video tutorial at lynda.com. At least, I learned a lot from that particular project.

Off to Another Job Interview

I took Thursday off for a job interview. It's for a marketing writer at a local film school. It's the most fun I had being interviewed, maybe because I felt relaxed being interviewed by my creative peers. But I hope they didn't find me cocky or too relaxed.

The entire office was off Friday because of the Thanksgiving long weekend. So, I took advantage of this extra day off for the interview's hour-long writing and editing test. The editing part was okay, but the writing part was too short. I simply ran out of time.

Anyway, it's all in their hands now. I gave them my best — and I will do even better when they hire me. They will be making a decision soon; I hope they keep me in mind.

Then There Were Five ...

Well, they finally did it. They let Julita go on Friday. (I don't know who gave her the boot.)

Even though I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, I still couldn't prepare my heart for such kind of news. I could still feel the pain and the heartbreak when I got the boot, too, almost two years ago. I thought I was over it until the current office situation brought these feelings back again.

There were also rumours that employees in our Minnesota office were getting laid off, too. I think this is part of the plan of the higher-ups in the company to trim off corporate fat.

Business as usual? I don't think so.

Damn Files!

"Why do things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me?" — Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

Well, we did hear from the printers — and they weren't happy with the files I sent them yesterday and this morning. Apparently, they're too huge (700+ Mb, and that's Zipped!) and take a long time to download.

Of course, Wendy wasn't happy with me either because it meant we're a day late again and made me rebuild the files. One Photoshop file alone took 20 minutes just to open. (Yes, it's that big.) So, I was forced to flatten the layers to minimize its file size.

After two hours of rebuilding, I sent my files again. I hope we hear something good from the printers this time.

I Spoke Too Soon

Tuesday afternoon was a crazy, busy mess!

I was caught by surprise when a client wanted to do a French version of a DM mailer, which was very hard to do in English in the first place (it's the one with the die-cut). Then I had to design an advertorial, which I had to do at home because it was already past six when I was done with the DM piece.

Then with all that rush work, I ended up coming to work early yesterday and today, just to beat their deadlines. Now, it appears everything is going smoothly — until we hear from the printers or receive the proofs from them.

Now, I can concentrate on laying out the seven print ads, which was put on hold because of all these rush jobs.

Some Down Time, Perhaps?

With two of my big projects with the clients for approval, I think I can afford to blog early in the day. However, it looks like I have to build six print ads in simplified Chinese, which Wendy is now confirming with the Asian newspapers the correct sizes.

I think there's something going on with Julita. She was here yesterday morning, but she was nowhere to be found before lunch. (She works at home Tuesdays and is off Thursdays.) Two weeks ago, she was "sick." Last week, she was on vacation. I guess there's not much to do when you're the HR/office manager and there are only four employees to manage.

I also managed to stick around two months since Rob left for greener pastures, thanks to my skills in desktop publishing and graphic design.

Bite Me, It Did

As expected, work came right after lunch yesterday.

There were already two voice mail messages on my phone. One was from Jim, the other from Stephanie. They were regarding the artwork for the mailer. He had several revisions, but none were drastic. Stephanie called in to check if I received Jim's instructions, which were cut short because his voice mail was so long.

Then there was Nina and Shelley's DM project with the client's single change to the mice (the fine print on the ads). I also had to digitally package the materials used in the DM for the printers. Nina also asked me to proofread online banners and create a PDF of them. On top of those, there were Charlene's client requests for a graphic and a logo. And Wendy's being bitchy didn't help either.

Amazingly, with all that work, I only ended up working 15 minutes overtime.

Today wasn't so bad. The major task I did today was proofing French online banners and converting them into PDFs. In fact, work is so light today that Wendy could afford to go home early this afternoon "for a visit to the doctor."

A Slow Week?

Three hours into Monday and I have yet to work on a project. I've heard through the WIP meeting this morning that Jim has at least two "tweaks" in the artwork, but he still has to receive the InDesign files, which I am currently transferring to the N drive as I type. (The files are more than a gig and they're taking an hour to copy from the Mac to the N drive.)

I don't like being idle because all this free time will come back at the end of the day or week to bite me in the ass. I don't like this feeling at all.

Aah, Friday ...

Finally, it's the weekend!

This week has been the busiest, thanks to this DM mailer for a client's promotion in the fall. It's huge and comes with a die-cut. I've been working on it since Wednesday and have finally tweaked it and e-mailed it to Jim in Toronto for review.

I just don't know what to expect from it, but I haven't heard from him since sending it more than two hours ago. I hope the revisions are minor; but with the difficulty of the project, I'm sure there'll be several. Anyway, the layout and typesetting part are over.

By the way, Brooke, our former studio manager who was laid off early this year, dropped by on Wednesday to gather stuff for her portfolio. She said to me that I should be getting two salaries with the way I was doing things around here. She also said that I made things look easy when I singlehandedly did all the Chinese posters for a client.

It wasn't easy at first, but I learn fast.

Good Riddance, Jennifer

Today was Jennifer's last day in our office. She dropped by while we were having our WIP meeting and was accompanied by someone (a male with salt-and-pepper hair). She came to pick up the rest of the stuff and packed them in moving boxes. Then she was off to the city that never sleeps.

Everyone said their heartfelt goodbyes and exchanged hugs except me. I didn't bother because I never liked her, especially after that branding incident. I simply waved goodbye and Jennifer said to me in passing, "Don't make any spelling mistakes." I replied, "I won't."

That was the last time I talked to her. I have never felt so relieved.

She's in a New York State of Mind

It's been months since the last agency meeting. We had one today at 11:15 a.m. It was for Jennifer's announcement that she's moving to our New York office effective immediately. Of course, I already knew that.

They say that it's business as usual, but people, usually those who aren't affected in any way, always say that. And the truth is, we don't know what will happen next to those whom Jennifer leaves behind.

For now, we had informal drinks in the office and talked about stuff like the upcoming U.S. presidential elections and how it is hard to look for an apartment in the Big Apple. Afterward, Jennifer started packing her belongings. She'll be back on Monday though.

As for me, I'm having second thoughts about my tenure here again. Better pay due diligence in my job search once more.

Now for Something Different: Static Banners

I reported for work 30 minutes early because I needed the half-hour head start to begin on an entirely new thing: static banners for an electronic newsletter.

At first, the task looked daunting because I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Besides, I didn't have any background in banner creation. However, since these banners were in JPEG or GIF format, I built them in Photoshop. Like Shelley and Nina who were handling this project, I was amazed with the results.

I Saved My Ass This Time

It's been days since I sent ad materials to a Chinese newspaper for a client's print ad and I hadn't heard from them if my files were printable or not. I thought to myself that maybe everything was okay and that the newspaper people would call me up if they weren't good.

However, there's one important thing I learned from this trade: Never assume anything. So, I sent an e-mail to our contact person in the newspaper this morning, asking if he received our files in good order. And to my surprise, he called me up, saying that he hadn't received them.

This ad is supposed to be out on Monday to coincide with the client's contest. If I hadn't followed up with the Chinese newspaper and the ad didn't appear on one of its pages, then that would spell big trouble for me.

It's always a good thing to check and not assume everything.

I Saved the Day

It wasn't quite hectic for me yesterday. So, any unscheduled project that came my way, I could easily tackle for as long as it could be done before 5 p.m.

First, there was the resizing of a client's ad in a newspaper. With a little help from Wendy with outlining fonts, I was able to adjust its size and send it to the newspaper as soon as I was done.

Second, there was this issue with another client regarding a DM mailer. Earlier in the morning, Shelley and Nina were having a very lively discussion with the guys at the Toronto office, particularly Gord, who was having an attitude problem because of Jennifer's last-minute changes to his copy.

Because Shilling, the freelance art director in Toronto who designed the mailer, wasn't around to do the revisions, Shelley asked me if I could do them. Of course, I said yes — only if they could find the files in the server or locate where Shilling was. (They were in her flash drive and had to be picked up by a courier!) Shelley had to reschedule her presentation to the client because of the delay. An hour later, I was revising the copy and printed and PDF'd the file.

Needless to say, I stepped up to the plate and saved their asses.

So Sleepy

It's a four-day weekend for us again. Unfortunately, the weather isn't cooperating. It's been gloomy since this morning and the rain hasn't stopped. This kind of weather is making me sleepy.

In fact, I'm so sleepy, I can hardly keep my eyelids open while watching some online video training. (I've resorted to watching these videos again because it's been a slow week.) To keep me from falling asleep, I tried walking. Looking at pictures of the new Lara Croft also helped.




Alison Carroll reminds me of a former officemate of mine.

A Slow Day

Finally, after weeks of crazy rush projects, today is looking to be a slow one. So far, I have only logged in 2¾ billable hours, which is a far cry from my seven- to eight-hour days since Rob left. I don't mind the free time because it means I've got time to write about the following:

1. The entire office had tea and biscuits yesterday afternoon (now a regular Monday affair), but Jennifer opted to have beer instead. She probably needed the liquid courage to tell the rest of us that the head honcho of a client quit, which meant there would be job changes again. (I just hope no one gets laid off because of this.)
2. Jennifer was talking to someone over the phone early this afternoon when her tongue slipped: she's moving to New York. I knew she wasn't supposed to say that because when she did, she looked at Shelley and Charlene to see if they heard what she just said. (So, she would leave her team eventually because of the above changes.)
   

Just When I Thought Everything Was Okay ...

With all the suits' requests and client requirements fulfilled yesterday, I was thinking of taking it easy today and catch up on some video training. I knew something was amiss after lunch when Charlene followed up with a French flyer.

I thought I hadn't received the French translation yet and was waiting for them to be provided it to me. Then I checked my e-mail; Charlene e-mailed it to me last week! Panic set in, of course.

I remember Rob telling me that French versions were normally 30% longer than the English ones. He wasn't kidding. I ended up reducing the font sizes to accommodate the extra-long copy.

I was done in two hours, with ample time to do some other tasks.

Two Random Thoughts

1. We had a barbecue party at Wendy's place last Thursday. We had steak, baked potatoes, sautéed mushrooms and salad. Alcohol was served, but I had aloe vera juice spiked with two capfuls of gin. It was good. And since Jennifer was in New York, everyone had a good time. Shelley brought her trophy-husband, Chris, to grill the steaks to perfection. They were the best I've eaten in years!
2. As expected, I didn't get a raise. I saw my latest pay stub and it was still the same down to the last cent.
   

The Bitch Is Back!

I just needed to get this off my chest quickly.

So, after three weeks of serenity in the office, Jennifer's back to wreak her brand of havoc; i.e., making the rest suffer for her inefficiency. Unfortunately, Nina and I were the unfortunate victims.

As usual, Jennifer was having her rush projects, which, for the life of me, couldn't be planned ahead. Why was every PowerPoint presentation had to be done the day before? Couldn't she e-mail instructions to her two cohorts well in advance?

Because of this, I got to be a part of this fiasco — once again. She approached me to ask how I was doing. I told her that I was very busy with all the ads I needed to lay out (I overheard their discussion, with Jennifer volunteering my services again). Of course, these didn't matter to that bitch because it didn't concern her. So, I ended up spending 1½ hours printing several PowerPoint presentations, time that could have been spent working on some client-related jobs.

Anyway, I need to talk to Wendy about this. This has got to stop. Besides, it's unfair; when it's my turn to ask for help regarding my line of work, who can I turn to? No one!

I just hope Jennifer will get her just desserts soon. I just can't stand her!

Title Change

I was inside Wendy's office yesterday to ask her something about a missing Chinese character in my InDesign layout when she handed me a letter signed by her, formally changing my designation to Coordinator, Production & QA. According to her, the title better reflects my current duties and responsibilities.

I knew the title change was coming (and so would my new business cards), but my present pay doesn't reflect my additional work yet.

I'll probably find out this Friday, payday.

Just Taking a Breather

As expected, I was busy right before and after the four-day-long weekend. Thursday and Tuesday were hell!

Thursday last week, I had to reproduce an image of a red balloon for the flyer using Illustrator because the actual picture wasn't available yet and we had to present the concepts to the client on Tuesday next week. The picture was amateurish; but given the time frame, it would suffice.

Tuesday, I had to proofread several online banners and produce PDFs of them. Then I had to incorporate the client's changes and improvements on the layout after a conference call. The layout eventually turned out okay.

And tomorrow, Charlene is going to present it to the client. Once approved, I will layout the same ad, but this time in Chinese. Good times.

New Production Guy Needs Help

It looks like I'm going to be relatively busy since being named as the all-around production/creative guy. Yesterday, I revised the text of an existing letter in Spanish. I had no idea how Rob did it, but it sure was difficult adjusting the tracking. Then there were several online banners to proof in English and French.

Today, I had to do a rush job for a print ad. The task was easy, but Wendy and I were under time pressure. We also had to figure out how to convert a graphic into the required 85 lines per inch, which I eventually found out minutes after sending the files to the press. I hope there weren't any mistakes, copy- and layout-wise.

The recent stress made me rethink of my options and of my accepting this new responsibility. I wonder how I will fare when I do a client's flyer next week. Hmmm ...

Production Guy — for Now

I spent most of last Thursday and Friday getting some video training in InDesign CS3. I guessed my desire to learn this version of the software prompted Wendy to ask me how comfortable I was with my InDesign skills. She said that instead of getting some freelancer to do the job, I could do it myself. I replied that I'd give it a shot. Besides, I needed the experience.

So, Wendy announced it in the WIP this morning that I was the go-to guy for production and technical stuff. Is there a pay increase in the works? I hope so, but I still have to prove my mettle in this field.

Rush, Rush

The morning was very hectic. There were lots of printer proofs and PDFs to check, I didn't know which ones to begin with. They were so many, I thought that the printer proofs' copy were the same as the PDFs' Aileen sent me very early in the morning. I thought wrong; so, I had to proof them in a hurry.

Thank God, I caught the glaring mistakes! Otherwise, I would do lots of explaining.

I also did the small print ad that I mentioned yesterday. It was just a matter of placing the picture on the ad, but it required lots of Photoshop work. Needless to say, Wendy was impressed.

Then there was Nina's request to make PDFs of some old online banners again. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accommodate her request because of the last-minute proofreading. However, I was able to make it up to her in the afternoon even though it wasn't billable.

I was busy all right, but my total billable time for today was four hours only. All that trouble for 240 minutes only!

Some Video Training

I just couldn't stand another unproductive day; so, I asked Wendy first thing in the morning if I could charge the time spent watching tutorial videos from lynda.com as training. She said yes.

Now, she wanted me to help her do the layout of a small print ad, which I was looking forward to do. Unfortunately, we couldn't connect to our servers, which were located in Minnesota.

Then there were some posters and online banners from Aileen in Toronto needing some proofreading work. I was busy for a change.

Two Weeks of Boredom

I attended my first WIP as the lone male in the office this morning, and I heard from Jim of the Toronto office that it would be quiet for the next two weeks for the creative department. This meant only one thing for me: 10 working days of absolute boredom.

I just hope that within those days, something resembling work will come along. Otherwise, these are going to be slow days for me.

The Week Will Be Over Soon

Finally, it's Friday.

In a matter of hours, the work week will be over. It's been quiet in terms of work and conversation. As always, I take the down time to do my job search or tweak my résumé for online submission. In fact, I'm eyeing two editorial positions, one in a publishing firm and one for a website.

I just hope I land one of them because it's no longer fun working here. I don't like spending the entire day in ennui. I'd rather spend it productively.

Home Early

I've got nothing to do here; so, I'm going home early.

Bye!

The Last Man Standing

That's what I am, now that I'm the lone male worker in the office, but I don't know if I won anything or lost everything. Rob told me to put up Playboy posters around my workstation to continue to establish my masculinity. Wendy told me that I should be wearing a skirt soon, but I had to shave my legs for that. So, she suggested that a leotard would do.

But seriously, I feel lonely. No male co-worker to bond with or, at least, talk to during lunch. Man, this feels awkward. Fortunately, I did some proofing this morning, helping me temporarily forget that I was all alone here.

Rob's Last Day

It's the big guy's season finale. So, I'm taking him to lunch at this all-you-can-eat sushi place for good times' sake.

I don't know him that much even though we have worked side by side in the last few months. I was even having second thoughts on inviting him for lunch because we don't have a lot in common. However, I'll take the time to build up camaraderie. He will be useful in my job search and networking.

Me Worry

I don't know what the future has in store for me here. I haven't heard anything whether they're getting a replacement for Rob. I don't know what will happen on Wednesday, my first day here alone.

So far, the only action I've seen from the higher-ups is a closed-door meeting.

I better start getting serious with my job hunting.

One-hour Overtime

Yesterday, Jennifer had Rob and me working on her team's research. We were asked to look for pictures, which was fairly easy; but knowing her, it wasn't.

I ended up working an extra hour (and I was almost on my way out when she called me to look for more stock photos). Lucky Rob; he had already left.

Pizza and Beer

That's what we had for lunch today, courtesy of Julita, who was kind enough to remember her idea weeks ago to buy pizza for everyone. I only had two slices, one with chorizo and mushrooms; the other, capers, garlic and tomatoes. The latter was better tasting than I expected.

Now I am bloated even though I didn't have beer. I had one on Monday and that was my quota for this month.

E-mail Server Down

The e-mail server was down for at least four hours since this morning. The Internet wasn't, so I was still able to surf and visit my favourite websites. The irony of it all was that no one couldn't e-mail our IT guys who were based in New York.

It was a good thing there wasn't much to do; otherwise, there'd be lots of fur flying.

Charlene's Day

Tuesday was declared Charlene's day.

No, she wasn't resigning — not just yet — but Wendy noticed yesterday afternoon that no one seemed to be working at all. So, she decided to name the day after Charlene and made everyone take the rest of the day off.

Good idea.

Beer and Wine on a Monday?

Yes, that what we had yesterday afternoon, which was highly unusual because we normally have alcohol Friday afternoons. In my 12 months here, that never happened until yesterday.

And since the workload was easy for all, Jennifer named the day in honour of Rob who was leaving next week, and told everyone to take the rest the day off. So, I was out of the office by 4 p.m.

Today, I had Rob do PDFs of various projects for the office's future reference. This would make my job easier when I proofread something that's questionable, especially that he wouldn't be around when I'd need a PDF of a recent project. Good job, Rob!

And I've been printing his PDFs and compiling them since this morning. At least, I made Rob and myself busy.

And We're Back

After being away from the office since June 28, I'm not happy to be back at work.

First of all, Rob handed his resignation last week (his last day is on July 15). When he leaves the company for good next week, I will become the last man standing — literally (for the rest of my co-workers are women). It's bad because I've never been the lone male in an office before. I'm sure it will feel awkward.

This just makes me wish I had gone for the jugular during my interview at LDB. If I did, then I probably would have started working with them early this month. And Rob should be the one left by his lonesome here (well, at least for a few days) instead of me. Now, I'm stuck here waiting for the right opportunity to come along again.

Second, with me the only person in the production/creative department, there's a possibility that they will move the department to Toronto and lay me off. And that will suck big time. Unless, of course, they find a replacement for Rob who will work with me side by side. Otherwise, I will be doubly pressured to look for a new job or line of work.

Third, there's nothing to do again (although I did lots on Friday before I went on holiday, such as screen grabs and Nina's translation files).

Enough said.

Ladybugs

Wendy's been keeping me busy since yesterday. She's been handing me online banners to proof, which was okay. Today, she gave me two sets of banners to proofread. A little while later, she had me searching for royalty-free photos of ladybugs from Getty Images and First Light for a client.

It was a welcome break. The colourful pictures of the ladybugs reminded me of my graphic designing days and how much I wanted to do some graphic design work. Of course, I also wanted to be an advertising copywriter. I can dream, can't I?

I also wanted to work in an advertising firm. Look where I ended up?

Strange But True

Yesterday, something weird happened to the juice bottle I was drinking from.

It was the regular 450-mL Minute Maid plastic bottle with the glued-on plastic label. I was drinking from it every now and then while watching the last few minutes of 3:10 to Yuma online. Since the movie was almost done, I decided to finish my drink in several gulps.

During the last few swigs, I noticed something unusual with the bottle: the label mysteriously disappeared! It was there when I grabbed the bottle from the fridge, and all that was left of the label was the hardened glue.

I recall seeing the juice bottle with its label when I stocked the fridge with pop and juice in the morning. There was nothing wrong with it at all.

I searched for the label on my desk, on the floor and even on me. It was nowhere to be found. Isn't that strange?

Racking Up Minutes

Finally, I began putting some billable hours on my timesheet. So far, I worked on five online banners, a print ad and a copy deck for a brochure.

However, I've got a long way to go. I only have 2½ hours of client chargeables as of 1:40 p.m.

Quiet Tuesday

The morning was literally quiet. Wendy and I were the only ones in the office as the suits were out supervising a recording session for a client's radio ad.

I tried to keep my sanity by making myself busy. Thank God, I was on kitchen duty today. Plus, Wendy asked me something about online banners that she needed to see. At least, that's 15 minutes' worth of work.

I also did my daily job search. So far, there was nothing out there for me, not even a freelance gig.

This afternoon, I'm thinking of watching the last parts of 3:10 to Yuma. I can't wait for this week to be over because I'm on vacation next week.

Another Monday Wasted

It's 3:30 p.m. and I still haven't done anything yet. I used to look forward to Mondays; I dread them now and every day of the week because I've got nothing to do. It's been like this for weeks!

And with Rob on vacation until tomorrow, my Tuesday is going to be boring. This is driving me nuts!

Last Week's Double Whammy

I finally heard from the guys at BCLC and LDB. The former's hiring manager sent me a rejection e-mail late Wednesday night, way past 10 p.m. She said that they found someone who had more experience for the position. Well, I didn't like to work there anyway even if she offered me the job.

On the other hand, the latter's hiring manager, through their HR, sent me a scanned rejection letter signed on Thursday and sent Friday, saying that I didn't make it — and so was everyone who was shortlisted. This was very disappointing because I really, really would love to work there.

Damn, I should have gone for the kill during my interview! The work was challenging but exciting, great people and much bigger pay (at least an $11,000 difference from my gross pay.) So, there goes my big-screen TV, sofa, bed, car and digs.

Movie Friday

Today is a slow one. It's past 2 p.m. and I haven't done anything that's work related. Not even a single official e-mail.

I spent the entire morning watching a streaming video of 3:10 to Yuma from PeekVid. Unfortunately, it wasn't clear. So, I tried looking for another alternative to tv-links.co.uk — and I found it in tv-links.cc, which was said to be a spitting image of the original.

I searched its extensive collection and found a sharper 3:10, but it unexpectedly stopped half way through the movie. I tried to reload it, but it still won't go past the 59th minute. Fortunately, there were other links that provided the title. These weren't as sharp as the first, but they kept me entertained, especially on a slow day like this.

And Jennifer had this wonderful idea to let everyone go home early as soon as each had finished his or her work. I didn't do much that day except for Nina's two online banners that required quick proofreading. As soon as I was done with them, I headed home.

Getting Paranoid Again

Wendy was in Julita's office late this morning and they were talking in a very low voice. Although the door was open, I could feel that whatever they were discussing was hush-hush.

I hope they weren't planning to reduce my hours or, worse, lay me off. But I swear I saw Julita looked at me during their conversation. I hope she just happened to glance my way because I was in her line of sight. Or she could be checking me out and probably wondering if I had any idea what would be happening to me soon.

Damn this paranoia!

PeekVid

It was another slow day at work. So, what's a bored proofreader to do besides blogging, checking e-mails constantly and visiting websites on action figures? Watch movies online, of course!

I was so listless yesterday that I decided to search for alternatives to tv-links.co.uk, a website that provided links to other sites where one can watch movies, documentaries and TV shows on line, which was shut down by authorities last year because of alleged video piracy. Anyway, I found one at PeekVid (www.peekvid.com).

PeekVid isn't as extensive as tv-links' collection, but it's okay. Yesterday, I watched the first 30 minutes of Appleseed and decided that I'd rent the DVD instead. This morning, I checked out Part 2 of A&E's The Andromeda Strain. I already had taped the first part at home, but I wasn't able to record the second because I thought Part 2 would be aired soon after Part 1 was over. It didn't; instead, they replayed Part 1. So, I was left hanging.

I only watched the first few minutes of the show because it was dragging. Now, I'm checking out the other movies in the roster and see what attracts my attention. Good times!

Work, at Last (Albeit Short)!

Yesterday, I temporarily got my mind off checking e- and voice mails for LDB's job offer, thanks to Nina, who gave me some translation files to work on. I was busy for 2½ hours in the afternoon.

I tried to work slower so I could extend it until the end of the day; but no matter how I hard I tried, I still ended up completing the task in time. I guess my worker instinct to work smarter and not harder kicked in again, especially when the project is repetitive and boring.

Office Server

I don't know whose brilliant idea was this, but transferring our company files to the server in our Minneapolis office was a bad move. The simple act of opening, saving and closing a Word file on the server takes minutes. Just imagine how long Rob's InDesign files take!

My day is already slow and working on the server directly makes it even slower. The solution was to save the files from the server to the desktop and work from there. Then save them back to the server once done. That's such a hassle.

Friday Musings

It's Friday and I haven't heard a thing yet from LDB. It's still early anyway (and I checked my voice mail at home). And lately I've been telling myself that since it's a government office, it may take a while for the decision to pass through the bureaucratic red tape. Of course, there's always the possibility that I didn't get the job, which means I won't be hearing anything from them at all. So, I guess it's down to BC Hydro and Best Buy/Future Shop.

But until then, I'll keep myself useful and busy here in the company — and be thankful that I still have a job and a regular income. (Besides, we're having drinks at 3 p.m. today and head home at 4.)

BOHICA

It's almost a half hour past two and I have nothing to show on today's timesheet except for a 15-minute proofreading task. So, I took the time to send a résumé to Best Buy/Futureshop. They are looking for an advertising proofreader; so, if they know experience and professionalism when they see them, then they ought to give me a call and pencil me in for an interview.

After screwing up yesterday's interview at BCLC and not hearing from LDB until now, I believe it is better for me to move on and look for other employment opportunities. I just feel too bad that these are high-paying jobs with excellent benefits and I blew it again.

Nothing at All

I'm back at work after taking a day off for a job interview. It seems I didn't miss a thing. No important e-mails, except the one from IT that our servers were temporarily down. No rush jobs. In fact, no jobs at all.

I was hoping that Rob left some job bags on my desk yesterday for me to work on today, but my rack was empty — not even a piece of paper! My timesheet this week is going to look bad.

Concerning my interview, I didn't do well. I don't know what happened. My mind just went blank. I had difficulty explaining stuff. And to think that I was mentally and physically prepared for that, unlike my latest interview. I'm not expecting to hear from them anytime soon.

Just Wondering

It's the second day of the Big Week and I've been wondering what could have happened if I went in for the kill in the dying moments of my interview with the guys at LDB and delivered this speech:

"I’m extremely interested. Although I’m looking at a couple of opportunities right now, this appears to be the one I could make the biggest contribution. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the perfect position for me. There may be candidates who have heftier résumés than I do, but no one will give you more passion, more integrity and more professionalism."

Well, it worked before (with this company), but I didn't use it because I never got to internalize this line. I'll never know now. However, I still have another big interview tomorrow and I'm going to use it like my career depended on it.

It still is Tuesday anyway and they're probably deliberating on it. I'm giving them until Friday to decide.

Big Week Ahead

This is the week the guys from LDB are making the decision whether I'm Publications Manager material. I hope they call my references and I hope my references will put in a good word for me. I continue to keep my fingers crossed.

However, I do hope that they call soon so I will know where I stand because I have another interview to go to this Wednesday. It's almost for the same position, but they call it Publications Editor/Associate.

As for client-related work, I don't see anything or much at all. This morning's WIP doesn't have much to offer me, but there's always the possibility that things might get busy later this week.

Updates

On Wednesday afternoon, we closed the office early for a team outing to a design exhibition at the Vancouver Museum. Rob was kind enough to give Charlene, Nina and me to the venue. Julita and Shelley were already there when we got there. Wendy wasn't able to make it and so was Jennifer, who had to make another business call.

After checking out the exhibits, Rob and the ladies proceeded to a watering hole five minutes from the museum. I didn't go with them because I wasn't feeling well. I thought I was coming down with intestinal flu. Besides, I had to leave right away because I had to prepare for my interview the next day.

I wasn't planning to actually get sick; just fake it, call in sick and go to the interview. However, I was already having some tummy trouble early Wednesday morning. In fact, I had to go to the toilet three times. The first was at home and it felt normal. The second was as soon as I got to the office. I just felt this strong urge to go to the washroom. Man, what a rush!

The third was in the afternoon and it was loose. In fact, it was so loose that I had to take a double dose of Imodium. It's been a while since I crapped like that. And I felt like crap the next morning, which posed a problem because I had a big interview and I wanted to make a good first impression.

In spite of what I felt, I soldiered on. I practised my answers to the interview questions, which were actually e-mailed to me a day in advance. Rehearsing my responses, I lost track of the time and had to take a quick shower. I already chose the suit, the shirt and the shoes that I was going to wear the night before. I didn't wear a tie this time because I didn't know how to do a Windsor knot. Nevertheless, I still looked professional.

I believe the interview went well. I learned from them that I scored the highest in their assessment exam and that was the reason why they invited me for an interview. On my way out, they asked for my list of references and wondered when could I start working for them if I get hired. These were definite signs that they wanted me in fast or they could be simply going through the motions. Anyway, they also said that they still had several candidates to interview, but they would be making a decision next week.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's my ticket out of here.

One Secretive Guy

Even though Rob and I are the only men in the office, we don't talk to each other much. However, he opens up once in a while, like when I asked him how his son was doing (he has a hearing defect) or his opinions on the latest video games. I found out he enjoys playing Rock Band, Gears of War and Grand Theft Auto IV.

But when it comes to more personal matters, such as job interviews, he's silent about it. Like one time, he came late to the office. Though he normally wears black Adidas runners with his black jeans and black shirt and carries a black backpack, he was wearing black Doc Martens and lugging a soft-side briefcase (which was black, too). I knew somehow from the day before that he was going to an interview.

Yesterday, he left an hour early, saying that he had to pick up his amplifier from a repair shop. However, he was wearing the same attire as above and carrying the same bag, inside of which was his portfolio. (I knew it was his portfolio because he showed it to me once.)

I didn't bother asking him today how was his amp because I didn't want him to lie to me. Of course, my observations could be wrong; but it made me realize that when Rob leaves before I do, I will be in a very precarious position. There's always the possibility that the company can move all the productive and creative work to Toronto, leaving me jobless.

I'm trying to avoid that situation.

Off to a Good Start — Almost

During the WIP meeting, Jennifer mentioned that this was going to be a busy week. I felt optimistic. Finally, I would get to spend my days working and not pretending to be working.

I was off to a good start when Charlene dropped by to have me edit a PDF containing online banners. It was only good for 30 minutes though. Then she asked me for my input on an ad.

But the most I did today was for her client's DM campaign. I hope I could get more than two hours' worth of work out of it. Still, it wouldn't be enough.

Still Hoping

I was still hoping after all this time that the guys from LDB would call me for an interview. So, with fingers crossed, I have been remotely checking my voice mail at home since last week, wishing that they would.

And every time I hear this message, "You've got one new message," my heart jumps for joy. But when I hear that it's from a telemarketer or a wrong number, I just roll my eyes in frustration. Of course, there are days when there are simply no messages, which even add to my frustration.

However, I continue to convince myself that probably the hiring manager is on vacation or too busy to pick candidates. Either way, I'm hoping against hope.

All by My Lonesome

With Wendy in Montreal since Thursday; Rob taking the Friday off; Jennifer, Shelley, Nina and Charlene in some client meeting; and Julita taking the afternoon off for some shopping with her in-laws, I was left alone in the office to fend for myself.

For once I had the place to myself. I freely broke wind twice, making sure that no one was around and sprayed some air freshener just in case the smell lingered. I even went to the men's washroom and took my time crapping. (The gas build-up in my tummy was beginning to bother me.)

Anyway, I'm thinking of calling it a day early. There's nothing to do anyway. I'm out of here!

Iced Tea for Me, Please

At 3:31 p.m. yesterday, we finally head out to this fancy watering hole by the harbour. Everyone was in high spirits, especially the suits because they got to leave the office hours early than usual — and there was still light to boot!

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating. It was cloudy, cold and windy, but, at least, it was dry. The ladies had cocktails; Rob, beer; and me, iced tea. Why iced tea? I had to go to a church meeting later in the evening and I didn't want to reek of alcohol. Besides, my tummy wasn't up to it. They ordered appies to share, too.

Even though I'm with the company for a year now, I still don't have much to share with them. I always end up asking questions about the details of a conversation instead of starting one. It seems like a struggle for me every time I'm with these kind of people. I feel so awkward and uncomfortable. I just feel I don't have much in common with them. I'm probably not suited with this kind of crowd. (They're okay though, but they are a league of their own.)

Drinks, Anyone?

Yesterday was a nice day to have some drinks and unwind outside. The sun was out and a refreshing sea breeze was blowing. Unfortunately, we were stuck here in the office until almost 5 p.m., waiting for Jennifer and her team to finish their client meeting. She said that the 2 p.m. gathering would only take 45 minutes and we would be out a little past three. Obviously, it took much longer than that.

When the meeting was over, Jennifer was still raring to go. However, the rest weren't. Wendy, Rob and I had to leave soon because of prior engagements. So, she had the "team-building" session move to today.

Afternoon Drinks

We're closing early today. Jennifer had this idea yesterday that the office should go out for drinks at 3:30 p.m. this afternoon to kick off the summer since the days have been slow anyway. And if things work out, we'll have another round tomorrow.

I am not looking forward to it because my tummy has been acting up lately. Besides, I didn't have lunch today because Jenny and I met with Belinda for some coffee and to touch base. I only had a slice of banana bread and mocha — not exactly a meal.

I hope they order some appies with the drinks because I get hungry when I drink.

I'm Running Out of Things to Do

It's 2 p.m. Do you know where my work is?

Another day of ennui. I spent the morning checking out online job sites, writing a cover letter and résumé for a job opportunity I found yesterday, and sent several e-mails unrelated to work.

I bumped into Mark, the IT guy, in the washroom. He wondered if we were doing anything at all in the office. I was speaking for myself when I told him that I wasn't looking forward to coming to work lately because I knew that I'd be spending the next 8½ hours doing nothing.

I also told him my fears about the company handling IT issues internally come July. (Mark only worked for the company that we hired for IT support and infrastructure.) I added that it could be a sign of things to come, like plans of closing the office permanently and letting the guys in Toronto handle everything in the near future.

Then we talked about how things were different back then. Mark said that when he was first assigned here, there were 45 people working in the office. There's only eight of us now.

The Gang's All Here

Nina is back from her two-week vacation in Germany. She didn't miss much. In fact, the stuff she left with a client for approval was still with them.

Jennifer is back, too. And she was the first one in the office — probably to make up for lost time harassing and bullying her minions. I could just feel my cortisol levels rise.

Like I said, we're all here. Now all we need is something to do. I, for one, have been doing nothing since 9:30 a.m. If not for the WIP meeting and minor proofing, then I could have been doing nothing since I got in this morning. It's almost 3 p.m. as of this writing and I'm bored stiff. I even almost fell asleep (slept for four hours only) reading online news.

I simply can't go on reporting for work and spend the entire day doing nothing. I hope I don't get laid off for this.

Stupid Weather

Everytime I leave the house, I make it a habit to watch the Weather Network so I can prepare the clothes I'm going to wear for that day. Today, the report calls for showers, with a high of 17° C and low of 12° C. Not cold enough to wear a jacket or warm enough to don a polo or short-sleeved shirt. So, I decided to slip a grey V-neck sweater on a white round-neck undershirt and black denim pants.

When I headed to the bus terminal, it was cloudy and a little cool. It was refreshing actually after staying indoors overnight. The sun was shining through the clouds when I was on the bus, prompting me to wear my shades. Still, it wasn't that warm; it wasn't cold either.

However, when I got into the office, it was uncomfortably hot and muggy. I adjusted the thermostat with no effect. It was a good day for the air conditioning to be acting up.

It was also a good time to be in kitchen duty. I was breaking a sweat on my forehead, armpits, chest and back when I finished unloading the dishwasher and replenishing the drinks in the fridge. I also noticed that everyone was wearing short-sleeved shirts or blouses. As Julita said, I was overdressed. To cool things down, I grabbed the coldest apple juice in the fridge and almost downed the entire bottle with gusto.

As I write this, I am currently scanning the skies for dark, heavy cloud formations. It looks like it's getting cloudy up north.

The Only Thorn Among the Roses

With Rob on leave, Julita and Nina on vacation, and Jennifer on some company-sponsored junket, there were only four of us left in the office: Wendy, Charlene, Shelley and me. It was wise for Rob to take Friday off because there was nothing to do here for us, at least.

So, since this morning, I have done nothing but check my e-mail in my Yahoo! and Gmail accounts, watch sports and viral videos online, and check out websites on action figures and video games. Lunch time, I'll head out to Blockbuster and rent movies for the weekend.

I hope Wendy will let me go home early; otherwise, I'll have to think of stuff to do to keep me busy for the next four hours.

(Update: After a quick lunch, I went to Blockbuster and took advantage of their three-new-releases-for-two offer. I grabbed National Treasure 2, Untraceable and The Air I Breathe. I was also hoping Wendy to tell me to go home early. Instead, she went home early herself at 12:30 p.m. I also managed to catch Belinda online and we chatted a bit. I found out from her that Jenny has tendered her resignation and she'll be leaving us next week. Lucky girl!)

Happy First Anniversary!

It was one year ago today when I entered the doors of the company as an employee. I still remember the stuff I wore on my first day: an off-white polo shirt with a winged ornamental print ($20, from Winners), on top of which was a light-grey blazer (sale price: $40, from RW & Co.). My jeans were brand new ($50, from Tiptop Tailors) but had that worn or distressed look. I also wore my favourite brown Cole-Haan shoes ($200).

The first person I saw was Deb, who looked testy at first, but she turned out to be very sweet, kind and thoughtful. She was also the office's supplier of homemade fudge and banana loaf. Kayla was already there because she was the receptionist. Julita soon popped out of her office, greeted me and showed me to my office. It was a corner office with a view of the city streets and the sea.

Then Julita introduced me to the rest of the company. Most were on vacation; after all, it was almost summer. The more memorable introductions were with Doug and Belinda. When I was introduced to Doug, we shook hands — and he continued to do so while talking to Julita about another office matter. I felt awkward that I had to let go of my grip and pull my hand off of his.

When I was introduced to Belinda (and Courtney, her partner in crime), the first thing she said was, "Ah, the new guy." I wanted to reply, "Yep, the first one who'll get blamed for all office troubles." But my words didn't come out exactly as I thought. Instead, I said, "Fresh meat." All were taken aback by my reply, including me.

After making the rounds, I went back to my very own office, not a cubicle or work station or pod, but a real office with real walls and windows and a door. (I'd find out later on that this was all temporary.) I filled in the required forms regarding insurance, contact details, contracts, etc. I also found out that my business cards were on its way and that there were free pop, juice, coffee and tea in the kitchen. I was so excited working for the company that when I left for home, there was a grin on my face like the Cheshire cat's.

However, a lot has changed since then. Just read my blogs in the last 12 months. (I was off yesterday, taking a three-hour-long test for that Publications Manager position. What a nice thing to do on the eve of my first year in the company.)

What a Way to Start the Week

I didn't sleep well last night. And when I managed to drift away, I'd be dreaming about my big day tomorrow at the Liquor Distribution Branch. Weird.

It may be because of the stress and the pressure I'll be feeling when I take that three-hour-long test. After all this time, I still have no idea what the exam for the Publications Manager position entails. However, I have a gut feeling that it will include graphic design, writing, editing, and something that involves decision making and project management.

Regarding work, we're supposed to have the weekly WIP meeting. Normally, Julita gathers the usual suspects in the office and we follow right after. Today was different. She didn't. So, except for Charlene and her, no one showed up; even the guys in Toronto were absent. I, for one, have my Lotus Notes remind me of the meeting, but I turned the alarm off as I was waiting for the rest to go to the meeting. I forgot somehow. So, Julita was disappointed when almost everyone, including the key people, was a no-show. (Wendy called in sick.)

And halfway through the day and there's no work in sight. Oh, well ...

The First in a Series: Official Four-day Weekends

I've been looking forward to this: the long weekend. However, I was hoping that today would fly faster, but not much work was happening again unfortunately.

Anyway, the sun's out, two consecutive short work weeks and payday — I can't complain.

Whew, Finally!

Remember that three-piece marketing collateral in English, French and Chinese? Well, I only finished proofing them yesterday afternoon. Proofing these puppies took time because I didn't have the chance to check them thoroughly when we did a reprint of them last year. (I believe no one did before me.) There were mistakes though, but they were minor.

It's a dirty job — and I get to do it for a living.

Shelley

The office acquired a new employee. Her name is Shelley. I don't where she is from, but she looks very experienced. She is also the new group account director. But how long will she hold on to the job? I'm giving her less than three months; Rob, three months tops; and Charlene, a year. I hope I already have left the company before she does.

Monday also dragged Jennifer in. Once again, I felt my stress levels rise.

But Friday Was Different

Rob wondered how my Friday afternoon looked like. He said that he was almost done with a client's three-piece marketing collateral in English, French and Chinese, and they needed proofreading. I said I wasn't busy and I needed something to make my timesheet look good.

The job wasn't a walk in the park. It took me an hour to proofread English, 1½ hours for the French and two hours for the Chinese. So the rest of my afternoon was spent proofing those and I wasn't even half way through by 5 p.m.

Monday was going to be very busy.

What Thursday Looks Like

Work-wise, today looks like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Julita's Back

Hey, a "thank you" would be nice. I did the dishes for you while you were sick yesterday. In case you forgot, you were supposed to be on kitchen duty. But I guess you wouldn't know that I cleaned the kitchen because no one here knew that I did it (not because I care for you, but because I was bored and I needed to keep myself busy). Lucky you and them.

Not Exactly a Nibbler

I got me another one although not exactly a job interview. This was for the publications manager position at a provincial government office, but I had to take a test first. The exam was scheduled next Friday, which was well timed because our office would be closed on that day. There would be no need for me to apply for a leave that could raise suspicions here.

My Good Deed for Today

Guess what? I was so bored that I emptied the dishwasher and cleared the dishes off the sink even though I wasn't on kitchen duty today. (It was Julita's, but she was sick and working at home.) Besides, no one was going to do that voluntarily anyway except probably Jenny or Wendy.

It just goes to show that I care. I didn't even bother to cross out Julita's name from the kitchen-duty schedule and put my name on it. I don't know why, but I feel good knowing that I did it without expecting anything in return.

Same Old, Same Old

As usual, I was the first one to arrive in the office again. With no one around yet, I felt like I reported for work on a weekend. Minutes later, Rob arrived. Jokingly, I told him that today's a holiday and the two of us didn't get the memo about it.

A few more minutes and bodies started to arrive: Nina, Julita and Charlene. Wendy was coming in late. At 9 a.m., we held our WIP meeting with the guys in Toronto. It was a very quiet gathering, especially now that our numbers were dwindling. No more Patrick, no more Liza.

Half way through the day and I only worked for 1¼ hours, just like yesterday. Another lousy timesheet.

Quiet Monday

As expected, Monday turned out to be a quiet one, especially now that all online banners were finally done last week. However, I spent an hour working on a sponsorship ad. Nothing spectacular though.

Liza isn't around anymore. Her work here is done. With her gone, Nina is left all by her lonesome in the work station until they hire Patrick's replacement.

Funny Friday

Jenny was sending e-mails one after the other to inform everybody of the several absences here in the offices. Jim advised her that it would be easier if she would just tell everyone who was present. (There were only four of us in the office: Wendy, Liza, Charlene and me. The rest were either sick or off site.) I replied back, telling them that I thought it was a holiday until I saw Wendy in her office.

I also got to go home 1½ hours early, thanks to Wendy. Since there wasn't any work to do now that the online banners were done, she gave me permission to leave early.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Woo-hoo! We're almost done with the online banners; hence, the downtime to blog.

And as soon as Bryan replies to my e-mail with the updates tomorrow, then that's about it. The ball will soon be in the client's court. Liza told me that the next big project will be in June; so, as a contractor, she won't be required to report for work in May.

I guess it's going to be lean next month. Better look for other sources of gainful employment. And speaking of employment, I haven't heard anything again from that prospective employer who called last week. I tried calling her, but I was always prompted to leave a voicemail. And when I asked her to return my call, she called my home phone. When I returned her call, she wasn't around. So, I left her another voicemail, asking her to call my cell phone. She did return my call, but she dialed my home phone again. After a week of playing phone tag, I guessed she gave up.

More Banners!

All the planned overtime and weekend work didn't materialize after all. The suits were having last-minute problems with the copy decks last week that it negated the need to work extra hours. But all those screen grabs had taken their toll on me.

My entire right arm sometimes go numb after copying and pasting the online banners on Word hundreds of times. Oftentimes, I feel a sharp pain on my right shoulder. Plus, getting four hours of sleep didn't help either. Fortunately, I was able to finish proofing today's new set of banners albeit slowly.

Goodbye, Patrick!

Another one bit the dust, and it's Patrick. Today is his last day. He's found a new and better gig somewhere. I would quit, too, if I were treated like crap by Jennifer.

Good for him, bad for her.

Just a Quick Note

Yesterday was the start of this big mess of online banners. Rob and I were expecting to work late, but we managed to submit everything on time and had to stay late for 15 minutes only. However, the entire staff might be required, except Julita, to work on weekends to beat next week's looming deadline.

According to Wendy, we're on schedule so far. But with the client's fickle-mindedness, we always end up rehashing our work. I'll probably end up working late tonight.

The Beginning of the End

It could be.

While taking a break from all these proofreading this afternoon, I checked my home phone if someone left some voicemail. Lo and behold, someone did! It was from a prospective employer for the e-commerce coordinator position that I applied for earlier this week. But from the way the caller sounded, it was more like a telephone interview.

The position is a far cry from my present one, but it's something I'm familiar with: online retail.

The Calm Before the Storm

I got a taste of what lies ahead of me later this week. Wendy had me updating the PDFs of the 30 English banners because of the revised copy decks. I spent more than five hours on those. It might have taken me longer than that if I hadn't thought of an easier way of making screen grabs of revised online banners.

Why work hard when you can work smart?

Heads Up: Busy Week

One hour into the workday and I got an e-mail from Bryan, the art director from Toronto. It's a link to an online presentation page containing more links for a client's online banners, all 60 of them. I already did 20 of them last week, which left me 40 more to do today. Bryan normally doesn't send them in one fell swoop, but he did this time.

It was actually an omen, a portension of things to come: Both Liza and Jennifer reminded me that I might stay late beginning Wednesday because of these banners. I guess I have to miss my personal and spiritual commitments this week — but not if I can help it.

Quiet But Stressful

Friday is turning out to be a quiet one. Client-related work is nowhere in sight for the time being. However, with the Dragon Lady running loose, unlike yesterday when she was at a workshop, my stress levels are up again.

I don't know why, but I dread seeing her. It seems like she's going to call me any minute and hand me some stuff to do that I have no idea about.

The other day, I saw her from the corner of my eye approaching me. I felt my heart beat fast. The instinct to fight or flight began to kick in. When she was in front of me, she handed me a souvenir pen from Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. (Everyone got one, by the way.) All that cortisol for a stinking pen!

At the moment, she is holed up in an office talking to some suit. I feel safe — for now.

Now This Is Definitely Quiet

It's five past four and I haven't done anything that's client billable. This week's timesheet is going to be a bad one. But I took the down time to submit a résumé online for a content copywriter position. I don't know yet how it will work out.

I am also on kitchen duty today.

Another Quiet Day? Not Quite.

It looked like business was picking up again — for me, at least. Today's client chargeables was 3¼ hours. It's the most I've worked this week, thanks to a new batch of online banners and copy deck updates.

Another Quiet Day

It looks like another day filled with boredom.

I was hoping to do some meaningful work when Liza, as usual, sent me an e-mail about Nina's translation files. Unfortunately, it appeared that I already did my part on those files last week. There goes at least two hours of gainful employment.

Then she sent me another e-mail, wondering if I received training on tracking ID creation — whatever that is. I was no help to her again.

I'm beginning to think the suits are treating me as a hired help.

A Quiet Monday

I was expecting this.

A quiet Monday normally follows a quiet Friday. It's almost 2 p.m. and I haven't done anything that's work related or client chargeable except for the WIP meeting this morning. And if not for that meeting, Monday on my timesheet would be zero.

However, Jennifer's back from her workshop in Hong Kong. Her presence continues to stress me out even though she hasn't asked anything of me yet. (That's how bad I feel about her.)

So, what am I doing to while away the time? I'm working on my cover letter and résumé for that publications manager position.

A Quiet Friday

I felt guilty not telling almost anyone that I wasn't going to the after-office drinks last night. I knew it was common courtesy to say no, but I didn't tell a single soul, except Rob, who also didn't go.

Anyway, my guilt was pretty obvious with the way I avoided people. I didn't even bother talking to the suits, lest they asked why I didn't come with them. What also made me feel worse was that Jim was having a meeting with us for a creative review. I feared the use of the word "review," as in "job review."

Plus, the last time Jim was here, he let Vassil go. Fortunately, the meeting was simply a recap of what the company had been doing creatively for the client. So, it was safe to say that they weren't shipping and shifting our work to Toronto and that Rob and I still have our jobs. Thank God!

And thank God it's Friday.

It's Quiet. Really.

I knew it's going to be one of those quiet and boring days when I opened the door. It's almost 8:30 a.m. and the lights were still out. And neither Wendy nor the suits were already in.

I opened my e-mail and there was nothing urgent from Liza or anything from the Toronto office. In fact, the only office e-mail I got so far was from the IT guy, Mark, who said that he was going off site for the rest of the day. I wished I could do that.

The funny thing is, now that I have plenty of time in my hands, I'm longing for gainful employment.

By the way, drinks tonight at 6 at a flashy restaurant by the harbour. I won't be going even though Jim is around today and tomorrow.

Started with a Bang, Ended with a Whimper

I hadn't warmed up yet for the day when Liza, as usual, wanted me to do screen grabs and a PDF in a hurry. I was done more than an hour later, but I kept going. I continued to update the new banners that I proofread yesterday. I tried to prolong the task by pounding the keyboard slowly. Alas! I was finished way before lunch time.

So, I tried answering a questionnaire that was a requirement in applying for this managerial position at a public corporation. I tried fitting my experience for that job opening. I hope they buy it.

Anyway, it looks like I won't be busy for the entire afternoon.

I Was Right After All

Deb dropped by this morning to do some contract work. She also brought her famous white-chocolate cranberry fudge, which I had for dessert. Yummy!

She also gave me some advise in dealing with Jennifer's office bullying. Deb only confirmed what I wanted to do when the Dragon Lady asked me to work on her PowerPoint presentations:

• That I can refuse to work late just because she does;

• That I can tell her that I have no idea what she wants me to do because it's not my line of work;

• And if she insists that I work on it, that I demand assistance.

Deb reminded me that I have every right as an employee of the company to do so.

Monday Blues

I came in 15 minutes late today, thanks to the heavy rain and traffic. Although it's spring, it was still cold, wet and gloomy.

I arrived just in time for the WIP meeting. It was a short one though — around 15 minutes — because Jennifer, Jim and Tonie weren't around. Wendy said that it was simply the calm before a storm. I thought I heard them talking about the beginning of May as the start of another round of projects, which I didn't mind, of course.

It's quiet, too. All of the suits went out for client meetings. However, Liza gave me a heads up on the remaining French online banners, which I needed to proof. After that, I might help Nina with her files again.

I'm Chillin' — For Now

After a crazy-busy morning, with Liza panicking because of some body copy that wasn't supposed to be there in the online banners, I'm now taking it easy for the rest of the day. (The absence of Jennifer also helps. She's on her way to Hong Kong to deliver 17 PowerPoint presentations to clients.)

Anyway, after screen grabbing all 20 animated banners, pasting them 100 times on Word and converting the file into PDF, everything was good. Liza was now more relaxed. With no e-mail and phone calls bothering her, she even enjoyed her lunch.

Most Hectic Week on Record?

Finally, some down time. This has been the most hectic week so far. Liza and Patrick has been bugging me since Tuesday regarding their client's online banners.

I thought at first that this week was going to be a slow one, so I volunteered to help Nina with the rest of her translation files on Tuesday. Finishing at 4 p.m., I was planning to take it easy for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, Patrick thwarted my plans; he wanted me to do proofread and screen captures of some banners, and wanted them by the end of the day.

My first reaction was: "You've got to be kidding me!" I also wanted to say that to him via e-mail. However, I kept my cool and concentrated on the task at hand instead. I was done a little past five. I walked to the bus stop contented, knowing that I once again rose to the occasion.

But I couldn't help but think that the suits were sending last-minute work to me on purpose. Micro-managing Jennifer is notorious for that. Patrick looks like he's becoming a male version of her. And Liza, well, she tried yesterday to make me stay and do a PDF of online banners again. This, after I was already on my way out of the office. Instead, she asked me to come to work early tomorrow, which I did today. (She could become a female version of the Dragon Lady.)

Tom and Tummy Trouble

Yesterday afternoon, Rob and I met with Tom and his wife and kid at a coffee shop a block away from our office. He was no longer freelancing with us because he got a job offer from the advertising firm where Doug, our former copywriter, now works. We wanted to see how he was doing and how he was finding Victoria.

I had a medium-sized mocha with Belgian dark chocolate and cream. Unfortunately, it didn't sit well with me. An hour later in the office, I felt my stomach grumble. Thirty minutes later, I was in the washroom. I thought my bout with an early morning tummy ache was over after two trips to the toilet and taking one Imodium. I guess the caffeine and probably the whipped cream triggered the runs.

They're Ganging Up on Me!

It all started last Thursday at 4 p.m. Jennifer approached me for another project of hers that she wanted me to do for her team. As usual, it was something I knew nothing about, such as brand positioning, brand pyramid and the like. How would I know those terms when I am simply a proofreader who's trying to be a copywriter?

Anyway, I tried my best to decipher the marketing jargon she used with the little backgrounder she gave me. I probably spent more than two hours working on the project. Of course, I was forced to work late again.

The next day, the Dragon Lady followed up on the status of my work. I told her that I was working on it until Liza gave me something to proofread, which was more important. After lunch, she called me and wanted to see my work. There was no avoiding the office bully this time.

Like always, the stuff I did was wrong. So, I asked her if she could give me a pattern that I could use and follow. Unfortunately, none was available. Even the stuff she gave me the day before was wrong, too. Worse, even the work her team did was also wrong. If everyone was wrong and she was always right, she should do it herself then.

True to form, I tried to redeem myself by revising my work. An hour into my revision and Patrick and Liza started to bug me if I was done with it. I wasn't known to hand over half-assed projects, but they were asking for it. So, I gave my unfinished job to them and let the suits worry about it. (One thing that also pissed me off was when Patrick asked me to do some research for his part of the project. I said no.)

Nina did her part of bugging me, too, but she was more considerate and respectful. She wasn't the type who just barges in with a request.

Busiest Day on Record

I didn't believe it at first; but when I added up yesterday's client-billable time, it was eight hours! For the first time since my hiring in May 2007, I reached the eight-hour mark.

I knew it was going to be a busy day when Liza greeted me with an e-mail first thing in the morning. It was for proofing and screen capturing online banners. Then there were other screen grabs, too; this one was for Charlene. Then there were the odds and ends of print ads and their revisions.

But the only drawback of a hectic day is that the next day won't be as busy. Take today for example. As of this writing, I only have 3¾ hours of client chargeables.

Slow Yesterday, Slower Today?

It was a slow day yesterday, and it looks like today's going to be slower. Somehow, I've never gotten used to spending most of my days infosnacking when I see everyone doing something work related. I feel so guilty and useless though it's not my fault entirely.

As a proofreader, I only perform my duty when work is handed to me. What am I supposed to proof when there's nothing for me to do in the first place? These are the times when I welcome labour-intensive tasks, such as proofing translation files and screen-capturing online banners.

So, when Charlene came up to me yesterday, wondering if I could do some screen grabs for her, I obliged quickly. Unfortunately, there were only eight banners to work on, which was only worth 60 minutes of client-billable time.

Chachi's Such an Ass

I usually have a cup of tea ready before the WIP starts at 9 a.m. But because I was on kitchen duty, I wasn't able to prepare my morning beverage right away. So, seeing that Julita was still setting up the conference call with the Toronto office, I left my notebook and my seat and snuck out to the kitchen to make green tea.

On my way back, I saw Chachi move my stuff and grab my seat. What the ... ? To begin with, he already had a seat when we went to the conference room. What was he thinking? Just because he believes his position is more important than mine doesn't give him the right to take my seat.

It may not be a big deal even though I quietly took the chair next to him. But I find it rude. I hope he gets his just desserts — and soon.

Kitchen Duty Again

After the long Easter weekend, I'm back at work and so is everybody.

I decided to come to work early because I'm on kitchen duty. And just as I expected there were dishes on the kitchen sink and counter. Fortunately for me, someone already washed some of the dishes from last Thursday; otherwise, there would be stacks of dishes for me to put in the dishwasher.

So far, that's the busiest I've been this morning.

Wonder of Wonders!

I managed to keep myself busy!

I thought today was going to be a long one. But somehow, the suits gave me work to do. It started with Patrick's landing pages (it was in French this time). I haven't begun proofreading them when another project came by. I forgot what it was because work came one after another.

All in all, I worked for 6.5 hours, which was not bad for a short workweek and a good way to start the long weekend.

Happy Easter!

Bored Stiff Again

It's almost 1 p.m. and I only clocked 2¾ hours. I was hoping to do more today, but nothing new was happening since Patrick's landing-page project on Monday.

I'm now running out of things to do for the next four hours.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Twenty-fours hours ago, I was proofreading like crazy. Now, I'm infosnacking, visiting Web sites on action figures and video games, and checking my Web-based e-mails every now and then. What's going on? Well, we're on the tail end of the projects again. (Of course, I did some work — all three hours of them!)

Where are Nina's translation files when you need them? Where are Chachi and his rush jobs now that I have plenty of time in my hands?

If tomorrow is going to be like this, then I guess I will be in for a long day.

The Male Jennifer

With Allison now working for a different company, it was the perfect time for Chachi (a.k.a. Patrick) to move in and throw his weight around. During the WIP teleconference meeting with the Toronto office yesterday, he tried to show that he was running the show.

It was embarrassing actually. He said in a loud voice over the speaker phone, "Hello, Toronto!" when the guys from TO hadn't joined in the conference yet.

And 30 minutes before closing time, he sent me an e-mail containing URLs to a client's landing pages, which I needed to proofread. He said that it was short. Yeah, right. I ended up leaving the office a little after 5:30 p.m. It's beginning to look like Patrick's becoming a male version of his boss, Jennifer.

Deb and Liza

It was good to see Deb back, albeit temporarily. She would be helping Wendy in producing marketing collateral. Once again, the office would be less than quiet. In fact, she hit the ground running.

Coming in temporarily, too, is Liza, the new account director replacing Allison. She is Asian, but I don't know if she's Filipino or Chinese or both.

And going back to work, there's not much happening again. But I hope things pick up soon because this is a short workweek, with Friday being a statutory holiday (Good Friday).

Adieu, Allison et Tom

Friday was off to a good start.

Wendy brought some printer proofs for me to check and Charlene, who was currently in Toronto and wouldn't be back until next Wednesday, sent me a lot of e-mails. I thought this was going to be a busy one. But at the end of the day, my billable hours were 2½ hours short. And it looked like no more additional work would be coming in.

At 4:30 p.m., we'll be saying our goodbyes to Allison. If our small gathering for her were in typical company fashion, then it's wine, chips, crackers and cheeses. I hope Julita will get something more hale and hearty this time.

It appears that it is Tom's last day with us, too. He didn't accept the company's offer of full-time work, which was then offered to someone else in Toronto. I'll miss the guy and his funny British accent.

Briefs

I was finally getting the hang of participating in task and creative briefings. In fact, I was enjoying it. I felt so important and productive.

Yesterday, I was invited to one by Charlene (via conference call). This was for Belinda’s former client who wanted us to revise an old welcome package. Even before we held this in the afternoon, I was already pounding the keyboard in the morning, working on one of the several versions of the welcome letter.

On our way home, Tom told Rob and me that he refused the company’s offer of permanent work. His reason: he couldn’t possibly work full time in a firm where there were several lay-offs previously and the employees were dying to get out of there. He said that Julita was surprised with his response.

I told him that I was just waiting for another copywriting assignment to add to my portfolio since it needed updating. Once I have gathered enough job samples, I will resume my job hunting.

It’s Official: Allison’s Leaving!

Jennifer finally had the time to announce Allison’s resignation — and her last day is this Friday, March 14. I have heard of this news from Belinda a week ago, but I kept mum about it. I don’t know who’s the lucky guy taking her place, but he or she will be in for a treat.

It just goes to show no one can stand Jennifer and her micromanagement style. I, too, can’t even though I don’t work directly under her. But I did get a taste of it when she asked me to help with their PowerPoint presentation.

They Moved Me Out

Well, after the Dragon Lady moved in on Friday, she requested me if I could move out of my place because she wanted Wendy to move in my spot. Could I say no? Of course not! So, I promptly moved out of my workstation just to get it over and done with.

I am not quite settled in my new place, which was Allison’s former workstation. In fact, I don’t like it at all. Presently, my nearest neighbours are two office printers. I have a good view of the new living room, which was Jennifer’s former office (she moved, thank God!). I can see Julita, too, from where I am sitting right now, although I’ve heard that she is moving also.

To my left is the door. And every time it opens with a loud clack, I look to my left. It is so distracting. Plus, I don’t like the binders behind me. They’re not mine to begin with. I really miss my own private corner.

And the only way I can have another change of scenery is to move out of this place again and look for another job.

The Dragon Lady Moves In

Yes, she finally did.

As soon as she came in the office late yesterday afternoon, MK went straight to where Belinda used to sit. She even dragged one of the red chairs from the conference room and made it her throne (probably to separate her from her minions who sit on black chairs).

She has now declared herself the queen of the wing.

Her presence here is making me uncomfortable because I’m merely metres from her grip. Plus, she talks too much and too loud on the phone. And when she does, she goes back to her office. What gives?

I mean, what’s the use of her moving to a workstation when she would probably spend her day working and talking on the phone at the same time in her office? I think she doesn’t get that we don’t want her around. All of us would be better off if she just stayed in her cave.