I wondered whether everyone was going to be swept away - the past week at work

Monday

All this week I suffered from a cold, which made sleeping difficult.  As soon as I laid down in bed I struggled to breath, and after about an hour of this torture I would get up and go downstairs to sleep in an armchair, covered by a blanket.  On average I had about five hours sleep per night over the week.

When I arrived at the office PR Officer Josie S was already there.  She told me that she had a premonition that something unpleasant was going to happen to her.  I just told her she was imagining things.

Boring day at work, and I created a reason to go and see a local government agency just so that I could get out of the office in the afternoon.

Tuesday

All of today I was at a training course for the NGO's managers about the media.  Very little I didn't already know, although the other managers seemed fascinated by it.  We had to interview each other on radio in the morning and then television in the afternoon.

Very poor lunch, and afterwards I had three whiskies at the bar. 

Wednesday

One month from today will be my last day at the NGO (I am on a fixed term contract which is not being renewed supposedly due to lack of funding, although who knows the real reason).  I have hardly anything to do, and fill in my time at the office by a number of self-imposed tasks.  If I stopped working entirely no-one would notice.

After months of stalling by the Finance department I was finally given a budget to buy an office camera.  I immediately drove to a local town and bought a Nikon D5100.  Back at the office I showed it to Josie S and Marketing Officer Ron J and we spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures of each other.

Thursday

During the morning I held a team meeting with Josie S, Ron J and Research Officer Jane B.  We discussed a marketing project for the Innovation department.  We generated a lot of good ideas and soon had a strategy in place.

Half day holiday in the afternoon, and despite my cold I joined Felix S and Ryan M (Operations Director) for another golf session.  The course we go to has a resident trainer and he gave us half an hour tuition in chipping and putting, and then we played nine holes.  During the game Ryan M took me aside and said that Josie S had been "stalking" him in the office (they had an affair earlier this year, which Ryan M ended).  Stalking is a gross exaggeration, but I knew that she had been hanging around the Operations department and finding excuses to talk to Ryan M when he clearly could not be bothered with her.  At first I had tried to dissuade her from doing this, but nothing I could say would influence her (you cannot help someone who does not want to be helped).  Ryan M has complained to CEO Alec Pressberg who has agreed she should go.

I wish he had not told me this as it means I now have to pretend I don't know.

Friday

Nothing to do today.  My cold, which had been getting better, is now a lot worse.  So few tasks are being given to the Marketing department that I wondered whether everyone was going to be swept away in the new round of economies (I am going anyway).