Monday
In this job e-mails dominate the working day in a way I have not previously experienced.
All we seem to be doing at the moment is planning the seminar we will hold at a conference in early October. "Head Office" is naturally taking an interest as they do not trust our Director Vijay Singh to be on-message. I am being loaded with all the administration of the seminar (which Vijay Singh does not trust our Administration Team to do either competently or confidentially).
Lunchtime I went to a local mall, bleak concrete plaza, visiting the bank, Co-Op and cheap goods store (I am still "method researching" a low-income demographic in an attempt to understand their thoughts and emotions).
The rest of the lunchbreak I sat in my car reading On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleza.
In the afternoon I looked at databases.
News that Administration Supervisor Bridget O'Farrell will not return from maternity leave.
Today I finally got to grips with the papers on my desk and began to organise my work.
More staff started today, one on Administration and one on the Society project. These appointments are evidence of the positive effect the new funding is already beginning to have on the Institute. Both are short-term contracts, a reminder that our new benefactor is not giving us a blank cheque.
Too much time spent replying to e-mails in the afternoon, so that an analysis report I was drafting became delayed.
Each day I arrive in the office determined to work hard, but always I get distracted.
I have never seen so many people in the office - all of our staff were in, plus lots of visitors from Head Office. The reason for this gathering was to go over training and rehearsals for the October seminar. I kept out of it all and worked on the analysis report.
The weather wonderfully warm so that at lunchtime I went downstairs where the library staff had opened the back door to the stacks and put chairs out in the sun. I drank diet cherry Coke and talked to Assistant Librarian Gary and Library Manager Stan D. They wanted to know whether there would be a salary review now that more money was coming into the Institute (salaries have remained the same since 2008!).
In this job e-mails dominate the working day in a way I have not previously experienced.
All we seem to be doing at the moment is planning the seminar we will hold at a conference in early October. "Head Office" is naturally taking an interest as they do not trust our Director Vijay Singh to be on-message. I am being loaded with all the administration of the seminar (which Vijay Singh does not trust our Administration Team to do either competently or confidentially).
Lunchtime I went to a local mall, bleak concrete plaza, visiting the bank, Co-Op and cheap goods store (I am still "method researching" a low-income demographic in an attempt to understand their thoughts and emotions).
The rest of the lunchbreak I sat in my car reading On the Edge of Reason by Miroslav Krleza.
In the afternoon I looked at databases.
Tuesday
News that Administration Supervisor Bridget O'Farrell will not return from maternity leave.
Today I finally got to grips with the papers on my desk and began to organise my work.
Wednesday
More staff started today, one on Administration and one on the Society project. These appointments are evidence of the positive effect the new funding is already beginning to have on the Institute. Both are short-term contracts, a reminder that our new benefactor is not giving us a blank cheque.
Too much time spent replying to e-mails in the afternoon, so that an analysis report I was drafting became delayed.
Thursday
Each day I arrive in the office determined to work hard, but always I get distracted.
Friday
I have never seen so many people in the office - all of our staff were in, plus lots of visitors from Head Office. The reason for this gathering was to go over training and rehearsals for the October seminar. I kept out of it all and worked on the analysis report.
The weather wonderfully warm so that at lunchtime I went downstairs where the library staff had opened the back door to the stacks and put chairs out in the sun. I drank diet cherry Coke and talked to Assistant Librarian Gary and Library Manager Stan D. They wanted to know whether there would be a salary review now that more money was coming into the Institute (salaries have remained the same since 2008!).
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