Monday
Another bad night and I did not sleep at all. I was comfortable and warm, and the room was quiet, but for some reason I could not sleep. Eventually, after seven hours of sleeplessness, I got up and got ready for work.
On the drive to the office I stopped to buy four cans of sugar-free Red Bull.
Angry e-mails from Head Office which I replied to politely (this is not aimed at me personally, but is trying to undermine the Institute and deliver it into the hands of Alec Nussbaum).
Lots of bureaucratic hassle concerned with the Exhibitions programme bookings. I am beginning to think it might be better to give this up to someone else. Perhaps offer it as a sop to Head Office.
In the afternoon the Institute's Director Vijay Singh called a meeting to discuss the EGM which will decide the future of the Institute. I have been given the practical task of booking the venue and arranging the the event. Instead of just an afternoon meeting (which Alec Nussbaum is expecting) Vijay Singh wants to expand it into the two-day mini-conference with the actual EGM on the end when the members (150 people who actually "own" the Institute) will be convinced of the importance of our work.
Ferocious warnings about not disclosing our membership database to Head Office. I kept quiet at this point as I did not want to embarrass Vijay Singh by reminding him that he had already asked me to share our membership data with the Membership department at Head Office. In any case, I am fairly sure that Terry Solomon (who runs Head Office Membership) will not know what the data is as it was included in a spreadsheet of publication sales and listed under the anonymous heading of "Potentials".
Tuesday
More e-mails from people at Head Office, hostile and asking questions. Anne Boswell-Urquart seems to be leading this campaign. I just replied in a non-committal way, sidestepping their demands.
More fuss over the Exhibitions programme, and I am beginning to think this is an area that is going to plague me.
When I get back to the office after lunch I reopened my PC (we have to log-off if we leave the office) and to my surprise found messages of support from Publications and from Legal in Head Office ("not everyone down there likes Mr Nussbaum" said Vijay Singh when I showed him the messages).
Wednesday
A backlog of work has built up, but sometimes there is nothing you can do except focus on the most urgent thing and let all the rest sort themselves out.
Thursday
Huge row between Admin and Finance over the heating. Marcia Walsh (Finance Manager and Acting Deputy Director) has been turning it off in the afternoons because the Finance section, which is right by the boiler, was too hot. This leaves the women in Admin freezing.
After exchanges across the open-plan floor Vijay Singh called in Donna H (Supervisor of Admin) and afterwards Marcia Walsh into his office.
It was clear that Marcia Walsh had been reprimanded as she emerged in a state I can only describe as fuming, and sulked the rest of the day.
Friday
So busy today it was ridiculous.
And yet what did I really achieve?
Another bad night and I did not sleep at all. I was comfortable and warm, and the room was quiet, but for some reason I could not sleep. Eventually, after seven hours of sleeplessness, I got up and got ready for work.
On the drive to the office I stopped to buy four cans of sugar-free Red Bull.
Angry e-mails from Head Office which I replied to politely (this is not aimed at me personally, but is trying to undermine the Institute and deliver it into the hands of Alec Nussbaum).
Lots of bureaucratic hassle concerned with the Exhibitions programme bookings. I am beginning to think it might be better to give this up to someone else. Perhaps offer it as a sop to Head Office.
In the afternoon the Institute's Director Vijay Singh called a meeting to discuss the EGM which will decide the future of the Institute. I have been given the practical task of booking the venue and arranging the the event. Instead of just an afternoon meeting (which Alec Nussbaum is expecting) Vijay Singh wants to expand it into the two-day mini-conference with the actual EGM on the end when the members (150 people who actually "own" the Institute) will be convinced of the importance of our work.
Ferocious warnings about not disclosing our membership database to Head Office. I kept quiet at this point as I did not want to embarrass Vijay Singh by reminding him that he had already asked me to share our membership data with the Membership department at Head Office. In any case, I am fairly sure that Terry Solomon (who runs Head Office Membership) will not know what the data is as it was included in a spreadsheet of publication sales and listed under the anonymous heading of "Potentials".
Tuesday
More e-mails from people at Head Office, hostile and asking questions. Anne Boswell-Urquart seems to be leading this campaign. I just replied in a non-committal way, sidestepping their demands.
More fuss over the Exhibitions programme, and I am beginning to think this is an area that is going to plague me.
When I get back to the office after lunch I reopened my PC (we have to log-off if we leave the office) and to my surprise found messages of support from Publications and from Legal in Head Office ("not everyone down there likes Mr Nussbaum" said Vijay Singh when I showed him the messages).
Wednesday
A backlog of work has built up, but sometimes there is nothing you can do except focus on the most urgent thing and let all the rest sort themselves out.
Thursday
Huge row between Admin and Finance over the heating. Marcia Walsh (Finance Manager and Acting Deputy Director) has been turning it off in the afternoons because the Finance section, which is right by the boiler, was too hot. This leaves the women in Admin freezing.
After exchanges across the open-plan floor Vijay Singh called in Donna H (Supervisor of Admin) and afterwards Marcia Walsh into his office.
It was clear that Marcia Walsh had been reprimanded as she emerged in a state I can only describe as fuming, and sulked the rest of the day.
Friday
So busy today it was ridiculous.
And yet what did I really achieve?
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