I have been handed some new responsibilities at work. They are asking me to review and convert (if necessary) nearly 30 exchanges that have parts on back order. We can’t send those orders the way they are, so it became my responsibility to call all the stores that placed the exchanges and get them to agree to box up the broken equipment they have onsite and let our UPS driver come by and pick them up for repair. This seems like a simple enough idea, but the legwork involved in uncovering the information in one order, and then making an entirely separate order for the repair is a mess. And I’m finding that the other agents I work with place orders that are just shamefully wrong, lacking key pieces of information, and may not have shipped anyway because of the sad state they were in. I can’t believe these clowns still have jobs, and they don’t do them very well at all.

Anyway. I’m doing a lot of unpacking and converting, and calling stores to have them box up their equipment for retrieval. And I’m well over 50% done with the list (having had only one day to work on it), after figuring out that many of them had actually been filled and shipped, but we’re still on the list as back ordered. So those were, at least, simpler. But it was a whole new thing I was being asked to do; a total departure from my regular responsibilities. I was asked by Mike, Joel and Don (my three immediate bosses) to handle this. And so I am. And following each process through to the end. No mistakes.

My brain was furiously scrambling to gather as much focus and concentration as I could muster to keep track of all the open issues I was juggling. I got help from all over, and had lots of questions to ask my supervisors. Naturally. And they were happy with my work.

I was preoccupied with that for most of the morning and early afternoon. Then at 3 I hopped back in the queues and started taking live calls. I only ended up with 26 total, and some of those were the calls I made to the stores to get them to box up their broken equipment. Still counts though. My level of exhaustion is high, and I can’t wait to fall asleep.

It has been hard to be without Amanda physically. We text every day dozens of times, coping with the things that are going on in our respective worlds, so it’s not like we are out of touch. But I want her, and my body craves her badly, and the sudden yearning I experience at my desk keeps me from standing or moving at all until it passes. She had a really tough day today, and I wanted to be there for her. But that would have caused more harm than good. Her son hasn’t met me yet, and to just suddenly be there with her would leave him totally confused. I’m going to get a chance to make my introduction on Sunday, in a structured encounter where he can be there with his mom and feel safe. I look forward to meeting him, and taking the first steps toward becoming his friend.

My parents are in Sacramento helping my sister move out. I do believe she will be coming to San Diego with them, and will be back in town sometime this Saturday. I work 7:30 to 4:00 so I might be able to go see them in La Mesa once they settle in. It’s going to be quite a busy weekend too. Somewhere between breakfast and 3:00 I have to do all my laundry and clean my house. I have been in working mode for this week, and need some time to catch up on the essentials.

I know that was a lot of blathering. But I’m so full of thoughts from today, and this is where I go to let all that stuff out. Be free thoughts, be free.