Various Work Thoughts

Today was dress-up day at work, otherwise known as The CEO is Back in Town. It's pretty funny, really: twenty people make an effort to dress extra-nicely, the men in ties and some even in suits (and I wore a dress, myself; might as well get more use out of it), and everyone just looks more polished than usual ... and he arrives, goes into a conference room with my boss, and is there all day. A few people get called in for a while, but for most of us, we get a glimpse across the room and that's it. It seems like a lot of effort. (He actually came around before he left, but still, it wasn't much.)

Also today, an APB was sent out from the head of IT, telling everyone to use only their accurate job titles in e-mail signatures, on LinkedIn, and the like. Apparently there has been some job inflation? I guess. I'd love to learn the back-story to that one.

When I started working here in June, there were nine other people in the office, and today there are 21 (the division total is 40, but that's including NY and London). We still have room for more, but we're reaching the point where they run out of conference rooms for all the meetings (mercifully, I hardly ever have to go to any*, but that is not true of the others, in part because they're still hiring so there's interviewing, but also because of the global nature of the company). Soon they'll have to have sign-up sheets or something.
*I sometimes feel like a still point in a swirl of people going into and coming out of meetings; it's a good feeling, don't get me wrong, but it can be a little odd.

Note to self, though, based on one meeting I did have to go to: I'm not planning to move to the west coast, but if I ever do, I must not get a job with a global company. This conference call was at 8:30am Eastern time, which was fine for us and the New York office; 1:30pm for London, safely after lunch; and 6pm in India, a little late in the business day but manageable. For San Francisco, however, it was 5:30 in the morning, and I felt sympathy pains for that guy.

At work, there is a small desk by the door, but we don't have a receptionist, so there's nothing on the desk except for one lone plant--well, a mixed arrangement of plants. It looks like it was sent as a welcoming gesture back when the office opened in the spring, and it is about three-quarters dead. There is something sort of frond-y hanging on tenaciously, while the rest is long withered. How long do you suppose the last bit can live, ignored and (presumably) unwatered?

If it was up to me, there would be someone sitting there, because in my opinion my boss really needs an admin. She is insanely busy and under tremendous pressure; she doesn't need to also be picking up coffee, installing toner in the printer, and the like. No one asked me, but it seems to me that she could get someone to do such things for her, to free up a little bit of her time.

In conclusion, I'm sorry to scare you, but I realized today that Christmas is less then three months away. Yow, time goes faster and faster!