warning: contains significant workplace bitching vague-blogging content

This week, as some of you may be aware, is the last week of the fiscal year for many areas of the public sector, including mine. This generally includes a mad dash to obligate ALL THE DOLLARS before the end of the year to make budgets work out and such. Many people are very busy. I was very busy in my decade or so as a purchasing type. However, I have never been as busy (or as frustrated, angry, and fed up) as I’ve been this week, as a program manager who’s just trying to ensure that orders are in place to make sure my people can work for me next week.

The organization I work for, which references contracts and purchasing in it’s name, for Pete’s sake, has proven remarkably inept in those particular areas, to the point that serious surveillance has been implemented to make sure that things are all being done properly, resulting in supposedly thorough reviews of things like work statements and actual contract vehicles to make sure that they’re reasonably written and contain measureable outcomes (and, in one actual example, that a software development contract actually contains the terms “software” and “development” in the work statement).

All told, my stuff isn’t that bad (and I’ve been told that my interface with the contracting process has been top-notch, to the point that management has stuck a point in my official position description for reviewing and advising on other folks’ stuff as well as mine), especially the stuff I’ve actually gotten to write (I’m still dealing with a bunch of stuff I inherited from the last idiot who sat in this chair). This, however, has not exempted me in any way from going through circular, roundabout, repetitive reviews of every last little thing with various people, including, a so-called “expert” who has a problem actually listening to what other people say, dropping contemptuous profanity into official conversations and correspondence, and most horrifically, can’t seem to not always be chewing on some sort of food while on the telephone.

I have had all my stuff blessed multiple times (I signed one form SEVEN TIMES last week) over the last two months in preparation for wrapping these things up before the end of the FY. As of late Thursday night, the two contracts that allow my team of six-ish people to do the work we need to do and get paid for it have not yet been issued. I am very angry, and have been very angry for this entire week as continual roadblocks are put in the way of me getting my work done, as anyone who’s been in my personal sphere of influence can attest.

I’m hoping the last day of the week gets itself sorted out, but I have mostly let this stuff go, because it’s out of my (the technical professional) hands now that the requirements are sorted (unless I have to go diving into contract modifications to find a mistake made four years ago that nobody noticed before that’s now keeping a routine thing from getting my people paid…again!). I have some other usual Friday paperwork to do, as well as some things to tie up because I’m taking one of those courses for certification next week, and hopefully get out of the office early because I worked eleven hours the other day and they owe me.

Otherwise, I haven’t had a lot of headspace for other stuff this week, frankly. I got one nice bike ride in after not being sick, did a ton (like hundreds) of push-ups in my office this week to try to relieve frustration, and drove a bunch of hours to go pick up my kid at college for her fall break (that bit was kind of nice).

I did have a decent dance Thursday night, even though I had to convince myself to go after the day I had – I think I can maybe do two different ceilis now – The Bonfire Dance and The Fairy Reel, at least in terms of the large geography, even if my feet don’t always know where to go. It relieved a little stress.

This weekend, I’ve got a couple of things, including swinging by Richmond Comicon for a bit to visit a couple of friends and pick up some stuff I bought from artist buddy Dan Nokes that I bought months ago. I also got one of those EX Raid passes in Pokemon Go, so I’m coordinating with the local crew I play with to take down a Mewtwo on Saturday morning. The Girls are also doing a small local dance competition (one sponsored by the cross-town rival school, so I don’t have any work to do), which I’ll close out my afternoon with before the celebratory post-Feis meal and drinks for those of age.

Oh, I should probably learn a couple of new songs for the Chestertown HP Festival gig next weekend, but that shouldn’t be a big deal.

And, as the title suggests, I’ve been so spitting angry and frustrated this week that I couldn’t count as I set this one up. So you get thirteen off my Sansa I loaded up a long time ago and have no idea what’s on it after re-discovering it recently:

1. “When I Go” – Ingrid Michaelson
2. “Holland Road” – Mumford and Sons
3. “Boys Don’t Cry” – The Cure
4. “If You Want Me (live)” – The Swell Season
5. “Take Me With U” – Prince & The Revolution
6. “Tear Down The Wall” – Saraya
7. “My Next Girlfriend” – Mikey Mason
8. “Just Shouldn’t Change” – Earth to Bob
9. “Tick” – They Might Be Giants
10. “Batman Smells (A Rebuttal)” – John Anealio
11. “Think For Yourself” – The Beatles
12. “The Moth (live)” – Aimee Mann
13. “One and Only” – Queensrÿche