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Parenting after 35
Whiny Wednesday
I need to whine for a few minutes. Feel free to join in! This is flamable, because I know there are plenty of people who have it worse than I do, but I just need to get this out!
My current work assignment is downtown and requires a ninety minute commute each way, rather than the thirty minutes it takes to get to my usual office. My commute time has therefore tripled. The only projects I could transfer to require a similar commute, so there is no benefit to switching.
I am waiting on my clearance, so I require an escort at the job site. No one sits and watches me at my desk all day or anything like that, but I cannot get back into the office suite if I leave. The annoying part is that the restrooms are outside the suite. So basically I have to ask permission to go to the bathroom to make sure someone is available to let me back in. I feel like a child. If this baby plays "bounce on Mommy's bladder" like Stella did, things are going to get ugly! Fortunately I bring my lunch to work most times anyway, so I don't have to deal with trying to get someone to let me back in during lunch hours.
This also means I can't shift my hours much right now. My coworker and I try to arrive at about the same time to minimize effort for our escort. I get up at 5:45 am as it is, I don't know how much earlier I can push it and still be functional, but I may try once I get into the suite on my own.
No clearance = no computer access = no internet. I can dink around some on the Blackberry, but that really doesn't cut it for researching OSHA standards and such. I also cannot access my timesheet on the Blackberry, so I get the daily "Your timesheet is not in compliance" emails. They don't do anything bad, but I want to yell back at the screen "I can't help it." It's one thing to not be able to play online, but it it really annoying that I can't work online.
The contract specifies "on site support" so working at our home office on a regular basis is not an option. I did request and receive permission to work here today so IT can check out my computer to try to figure out why windows has been crashing and to pick up some equipment. I understand that we need to follow the terms of the contract, but it is so frustrating!
The extra commute time cuts into my day so that I bascially get nothing done during the week other than prep for the next day. I used to be able to fit in the occasional errand on my way to or from work. DH is awesome and helps with DD and does the dishes doesn't mind if we eat the same thing for three meals in a row, so I could have it much worse.
I currently work four days a week. We need to provide five days a week for the contract. My boss says we can figure something out so I stay on the four day schedule, but he keeps not figuring it out. I am not prepared to lose my job over this and would likely go back to five days if it came to that, but I really do not want to give up my Fridays off. It gives me a day without a crappy commute to get some household chores and errands done so that we can enjoy at least some family time with DD on the weekends.
In the end, I know that I am lucky to have a job, especially one that lets me work four days a week, and the work itself is fairly interesting and there are people who make this commute every day for their entire careers and survive and I won't be pregnant and tired forever. I try to remind myself of all of these things, but some days just flat out suck.
Sorry for the novel. Thanks for "listening".
DD1 is 3, DD2 is 1.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Whiny Wednesday
Do you, by chance, work with my husband. Since you pretty much described his new job with the federal government/Army. (Well, except for the "being pregnant" part!)
He does have a security clearance, but that means he can't have his cellphone in the office. Which means no email or voicemails, either. So when he gets home at night, he has hundreds of emails to go through.. FOR WORK.
He works in a small office with too many people in it. They all are loud and gossip-y and one already called him a brown-noser because he's been a friend of the boss for 15 years and is being groomed to replace him in a few years when he retires.
My sympathies!
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Can we whine by proxy? A friend of mine has a facebook friend in the fashion industry who posted an epic whine on my friend's FB wall (which was weird, but an interesting read).
Now she is 9 months pg with her 3rd child, hormonal, and working in fashion (you do the math), so I understand there's a lot going on there. However, she starts talking about how designing her dream kitchen in the new fabulous house that "most people would kill for" (her words) means that she'll now actually be expected to cook, which may interfere with her 6:30 business meetings or meeting friends after work for dinner/drinks at [insert trendy spot here]. And that while her new status as mommy will also garner her a live-in nanny, it's all just too hard.
WTF??? I kinda get what she is saying about going back into mommy mode, 1 hour minimum lead time to leave the house due to the diaper bag, no time to spa, lunch, and just be fabulous for no reason..I get it. But seriously, the fancy house, the nanny, and the great job would likely cushion the blow.
Meanwhile I would like to whine about not having a fabulous job, dream home, or enough childcare. Thanks for reading!