Posted January 8th, 2008 by Michelle

I had a really tough day today. Three job interviews (I was doing the interviewing, not being the interviewee), a meeting at the county government, a meeting at the county office of education, therapy, a late community meeting, and a thousand tasks to do that I couldn’t begin to accomplish, topped off by too little sleep, no time to exercise, and the continuing maddening problems of some of the people in my work. I am so tired of being treated as if I don’t know what the hell I’m doing; I’m so tired of the patronizing, the “gentle” suggestions, and the sometimes blatant statements that in essence say, “You are incompetent. Allow me to show you the way.” Most of these trolls I’ve dealt with, but I have a few left to slay, and sometimes, sometimes, I just don’t have the goddamn energy. I know this will be a battle I’ll have to fight for the rest of my professional life, but it makes me want to punch people in the mouth.

I’m packing for a short trip- a conference in Monterey- and as tempted as I am to punch folks in the mouth via email, I find it much more satisfying in person, so I’ll have to wait a few days.

But there are times, after a day like this, a day that starts at 8 and ends at 7:30, a day that is a rollercoaster of exhaustion, a day when two of my colleagues at my last meeting say they are going home to dinner cooked by their significant others, that I just want to go home and crawl into bed and never get out again. Sometimes, I swear to God, the best accomplishment of my day is simply putting my feet on the floor after I wake up. The rest, sometimes, is gravy.