2008: Week 29

Why do the weeks pass so slowly and the weekends so fast? This week has been one of frustration, trying to track down some documents I signed when I first started my job. Unlike Cornell where I used to work, the U of C do not treat post-docs as regular staff members. Instead, we are trust employees, contracted privately to the Professor who recruited us. We have University email accounts and library access, but we don't qualify for things like retirement plans. We do get extended health benefits (a bit like private health insurance in Australia), but it is administered by an external company. So I spent quite some time this week calling and emailing my way through the maze of uninformed helpfulness - "You're a trust employee? I'm sorry, I don't know who you need to contact, but try calling X (then Y, then Z etc.) and they should know". Aaaggghhhhh!!!!!

Outside of work, a large amount of my time has been devoted to cleaning. The time has finally come to leave our house, and I'm trying to be as organised as possible and move only the things I really need. The piles for recycling and Vinnies grow daily, and I'm constantly amazed at how much I've accumulated in the last few years, and how many of the things I "needed" at the time were just a waste of cash. Hopefully this exercise will not only lead to an efficient move, but also to some better purchasing decisions in the future.

Best of the week
- Being offered a hard-boiled organic egg (he had 2 to spare) by a guy I'm pretty sure was homeless. He spent the next 5 minutes telling me about his philosophy of passing gifts along and generally being generous with whatever he has. Amazing!
- Warm sunny weather, flowers, dragonflies everywhere (lots of black and blue ones this year).
- Confirmation that a few decisions I've made concerning work were right (more to come later).
- The arrival of some cool stuff from MOO - check them out if you need custom postcards, business cards etc.

Worst of the week
- Dealing with the bureaucratic black hole that is the institution where I work.
- A flooded basement due to a defective hot water tank. Fortunately the only lasting damage is to the landlord's pocket (well, not so fortunate for him, especially since he soon wants to knock down the house and build his dream home).