Sordid Lives

In the movie Sordid Lives, toward the end, the character Latrelle finally shouts, "I think I might explode if any more shit. Hits. The fan!"

Let's discuss my week.

Friday, I got pickpocketed.  I was fortunate enough that I noticed within 45 minutes of the incident.  I'm also fortunate in that the only valuable things I lost were my bank card, my transit card, my drivers' license, and $12.  I called the bank right away, and filed a police report, and cancelled my transit card.  Now it's simply a waiting game for the replacement cards to arrive, as well as a copy of the police report, and getting my stuff together to replace my license.  But it was damned inconvenient.  It also marks the first Friday I didn't get my Friday Treat in about 4 years.  I want my damned mocha.  Fortunately, my boss and my boyfriend both lended me some money to get me through until I have my bank card back.

Over the weekend, I learned that my grandmother is not well.  Trouble is, she only has one symptom.  It's a major symptom, and not something that can be ignored.  But she has no other symptoms and no pain whatsoever.  The prime suspects for the symptom she does have all have multiple syndromes and pain associated with them.  She just has the one symptom.  She's having tests tomorrow to try to figure out what's wrong.  My grandmother has had her share of health scares before, but for some reason, I'm nervous this time.  I've never been nervous before...not for any of her cancers, not even for her stroke.  Concerned, yes.  Nervous, no.  Now I'm nervous, which is damned inconvenient.

I realized yesterday morning that I was out of toilet paper.  This ordinarily wouldn't be a crisis, except I'm on very limited and borrowed funds right now.  In addition, I refuse to buy any toilet paper that is endorsed by puppies, babies, or animated bears - it just grates against my sensibilities.  I had to settle for a toilet paper that funded breast cancer.  This is not so much a crisis as another grievance to add to the list (speaking of, Kleenex Cottonelle has been doing some blanket advertising on Chicago's mass transit.  I'm done with bottom-referencing plays on words, and I'm about ready to kick that damn puppy).

And today.  Today we learned that our company is at risk of losing about 1/3 of our business at the end of June.  It's entirely political.  It's nothing to do with our service, and we're fighting like hell to try to keep it.  But the fact remains that we may not succeed.  In which case there will be some reshuffling, and there will likely be some layoffs.  And although it doesn't directly impact my division, as the new kid on the block, my prospects are grim nonetheless, because people in the affected division can be reshuffled into mine.  My boss tried to assure me that I have shown extraordinary potential, and that in the month I've been there, I've far and away exceeded everyone's expectations, and that if I keep doing what I've been doing, I should be okay.  And that may be true, but I'm also quite aware that, because I've only been there a month, I have the most to prove.  I will fight, and like Hell, but it's definitely going to be an uphill battle.

There's also one more issue.  But I have some action still to take on it, and therefore I won't say anything just yet.  For the preceeding issues, I'm in a holding pattern (except the toilet paper, obviously).  This is one that needs action, just as soon as I figure out how to take said action.

So, yeah.  Uvon is definitely "Handle With Care" this week.