Dear Diary . . . day by day

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2001 - The Price of a Good Commute
My new PO Box is:
Heather Shaw
P.O. Box 13222
Berkeley, CA 94712-4222
Hi. I need help.
Oh, emotionally, I'm ok. But I started this new job, see, and it's temp-to-perm. It also pays me much, much better than any other job I've ever had (a good $856 more a month than my last perm job!). And the last cherry on the sundae is that it's only a 10 minute walk from home. Yesterday I walked home, made my lunch while chatting with David, and walked back with plenty of time.
Unfortunately, that hour break at home is what kept me from going postal in this job yesterday. The only thing.
It's the woman I'm supposed to be assisting. She drives me NUTS! She's new to the job, too, so she's trying to look good and is dumping all sorts of stuff on her assistant. The old temp was only too happy to hand it all over to me yesterday - in fact, I had this three-page-long TO DO list with no direction, no prioritizing and only a little help that I had to go bother people for. Hello, I'm brand-new. I don't know the system yet, dammit.
No, but the worst is that the woman I'm assisting - let's call her Ms. X - is scatter-brained herself, has to be reminded many times of her many meetings and appointments. Oh, and she gave me several personal tasks to complete, and when I put those at the end of my list and told her it was because they weren't work-related, she tried to bullshit me and tell me they were: "Oh, that's work-related . . . those are documents . . . very buisness related!"
Tracking down child-custody paperwork when I already have too much to do that I'm still trying to figure out is OUTSIDE my job-description. Yet she rode me about it and treated me like an idiot. I really resent this woman and I've only worked there one day.
I guess I was going to ask you all what you thought: is it worth a well-paying job near where I live to put up with someone like that? One of the other managers talked to me yesterday and told me in a month Ms. X should get off her bandwagon and settle into a more regular schedule - but I have to decide whether or not I'll take this job permanently in a week or two.
Anyhow, what do you think? I couldn't sleep last night, I wanted to call in sick so badly today but I can't. And this morning I woke up grinding my teeth and worrying about having to deal with this woman again today. I suppose this is a no-brainer, but it pays so well and I can walk to work! Free exercise and good pay! Sigh.
Yeah, I know, money isn't everything. Even a good commute shouldn't cost my sanity so dear.
I wish I could talk to Amber, but that's not until Monday . . .
Exercise log:
Well, I skipped yoga (naughty!) but I did walk to and from work (lunchtime too) which totals 40 minutes of brisk walking. Not bad, really.
Writing log:
An article on Octavia Butler over at Strange Horizons
I'm currently reading:
Reading now:
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Watcher's Guide by Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder
The Writer - Janurary 2001 (magazine)
Still reading, off and on:
Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier

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