After a week of mousing left handed at the office and generally resting my right hand and arm, it feels much better already. I did switch the mouse buttons to function left handed, but it didn't make it any easier, my brain "sees" the right click on the right, regardless of which hand I use to do it. That's why they CALL it a right click, you know? But switching the mousing hand and a week of enforced rest - no knitting, no beading, no nothing but writing and not much of that - helped even more than I'd hoped. I'm thinking maybe this means the damage isn't permanent, or at least flare-ups can be controlled this way.

I'm exhausted. My job is just sucking the life out of me, it's so endless, there's never any sense of completion. It would take six people to do it right, with two we barely keep ahead of the emergencies, and sometimes we don't even do that.

Sharing office space with the very odd bunch we do is sometimes entertaining, but mostly frustrating. The other day one of the secretaries was freakin' because her boss had received a fax and she was supposed to bring it to him in a deposition. She's standing near the door, all nervous: "I can't go in there!"

Oh, for God's sake, WHY NOT? It's not an operating room, you are not going to contaminate it!

I said something like, "Oh, just go in quietly, nobody will mind!" and Suzy Homemaker, (who was in on the conversation) gave me one of those Looks that Could Kill. Because I spoke to and gave advice to someone from HER office? It wasn't like SH knows anything about what to do in or out of a deposition, her job consists of preparing releases when she does anything at all. I saw the poisonous look before she controlled her facial expression, and just shrugged and walked away. I don't know how this little Drama resolved itself, and I don't care. I was too amused and baffled by the display of abject terror at walking into a deposition. I mean, what the hell was that about? It's a weird, weird place.

I realize that I said that about my last office - which had its share of freaks and weirdos among the women who worked there. Did I mention that it has totally imploded and people were fired (including at long last the Queen Bee) and the saner people quit, and reports from the front are that those who remain are utterly clueless and at each other's throats? The legal profession - it attracts so many stable, happy, easygoing women, it's just one big happy family. Oy. I have met and stayed friends with sane women in these jobs - both the Ls, the fabulous D, a couple of others - but it seems every office is peppered with the same stereotypes - the Know It Alls, the Ass-Shakers, the Spies, it's just hilarious. There's a book in it someday, if I ever have time to write it.

Had a passing encounter with the Unwanted Suitor as I was leaving the office - boy, did I call that one right, he gave me a pained dramatic look and didn't respond to my casual "Hi." I think he was coming in after "quitting time" to avoid seeing me. (Vs. dropping into the office constantly for every lame reason, and then appearing at my desk unbidden.) Okay, this is just freaky - let me repeat, we never had any sort of relationship, it never existed, it was purely a working acquaintance on one case, and very little of that. So he's pouting and acting "dumped?" Sheesh. That is just plain ridiculous. My Man Radar may be a little rusty from lack of use in my long married life, but I'm glad it still functions accurately.

I'm so glad it's Friday. After the obligatory yard work I absolutely MUST get done, I'm going to pick up the long-neglected plain Jane cardie and make some progress, and watch movies. And walk, and exercise, and sleep, sleep, sleep. Yay Friday.