If I ever sold my work life as a tv sitcom, it'd be a cross between "The Office," and the classic "Office Space." We have it all, the evil bosses, clueless administrators, moron co-workers, all at a level I've not seen before in my corporate experience. I had very low expectations, but this place truly makes me marvel at times. Yet there are some really smart, talented people wandering among the morons, and they are like the bright searchlights cutting through the dense fog of Corporate America. Those people were not in the office today.

Today I sat in my quiet corner cube, still digging through my 11,000 pages of construction documents on CD, and heard three people in my office discuss the correct way to spell "privilege." One of these people actually has a J.D. I've been in this office for a year now, and I still marvel at the level of dysfunction. The office equipment doesn't work, the dead wood is everywhere - we have a broad in the corner who is Holly Homemaker in the Workplace - she comes in and spends literally HOURS on the phone on calls to hubby, kiddies, sister, parents, friends, the dog...then holds in-office seminars on cooking and decorating at her desk for a few more hours. Bangs out a few forms and goes home. I swear to God, I expect her to bring in a crockpot and a basket of laundry to fold any day now. I have no idea how she does this and nobody seems to care or comment, but apparently she's Special. Of course, her job seems to be filling in the blanks on forms, so I don't think it's too taxing. I don't work for her office and am in a totally different area of law so I don't much care what she does, I just watch and marvel. I've never seen anything like it, and I've "been around" the law firm block a few times.

Meanwhile, I've passed my first anniversary at this employer and the idiocy continues to increase. I love Boss, I love some of the cases, I still love construction work and I couldn't do it as creatively in any other office, because Boss and I actually share a brain by now and do things OUR way, and everybody loves it, so I ride out the stupidity for the good days. They do happen, but not frequently enough lately. Mostly, it's Office Space.

So, I'm in the shower this morning and decided on the spot - tomorrow will be a mental health day. Not an "Oh, I have so many errands to run!" duty day-off day, like every other frickin' day off I've taken this year. My errands will be of my choosing, like the yarn shop (for the Koigu for the fingerless gloves) and two bead stores. I've been itchin' to sit down and play with beads. Just simple things, like maybe make a special bracelet, a talisman for my new life.

I'm declaring a 3 day Catherine Weekend, and I'm going to indulge myself in digging out of the rut I'm in. I have Plans.