![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Meetings, bloody meetings!
Mar. 7th, 2003 10:21 pmBack-date this entry to yesterday...
Some days the Universe has to slap you several times before you realize that you're Just Not Getting Anything Done Today...
I was told to physically be around the office this week (as opposed to working from home) because there are a lot of planning meetings going on that I might need to get dragged into.
I escaped mostly unscathed until Thursday, when my boss invited all the members of my team (local and visiting) to a lunch meeting.
Which dragged on for Four. Fucking. Hours.
I mean, I had just hit my stride when the meeting started, and I was hoping for maybe an hour of chitchat over pizza and then I could get back to work, right? After the first two hours, I gradually abandoned all hope of getting productive work done that day.
The final nail was when the meeting finally adjourned and we returned to the real world and the incoming storm and traffic reports... which made it abundantly clear that sticking around was Not A Good Idea. The visiting folks took off for Manchester Airport (at least the storm was coming south-to-north) and I took off for Worcester. Highway driving wasn't too bad... 40mph and no catastrophes until I hit Worcester, then it was pretty jammed. I made it as far as a block from my house, only to find out exactly what happens when the city hasn't gotten to sanding the side streets yet. My street can only be accessed by four other streets, all uphill. The street with the gentlest slope was closed (flashing cop car blocking the street, quick peek showed flashing lights further up). My second-choice street was okay until about 30 feet from the end... that's where it gets just that much steeper and I lost all traction. When I tried to back down I lost all control and just barely missed sideswiping a parked car as my rear end slid its way to the curb. This spun me around nearly 180, with the result being that I was now aimed downhill, which at least gave me some gravity assist and semblance of control.
When I finally did make it to my house, there wasn't much of a parking space to be had in front of it. Some visitor was parked in my usual spot, leaving a small spot that I could back into if I had perfect traction and control, which I totally lacked. I finally managed to go back down around the corner and sort-of park there. By which time the interloper was gone and I could fire up the snowblower and clear it all out. Exhausted from the drive and the snow-removal, I decided to veg for the rest of the night even though my earlier plan was to do some work from home... the Universe finally got the message through my thick head.
Some days the Universe has to slap you several times before you realize that you're Just Not Getting Anything Done Today...
I was told to physically be around the office this week (as opposed to working from home) because there are a lot of planning meetings going on that I might need to get dragged into.
I escaped mostly unscathed until Thursday, when my boss invited all the members of my team (local and visiting) to a lunch meeting.
Which dragged on for Four. Fucking. Hours.
I mean, I had just hit my stride when the meeting started, and I was hoping for maybe an hour of chitchat over pizza and then I could get back to work, right? After the first two hours, I gradually abandoned all hope of getting productive work done that day.
The final nail was when the meeting finally adjourned and we returned to the real world and the incoming storm and traffic reports... which made it abundantly clear that sticking around was Not A Good Idea. The visiting folks took off for Manchester Airport (at least the storm was coming south-to-north) and I took off for Worcester. Highway driving wasn't too bad... 40mph and no catastrophes until I hit Worcester, then it was pretty jammed. I made it as far as a block from my house, only to find out exactly what happens when the city hasn't gotten to sanding the side streets yet. My street can only be accessed by four other streets, all uphill. The street with the gentlest slope was closed (flashing cop car blocking the street, quick peek showed flashing lights further up). My second-choice street was okay until about 30 feet from the end... that's where it gets just that much steeper and I lost all traction. When I tried to back down I lost all control and just barely missed sideswiping a parked car as my rear end slid its way to the curb. This spun me around nearly 180, with the result being that I was now aimed downhill, which at least gave me some gravity assist and semblance of control.
When I finally did make it to my house, there wasn't much of a parking space to be had in front of it. Some visitor was parked in my usual spot, leaving a small spot that I could back into if I had perfect traction and control, which I totally lacked. I finally managed to go back down around the corner and sort-of park there. By which time the interloper was gone and I could fire up the snowblower and clear it all out. Exhausted from the drive and the snow-removal, I decided to veg for the rest of the night even though my earlier plan was to do some work from home... the Universe finally got the message through my thick head.
