work

Today was kind of an odd day. I spent most of the morning waiting around for a new computer, to replace the one that didn’t quite survive its malware attack last Friday (and because I need a laptop with home access for my new position). Then I spent most of the afternoon in a meeting talking about new projects I’m hoping I’ll get the opportunity to work on.

Which isn’t, I know odd odd, but it was a bad Monday, all things considered. Surprisingly chilly, and some thirty degrees colder than last week, but bright and sunny and not too difficult.

Nothing special, but there are worse ways to turn thirty-five.

I honestly forgot, somewhere between this morning, when it was quite foggy, and this afternoon, when it was quite hot (especially for the first day of spring), what day it was. I know, I think, that today is Tuesday, but it feels so much like the end of a Monday that I’m honestly trying to figure out if the hazy memories I have of yesterday aren’t a figment of my imagination, the fevered dream of the pneumonia I’m not entirely sure I’ve completely shaken — though I don’t feel terrible — or an implant there by some nefarious corporation, a la Total Recall. I’m pretty sure not.

It was a busy day at work, lots of stuff to do, though no meetings to fill out the day. I’ve got at least one tomorrow, though, when I’ll likely officially meet all the other development editors I’ll be working with (or near) starting in a couple of weeks.

Otherwise, it was a pretty typical whatever day this was.

I had a long, productive meeting this afternoon with my new boss and two of the editors (including my old boss) who I’ll be working with for 2012, further outlining my responsibilities for the near future and answering some of my questions. There will be no shortage for work for me anytime soon, likely only increasing next year when I start working on a wider variety of titles. (This will be a slow transition, in that I’ll continue to work primarily on psychology and mental health books for the immediate future.)

Other than that, pretty much just a typical Monday.

Lots more meetings at work today, going over projects I have in hand, projects that are upcoming, and trying to make sense of which ones I’ll be working on going forward. Some of that is going to require more meetings and more discussion, spilling into next week. But I’m sure, several weeks from now, when I’m situated in my new work space, with the rest of my fellow development editors, with a clear sense of what books I will and won’t be working on (and how to work on them), I’ll look back on this slightly panicked time of restructuring and departures, and it won’t seem so bad at all.

In general, I’m really positive about this change. It’s just that it comes on the heels of a lot of other changes and is accompanied by no small amount of confusion. But, long term, I definitely think it’s for the good.

And hey, I may be able to work from home once a week, so that’s nice.

And is it weird that I’m a little disappointed not to be attending a conference this week, especially since I’ll almost certainly never attend it again? There’s this conference, this year in Chicago, that I’ve attended for the past four years running. Admittedly, it was that first year, when it was in New Orleans, when I probably first really hurt my back. But I’ve kind of grown attached to it. I like the organizers and many of the authors, and even though that first year I was just filling in at the last minute for someone else, it sort of became my conference. I mean, being on your feet all day selling books maybe isn’t the greatest, and there are probably nicer times to visit Chicago than March. (I was there three years ago, at the same hotel and everything.) And I’m kind of glad I’m not traveling and on my feet all day while still recovering (I hope completely) from pneumonia. But I’ll still kind of miss it. I had a prior commitment this weekend that precluded my going, even before I got sick, and now I’ll probably never be back.

Ah well.