Surviving Busy Season: Deal with it

Yesterday wasn’t a good day. 

(Whoa did anyone just have flashbacks to their 4th grade diary?!)

Yesterday was one of those days that I knew was just going to suck.  Bad hair day, bad commute day, and it was Monday.  Nothing good comes of that combo.

The first part of the day was fine.  I was grumpy, but it was Monday after all.  Then I get an instant message from my Senior Manager: “can you call me at xxxx?” 

Oy.  When I called, he even said “well you probably know by now that a phone call from me is never really a good thing,”  and I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.  But really what he was doing was paying me a “compliment.”  You see, it has been decreed that since I “am such a good staff,” I will be spending the next 6 weeks of busy season splitting my work hours between two jobs in two separate locations.  This will require longer hours, and more stress to get everything done by all of our deadlines.  It’s a very inefficient situation, but one that tends to happen when there are so many jobs going on in the office at the same time.  They don’t call it busy season for nothing! 

This of course caused me stress to think about, but I put it on the back burner to think about after work.

Jump 3 hours ahead to “after work.”  I’m walking back to the parking lot with a friend, and like a 5 year old go “OHMIGOD I PARKED NEXT TO YOU!  HOW FUN!” (note the foreshadowing.)  We walk up to our cars, and they are literally 6 inches away from each other.  (disclaimer: i am a GOOD driver.  i am a meticulous park-er.) 

I’m holding my key in one hand and thinking to myself “if I’m holding my key, how could someone have moved my car?”  when it clicked.  Someone… or something…. must have pushed my car.   

Yes, someone ran into my PARKED car in the lot last night… at what looks to be approx 35 mph!  The guard at the lot said that the man was backing into a parking space, and missed.  Maybe he didn’t miss – maybe he just wanted my spot?  I don’t know!  Either way, this was the last thing I wanted to see at 9:45 last night.  And I might have freaked out a little bit.  But then I had a break through.  This wasn’t the end of the world.  I decided what I needed to do…

I let myself break down in the car a little, enough to get it out of my system.  Then I [wo]manned up, and dealt with it.  I started to look at the positive in things – this new opportunity at work will give me the chance to work on a hedge fund, which I’ve never done before.  I’ll be working with people that I’ve only met once or twice, which will give me the opportunity to develop new relationships.  My car wasn’t totaled, it just had a few dents.  The parking lot attendant had filled out an incident report and gathered the driver’s insurance and contact information.  And I wasn’t in the car at the time – I was alive, and still able to drive home.  These are the things that matter.  Yesterday really put things in perspective for me.  Busy season will be over in a few weeks – it doesn’t matter if I have to work late for a little while.  I need to deal with the things that don’t actually matter, and focus on enjoying my life!

Gratitude Journal 2.2.10

1)  I am grateful for one of my best friends from work who stayed with me while I took pictures and hugged me while I freaked a little, even if it was 17* outside.  And grateful that my car didn’t end up getting pushed all the way into hers!

2)  I am grateful for the parking lot attendant who was able to get all of the driver’s information for me. 

3)  I am grateful for the insurance companies (no, seriously!).  They have handled this whole issue, and made it so easy for me.  I have never been in an accident, and didn’t know what to expect.  This process has been much more efficient than I ever would have guessed.

4)  I am grateful that it was sushi night at work   yum!

p.s. the source for the picture above is this:  artsy fartsy on etsy.  my linking got all messed up, so I didn’t source it above.