prefix

i was on the phone when i saw one of my officemates approach our filing cabinet to tape my name on the uppermost drawer.  suddenly, i had to interrupt the conversation.  he was going to label the drawer boss cynthia.  eh?!

all the other drawers just had their first names on it, how come mine had a prefix?

i told him to remove the boss and just tape cynthia.

he complied, scratching his head.

when i resumed talking on the phone, my caller asked what happened.  i told him and he chuckled.

i remember one christmas i received monogrammed pens from another officemate.  he gave the group monogrammed items with just the nicknames engraved.  mine, however, had as engraving, again, boss cynthia  : }

actually, i really just prefer to be called cynthia.  i tell everyone this but there are very few who comply.  i get ma'am cynthia, miss cynthia, ate cynthia, boss cynthia.  there are also those who call me by my initials:  the maiden one, CM or the married one, CMJ.

i'm thinking now i myself don't call my own bosses just by their first name.  the immediate one i call ma'am (first name); the next one, boss (nickname); the second highest, simply ma'am and the topmost, sir.  it's not really something i devised on my end.  it's just that that's how everyone else called them so i just followed the herd.

plus, they never really told me to call them by anything else.  but i'm thinking now if ever they did i'd have no problem complying.  if only my officemates were the same.  then i won't have to interrupt my phone calls...  ; )

footwear

i was rushing something through supposed lunch break.  just minutes (!) earlier, i was given a deadline which if i didn't meet would mean at least a month's delay in one of my projects.  i told my staff not to disturb me unless the building is on fire.

so it was lunch break and everyone was out  (we're not supposed to eat in our new room anymore  : })  and one of the phones kept on ringing.

i walked over, picked it up and ended up talking to someone who had the most basic of queries and whose concerns did not even fall under my office.  oh, so precious time... : }

in addition to that, a couple of people important to me (one officially; the other, personally) called.  of course i talked to them  : )

anyway, i was able to finish the required documents.  but then, it needed not just my signature but the initials and signatures of three of my bosses' as well.  instead of giving it to our messenger therefore, i decided to route it myself.

i was going to do a lot of hurried walking so i changed into my preferred footwear.  that means this spiky-soled supposedly therapeutic footwear, not at all business-looking, which i change into whenever i could.  i've been buying the type for years.  i'd wear out a pair then replace it with the same type.  i own several which i wear whenever i think i can get away with it  (read that:  i'm walking to and from our building and the parking lot; i'm with people i'm at home with; i'm with people i couldn't care less about, haha; i'm going someplace where no one knows me).

so i get to the other building but my boss was not anymore in her room.  she was already in a meeting i, too, was supposed to attend.  ooops, i didn't have time for that.  i went in, obtained her initials, then rushed out.

she told me that our boss is also not in her room but in the next building attending a conference.  uh-oh.  i rush there then text her that i urgently need her signature.  she does not respond.  i had to go inside.  with my footwear?!  good thing i saw someone i knew and borrowed hers for a while.  ugh!  anyway, i got the signature.  good.

now the third and last signature, our big boss's.  guess what, she was seated at the stage facing all the conference attendees.  waaah!!!  i had to change footwear again.  i saw another one i knew, and went borrowing again.  twice from different persons in a matter of minutes!  yuck!  i should just have stuck to my heels.  anyway, i got the final signature.

i was able to submit the documents before cut-off.  my project's timetable will not move.  whew!

pregnant

i was in a meeting this afternoon.  one of the attendees was telling another one of the attendees that she didn't realize she was pregnant the prevous time they met.

the preggy lady said when she was not yet pregnant, there were those who thought she was.  and now that she is, there are those who think those are just love handles protruding from her belly.

i shared with them an embarrassingly funny experience i had re being mistaken for pregnant.  the hubby and i  didn't go to this market for a while and when we came back, one of the stall owners happily greeted me with, 'oh, so you've given birth!'

huh?!  i was never pregnant...  : }

being seen

i've so many times transferred offices:  to this wing, to that floor, to this building.  in all those transfers, i was the only one being transferred  ->  i'd transfer because i'll be taking on a new work assignment.

well, in this my latest transfer, i retained the assignment but had to physically transfer my office (stuff and staff), partly to another building, partly to another floor in the same building.  logistical and physical hardship  : }

the good part, however, is that the transfer gave us the opportunity to start afresh.  our new offices are, you could say nicer, but muuuch smaller.  we were forced to prioritize.  we were forced to sort our stuff.  which should we bring?  leave behind?  archive?  shred?  throw away?

i've previously held office in the main transfer location for more than six years.  the office has floor-to-ceiling glass walls; it has glass doors.  you had no privacy.  i was used to that then.  but then for almost four years now, i've been holding office in opaque-walled spaces.  you can sit this way and that, take off your coat if you feel like it, walk around in comfy footwear not necessarily matching your outfit and pretty much no one would see you.  now i have to unlearn those habits.  people could walk by anytime, could see you through the glass walls anytime.

it called to mind the One Above.  you cannot really hide anything from Him.  i hope i've been living my life in such a way that it could withstand His scrutiny.

yellow teeth

i have yellowish teeth  : }

no, i don't smoke, never did.  from as far back as i can remember, i've never really had white teeth.  they've always been somewhat yellow  : }

years back, i raised it with my dentist and he said my teeth are actually good teeth.  they're supposed to be strong.  hmmm... i don't have a single false tooth.  yup, maybe they're strong alright.

anyway, whenever i see someone with really nice, white teeth, i sort of wish i, too, had teeth as white.  but then i don't really want to undergo any treatments.  i am big on all-natural.  then last saturday, i noticed colgate advanced whitening in the supermarket shelves.  hmmm... toothpaste falls under natural to me.  i immediately got a tube.  it touts whiter teeth in 14 days.  we'll see...