I can’t get shit done today; my mind is just all over the place. Everytime I sit down to do something, about two minutes later my brain is drifting. I’d almost say I have adult attention deficit disorder, but I think those kinds of “diseases” are bullshit, like lactose intolorence and the Easter Bunny.

The gig is really starting to get to me again, but a quick survey around the office indicates that plenty of other people are annoyed too. The overall complaint is how disorganized the projects we receive are. We’ll be waiting for assignments for weeks, and when they finally come in, they’re missing most of the useful info. And of course they’re due the next day. Oh, and they’ll change the direction of the brief 180 degrees while you’re in the middle of it.

I think the problem really lies in the management of our department. The VeeP, who I report to is an awesome person. We’re friends, and I totally love her from that standpoint, but she’s got to be one of the worst managers I’ve ever encountered. She’s smart from a business standpoint, but when it comes to managing people – she sucks. No information gets shared down the department line. Decisions will be made in people’s offices, or in the hallway, but no one shares the info with the grunts doing the work. It’s like we’re all working blindfolded in a minefield, while the commanding officer is sitting back at base with a map of all the booby traps. Blech.

I’m equal parts bored & frustrated at the office now. Frustration stems from the above plus the fact that I have no one to work with on any of my projects. I’m a one-person department, so I do all the planning/strategy and then implement everything. Normally that wouldn’t annoy me – I like being hands on. The problem is, that all the hands on stuff I’m doing is daily maintenance crap. It’s hard to feel inspired when I’m doing data-entry and spreadsheets all day. And that’s the thing, my job is supposed to be a creative one – I’m supposed to be pitching ideas and coming up with innovative ways to do things… but I’m drowing in all the daily mess. And when I get some free time, I’m too annoyed to be creative. I’ve pitched maybe five decent ideas in the three years I’ve been here.

For the past year I’ve been asking them to let me hired a coordinator of some kind so I can share the workload, and free up some time to do more creative things. And also to have someone in my field to bounce ideas off of. Every time I ask about the status I get the “we’re just waiting on budget and headcount…” I bet nothing happens this year.

I’m at the point now where I really just want to leave, and start over somewhere new. A friend of mine got my hopes up a couple of months back — she thought they’d be hiring at her job, a place I would absolutely love to be. I love her. I have another friend heading there. I’ve met some of her other coworkers and they’re great! Turns out they’re not hiring afterall. Ugh. The job market is shit for my type of deal. I just totally feel trapped right now… I’m just not sure what to do. I went to one of the HR/career people here a while back, and after about five minutes, she said, “You need to read this book…” I got through about five pages of the self-help/find-your-perfect-job book before I started dry-heaving.

Sorry for being whiney. I’m the office therapist here, so every day about five or six different people come by and shut my door to vent… just needed to let off some steam of my own.

On the plus side, my little bout of insomnia seems to have subsided for now. And the cats have been “talking” a lot lately – making all kinds of weird noises – it’s hilarious.

SONG OF THE MOMENT: Poster Children – “Not Like You”