Ah, the joys of working for a state government agency....back in February everyone in the building I work in was relocated to temporary offices in other buildings so that our antiquated HVAC system could be replaced.

I was quite happy in my temporary office; it actually had a WINDOW. Lots of lovely natural light!! The temporary office was in a much less-traffic-filled building, too, so it was much quieter. I was much more productive because interruptions were so infrequent.

So, HVAC replacement supposedly "completed", we moved back into our regular offices the first part of May. I was quite unhappy to find that the new HVAC system was not operational and apparently wouldn't be for "a week or so". Additionally, the HVAC installers had removed protective plastic from files I'd had to leave in my office. I'd wrapped them very carefully (using materials I'd purchased myself), so I was irritated to find that my files were now filled with grit, dust, and metal fragments.

Since my office has no window, and the A/C STILL isn't working ("We'll have that running in a day or two."....yeah....right) the temperature in my office hasn't come under 82 degrees and is higher than THAT in the afternoons.

Of course, I rarely have faith in ANYTHING done by the low bidder!

I've also been aggravated that for the third year in a row my request for office furniture has been blown out of the water. My office is a hodgepodge of furniture that's been rescued from salvage. Not only does nothing match, but it's from an era before "ergonomics" was even HEARD of. So it's not only ugly, it's uncomfortable. In the 17 years I've worked here, I've had two new pieces of "furniture". One is a small Rubbermaid file that was purchased so I'd have something on which to put my fax machine. The other is a maroon task chair that was bought about 15 years ago when my former chair fell apart and unceremoniously dumped me in the floor.

Times are a little hard in my neck of the woods, and I guess I should be glad I have a job. Sometimes, though, sitting in this miserably hot, stuffy office and feeling my damp hair clinging to the back of my neck, it's a little hard to be grateful.