Yeah, it�s Monday alright.

I woke up in a good mood. I felt rested, refreshed, and revived. I went to the gym and had an excellent 30 minutes on the treadmill. My hair and make-up went smoothly and we were at work right on time---- 6:00 on the dot!

I was busy (as I usually am on Monday mornings), but a good kind of busy. My supervisor is gone all week to New Mexico for a meeting and I had to show our coordinator what to do for the telecons we have at 8:30am. It was neat having the ability to know enough about my job to direct someone who has been here for 17+ years and in the FAA longer than that!

The telecon went well. It was 9am when everything went to sh*t.

Last Thursday, I mentioned to my supervisor that I needed a few more supplies in order to finish the filing project he has me working on. He said okay and that he�d get the logistics guy to take me to Office Depot. Well, it just so happened that he (the logistics guy who I will call X from here on out) walked by my desk where John and I were talking. John asked him to take me to Office Depot to get a few things. (�X� has a gov�t credit card whereas I don�t and we have to get tax exemption on our purchases.)

He insists that we don�t get our discount (there�s a program that the FAA has signed up with through Office Depot called SAVES) unless we purchase online. That�s simply not true! I said, �Yes, we get our discount.� He says, �No we don�t.� I said, �Yes, we do.� (I�ve been to Office Depot with 2 other employees as well as HIM (�X) and I see the receipts because I have to enter that information into our budget---REGIS.) Finally, I let it go and John nodded to me to indicate that it�d be okay for �X� to order the stuff online. �X� tells me to give him a list. I not only print out a detailed list (there were 4 or 5 items on it) but I show him EXACTLY what I wanted. {John is particular about his tabbed dividers and I�m particular about my folders.}

There didn�t seem to be any problem between �X� and me at the time. Friday comes and goes. Then, of course, the weekend comes and goes. This morning, �X� asks me, �Did you see your box of stuff back there?� I reply, �No, I didn�t.�

�Well, it came on Friday afternoon.� (I was HERE working comp time on Friday and he didn�t bother to tell me.)

I go back there and find the box. I sift through it. I casually mention, �Hmm.. these aren�t the dividers that John wants.� Then I see my folders. Not only were they the wrong color (I�m color coding the filing system and have used 2 boxes of a particular �color�.) but he bought Pendaflex brand versus the Office Depot brand. The latter is MUCH, MUCH cheaper especially on our SAVES program. The next thing I know, the beast is unleashed!

He barks at me, �This is the effin federal government, not some Suzy Homemaker sh*t. Besides, you don�t give me some scrap of paper to order stuff. There are forms to fill out. You don�t like it, get your own gawddamned credit card and buy the stuff yourself!!!�

I calmly replied, �I�m sorry that John asked you to do this for me. Apparently, you were busy. I had initially asked him to have someone else take me. Then I said in the same calm tone of voice, �If there was a specific form I needed to fill out, then you could have told me that last week and given me instructions on what to fill out.�

[Note to reader: this guy spends 90% of his day surfing the internet meanwhile the bills he�s supposed to pay for our facility are piling up in his internal mailbox! So he really wasn�t too busy to place an order for a few things. Wait� I actually have the list on this computer�. Here it is:

Office Depot Supplies List : 10 July 2007

� File folders (fall colors) � 2 boxes
� 5-tab binder inserts � 6 ea.
� 8-tab binder inserts � 2 ea.
� AA batteries

See? Not a whole lot of stuff. That was 9am. Then, I had a situation with a woman in Miami who doesn�t get the fact that I have only been employed by the FAA for 7 months and I am not familiar with everything like she seems to think. I was on the phone with her, trying to have her explain something to me. Meanwhile, there were people who I needed to let into our gate, the other line was ringing�it was busy with a capital B!

Finally, she tells me that �Y� needed to approve my supervisor�s travel authorization for his trip this week. I said, �Do I need to call �Y�?� She says, �Yes.� �Do you have his number?� �Yes, it�s xxx-xxx-xxxx.�

I call �Y�. For you Navy folk, I unwittingly committed the ultimate sin of jumping chain of command. Let�s say you�re a lowly E-3. You have a problem. Who�s the first person you try to help you to resolve your issue??

Yes, that�s right� your LPO. If he can�t help you, you go to your chief. Next, the DO. It�s very rare that you go straight to the CO.

Well, unbeknownst to me, called �Y� who is like the CO for us. He�s John�s boss�s boss. Yeah. Great. And, despite how nice he was to me about the whole thing, I felt like a complete moron. Actually, John�s BOSS is who is responsible for John�s travel authorization approval.

This was at 9:20 am.

Two other incidents occurred in that half hour but I won�t get into those details as I�m sure I�ve bored you to tears as it is!

Needless to say, I found myself in the bathroom with tears streaming down my face. If there is anything I hate more than anything else, it�s feeling stupid. It ranks right up there with feeling unloved and not feeling special.

So, there ya have it folks. My Monday Morning.

Can I go home now?!?

Until next time�peace, love & HEALTH!!!