Tuesday is, of course, production day here at the paper. The last weeks have been rough, as the salespeople have seriously overloaded the production staff with full-page full-color spec ads for accounts they probably won’t be able to land; incorrect runsheets giving us faulty information about the existence, size, and placement of ads; and major changes made at the last minute, after the last minute, the day after the last minute, and “you understand that the printer is printing these pages now” after the last minute.
None of this is unusual in the printing industry, of course, but the last weeks have been unusually ridiculous. My stress levels were so bad last week, that I had stomach pain for the next three days. So, last Wednesday I went to my boss and explained to him that: a) I was no longer working more than 13.5 hours straight on Tuesdays, and that b) I was no longer going to kill myself compensating for the careless work of others. I had more of a leg to stand on with “b” than one might expect; I’m the only one here who knows what’s really going on and how to fix it when it breaks, so if my work burns me out completely, my boss has a real situation he’ll have to deal with.
I think it was worth it. I’m tired this morning, but I’m not wild-eyed, wired, and shaky, and my stomach hurts only a little. Lunch ought to handle that.
raininva is going to try to score some MechWarrior: Dark Age starter sets today for us to try out tonight. Anyone want to come over and help us try out a new miniatures game?
