Hell On Earth  

I had rollercoaster week last week. My boss has been absent since the end of July. I feel like I have been left to implement some change initiatives that are opposed by pretty much 95% of people around the business and which I do not completely agree with. On Tuesday the finance department seemed ready to burn me at the stake. I felt crushed inside. I got myself together and continued as though it was all in a day's work.

On Thursday I had a humourous speech contest to attend to at a local public speaking club. I competed against the UK speech champion among others in an attempt to take part in the next level, the area-level contest. Mister champion did not fare well, putting in an astonishingly average performance. While I bettered him, yet another bettered us both to reach the next level. I felt the cringe of "aahh!.. so close!". I felt the adrenaline rush of "let me have another go at it!". I could compete again at another club contest later in the month, but improving my speech would be a huge distraction from my MBA applications during this crucial month of September. Aargh! If only I did not have these applications, I would be able to go for this whole heartedly. Since this is an annual contest, if I am admitted for '09 I doubt I will have time to compete for another three years! Oh well.

By Friday, the work situation had improved. The divisional director has a rottweiler. He started to back me up. I have also managed to grab some time with my boss's boss next week; I wonder if I can sound her out over what is going on.