why don't they just spell it "pee-on"?

the day started out pretty well, actually. well, kind of. i woke up in a panic at 740 am: my dentist appointment was at 8. crap.

so i rushed to the bathroom. i had spent the night on my sister's couch so that i could go to the dentist early (my dentist is up near her house) and then i would get to work about the same time i normally do, but with a numb cheek. as i hurried down the hall with my shower things in hand, my 2-year-old nephew was just coming out of his room and headed into his parents' room to wake them up ... but he saw me instead! so, since i am way more fun that either his mom or dad (uh huh), he followed me into the bathroom.

great. hmmm.

well, i tried to think of what part of my morning routine i could do in there with him present ... brush teeth, we can brush teeth. so we brushed teeth. after 3 minutes brushing mine (and following his instructions: "paste", "water", "brush brush", "spit", "dry") and a couple more minutes trying to get him to follow the same steps, we were done brushing teeth. and i had 5 fewer minutes to get the rest of me ready for the day. but the boy wasn't done hanging out with his favourite aunt and he really wasn't done playing with the sink ...

so ... well ... hmm ... don't tell his mom or dad, but ... i used the potty. had to. like really. and the kid wasn't leaving. he didn't seem to mind, anyway: he was actually pretty encouraging.

after doing my business, i got a very enthusiastic "you did it!" from the short person.

yes, he's been potty-training, and it's always very exciting when he does his business. so ... there you go. i deserved a "you did it!" and i got a "you did it!"

after his vote of confidence in my ability to accomplish anything i set my mind to, this day had to be great. so, let's review the rest of the day:

• 8:00 am -- went to the dentist to get a filling replaced.

• 8:40 am -- got stuck in traffic on i-5, i-405, and us-101. yes, traffic on all three.

• 9:30 am -- arrived at my client's office only to find that my evil manager had decided to unexpectedly show up to "put a fire under us" or some other over-used and completely inaccurate cliché because we get so much less done when the manager is there.

• 12:00 pm -- left for lunch after putting up with my evil manager's attempts to be jovial all morning. the good thing was that my evil manager had to leave for a meeting and would not come to lunch with us, nor would he be at the client site for the rest of the day.

• 12:05 pm -- waited in the hall while my evil manager chewed out my senior for "not identifying issues with revenue sooner". issues, i might add, that could not have been identified until we performed our testing, so they wash out when they wash out.

• 12:15 pm -- ate lunch at islands without my evil manager and discussed politely the occurrences of the morning. and when i say "discussed politely", i don't mean politely. or kindly. or even objectively.

• 1:30 pm -- went back the client's office and pleasantly confirmed that the my evil manager really had left for the day.

• 3:30 pm -- my senior left to drive down to irvine for a meeting.

• 4:00 pm -- one other co-worker left to go to a graduation, leaving only me and the intern at the client's office.

• 4:30 pm -- the phone rang. it was my evil manager. that morning, he had requested that i send him the spreadsheet i was working on. having had some time to look at it, he wanted to talk about everything that i have done wrong concerning revenue. for the next hour and a half, he criticized my work and quizzed me on regulation and contract terms & conditions.

• 6:00 pm -- hung up and had to take a walk.

• 6:10 pm -- came back and the client informed me that my evil manager called back and requested that i return his call. guess he thought of something else i did wrong.

• 6:15 pm -- called my evil manager. he made a handful of suggestions of what else to include on my spreadsheet -- all of which were already incorporated into my spreadsheet. then he thanked me for all my work. but it was too late. the damage was already done. already done, i tell you. don't think even a "you did it!" could have helped at this point.

• 6:30 pm -- got back to work.

• 7:30 pm -- packed up to go home.

• 8:00 pm -- practiced my harp, whined to the lady i live with, and started some laundry.

• 9:30 pm -- got a phone call from my senior because he had spoken to my evil manager and wanted to make sure i was okay.

• 10:00 pm -- sat down on the couch, surrounded by revenue contracts and invoices. think i fell asleep sometime around 11:30, dunno. but i did wake up around 4:30 to get started on yet another (i'm sure) fabulous day ... i thought busy season was over ... guess i was wrong ...

anyway. this day will not be included in my "top 10 days of my life" list, despite its shining beginning. my nephew may think i am amazing, but the rest of the world treats me as a peon (at least on this day).

according to wikipedia, "in the english-speaking world in general, the term peon is used colloquially to mean a person with little authority, often assigned unskilled or drudgerous tasks; an underling. in this sense, peon can be used in either a derogatory or self-effacing context."

i still say they should spell it "pee-on". that's certainly how i felt.