Buzz Kill

After taking an extra day off from work in hopes of prolonging my European vacation euphoria, I went back to the daily grind for the first time today. Putting on business casual after nearly 3 weeks of jeans and sneakers felt foreign. My feet protested the confinement and discomfort of my black leather slingbacks. My first drive on the freeway was slightly overwhelming. Suddenly, I had to be an aware driver and not a passive passenger. Eventually, I started to feel better as the control of the steering wheel afforded me the sense of power I had missed.

When I finally got to work, I realized I had forgotten my work badge/key at home. Slightly embarrassed, I went to the security desk to be signed in by my manager. Unfortunately, he was not at his desk, but the security lady was kind enough to wave me in. However, that was only after she thought I was my work twin. Once inside the building, I went to my desk, greeted by smiles of welcome. I distributed the few souvenirs I could afford with the lousy exchange rate. Then I went to my desk and booted up my computer, knowing full well that hundreds of emails awaited me. It only took me an hour and a half to skim/read/delete/flag for follow up 300 emails. After a quick meeting, it was time for lunch.

My good friend from work organized a welcome back lunch. Bug was there. Lately, he's been a sort of a sell-out Nelly Futado style but in the worst way possible. Someone turned him onto designer sunglasses, but that person must have been a woman because all the overpriced spectacles he has purchased look like chicks' shades. Today's basic black Dolce & Gabbana shades were no exception. I had to hold my tongue through the entire lunch before I could snark to my good friend about the bad choice of shades. Not surprised she agreed.

After being dropped off at my office, I realized I had lost my temporary badge issued from this morning. It had broken off the clip at some point. The security guy was less lenient than the lady. I tried calling the coworker that had dropped me off but to no avail. Once again, my manager was not there. In fact, no managers were around to sign me in. I had to wait nearly 20 minutes before my manager came out to let me in. I wondered if this was a sign that I shouldn't have gone into work today.

At around 3 o'clock, I realized I was completely bored with work. I felt the same way as I did before I had gone on my vacation--that was, zero motivation. Career existentialism set in, and I pondered if it was time for a new job.