The Working Girl Blogs Revision 2.0 Blog #47: Smelly Bobbie To see all of Bobbie's Working Girl Blogs, click on this link: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/19261/working-girl-blogs

It's Sunday, just about 9AM, and, guess what? I'm still in the office, all alone. Yup. Been here since Friday. Haven't gone home.

Working.

A few of my friends here in BCTS know why, but suffice it to say, lil old Bobbie's been saddled with lotsa responsibility here at work. Got two projects cooking, been put in charge of the company rollout of it's revamped financial system (and it's budget season, dontcha know, so we need it up and running by next week), and on top it all, I've been put in charge of our unit's CMMI certification, as well as supervising the other teams that my boss used to supervise.

Truthfully, though, I asked for this, as the other alternatives open to me were less attractive. The other options weren't really bad, but I didn't want to relocate.

Also, to be honest, these projects I "inherited" have been running for a while, and I've just been asked to manage 'em. There are both advantages and disadvantages to inheriting already-running projects, the advantages being: there's no teething problems anymore, and the main goal is to just make sure that no one slackens off so the targets are met. Now, the disadvantages... well, look at me, still here in the office, on a Sunday, still in the same clothes that I was wearing Friday, about to burst from all the junk food I've been getting from the vending machines just so I'd have something to munch on while I try and catch up with everything. And, boy do I need a bath: I must smell something fierce...

Plus it was a little creepy to be all alone in the office at night, surrounded by darkness, with no one but the music from my iPad keeping me company. But I just turned up the volume and concentrated on my reading.

Anyways...

I'd rather not get into why I've been saddled with all this work but I asked for this. And if all goes well... well, let's just say,there's gonna be a big change around here by January.

But it's not all bad - Sammi's now assigned to me full time, my project's been signed off by the customer exactly two months ahead of the contract date, so my team got the performance bonus and we all enjoyed the spa weekend we were promised (I got to swim in a swimsuit again, though just in a pool this time - no tropical cove, corals or Japanese shipwrecks to swim by).

However the team's under a different manager now (I was asked to give up the team, given I had all these other tasks to do), and maybe a third of them reassigned to other groups (all of them as team leads, I'm proud to say).

Anyway, this compromise situation will only be until December, and I hope to make a good showing of myself by then.

Everything's been moving real fast, and I guess I have to look at the bright side of things - I'm employed when lots of others aren't, I got enough work that I don't have time to brood about things (I don't have time to surf much anymore, too, though, much less write).

In any case, I'm almost done with my reading, reviewing and note-taking, and I think I'll be going home in a while. I've been using my boss's table, and it's currently festooned with lots of wrappers from Mcdonald's and other fast food places, empty coke cans, et cetera, and I have been taking catnaps on her couch.

Yesterday morning, Sammi came by to take a peek at how I was doing, and she all but ordered me to go home. I said I couldn't and she demanded that I give her my apartment key so she could go home and get me a change of clothes. I guess I am still not too open about myself with others - I was not sure if Sammi knew about me already - coz if she didn't, I didn't want to take the chance that she might see something at my place that I'd rather she didn't. So I said I was fine.

She raised an unbelieving eyebrow at me, but didn't challenge it. She left and came back thirty minutes later with a bunch of drinks & snacks, a pack of panties and four cheap pullovers from the drugstore, as well as soap, shampoo, deodorant, some q-tips, six little towels that were the size of washcloths, a toothbrush and some drugstore-type baby cologne. I wanted to hug her in thanks but I told her I shouldn't as I stink. We both giggled at that and she still gave me a hug despite my needing a bath.

My boss (Sammi obviously tipped her off) passed by at noon, and brought a big paper bag of chinese takout for lunch, which we shared. An hour later though, she had to go as her husband was already outside waiting.

I was fairly sure that I wouldn't be treated this well if I was a guy, even if I was a close friend of theirs. I felt a bit teary-eyed after their visits, but I didn't show them how emotional and grateful I was, as I suspected it wouldn't be in character for a girl, for what might be a usual thing that girls do for each other (but what did I know?).

After our chinese takeout lunch and my boss had already left, I had a "pretend" bath, which involved shampooing my hair, washing my face, neck and arms, and swiping my armpits with a wet washcloth (all done over the sink), and then washing myself "down there" while sitting on the toilet. Talk about roughing it.

I then used up a couple more "towelettes" to dry myself (it was hard going with my hair, which was already down to my shoulders lol), wet-combed it with my needle-comb to prevent tangles, used the deodorant, and liberally spritzed myself with the drugstore cologne. I took off my panties, bra and blouse, replacing them with what Sammi bought, but I had no choice and wore my itty-bitty anime-style skirt again, but this time, I didn't put my stockings back on. (My dress "style" has changed a bit, and has a bit of an anime influence to it now, thanks to my new Japanese friend here in the office.)

When I was done, I washed the four towelettes I used with the bath soap and hung them on the little towel rack by the sink to dry. Sheesh. Talk about roughing it...

I think I'll start keeping an overnighter-type kit here in the office, just in case I need to stay overnight again.

Actually, I could have gone home and maybe taken a bath and come back if I needed to, but I guess it's a holdover from that masculine need to be able to say you completed something that I didn't even think of going home...

Also, I guess a lonely person who's used to being alone doesn't much mind doing things like these. In the back of my mind, I was actually thinking that, in a way, it was good that I was working, as I didn't have to deal with the insomnia and the nightmares.

Anyway, like I said, I'm about done so I will hold off from doing another pretend bath and take a real bath at home, and post this now.

It just occurred to me: I forgot all about my jog yesterday. Dang. I guess I'll call the girls and make my apologies. Wonder how I can make it up to them.

Anyway. Seeya later guys!

To see ALL of Bobbie's blogposts, click this link: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c To see Bobbie's stories in BCTS, click this link: http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot