trivial work rant

[SusieJJ]

I have a rant. My office is set up weird.. there are 60 people in 4 rows of desks/cubicles (open completely at the back to the "hallway" with 2 half walls on either side shared with the next cubicles). One of the rows is against the windows with blinds spanning 6 feet in length. Every blind is either completely open or they're closed with the slats open to let the light in, EXCEPT for the one directly behind my desk. My desk is near the end of the second row in from the window, directly across from the window, behind a column that blocks the light from the other side of the office. It is cavernous. It is SO dark in my desk, the desk across from me and the one next to him. So, I've been opening the blinds in the morning to let light in, then this guy shows up 2 hours later and closes them. I wasn't pleased, since clearly someone opened them because they wanted light and not to sit in the dark in the middle of the day, and this guy thinks he owns them because 1' of the 6' section of blinds is in front of his desk. So, I figure that since the window is right in front of him he may have sensitive eyes so I won't make a big deal about him closing it when he gets in. But then the second day it's open, he freaks out and spends 20 minutes standing on his desk hiding the pull string up the top of the blinds so they can't be opened... WHY can't the blinds be opened for 2 hours in the morning before he gets therE?!? So, as an appropriate response the next morning I opened the blinds and knotted the string This really didn't go over well, which I expected, but I'm still pretty sure I'd do it again. So he got the facilities management people to untie the knot, then he put up a sign directed at me (he doesn't know it's me). "if you have a problem with the blind, come see me. don't be a kid. the securities have been notified" we don't have security that would care about blinds

::sigh:: so today i sat in total darkness all day, was exceptionally sleepy, it was cloudy when i walked home And I'm 90% sure I suffer from SAD because since the suns been setting earlier and rising later I've been MUCH more lethargic and VERY irritable. I've felt it each fall and winter for the last 6 years and it gets worse each year. So.. I honestly have a legitimate reason for having the blinds open to let light in. I may get a doctors note and give it to my boss to start some sort of resolution process to this problem.

Just wanted to rant.

 

[Nancy]

Since you want the light and he doesn't, maybe you should trade spots with him.

 

[Rickman]

Or see if the light bothers someone in it all day, and would prefer to switch!
Let the Vampire have his way!

 

[eroomlorac]

Maybe ask him why you can't have the blinds open before he comes in and you'll agree to let him close them blinds when he gets there. I don't get his attitude.

 

[SusieJJ]

I don't get his attitude either. I opened them and wrote a response note explaining that i understand if he doesn't want it open while he's there, but there's no reason why it can't be opened while he's not in. we'll see how that goes

 

[Sesame]

perhaps you can get a desk lamp with one of those full spectrum light bulbs, this way you'll still get some nice light.

 

[Tiatrack]

Maybe I'm missing something, but why don't you just talk to him about it?

On another note, if you do truly have SAD, you might want to consider medication. My husband is a native of S. Florida, so the long cloudy winters here in Portland were REALLY hard on him. Last year his doctor started him on a low dose of citalopram, and it made an enormous difference. He said he felt like an entirely new person.

 

[addictedtochins]

perhaps you can get a desk lamp with one of those full spectrum light bulbs, this way you'll still get some nice light.

That's what I was going to say. And you should get one for your house.

 

[ChinchillaSteve]

Hehe good thing on knotting the string
I love cloudy days though.

 

[SusieJJ]

I opened it and left a note yesterday and he just closed the slats that were putting light on his desk. Either he read my note and it made sense to him, or he couldn't read my note, thought it was something incredibly nasty towards him and just gave up...

he doesn't read or speak English so well, I don't think. He's a smart man, and maybe you don't need English to do the technical work that he does, but that's why I didn't want to try to have a conversation about it with him. That and the fact that our personalities don't really work that way Engineers don't typically "talk things out" We're more the type to put notes everywhere--non confrontational to the max

I am hugely ignorant when it comes to psychological medication. I don't understand it, so I need to put some effort into understanding it before I make a decision on it. I may just try to get some daylight bulbs and put one in my reading room. I'll try using it for an hour or so at night, or maybe the morning!