Saturday AM

It's a cool and cloudy morning with the occasional sprinkle of rain. The latter was insufficient to deter me from the traditional early morning walk around the neighborhood and I'm just now back home after the requisite stop at Starbucks. There is not much on the agenda this weekend other than studying for finals and working a bit on the thesis. I'm also meeting some of the other team member for lunch today to discucss the Sri Lanka project in greater detail. Should have some interesting updates about that later on. And hopefully I'll venture forth to formal meditation tomorrow morning as I haven't been in a while.

Life around the office has been significantly more stressful than usual thanks to all the drama instigated by my secretary. I've implemented a number of changes over the last few months (both at the policy and operational levels) which she has resisted every step of the way. And to be honest, it's more than mere resistance, she's now actively undermining nearly everything that I do. She's been there for almost 30 years (as as a result sees herself as more important than she actually is) and hates change in any form (whether it be at the office, at home, or on whatever level) and since I'm seen as an agent of change, I'm suddenly this terrible threat that must be stopped. And she's taken it upon herself to do just that. So it has been this ongoing contest of wills, the struggle between the old way and the new and of course I've bested her every time (the real benefit of authority in this situation combined with a rational justification for what I'm trying to do). This has led to greater resentment on her part and some rather disturbing emotional displays. Despite the occasional temptation to verbally rip her head off, I've maintained a cool, somewhat detatched, level of professionalism which further annoys her (she thrives off of direct confrontation). Will all of this blow over? Possibly. But if not, I've begun the process of having her involuntarily transferred to a different department if the normal routes of disciplinary action fall short.