Call of duty

I opened the program and thought for a half an hour what to write.

It's not that I don't have anything to write about, in fact my head is spinning with what's currently happening at work. Things are not too good, unfortunately - our department is far too busy, so we've been hiring like crazy. Since I started working there about 10 months ago, we've now tripled the head count for QA - for a moment the company was considering moving to a bigger premises but in the end decided against it. So now we are overcrowded, in a space normally meant for four people they are starting to put six, imagine working so that you have someone a foot away from you... We at automation still have our space (me and Don are gathering all our stuff on the desks between us so no one gets any ideas), but some people are getting seriously upset, even to the point of considering quitting. Not only is it uncomfortable and hot, it's also damn disrespectful towards the employees. That's one thing, but in addition to having to work in discomfort, there is still too much work. Other departments have their thumbs up their asses and do whatever they please, but our holidays have been cancelled and we're having to work extra hours. If something goes wrong, it's always our fault.

I'm actually good at chilling out, and most of this doesn't affect me directly. When I started working again, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't get onto a corporate ladder, that work would never become a priority in my life again. And I've kept that promise - and not only that, I've let everyone else around me let that know so they know what I'm willing to do.

But it's another thing to watch my friends go through that... and yes, it makes me feel guilty, yes it makes me want to help them and share the responsibility. So I'm torn, torn between selfishness and self-preservation and loyalty and sense of duty.

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