Five more days 'till my vacation

and I will definitely need a vacation! Last week, I received the disappointing news that my only writer was leaving for another job. The pressure of the job was too great and taking over her personal and family life. I can't blame her, the work is hard and the environment, sometimes chaotic. I know the company is on its way to changing processes and improving communication between departments, however, the change will come too late for her. It's hard to see her go, especially after having invested one year in training and mentoring her. She was a good writers, really smart. She'll be hard to replace.

So now, I have to plan my schedule a bit differently, still not knowing 100% if the other writer I hired recently has finally accepted the offer. He had given us a verbal OK, but we have yet to receive the signed offer letter. This is making it impossible to plan deliverables. Will I carry the entire workload to the end of the release, or will I have some help? Hopefully, this week will answer some of these questions.

Today was a total Sunday. We woke up late, read in bed, had toast and coffee, then went shopping (an expedition backpack, three books and Season 1 and 2 of The Family Guy for myself, a PDA memory card for Tucker), bought takeout sushi for a really late lunch, read more, and now it's already time to prepare for another week. Fortunately, this one will probably go by quickly, filled with preparations for the up-coming trip, a visit from Dina, Steven and Ben, and maybe the Grind on Thursday. Not to mention work itself...