“I have high hopes for later this week.”
That’s what a co-worker stated in an email two weeks ago, believing that she would wrap up all of her loose ends by that Friday. It would be her last day before moving on to a new job.
Just what makes that little old ant
Think she’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant
But she’s got high hopes, she’s got high hopes
She’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
I’ve learned my lesson about high hopes and believing that I will get caught up at work. As soon as I begin to think positively that the end of a project will bring calm and peace, WHAM…
A new deadline, duty or bean-counting project shows up.
It’s been the way of the world lately. I can never say that I’m bored, nor do I want to be bored. However, a week of breathing freely might be nice.
So any time you’re gettin’ low
‘stead of lettin’ go
Just remember that ant
Oops there goes another rubber tree plant
When troubles call, and your back’s to the wall
There a lot to be learned, that wall could fall
Yeah, the wall of paper…
I do have hopes, but never high ones. That’s asking for trouble. High hopes only lead to disappointment and frustration. Regular, normal hope is utilized for, “I hope I get out of here on time to make yoga class,” or “I hope I have dark chocolate in my desk drawer,” or “I hope my boss gets off the phone so I can confer with him on the next new thing that happened.”
These are practical hopes that don’t elicit negativity if they’re not met.
Except for the dark chocolate thing.
Maybe I’ll change that to, “I hope the two extra bars of dark chocolate that I’ve stashed in the file drawer are okay.”
I should probably check…
Once there was a silly old ram
Thought he’d punch a hole in a dam
No one could make that ram, scram
He kept buttin’ that dam
‘Cause he had high hopes, he had high hopes
He had high apple pie, in the sky hopes
I know of this butting the dam. I did it all last week. Never came close to making a hole.
There has been more damn butting this week. My co-worker decided to take a vacation to sunny Florida to visit family for ten days.
The nerve of her.
So any time you’re feelin’ bad
‘stead of feelin’ sad
Just remember that ram
Oops there goes a billion kilowatt dam
There is regret that I didn’t stow away on the plane with her. Sand, sunshine, blue skies, temperatures far above 40 degrees…
I rather doubt I will be punching holes in a dam this week. Why would I? Instead, an effort is underway to plug them lest the dam breaks and floods my office with more paper and stuff to accomplish.
‘Cause she had high hopes, she had high hopes
She had high apple pie, in the sky hopes
No, not today. No high hopes for this girl. I know what will happen if I give in to its allure.
If you don’t mind, I prefer to keep low expectations.
‘Cause she had low expecations, she had low expectations
She had low as you can go, in the dirt expectations
Doesn’t make for a great song, but it’s less stressful that way.
Right, Mr. Ram?
This post has been brought to you by my high hopes, a ram, and Linda G. Hill’s One-Liner Wednesday. Click HERE to see additional one-liners in the comment section. Feel free to play along by posting your own one-liner and linking your post to Linda’s.
Mary J Melange 
I’m with you. My hopes are never high, often middling, sometimes so low I trip over them. But I like them that way. Also, I had to learn this song when I was in second grade– and am proud to say I still know all the words. So there–HA!
You’ll be singing that song in your head all day Ally…except you’ll change one word to middlin’ , right?
Reality bites doesn’t it? Remember years ago when everyone was told society was going paperless? You definitely need to eat a healthy breakfast (combat the chocolate), stop for more chocolate, pack or order in a delicious lunch and read a gardening magazine while you eat that wonderful lunch. And, if you are a coffee or tea drinker, you’ll need lots of that too. You need survival skills with so many gone. 🙂
I started on the coffee yesterday, today might be tea day; I have oatmeal/CHOCOLATE/banana/coconut cupcakes that I made on Saturday; my CHOCOLATE stash is okay as I’ve been checking every day; I might go for a walk at lunch; the paper isn’t as bad as that darn stapler, which frustrates me and entices me to eat more CHOCOLATE. So, I think I’ll be okay.
I love this, Mary! Your timing is perfect. Early last week, a coworker asked if I could make a presentation about a project to his group. I agreed. He wanted it today, I agreed, thinking I could squeeze it in by stealing some outside-of-work time. Then snow, and snow and more snow. No plant moved, no dam broken, lots of chocolate consumed – yeah, you’re on the right track.
I’m trying to sing that song, I can’t carry a tune, I can’t get the timing right, and I can’t stop laughing. Perfect Wednesday – thanks!
Those darn co-workers and their needs! And our inability to say, “No, I’m busy right now,” or “No, you can’t go on vacation and leave me alone.” What’s up with that?
We’d make a great karaoke pair, Dan. I don’t sing very well either…dogs howl, although the cats appear to be unaffected. They might be deaf.
I used to sing to our first dog, because she used to howl at just the right places. I do sing in church, though. I figure there are no bad singers in church. Coworkers can be pains, but I’m not very good at saying “no.”
Yup, I sing in church too. God forgives us for that…
Thanks for the chuckle and reminding me of that old song and that I made the right decision to leave the old job behind. I learned that it was healthier to keep my expectations dirt low on the old job. Once upon a time, I had high hopes for getting my book published by Valentines Day. Now I’m learning to lower my expectations so I stop stressing about it. What’s the point of retiring if I keep stressing about deadlines? Yoga and dark chocolate help every time. Love the catchy new lyrics.
You’re welcome, JoAnna! Retirement is not supposed to be about stress and expectations. Relax, eat chocolate and enjoy the journey. Namaste.
Haha! “This verse is your verse, this verse is my verse…”
When I logged in yesterday I had …DUH-DUH-DUN 46 Overdue Tasks, and I left with 39. You know what the software system doesn’t know about? Incoming! *takes cover* There is no end to Incoming! That’s great for business, but not so great for Joeys. Incoming just sets new tasks. And then there are the phones. I love when I get to turn the answering service on for the night. I could get twice as much done if the phone only dialed out 😉
There are m&ms in my desk drawer. Oh yes ma’am, you better believe it.
M&M’s…Mmmmmm.
Ohmigosh, this has been nothing but an incoming day around here. I feel like the squirrel who can’t decide which nut to pick up off the ground. If only I could email everyone and tell them to leave me alone…but I suppose that would be totally unprofessional. Instead, I think I’d better go eat lunch and readjust my attitude. Arrrrgghhh!
It would be totally unprofessional…and completely effective 😛
I’m heading out soon. I hope you and your attitude adjustment get some stuff done! 🙂
So sorry that the February Blahs are turning into a paper burial for you. The only positive thing I can say is – aren’t you glad it’s not also gorgeous cycling weather outside while you’re stuck inside?
… and chocolate fixes all.
Tis true, Joanne. Although if it were cycling weather, I’d be taking the bike to work. 😀
Oh, aren’t you the clever one!!
Sidebar … I was looking at new bikes today. Shiny new toys. I want.
Shiny things! 😀
I think we might have been cats in a previous life 😉
Or crows…
Haha! I’m with you on the chocolate. 😀
I usually keep premium chocolate in my desk. Had 3 dark chocolate bars for my VP but he never ended up needing them so they’re now in one of my many bags o’ crap from work. I recently moved my fancy chocolates from a refrig door shelf to the crisper drawer – cause I needed more room. I buy them compulsively but eat them sparingly. Odd.
Perhaps just knowing you have dark chocolate at your fingertips is comfort enough! PS: I’d love to be your VP 😉