A rough start

Well, I guess I should have expected there to be some kind of fallout at the Main office after my transition here. On Tuesday, I had my first day. The day went fairly well, with very few bumps and bruises (figuratively) as I got adjusted to the procedures at the new office. Today, however, has been horrible. Here is a run-down of my first 2 day's events:

On Tuesday, I had come in to an office filled with random blank forms and other extraneous paperwork strewn all over the office. It looked like a tornado had hit. I consulted with several peers and all agreed that it would be fine for me to organize the paperwork (that both of us would use on a daily basis-think billing sheets and medical history forms, etc.). So, I went to work. I got manilla folders and labelled them with the names of the forms and put them in hanging file folders in alphabetical order in one of the empty desk drawers. I then tidied up (dusted and straightened) the rest of the office. Before leaving, I wrote a note to my new officemate and told her where I had put all of the commonly used forms and that I had left her personal stuff untouched (b/c it was her personal stuff and not mine). I left feeilng very good about myself and hoping that my new officemate would appreciate the small bit of organization that I had done.

When I came in to the office today (day #2), I arrived to find that the office had been ransacked and totally destroyed. All of the paperwork that I had filed and organized had been taken out of the file folders (which had been torn up and shoved into a drawer) and had been again strewn all over the desk. Along with the mess, there was a nasty note from my officemate, saying how I had invaded her "personal boundaries" and how she could "leave her stuff whereever she wanted". She also said that she was angry I had change the computer password (which I wouldn't know how to do if my life depended on it-By the way, an administrator has to do that). She had ripped the information off of the walls that I had put up and she had torn up the current phone list that I had taped to the desktop (over the one from 2004 that had been there). I was devistated. Seeing as how I haven't slept well this week and this has been a stressful change for me too, I started to cry. I NEVER cry at work. I was told that she was mad that she had to share an office and that it was no reflection on me by multiple staff members. Apparently, she was so mad on Thursday that she resigned (giving a 30 day notice). This woman is 64 years old and she was so incredibly childish that she ransacked her own office because she didn't want to share. Needless to say, one of the administrators heard about the issue and came to get the copy of her mean note to me. I was told that she is a mean woman who has been unhappy for years and that they are hoping she quits before she works out her 30 day notice. All I have to say about it is "SERIOUSLY?!" I really hope that when I am 64 years old that I am not as petty and passive aggressive as she. Keep me in your prayers, I need sanity to keep working in this kind of environment.

I just can't wait to see what will have happened next week when I come in and she realizes that the administrator changed the security code for the phone so that we can both access the voicemail! This is going to be interesting.