The other day, I overdid it a bit at the gym. Okay, I really overdid it. A few days later, I am still suffering the consequences… a pain in my hip joint, which is comically located very close to my rump and as a result it is a borderline pain in the butt. There I said it, now I can move on.

Any who, there I was hobbling around the office today. Back and forth. Pain. Upstairs and down. Hobble. To meetings and back. I had a packed schedule, but strangely enough, no problems (other than the grumpy hip joint). Everyone in my world was working together to problem solve. We were rowing in the same direction. Strangely enough, no one was being a “Pain in the Hip.”

Well, trying to catch up and not bring any work home, I was there a little beyond closing time. Shutting down my computer and getting ready to leave, I realized something. Everyone else had left. I was a lone cube dweller. A lost soul in the office. No one had said “goodnight.” I had simply been left behind. A forgotten colleague. A tumbleweed rolled past my cubicle. I was alone.

At dinner this evening, I relayed my daily tales. Most were success stories. Productive presentations. Glorious spreadsheets. A good day, with the exception of the end of day abandonment. My status as a leftover employee. Then with a look of agreement, my family informed me that I appeared to be a “high maintenance” employee. Apparently, I did not need to look any further, I was the “Pain in the Hip.”