From the journal of Beulah Bartimaeus
I got a phone message from Bella today. She reminded me that Mom’s birthday is coming up. She and Birdy are planning a party and want me to be there. I know I should call her back, but the whole idea fills me with trepidation, so I’m resorting to avoidance, as usual. And now I feel guilty, too. It’s a delightful combination. I thought I’d never get out of that house and I’m in no hurry to go back. Bella and Birdy don’t really know what it was like all those years after Dad died, since they were both in college when it happened. I wish she hadn’t called. I wish they’d leave me alone. I wish, I wish, I wish… That kind of sums it all up – useless wishings and bottomless guilt. Sigh.
On a more interesting note, I’ve been keeping an eye on “Mr. Smirk” since the time management seminar last week. I was irritated that he asked that question about the squirrels on the poster, but afterwards I realized that he might know something about the mysterious BOII. He seems like a very smart man, too smart to ask stupid questions. It turns out that it’s not very easy to watch someone surreptitiously. I’ve been casually sauntering into the accounting department with some little copy jobs to do so I can sneak a look at his desk and Every Single Time, he’s caught me glancing his way. I’m horrified that he might think I have a crush on him, but I’ve been hoping to come in at a time when he’s away from his desk so I can go over there and snoop around a little. After it happened three times, I gave up – too obvious. I waited around after work a couple days ago and went to his desk after he left, but that sneaky, suspicious man keeps his desk locked up and leaves nothing out. It might be time for a more direct approach. Tomorrow I’m just going to request that he stop in at HR and then I’ll ask him why he was interested in the clip art on the poster. It’s time to wipe that smirk off his face and put it on mine. Ha ha ha! – that’s my villainous laugh since I’m feeling very diabolical.
Mr. Peabody sent around one his tiresome company emails with the usual corporate speak about what a great company we have, the importance of the work we do, blah, blah, blah. The worst part was that he’s planning to have another one of his “bidness” meetings next week – attendance compulsory by everyone as usual. He actually pronounces the word “business” like that – it’s hard to keep a straight face. Anyway, these meetings are STATBO and one comes out of them with a crushing sense that it was a colossal waste of time. At least he only does it once a quarter or so. He’s not on site very often and he really must be good at managing the company, but you sure can’t tell by the way he runs meetings.
Side note: I think Dad would be pleased to know that I still use one of the acronyms that he made up: STATBO (So Tedious As To Be Offensive). It was his personal best, I think.
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I know it’s been awhile since I continued The Martin Chronicles (of which Beulah’s Journal is a part), but I’ve been doing some work on writing plot elements and thinking through the story. It’s a good discipline for me, since I tend to prefer writing short pieces that don’t require a lot of planning or research. If you haven’t read previous installments, there might be some links below this blog post that bring you to them.
I’ll probably delete this…but really, it’s none of your bidness whether I do or not!
Lynniebeemuseoday 