This weekend cannot get here too soon. If my lack of public rumination wasn’t enough of a clue, let me be clear–I have been swamped.

We are interviewing candidates for my old job and my old-old job, the latter of which has been vacant since August. My favorite part of the interview is when the candidate asks what a typical day looks like and I have to try to roll up 12 departments’ needs in a three-minute answer. The upside is that I love just about everything I do. The downside is explaining it to someone else.

Here’s a list of likely tasks for a typical day, in no particular order:

1. Update Web content for two to three departments. Half of these will be priority changes with a deadline of yesterday.
2. Write from scratch one to two blurbs about the company for different audiences.
3. Advise on the publications process.
4. Write, review, and approve e-mail messaging for one of a dozen audiences.
5. Develop a proposal for surfacing critical Web content.
6. Review resumes and writing samples and interview for two positions.
7. Manage temp writers and editors.
8. Review and upload files for book publishing.
9. Organize and post latest edition of a newsletter. Send notification e-mail to subscribers.
10. Manage job listing process that ohmygosh needs to be automated.
11. Prepare a quiz for National Grammar Day. Be clever. Talk someone into making it pretty.
12. Attend or lead up to five meetings.
13. Answer up to half a dozen questions about random things.
14. Trick out department’s intranet space.
15. Wrap up and pay for contest entries.
16. Register for professional conference.
17. Suggest another word for “worldwide.”
18. Show someone how to schedule a meeting in Outlook.
19. Review and react to design comps.
20. Edit HTML for a static page assigned today but also due yesterday.
21. Investigate a way to build a photo gallery within the confines of an outdated and unsupported CMS.
22. Answer e-mail, schedule meetings, submit PTO requests/reports, fax form back to an association that should totally have online submission, prepare expense report.
23. Make travel arrangements for a press check.
24. Deal with at least two vendors, one of whom, it could be argued, takes some liberties.

That’s it. I want my mommy.

Fortunately, I can usually spread some of this out and around. I rely heavily on our crack administrative assistant, who could not be more helpful and reliable.

Most days, I think adults have it easy. Often we have some control over what kind of work we do, we get paid for it, and we rarely have homework. I feel bad for kids whose teachers tell them that someday they’ll have to work and they’ll look back on school as a carefree time, the best time of their lives.

Most days, that’s crap. School is way harder than work.

Then there’s today. Again, it’s a good thing I love my job and my colleagues. Otherwise… wham! To da moon!