It has been a very long day, and it's not over yet.

My boss is on vacation, so I'm in charge.

First off, the major report that we worked on so hard last week and which was due out today, was scrapped at the last minute because some bureaucrat or other had not put his/her imprimatur on it. All that work, down the drain.

We'll wait until the last minute for his/her revisions, then scramble to get it distributed before Thanksgiving vacation sends everyone to the far corners of city, state and country. At my level, we are the experts behind this report, yet the desk pounders have to second-guess us.

Now I know how the scientists feel, whose environmental and disease control reports were redacted in critical areas and/or rewritten by non-scientist, semi-literate Bush bureaucrats. Bah, humbug.

The most fun part of the day was when the main water pipe that serves this building developed a major leak and the water control folks had to come out and shut off the water to the entire area. Then the plumbers came rolling in to fix the pipe.

I sent everyone home on vacation if they wanted to go. And the rest of us stayed at our desks and telephones, drinking nothing and thinking about anything but water. Funny how the minute the leak was discovered and the water shut off, everyong needed to use the restroom. Porta-potty, anyone?

I just love being in charge.