Re-re-re-re-re-redefining

After finally completing two large projects (or finishing one and then looking at another that WAS complete and saying, "hey we should add x to that" and discovering that x required a whole WHOLE lot more work than expected so just pushed the whole thing to the back burner for the foreseeable future) at work I was asked to work on something I've been doing on and off since I started.

It seemed very simple. My boss said "how about A? Could you spend the next few days on it?" Sure, no problem! Only A, of course means B and C and D too. Which, after a good look would mean at least E, F, G, and H too... And take the next month.

So it was scaled back. Forget A, I'd do just B, C, and D, and leave E-H until after I finish the other project on the back burner.

I started with C and it quickly became apparent it wasn't going to happen quickly, so D was also shaved off and the timeline increased to a week

I floated a draft of C past a superior last week and she added I through L.

This morning I got what I thought was a almost complete draft of C plus I to L done and sent off to the related higher ups. Only to have my boss say "hmmm... What about M?" And the first asked me to rework J and K, and add N and O... and re-think E-F.

As my head exploded over the keyboard a very patient coworker (who does the whole alphabet in its Japanese version) sat down with me and rehashed the whole project.

He told me that S and T (wha?!? First I had heard of it!) will be happening next month, and since that will affect E and F and X and Y, there really is no point in going anywhere near any of it yet. But, we kept going in circles and rehashing W, X, and Y, the project we both want to get started on...

So do we draw the line at V? Or at J? What about P and Q?!? Or E and F?!? Or back to B and C?!

As we went around and around I got dizzier and dizzier, until 30 minutes after my day was supposed to end the second higher up came by and said "E and F need to be done, but not this time. They can be done with O and P next time. But we must do R, see I've done it part way."

I signed out but it took me a further 30 minutes (and nearly half another alphabet worth of things that just HAVE to be done) to actually get out the door. I *think* I have a meeting tomorrow with my boss and coworker to finalize that I am currently supposed to do C (with I-L, and R snuck in) and B too... hopefully by next week (a month after A was initially supposed to be done...)

Either way, I know for sure that I need a whole lot of D, R, I, N, and K with U this evening before I can face it all again tomorrow!