Thursday, February 23

well, it's official

Life is funny! One day your hours are reduced, and the next you have a new job title. LOL I am now "officially" no longer an admin. My new position.... Program Support. I was left a message from my manager to change my voicemail to reflect this change. Oh, and also do some administrative tasks for him! Bwaahaahaahaa!!!!

Now the big task.... making sure that the administrative tasks are redirected and that no one gives me a headache over it. At least it's progress, right!?

Wednesday, February 22

aaah.... back to the office

Wesley went back to school (yay!) and I went back to the office (woohoo!!). It felt so good to get out of the house and among other adults. Of course I spent the first two hours in a boring meeting, but...

I've also had a bit of a schedule change with work. I'm on a reduced hours shift now... 35 per week. Not too bad since they could have just terminated my contract. And, it will probably work out to my benefit in the long run since I won't have to be paying much (if anything) in extended care costs for Wesley. Don't know how long I'll be on this schedule, but for now it suits me just fine.

Now if I can just get my home computer to stop acting up, I'll be set. Off to do some more tweaking!

Tuesday, February 21

only one more day

I never thought I would say this, but............. someone take my child!!!!!!!!!!! Not permanently, just for a little while. He has been on mid-winter break since after school on Thursday and doesn't go back until tomorrow. He's also been talking / making noise / being obnoxious 27/7. (As he will be the first to tell anyone - like the grocery store clerk - "I don't make noise when I'm sleeping.") That's about the only time he doesn't. I just don't know how I did it?? Being a SAHM never seemed this difficult before? Is it me who's changed? Or him???

So, the good news is this is the last of a 24 hour x 5 day stint. And, he will actually be going out with his dad for a little while this afternoon. Of course I'll be doing my other favorite thing.... working from home. Bah! Oh well, there's always tomorrow to look forward to. Going back to the office and sending WJ back to school.

Have a nice day! :D

Sunday, February 19

have a nice day

Pretty much sums up how I'm feeling these days... enjoy! Oh...... and turn it UP!

Friday, February 17

colder than cold

There is just something wrong with the high for the day being 32 and the low for tonight projected to be 12. I'm beginning to see why Terri lives in Florida! As if my almost $200 heating bills the past three months haven't been bad enough, now it's even colder than it was then. Ugh!!

I worked at home today. Good thing too since the site lost power for several hours and virtually everyone went home to work. Well, those who weren't being slackers anyway! (Not mentioning any names, but they know who they are.) Day went pretty quick, and now we're looking at a nice, relaxing three day weekend. Of course not working on Monday (President's Day) puts a whole in the paycheck, but the way things keep changing around the office, there might not be a paycheck (or at best a dramatically reduced one) coming in for much longer. So I'm going day by day with a "Stacie party smile" plastered to my face. :D

Got the next two books by Janet Evanovich. I'm sure I'll carve out some time this weekend to start diving into book two - Two For The Dough.

Hope everyone is having a good start to their weekend! Stay warm, stay safe and have fun!!!

Saturday, February 11

solo saturday

Wesley gone to his dad's... sleeping until 9:00am... and reading a great book from cover to cover! Who could ask for a better day? Sure, I miss my sweatpea, but a girl's gotta have a break... right!? And sleeping past 7:30am is something I haven't done since before having a child. I guess the week finally caught up with me.

But the best part of today was doing nothing but reading... in my pj's. A coworker loaned me her copy of One For The Money by Janet Evanovich. What a great read! I highly recommend it. I sat down at 11:00am figuring I'd start it to see what I thought and literally couldn't put it down. (Well, when my mom called I did... and that killed two hours.) But even while doing laundry I walked around with the book in hand. It's suspense / drama / humor / and sex all wrapped up in one. And since this is the first in a long series with the same main character, you know what I'll be reading next.

As for the rest of my day... well, that was it! I decided months ago that at least one day when Wesley is with his dad (which is every other weekend) would be my day to do whatever I wanted. So, now I'm gonna go grab a hot shower (no smartass comments Stacie!), crack open a brewski, and maybe watch a little of the Olympics.

Cheers!

Thursday, February 9

long day

So, all my drama fans... no major drama to share with you today. Just a very busy, and very long day.

Still trying to cram in as much training as I can to get out of this admin roll at work. (Thanks Rob, if you're reading! And sorry about being a PITA this afternoon.) The training and workload balance have been a pain. And I kind of came unglued a bit this afternoon at work. Been thinking through it ever since. I think there are multiple issues here...

While I enjoy learning, it's like I've been dealt a second hand of cards in a one hand game. I'm still doing everything I've been doing since I started, and now as I move through the training process, I have an entirely separate set of responsibilities. Imagine working two jobs at the exact same time, all day long. That's what it feels like. Though my managers are working towards "growing" me and moving me through the mill, the rest of the team (except Rob, since he's in on the training) still see me as the go to for all the nitnoid crap. For a group that didn't have dependable support for so long, they surely know how to offload junk they don't want to deal with. It's really hard to be told to "ramp up as fast as you can" by a manager, but the team still sees you in the same roll and haven't been told any different. So, I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't.

Then there's the issue of ownership. In my opinion, if I'm good enough to do the job, I'm also good enough to be named as the owner. I take responsibility for whatever I do... good, bad or indifferent. I would also like to take credit for the good instead of being sent mixed messages and having the ownership (and success) fall into the lap of someone else.

Don't get me wrong. I really like my job. And I hope to be around there for longer than my contract days. But some days, and some actions, and some mixed messages really make me say "hmmmmmmm???". Maybe I just don't understand the game? Or maybe it's just that the rules have changed? When I first started this job I was told "forget everything you thought you ever knew about corporate culture from other jobs..." Maybe that's the problem. I'm overanalyzing. Hell, I don't know?

What I do know is tomorrow is Friday. My son is away for the weekend and I can do (or not do) anything I want. That alone will put my weary mind at ease tonight and get me through another day of whatever crap may come my way.

Wednesday, February 8

stolen from a friend

I visit my friend Liss's blog daily. And then I found her MySpace. As someone who's lost touch with the music world over the past few years, not only me, but Wesley too... we're addicted to this song from Jet. So I'm adding it to my blog. Thanks Liss for turning me on to them!

cheers

Anyone care to join me for a cold one? The beer won out!

Tuesday, February 7

why do people have to be that way?

What in the hell makes people think that they are better than you? That they can bitch you out, hang up on you, and then fabricate a story to cover their ass??? In case you haven't noticed, I am more than a little pissed right now.

Background: I am on the procurement team for the annual auction committee at my son's school. One of my duties was to call last years live auction doners and see if they were going to procure the same (or similar) item(s) for this years auction. Everyone I was calling is a parent at the school, so it's not like cold calling... or telemarketing. Or is it?

Last night: Call the first parent. Resounding YES!!! I am feeling good. Next person, have to leave a message. Person after that... wrong number, with a somewhat cranky person. Okay... moving on. Then I get to Cathie. (I'd like to post her last name too, but just in case... I won't.) Anyway, phone rings and the automated voice answers with the obligatory "You have reached a number that does not accept solicitations...." message. Well (I think), I am not a solictor. I am another parent from the same school. Push "1".

Cathie: "Hello" (said in your nastiest voice)

Me: "Hello, this is Lisa from (insert school name here). I am on the procurement team for the auction committee and am calling about the (wonderful whatever it was) that you procured last year. We are hoping that we can count on you to procure the same item this year." (sing-songy, trying to sell something voice)

Cathie: "I am on the decorating team for the auction committee. I have been to every committee meeting and I have no idea who you are, but I am NOT procuring anything this year... that is YOUR job!" (again, very nasty)

Again I tried to say that I was just calling based on the list from last year, and.......... click. She hangs up on me.

I sat there with my mouth open, headset on, pen poised to make notes, and then realized what had just happened. I hung up the phone and called my co-procurement person, told her everything (while it was still fresh in my mind), and didn't make any more calls.

Today: My co-procurement person calls and tells me about a conversation at the school. Cathie and another auction committee person tell her that I called last night and said "if you don't do this, you are letting the kids down". Jesus Christ!!! It's the truth, but it didn't pass out of my mouth! Why can't people tell an accurate account of a conversation? Oh, wait a minute.... I know... because it might incriminate them. She proceeds to tell her about how she's "quitting the committee" blah blah blah. Well wah wah wah!!! WHATEVER!!!! If anyone should be quitting, it's me for having to put up with this bullshit.

Tomorrow: Don't know if I'll go to tomorrow nights meeting or not. Part of me wants to go and bitch slap her. But with having to take Wesley with me... that wouldn't be pretty. The other part of me wants to stay home, drink a beer, and forget about the entire auction.

What will I decide? Tune in tomorrow for Part 2!