Just realized how long it has been since I posted anything. I think I didn't think anything worth writing about was happening, but looking back all sorts of stuff has happened since I last wrote. Therefore, in Christmas card, form letter fashion, here is the run down:
Family - B had a really awful 1st semester. Second semester is off to a better start, although he has quit playing the saxophone, messed up his chances for off-season football, and could definitely have better grades. On the plus side, he is actually going to school instead of cutting, his attitude is much improved, and he seems excited about all of the getting ready for high school business. He is taking his course selection very seriously and is looking forward to some more challenging electives. We are still tracking him via his phone, which is sad and funny and unfortunately necessary.
The twins are the same as ever - hilarious and smart and adorable. D is signed up for baseball and can't wait to be old enough to play something besides t-ball. L has settled for soccer again because the dance class she took before is no longer available. Their grades are awesome and they growing too fast.
L is still driving a truck. I could write a whole post on how I feel about him only being here some of the time, and then not always fully present, but I will save it for later.
My parents came in October. We did Christmas Day here because it has been awhile since we did that. Then we went to OK for a couple of days and came back to K's house for an immediate family thing.
Her kids are both walking disasters. My nephew is in and out of jail and quite possibly has an HIV-related illness. My niece is on the upswing right now, which probably means her next fall will be any day now. They are both past anything we can offer them in the way of help. I pray a lot that my kids never become addicts.
Work - the new job is different, to say the least. One of my coworkers is resistant to any change, which means my assignment to come in and do just that is going very slowly. The other one just started and I don't really know her. But I am only there part time, the pay is decent, and I get to do whatever I want, so OK that my only complaint is that I can't always do it right this minute.
I also have one contract with ACH to plan an event for them, and a proposal pending to do another with a related group. I am excited about these not because the are very lucrative, but because they keep me in touch with many people I used to work with, and help me add to my resume for freelance work.
House - we are waiting for a bid on the relocating the furnace, and then we are ready to get a new roof put on the house. This is long, long overdue. If we don't blow our whole savings on these two projects, I have one other biggie, and then it will be warm weather and time to get serious about a lot of the things I can do by myself. Very excited, but trying to stay real, because my experience has been that every time things get going too well, we are promptly brought back to reality in a big way.
All that to say that while things are going really well in general, I am cynical enough to be looking around the corner for the next bit o' pain or drama. Really can't complain though.
Speaking of woe, I saw this quote the other day. I laughed, but immediately quit, because while funny, it was also sad and completely unnecessary.
"My sex life is like a Ferrari. I don't have a Ferrari."
Yeah, I didn't get one of those for Christmas either. But really, I'm not complaining. At least I didn't blow the Super Bowl.
February 18, 2014
September 18, 2013
All in a Day's Work
I am ready for this week to be over, and it's only (barely) Wednesday. The big conference I do each year for my job is next week. That makes this week one of the most busy and usually most stressful . Some of the headaches are to be anticipated, and while I gripe about them, they can be taken in stride- last minute requests, last minute changes, etc. Some can be expected, but I don't have to like them, like hold ups waiting on other people to get their stuff together. This year, I am more than a little annoyed with my co-coordinator, who has left some pretty big things to the last minute, meaning that where we should be confirming details with the facility, the caterer and the trade show vendor, we are still trying to iron out a work plan. I am not happy about this, and the fact that I know it needs resolved, and there is nothing we can do until later today, when I was already going to be crazy busy, is keeping me awake. The other headache is caused by one of our out of town speakers, whose travel schedule is weird, to say the least. To make it more complicated, we contracted her through a speakers bureau. What this means is that rather than just being able to call her and work out details, I have to work through a representative. This means everything takes three times longer to resolve. For example, we got an official response to a question yesterday that we had already dismissed and moved on from due to lack of reply. Fortunately, the reply confirmed what we had already decided to do, or I might be lying awake wondering how to fix that too. Today is our work day, where we prep the packets and organize delivery of materials. That itself is not stressful, provided the printer has done everything correctly. It's just that I had set aside this morning to get ready for that, and now it looks like I will be spending my morning troubleshooting 99 other things instead.
And, because the rest of my life does not stop just because work is busy, I still have to get through this week on the home front. It's not any busier than most weeks, but trying to fit it all in while also getting ready to be out of town for three days is not simple. Monday we went to visit my father in law, who had to stay overnight in the hospital after a surgical procedure. Last night and tomorrow night we have soccer practice. Tonight we are going to a church activity and to see my in-laws again. Saturday, we have early soccer and will take the kids to stay at grandparents' house while I am gone. Sometime in between all that I need to pick up snacks for soccer, do laundry and pack suitcases, and oh yeah, prepare a lesson for Sunday. All while trying to keep work at work, be the best mom I can be for kids with homework, meals, time and attention, etc., and trying to maintain my sanity around B.
Remember him? He's 13 and driving me absolutely nuts. I know that what he most needs right now is consistency and patience and time and positive attention and all that parenting mumbo jumbo, but he makes it so difficult to even want to be around him that I know I am being a terrible parent right now. Of course I love him, but sometimes I have to try very hard to make it sound more sincere than sarcastic when I say it. Right now I am just hoping that he will behave himself while I am gone, because his grandparents are doing me a huge favor by watching them while I am gone, and they do not need his attitude to deal with right now.
On a side note, I have received several compliments about my lessons on Sunday. This is nice to hear, partly because it's nice to hear :) and partly because I was worried that I would not be a good teacher of adults, not having done that in awhile. I won't go so far as to say that I am having fun yet, but it's nice to know that others are getting something from it. I think I will too, in time.
And in the background of all this, I am still planning to leave my job for another opportunity. My official end date is the 27th, but I will come back a few times to wrap up the conference as necessary. I am very much looking forward to the new job, but still trying to do right by my current one. Truthfully, my boss is just grateful that I agreed to stick around until after the event, but I am not content to just get through it. It has been my baby for so long, and something I am known for and proud of. I don't have to go out with a bang, but it will bother me if I don't execute the best event possible.
So I will wear myself out this week, just to make those three days look like a perfect piece of cake.
And, because the rest of my life does not stop just because work is busy, I still have to get through this week on the home front. It's not any busier than most weeks, but trying to fit it all in while also getting ready to be out of town for three days is not simple. Monday we went to visit my father in law, who had to stay overnight in the hospital after a surgical procedure. Last night and tomorrow night we have soccer practice. Tonight we are going to a church activity and to see my in-laws again. Saturday, we have early soccer and will take the kids to stay at grandparents' house while I am gone. Sometime in between all that I need to pick up snacks for soccer, do laundry and pack suitcases, and oh yeah, prepare a lesson for Sunday. All while trying to keep work at work, be the best mom I can be for kids with homework, meals, time and attention, etc., and trying to maintain my sanity around B.
Remember him? He's 13 and driving me absolutely nuts. I know that what he most needs right now is consistency and patience and time and positive attention and all that parenting mumbo jumbo, but he makes it so difficult to even want to be around him that I know I am being a terrible parent right now. Of course I love him, but sometimes I have to try very hard to make it sound more sincere than sarcastic when I say it. Right now I am just hoping that he will behave himself while I am gone, because his grandparents are doing me a huge favor by watching them while I am gone, and they do not need his attitude to deal with right now.
On a side note, I have received several compliments about my lessons on Sunday. This is nice to hear, partly because it's nice to hear :) and partly because I was worried that I would not be a good teacher of adults, not having done that in awhile. I won't go so far as to say that I am having fun yet, but it's nice to know that others are getting something from it. I think I will too, in time.
And in the background of all this, I am still planning to leave my job for another opportunity. My official end date is the 27th, but I will come back a few times to wrap up the conference as necessary. I am very much looking forward to the new job, but still trying to do right by my current one. Truthfully, my boss is just grateful that I agreed to stick around until after the event, but I am not content to just get through it. It has been my baby for so long, and something I am known for and proud of. I don't have to go out with a bang, but it will bother me if I don't execute the best event possible.
So I will wear myself out this week, just to make those three days look like a perfect piece of cake.
August 29, 2013
A Little Awkward
So I have officially been offered, and accepted, a new job. I will begin around the first of October, per an arrangement between my current and new employers. While my old boss is pretty cool about me leaving, especially since I am willing and able to stay until after the conference, and my new boss is flexible about me easing into things, it still feels a little weird. I am somewhat busy with the conference, and am working on wrapping up/handing off tasks, but the truth is I am really only staying because no one else could have done the conference on short notice. So while the same old drama and gossip goes on around me, now it doesn't even affect me indirectly, except for having to listen to it. It's a rather strange dynamic indeed.
I spent yesterday afternoon at the new place, which was also a little strange. We mostly sat around visiting, asking and answering questions about the revisions to the job description, meeting people, getting a parking spot and keys, that sort of thing. My two colleagues are nice enough, although I am much younger than either of them, and have no idea how compatible we are in terms of personalities, work habits, etc.
There are two pretty cool things about the job though - first, I will be taking a modest pay cut, but only working 9-4, three days a week. That is the part that will be good for me and the kids, I think. Second, they actually rewrote the job description after my interview, to fit the skills I can bring to the position. They also, without me asking, upped the salary a bit because they thought it was appropriate, considering my skills. Several times, they have asked about my preferences or recommendations for software, vendors, etc. and said that whatever I think I need to do the job, they can get it for me.
That is certainly a big change from my current job, where I have been frustrated for a couple of years. I will admit that it feels pretty great to interview for a job, have the job description revised specifically for me, get a salary bump without no negotiation, be told that I can have the resources I need, and that they can be in place when I am ready to start, at a later date. I am sure that feeling of being valued is part of why I accepted the job, even with the pay cut. And I know that the honeymoon will end eventually, and I will be just another employee, griping about my boring job. For now, I am just keeping my head down, getting through the awkward phase, and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, for however long it lasts.
Speaking of awkward phases, please tell me that this is just a phase with B, and that he will someday grow up to be not a complete asshole.
I spent yesterday afternoon at the new place, which was also a little strange. We mostly sat around visiting, asking and answering questions about the revisions to the job description, meeting people, getting a parking spot and keys, that sort of thing. My two colleagues are nice enough, although I am much younger than either of them, and have no idea how compatible we are in terms of personalities, work habits, etc.
There are two pretty cool things about the job though - first, I will be taking a modest pay cut, but only working 9-4, three days a week. That is the part that will be good for me and the kids, I think. Second, they actually rewrote the job description after my interview, to fit the skills I can bring to the position. They also, without me asking, upped the salary a bit because they thought it was appropriate, considering my skills. Several times, they have asked about my preferences or recommendations for software, vendors, etc. and said that whatever I think I need to do the job, they can get it for me.
That is certainly a big change from my current job, where I have been frustrated for a couple of years. I will admit that it feels pretty great to interview for a job, have the job description revised specifically for me, get a salary bump without no negotiation, be told that I can have the resources I need, and that they can be in place when I am ready to start, at a later date. I am sure that feeling of being valued is part of why I accepted the job, even with the pay cut. And I know that the honeymoon will end eventually, and I will be just another employee, griping about my boring job. For now, I am just keeping my head down, getting through the awkward phase, and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, for however long it lasts.
Speaking of awkward phases, please tell me that this is just a phase with B, and that he will someday grow up to be not a complete asshole.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
