I have a job!

A real job. A permanent job!



I had an interview yesterday for a company that handles the outsourcing of training for their clients. I was pretty excited about the interview as the job description was so very much like what I was doing at my last job in the States. I thought I'd be a shoe in for this one. I studied all afternoon for it...pouring over their website and getting to know all the services they offered so I could casually mention a bit here and there in the interview.



It was going well sitting and chatting to the Director I had the appointment with but then she wanted me to go upstairs and meet a couple people that I would be working with. My hopes went up then....thinking she'd not bother if she wasn't at least interested in me. So we go up and into a conference room with two others and start chatting again about my experience and how suitable I would be for the position and suddenly the Director starts going on about how soon I can start. I had told her I have a holiday coming up at the end of the month and she was going on about how she'd really rather that I had two weeks in before I left on holiday. So, I interrupted her and asked...."umm does that mean you are hiring me?" She got all excited and said "ohhh yes, if you want it!". Naturally I said yes!!!!! It's a great job and making more than I was making in the States. I am very excited about it.

Labels: Work

posted by dee @ 11:25 am 1 comments

ltns

Ohhh here's a fantastic addition to the chronicles of moronia!!

So the ex calls me the other day and asks for my help uploading his resume onto an online job application. He says he's tried and tried and it's just not showing up in the little box that says "submit resume here." OK...so after I walk him through browsing for it and uploading it and still nothing shows up I figure he's looking at something wrong and since I can't see his screen it'd be best to just copy paste the darn thing in. Now, you have to understand that this man has trouble making a capital letter because he simply doesn't know to use the shift key. Trust me it's really that bad....you'll see. So I walk him through the copying of his resume...which includes..."go to start...click on all programs...click on word...." etc. I get him to copy it and tell him to go back to the website now. "How?" he asks. I am sooo not kidding here. I direct him to the little buttons at the bottom of his screen and at last he finds the web page again. OK..."now," I tell him, "click in the little box." "Ok," he replies. "Now right click," I instruct and wait a beat for the menu to come up but before I can continue he says this..."ok I typed click" Yes folks, he typed the word click when I told him to "right click" Sad really...very very funny but seriously a five yr old knows how to write click with ease.


Oh oh and another little tidbit for you....the girl at work that I have complained about who is constantly slacking off....she got written up for poor performance!!! Shocked the hell out of me!

Labels: chronicles of moronia, England, Work

posted by dee @ 4:56 pm 0 comments

ratted out

well, today I ratted out my co-worker that is slacking off. I held my tongue for soooo long and finally today the boss asked me straight out what I thought the problem was. Why were so many things falling through the cracks? Why was so much work being completed only when things exploded? Why do we always seem to be running behind?

I started out by asking if there was anything wrong with Tina. Was she having trouble at home...something I was unaware of. Playing the sympathy card first ;) Then I just laid it all out. How and what has been slipping and that it's things that are her responsibility and that every time she isn't in (she works mon, wed, fri) all Shawn and I do is put out fires all day long on her work....while keeping up on our own. It's frustrating as hell.

I feel immensely better having aired it all out though I am fairly certain that nothing will really come of it. She makes a good deal more money than I do too. THAT pisses me right off.

Labels: Work

posted by dee @ 5:58 pm 0 comments

feeling pissy

I have a pounding headache and I am soooo pissed and frustrated. There is this girl at work who has been slacking. really truely slacking. She only works three days a week and every time she is not here something blows up because she hasn't touched it for weeks and then it becomes suddenly urgent. This has been going on for months and now we have to "support" her by helping out and taking some things off her plate. Pisses me right off. Basically she has not been doing her job and now rather than her getting into any sort of trouble let's just shift her work to those around her who actually get something done during the day. I'd just like to know what the hell she does at her desk all day long.

Labels: Work

posted by dee @ 2:46 pm 0 comments

16 days!!!

The countdown is dwindling so quickly now and I am so beyond excited! Just two weeks from Thursday and I am on my way. The trip he has planned is just simply a dream come true, not to mention that the man himself is one as well. *sigh* I musta done something right to deserve him. :)


On the home front, report cards have come out this week for the kids and I am stunned! Mitch, the one that usually has trouble in school, got four A's and 2 B's!!! His language arts grade went from a D+ first marking to a C and now a B+. I was flat out stunned. It is the best report card he has ever had. I am so incredibly proud of him. His Dad called me to tell me about the grades the day they came home and thanked me for leaving the moron (Randy), he insisted that the change in Mitch's behavior is due, at least in part, to not having to deal with all that stress. I am quite certain he is right. The change in Mitch over the last year has been astounding. He's growing up and he settling down now that he can just relax and be himself. Just one more justification.


Work...well...tomorrow is D-day. No decisions have come through thus far so tomorrow the 120 day notice letter goes out and we officially begin to exit from the contract. Now there is always a chance that negotiations will continue and we retain the contract but it's a slim chance. I had my performance review last week and got the same lecture about not having to worry about anything so we shall see where it all ends up.


Speaking of my review though...holy smokes was it fantastic. I have never had such a good review which was very cool but just a tiny bit embarrassing. In our review process you set goals for the year and then at years end you review those goals and mark is you had exceeded, met or did not meet, each goal. If you mark any as exceeded or did not meet you have to add a comment of explanation. I marked the majority of my goals as exceeded, leaving only the ones that were things like "meet 100% customer service goals" as met since you can't really exceed that 100%. As for the competencies, I marked all of those as exceeded so then I had to sit and write up comments that amounted to bragging about myself. That felt strange and a little embarrassing. Now I wait and see if I will either get a raise or lose my job with the loss of the client. It's no wonder I am stressed out! Thank goodness vacation is right around the corner.

Labels: Kids, Work

posted by dee @ 7:23 pm 0 comments

Staff Meeting today

I wonder if there will be any news at all. I am so tired of the waiting.

Labels: Work

posted by dee @ 2:47 pm 0 comments

wait! and then wait some more

Work is driving me a little bit insane lately. We are so immensely busy it's crazy and the contract deadlines just keep getting pushed out and out. We were supposed to have some sort of decision by this past Friday but it came and went with nothing. Yesterday we were told that the client had some questions about the proposal which could mean one of two things; they are either stalling or actually thinking of accepting it. I honestly don't know anymore which I hope for I just want it decided one way or another.


The new date is January 31st. Supposedly, if they haven't made a decision by then we begin the 120 day notice to leave the contract. Plenty of time to find a new job if need be although my boss keeps saying I have nothing to worry about. I just can't trust that she could be saying it just so I don't start looking now and jump ship on her. ahh well...it's all a waiting game now.


Quick side note: I am nuts. I am so overwhelmed with excitement over this trip I have taken to screaming out loud in my car. Sitting there all alone my mind wanders and inevitably ends up on Mark and my trip to see him and I just get so overcome with excitement that I feel like if I don't scream a little bit I just might explode! Just over four weeks to go. Oh, and a bonus, still no one sitting next to me on the flight :) Say a little prayer it stays that way as it'd be soooo nice to be able to stretch out across the seats.

Labels: England, Work

posted by dee @ 1:48 pm 0 comments

5 weeks!!!

I leave for England five weeks from today. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve! I want to stamp my feet and squeal like a little girl whenever I think about it. I can't wait to see Mark again we had such an incredibly lovely time when he was here. He's got our agenda all planned out and I cannot wait to see the sights he has on our list. There are so many places I want to see and I am such a geek I've been researching the history behind the places we will be able to fit in this trip. (and making a mental list for next trip!)


Speaking of lists, I have three started. Clothes to take, things for carry on and just a general to do to get done before I leave. I can't wait.


Concerning meeting his family I have settled down a little bit. He knows how I feel and I know he'll help me along if I get stuck in conversation. Besides, there will be little kids about and nothing is a better distraction than that, eh? It'll be fine.


Okay, well back to work I suppose. Work is a nightmare right now as we are so busy. Going from seven to three people hurt but has just now caught up with us and the workload is overwhelming. I feel most days like I do nothing but put fires out all day long. We still can't figure out what one girl on this team does all day. She manages to weasel out of work constantly by complaining and whining to the boss that she is overwhelmed. Crying and whining, literally! So her work gets redistributed across Shawn and I and it's frustrating. We will know by the end of this month if the entire contract with this client will be scrapped. If it is then we have 120 days notice to complete the transition back to the client. My boss keeps telling me that I have nothing to worry about, that I will easily shift to another client and that other managers have even inquired about my availability but still I am uneasy. There is always the off chance that she says so only so I will not find a new job in the meantime and leave her high and dry. One team member is due back from maternity leave on February 5th but no one has heard from her one way or the other concerning her plans to return to work. Can you imagine leaving a 3 month old baby in daycare? I can't and she honestly doesn't seem the type to be able to do so either. Some can and do and that's fantastic for those that do but it's a personal decision and we are all waiting to see what she will do.


Okay, back to it. Lunch is over.

Labels: England, Mark, Travel, Work

posted by dee @ 4:51 pm 1 comments