I love it when meetings are cancelled. I just finished sending an update to my boss when I got a phone call sharing that my noon meeting is unnecessary, and since we have the small group meetings planned with the problem client, I won't need to go over there. It does suck to get all dressed up with no place to go though! I broke out the black business suit today. That's my law-laying suit... grim reaper style!
So, it looks like today that I will be taking off my Consultant hat, and putting my Programming hat back on. I get to code some html for our internal webpage this afternoon. I also get to put my Graphic Design hat on and create some icons to be used on the webpage too. That's right people, I'm multi talented! hehehe :)
I'm pre-bowling tonight after work, as I won't be in town next week for our league game. Hopefully the pressure will be off me, and I can actually come in with some high scores. Wish me luck!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
whirlwind of a week
I feel mentally drained this afternoon. Much like I'm in need of a nice long nap to restore my human powers... hehe!
I was out on Monday, and I don't know why it seems that one day is actually a week away. Yesterday we did 2 additional hours of cleaning up our shared drive (and 2 more today) - which entails looking in every folder to determine if we want to keep the files. I normally keep quite during these meetings, as I'm not the one with the problem with the shared drive.... but it will be much nicer once everything is finished.
I've also been trying to meet up with 3 clients about requests they have put in for our department. I finally met with two of them today, and have the other tomorrow. One is going to be very difficult, as it's springing from a racial compliance complaint from a former employee. Ironically they are linked in (at another office) with my current problem child client, so this is going to be fun (note the sarcasm). Luckily the new applicant starting next week has Diversity training experience, as none of us are currently versed in the breadth of the topic.
I got my registration information today from AU/NTL, so I'm ready for my first 2 classes. I should be getting a huge package in the mail shortly with my books. Luckily they are included in the pricing. I've been trying to figure out the financials for paying for this. I have accepted my financial aid loan offers, but my company also gives money on a calendar year basis for tuition assistance. But my company is non-profit, and not cool like other companies, so what they give annually barely covers the cost of one class. So, I have to give my company the bill, they cut a check for their share, and then I get a refund check back at the end of the year from AU for that part of my loans not used. Which will probably just be put right back into the school bill.
My advisor had also suggested paying some sort of insurance fee with the student affairs office, so my account is not frozen while waiting for financial aid to pay money. I spoke to the Student Accounts office about that and they had no idea about what I was talking. The woman had never heard of such a thing, and frankly neither have I, but I'll call my advisor back to verify that information.
Also, I am registered for a week long NTL class in Potomac, MD in October - which is part of my program, and my boss is paying for. The issue is that they had mis-typed the location, and this class is actually only being offered in San Jose. They have a replacement course with a different subject matter in the same location as Potomac, the same week. So I had to scramble to ensure my AU/NTL program would accept that substitution. Then when I was speaking with NTL to get registered for the replacement class, they mentioned that they have not received payment yet from my company. I had to call our AP department, who couldn't help me without knowing what the general ledger account number was on the request. I'm very diligent about keeping records, but we were in such a rush to get the request sent over by EOY that I didn't make a copy. I finally tracked down the possible ledgers, got mean looks from my boss because I didn't give a copy to the admin, but finally found it. Luckily the check was cut, NTL just hasn't received it yet. One more thing off my mind that I don't have to worry about.
Tomorrow I'm in a whole additional set of meetings - one with the MAs at my problem office. This is a follow-up to the first session where we lay out our plans, and pretty much the law. Then we start meeting with the various MA/Doc teams in August. Hopefully this will go well!
I really need my vacation... which is coming this Saturday. Thank God for small favors.
An additional small favor is that we bowled against the best team on our league last night and manged to hold our own. We had a 248 point handicap - yeah, they are that good. They literally beat us by 1 point in the first game, we took the 2nd game, and they beat us by about 20 points in the last. We decided that we weren't going to win to begin with, so we got some pitchers of beer, and just played like we were having fun. I think we played our best set ever. I actually bowled over 100 in all 3 games, and I had some coaching from a visitor of one of my teammates. We came out strong in the 3rd game, and after they lost to us in the 2nd, they looked really pissed. I'm proud of us!
I don't know if I'm going to go to the gym tonight or mow the lawn. But based on some of the buzz I'm hearing around me, it's storming outside... so I'm thinking I have a date with my ipod, a stationary bike, and 16 miles of long lonely road a head of me.
I was out on Monday, and I don't know why it seems that one day is actually a week away. Yesterday we did 2 additional hours of cleaning up our shared drive (and 2 more today) - which entails looking in every folder to determine if we want to keep the files. I normally keep quite during these meetings, as I'm not the one with the problem with the shared drive.... but it will be much nicer once everything is finished.
I've also been trying to meet up with 3 clients about requests they have put in for our department. I finally met with two of them today, and have the other tomorrow. One is going to be very difficult, as it's springing from a racial compliance complaint from a former employee. Ironically they are linked in (at another office) with my current problem child client, so this is going to be fun (note the sarcasm). Luckily the new applicant starting next week has Diversity training experience, as none of us are currently versed in the breadth of the topic.
I got my registration information today from AU/NTL, so I'm ready for my first 2 classes. I should be getting a huge package in the mail shortly with my books. Luckily they are included in the pricing. I've been trying to figure out the financials for paying for this. I have accepted my financial aid loan offers, but my company also gives money on a calendar year basis for tuition assistance. But my company is non-profit, and not cool like other companies, so what they give annually barely covers the cost of one class. So, I have to give my company the bill, they cut a check for their share, and then I get a refund check back at the end of the year from AU for that part of my loans not used. Which will probably just be put right back into the school bill.
My advisor had also suggested paying some sort of insurance fee with the student affairs office, so my account is not frozen while waiting for financial aid to pay money. I spoke to the Student Accounts office about that and they had no idea about what I was talking. The woman had never heard of such a thing, and frankly neither have I, but I'll call my advisor back to verify that information.
Also, I am registered for a week long NTL class in Potomac, MD in October - which is part of my program, and my boss is paying for. The issue is that they had mis-typed the location, and this class is actually only being offered in San Jose. They have a replacement course with a different subject matter in the same location as Potomac, the same week. So I had to scramble to ensure my AU/NTL program would accept that substitution. Then when I was speaking with NTL to get registered for the replacement class, they mentioned that they have not received payment yet from my company. I had to call our AP department, who couldn't help me without knowing what the general ledger account number was on the request. I'm very diligent about keeping records, but we were in such a rush to get the request sent over by EOY that I didn't make a copy. I finally tracked down the possible ledgers, got mean looks from my boss because I didn't give a copy to the admin, but finally found it. Luckily the check was cut, NTL just hasn't received it yet. One more thing off my mind that I don't have to worry about.
Tomorrow I'm in a whole additional set of meetings - one with the MAs at my problem office. This is a follow-up to the first session where we lay out our plans, and pretty much the law. Then we start meeting with the various MA/Doc teams in August. Hopefully this will go well!
I really need my vacation... which is coming this Saturday. Thank God for small favors.
An additional small favor is that we bowled against the best team on our league last night and manged to hold our own. We had a 248 point handicap - yeah, they are that good. They literally beat us by 1 point in the first game, we took the 2nd game, and they beat us by about 20 points in the last. We decided that we weren't going to win to begin with, so we got some pitchers of beer, and just played like we were having fun. I think we played our best set ever. I actually bowled over 100 in all 3 games, and I had some coaching from a visitor of one of my teammates. We came out strong in the 3rd game, and after they lost to us in the 2nd, they looked really pissed. I'm proud of us!
I don't know if I'm going to go to the gym tonight or mow the lawn. But based on some of the buzz I'm hearing around me, it's storming outside... so I'm thinking I have a date with my ipod, a stationary bike, and 16 miles of long lonely road a head of me.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
3 circles
I found this information when a candidate was applying for one of our open positions at the office, but I've yet to have a chance to use it with a team. I've been thinking about using it with my "problem-child" client, but their administration said that it was too "deep" for them to really get it. I'm going to keep it in my back pocket, because I think it would really help them understand the situation of why people act the way they do.
There was a book written, and I have the title on my desk back at the office which I will post later, in the late 1970s by a psychologist studying human nature. His conclusion was that in each of us there are 3 distinct personalities - the child, the parent, and the adult. Each one can influence our behavior in different ways, at different times, depending on the situation.
First the group lists the positive characteristics of children. Things like "fun-loving," "innocent," "open," "curious" all come up. Then the group lists the negative characteristics of children. This shows things like "passive aggressive," "bratty," "selfish," "temper-tantrums," etc.
The group then does the same exercise for the role of parent. On the positive side we have "unconditional love," "protective," "nurturing," etc. On the negative side there is "controlling," "dominate," "over-protective," "unbending," etc.
Then the group lists the characteristics of someone acting like an adult. Items for this list include: responsible, dependable, logical, reasonable, mature, ability to apologize, un-selfish, rational, ability to see both sides, etc.
What happens is that when humans are stressed (stress = our "needs" not being met) we "show-up" to a relationship or a situation with either negative characteristics of a parent or a child. Those are the behaviors that we default to in response to the stress, which clearly does not help to neutralize the situation and often escalates it.
The general idea is that we are the only ones responsible for our behaviors - no one else. So it's up to us to control our negative responses so that we are always acting as an adult should. Once a group is able to recognize what can be driving some of the negative behaviors that they are seeing, they can begin to notice the triggers and work through them.
The ultimate goal in life is total self-awareness. This is not the secret to life that I mentioned that I was playing with in my earlier blog, but it's part of it. I'm still working on that theory...
There was a book written, and I have the title on my desk back at the office which I will post later, in the late 1970s by a psychologist studying human nature. His conclusion was that in each of us there are 3 distinct personalities - the child, the parent, and the adult. Each one can influence our behavior in different ways, at different times, depending on the situation.
First the group lists the positive characteristics of children. Things like "fun-loving," "innocent," "open," "curious" all come up. Then the group lists the negative characteristics of children. This shows things like "passive aggressive," "bratty," "selfish," "temper-tantrums," etc.
The group then does the same exercise for the role of parent. On the positive side we have "unconditional love," "protective," "nurturing," etc. On the negative side there is "controlling," "dominate," "over-protective," "unbending," etc.
Then the group lists the characteristics of someone acting like an adult. Items for this list include: responsible, dependable, logical, reasonable, mature, ability to apologize, un-selfish, rational, ability to see both sides, etc.
What happens is that when humans are stressed (stress = our "needs" not being met) we "show-up" to a relationship or a situation with either negative characteristics of a parent or a child. Those are the behaviors that we default to in response to the stress, which clearly does not help to neutralize the situation and often escalates it.
The general idea is that we are the only ones responsible for our behaviors - no one else. So it's up to us to control our negative responses so that we are always acting as an adult should. Once a group is able to recognize what can be driving some of the negative behaviors that they are seeing, they can begin to notice the triggers and work through them.
The ultimate goal in life is total self-awareness. This is not the secret to life that I mentioned that I was playing with in my earlier blog, but it's part of it. I'm still working on that theory...
Lost another 3.5!!!
That makes it 16.75 lbs total!
(My male readers may want to close their eyes and skip down to the next paragraph!) It's always great to get weighed-in after having a monthly visitor, the weight drops considerably! :)
Today is my friend Michelle's birthday - big shout-outs to her! I'd sing, but my singing voice doesn't stream across the Internet very well... maybe when technology advances it would be better. hehee :)
Tonight we bowl the scary team. They are very good, being led by an amazing bowler who's a real big ass. He's incredibly aggressive and has a cocky attitude, but I'm not going to let that allow us to have a defeatism attitude. It's all about making the choice to choose our attitudes.
Actually, I was thinking about this on my drive to work this morning. I think I discovered the secret to life, I just need to use that to my marketing advantage and become a famous author and inspirational speaker. I've been trying to poke holes into my theory, but I haven't found one yet... I'll post more about it when I've been able to completely think it out. I may just be on to something :)
(My male readers may want to close their eyes and skip down to the next paragraph!) It's always great to get weighed-in after having a monthly visitor, the weight drops considerably! :)
Today is my friend Michelle's birthday - big shout-outs to her! I'd sing, but my singing voice doesn't stream across the Internet very well... maybe when technology advances it would be better. hehee :)
Tonight we bowl the scary team. They are very good, being led by an amazing bowler who's a real big ass. He's incredibly aggressive and has a cocky attitude, but I'm not going to let that allow us to have a defeatism attitude. It's all about making the choice to choose our attitudes.
Actually, I was thinking about this on my drive to work this morning. I think I discovered the secret to life, I just need to use that to my marketing advantage and become a famous author and inspirational speaker. I've been trying to poke holes into my theory, but I haven't found one yet... I'll post more about it when I've been able to completely think it out. I may just be on to something :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday sick day...
I woke up in the middle of the night with an upset stomach... which didn't relieve itself by work time. I sent my boss and assistant in the office an email from my blackberry, and in bed I stayed. Its afternoon now, I just tried eating something, so let's see how this goes.
I'm trying to maintain my drama-free lifestyle, but last night it was really hard. I had posted a journal on okcupid last week to start up conversations with people. The journal just said that I was bored, so lets play the question game, and feel free to ask me anything. I got one or two responses, but nothing overly exciting.
Last night I was reading this guy's most recent journal post, which was pretty funny. It was talking about how people put so many requirements on their profile of what they are looking for, that they almost weed out everyone. He decided to make a list of all of his requirements, which really did weed out everyone. Because of his use of humor, I wanted to see what his other posts were like.
I came upon one written the same night that I posted my "question game" one, and he was actually picking on me in his journal entry! He didn't mention me by name, but his journal entry was about him wondering why people post journals like that (he quoted parts of it, enough for me to recognize it!), when he has no interest in asking questions to people that he doesn't care about, or has no interest in getting to know. Then he went on to say he was just as bad as I am, because he was posting a journal entry about other people's journal entries. How rude! There are a lot of knuckleheads in the world!
I didn't even bother responding, but it's people like him who ruin it for everyone else. The sad thing is that based on his writing style, he's pretty funny and interesting, so I know we would have had some good email correspondence going on - but apparently I'm not worth it. That just cracks me up! :)
I also asked for feedback in the forums on okcupid about my profile. I only got one response, which told me that it was very good and interesting, but I sound like I'm peppy and full of energy, which could turn low-energy people off. But then in the next sentence I was told that peppy and full of energy is okay, if I'm really like that in person. It just goes to show that personal opinion is so varied, and what one person likes, no one else may. I'm okay with that!
I'm trying to maintain my drama-free lifestyle, but last night it was really hard. I had posted a journal on okcupid last week to start up conversations with people. The journal just said that I was bored, so lets play the question game, and feel free to ask me anything. I got one or two responses, but nothing overly exciting.
Last night I was reading this guy's most recent journal post, which was pretty funny. It was talking about how people put so many requirements on their profile of what they are looking for, that they almost weed out everyone. He decided to make a list of all of his requirements, which really did weed out everyone. Because of his use of humor, I wanted to see what his other posts were like.
I came upon one written the same night that I posted my "question game" one, and he was actually picking on me in his journal entry! He didn't mention me by name, but his journal entry was about him wondering why people post journals like that (he quoted parts of it, enough for me to recognize it!), when he has no interest in asking questions to people that he doesn't care about, or has no interest in getting to know. Then he went on to say he was just as bad as I am, because he was posting a journal entry about other people's journal entries. How rude! There are a lot of knuckleheads in the world!
I didn't even bother responding, but it's people like him who ruin it for everyone else. The sad thing is that based on his writing style, he's pretty funny and interesting, so I know we would have had some good email correspondence going on - but apparently I'm not worth it. That just cracks me up! :)
I also asked for feedback in the forums on okcupid about my profile. I only got one response, which told me that it was very good and interesting, but I sound like I'm peppy and full of energy, which could turn low-energy people off. But then in the next sentence I was told that peppy and full of energy is okay, if I'm really like that in person. It just goes to show that personal opinion is so varied, and what one person likes, no one else may. I'm okay with that!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
last weekend in July '08
I had an awesome "summer in July" weekend. I met up with a new friend for a date on Friday, and we had yummy food and went to an O's game. Nothing says summer like a ballpark, which is always entertaining even if the team doesn't win. Mmmmmmm.. dippin' dots! But we shared a lot of laughs, and some awesome dance moves during the 7th inning stretch, so good times had by all!
On Saturday I went out on the boat with my friend Ryan and his crew, and my knees got burnt. Leave it to me to apply sunblock everywhere, but miss my knees. We had beautiful weather, lots of fun, and a good time had by all. I've actually included video on this picture taking adventure, and the insane giggling in the background is me. I do it so often I don't realize I'm even laughing 1/2 the time. :)
Today I went to a baby shower for my friend Tracy. I've been trying so hard not to blog about it, or mention the baby-bunny-blankie that I've been knitting - surprises should be surprises. But I told her about it today, since I was not able to get the bunny's head finished in time for the shower. Her husband's little sister was there, a little over 3 years old, and she really didn't get the concept of a baby shower. She wanted to know when it was time to put the baby in the shower for his bath. Too cute!
I also got my toes done today... I've been needing a pedicure for awhile, and today was the day that I finally got around to it. I always like the end result, but I hate the scrubbing part - I'm too ticklish for it and I normally won't sit still. There was lots of flinching and giggling to be had.. hehe :)
Anyway... here are the pics of the boating trip:
On Saturday I went out on the boat with my friend Ryan and his crew, and my knees got burnt. Leave it to me to apply sunblock everywhere, but miss my knees. We had beautiful weather, lots of fun, and a good time had by all. I've actually included video on this picture taking adventure, and the insane giggling in the background is me. I do it so often I don't realize I'm even laughing 1/2 the time. :)
Today I went to a baby shower for my friend Tracy. I've been trying so hard not to blog about it, or mention the baby-bunny-blankie that I've been knitting - surprises should be surprises. But I told her about it today, since I was not able to get the bunny's head finished in time for the shower. Her husband's little sister was there, a little over 3 years old, and she really didn't get the concept of a baby shower. She wanted to know when it was time to put the baby in the shower for his bath. Too cute!
I also got my toes done today... I've been needing a pedicure for awhile, and today was the day that I finally got around to it. I always like the end result, but I hate the scrubbing part - I'm too ticklish for it and I normally won't sit still. There was lots of flinching and giggling to be had.. hehe :)
Anyway... here are the pics of the boating trip:
 |
| Blue Pearl Tubin' |
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Robitussin doesn't treat warts
Courage.
It's a smallish word that combats a lot of fear. I talk about this a lot, and the more I talk about it, the more I see it. It's like when you are thinking about buying a new car, and the new car you want to buy is all you see on the road.
I can't tell my clients enough that unless the direct problem is fixed, the same result will keep happening. I went for an hour long session yesterday and ended up being there a little over 2 and 1/2 hours. It's one doctor causing the entire problem, as his attitude is harming the attitude of the MAs that work with him, which in turn is affecting the other MAs, and the other doctors. He's been there for 9 years, his patient satisfaction survey results are incredibly high, yet he's a big baby.
If the result they want is harmony and a healthy work environment, then they need to accept that they may lose him over it. And yes, it'll be a monetary loss to the company, but they've decided that they can't continue to "live" like they are living in that work environment - so they need to hold themselves accountable for it.
I finally got them to see that he needs professional coaching, and that is something that we've been doing at two of our other facilities for doctors who have their jobs on the line. I had some insight from my director talking to the overall medical director of the hospital system. Apparently in medical school they are only taught the philosophy of one-way communication. "You are the expert, you know what the patient needs, you know what is the best solution, therefore you need to do it, and say it." This forms a mentality that no one can be correct except for them, and any outbursts of uncontrollable behavior if they are not getting their needs met, are acceptable.
It came to a point that they had to tell the physicians, at this site, that they were not allowed to tell the MAs when they were "wrong", or if something wasn't right in the office, because they couldn't do it in a "human" way. They had to contact the MAs manager, and have them give the feedback.
We'll see how this starts to go when I facilitate the team discussions for each station, my fingers are crossed. But I am prepared to excuse the physicians out in the hallway if they get out of hand, and give them a dressing-down in private about their behavior. I've seen enough episodes of "The Nanny" to be able to give a timeout and tell them their behavior is unacceptable. But I'm proud at how far they've come, and they seem to be finally ready to bounce back - rock bottom has been hit.
It's a smallish word that combats a lot of fear. I talk about this a lot, and the more I talk about it, the more I see it. It's like when you are thinking about buying a new car, and the new car you want to buy is all you see on the road.
I can't tell my clients enough that unless the direct problem is fixed, the same result will keep happening. I went for an hour long session yesterday and ended up being there a little over 2 and 1/2 hours. It's one doctor causing the entire problem, as his attitude is harming the attitude of the MAs that work with him, which in turn is affecting the other MAs, and the other doctors. He's been there for 9 years, his patient satisfaction survey results are incredibly high, yet he's a big baby.
If the result they want is harmony and a healthy work environment, then they need to accept that they may lose him over it. And yes, it'll be a monetary loss to the company, but they've decided that they can't continue to "live" like they are living in that work environment - so they need to hold themselves accountable for it.
I finally got them to see that he needs professional coaching, and that is something that we've been doing at two of our other facilities for doctors who have their jobs on the line. I had some insight from my director talking to the overall medical director of the hospital system. Apparently in medical school they are only taught the philosophy of one-way communication. "You are the expert, you know what the patient needs, you know what is the best solution, therefore you need to do it, and say it." This forms a mentality that no one can be correct except for them, and any outbursts of uncontrollable behavior if they are not getting their needs met, are acceptable.
It came to a point that they had to tell the physicians, at this site, that they were not allowed to tell the MAs when they were "wrong", or if something wasn't right in the office, because they couldn't do it in a "human" way. They had to contact the MAs manager, and have them give the feedback.
We'll see how this starts to go when I facilitate the team discussions for each station, my fingers are crossed. But I am prepared to excuse the physicians out in the hallway if they get out of hand, and give them a dressing-down in private about their behavior. I've seen enough episodes of "The Nanny" to be able to give a timeout and tell them their behavior is unacceptable. But I'm proud at how far they've come, and they seem to be finally ready to bounce back - rock bottom has been hit.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
feedback zen
Yeah, so the bowling game last night, that sucked! hehe I did break 100 on two of the games, but we went on to lose. The one guy on the other team was getting strike after strike, bowling well over 200. But at least he was nice about it, and was likable, so we didn't feel bad losing to him.
I have feedback to give to someone, and I don't think it will be well received. So I'm going to share it here, in hopes that someday that person will see it, and realize it is a valuable piece of advice. Here we go:
"It's great that you like to stay in the moment and be swept away by it; but stop leaping with your eyes closed! Rushing forward isn't going to solve anything in the long run. Don't get involved too quickly, as that is what seems to be the sticking point of trouble."
My friend Ryan and I cracked ourselves up at bowling last night. He was going for a joke, and cracked his own self up over it, which made me hysterical - he was practically crying he was laughing so hard. So, now I have a new weekly feature in my blog, "Ryan's Moment of Zen".
Ryan's Moment of Zen:
Going commando doesn't always involve carrying a gun.
I can't remember the monkey one that had us laughing, but as soon as I hear it again, I'll make sure to share.
Oh well - off to start the crazy work day - I have a nasty facilitation to do, (as in this could possibly turn hazardous to my mental health); I'll be sharing how that goes later.
I have feedback to give to someone, and I don't think it will be well received. So I'm going to share it here, in hopes that someday that person will see it, and realize it is a valuable piece of advice. Here we go:
"It's great that you like to stay in the moment and be swept away by it; but stop leaping with your eyes closed! Rushing forward isn't going to solve anything in the long run. Don't get involved too quickly, as that is what seems to be the sticking point of trouble."
My friend Ryan and I cracked ourselves up at bowling last night. He was going for a joke, and cracked his own self up over it, which made me hysterical - he was practically crying he was laughing so hard. So, now I have a new weekly feature in my blog, "Ryan's Moment of Zen".
Ryan's Moment of Zen:
Going commando doesn't always involve carrying a gun.
I can't remember the monkey one that had us laughing, but as soon as I hear it again, I'll make sure to share.
Oh well - off to start the crazy work day - I have a nasty facilitation to do, (as in this could possibly turn hazardous to my mental health); I'll be sharing how that goes later.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
1.25 down and other news!
What a whirlwind of a day! I have all of these ideas to write about, which are all unrelated, yet helpful in their own way. Let me get started and see where this goes...
I attended the IS Manager's Meeting this morning to facilitate a workshop on motivating employees, with the end goal of actual agreed upon ideas to implement... yeah that went down hill! It's always fun when you plan your discussion with the key person who isn't going to be there, and have to rely on that key person informing everyone else what's happening. One person was just supposed to do a 5-10 minute recap of the employee recognition program, and he did 20 minutes trying to gain feedback and ask for ideas - and then shooting them down of why they wouldn't work. Hello - that's the whole reason I was there! To get ideas and lead the discussion!
I recovered and went on to share my interesting stats on what employees want from their jobs. There was a study conducted in the 1940s, 80s, and again in the 90s which all had the same findings - what employees want and what managers think employees want are two different things. The top 3 motivators for employees are what managers ranked as the bottom 3. This study intrigues me, because there is a large amount of buzz around the upcoming generational workforce and their needs, and the baby-boomers retiring. But, it looks like the 1940s worker and the 1990s worker want the same thing - to be valued and appreciated personally not generically.
I got back to the office to jump right into the changes for our upcoming catalog. This is not my project, but the project lead is on vacation, so I'm taking over the final editing process to ensure it gets completed on schedule. I usually have a lot of patience, but not for this. See, in my other life I was an eLearning instructional designer, so I spent a lot of time with SMEs designing online training. We would communicate via email/person to make changes to the modules. So, as I would edit, and delete a word, or move a paragraph, or whatever else, I'd automatically fix the "space" that was left over after the correction. For some reason our marketing department doesn't get this concept. They'll remove a whole sentence, and then leave a gaping hole in the middle of a paragraph - and send it to us as corrected. Ummmm... yeah....
The top of my desk was becoming scary so I just did a purge. I'm not a hippy tree hugger, but it still hurts me to see all of this paper that we print out, when we can just keep them electronically when needed. And to top it off, we have recycle boxes all over the building, but we are only allowed to use them for confidential items - I don't follow the logic on that either... but something about having to pay someone to come get them... I don't know.. I just sneak them in there anyway! hehe
MG, my coworker, gave me two articles from Oprah magazine yesterday that were really interesting. I apparently reminded her of the one young lady in the story who just said "yes" to change. The article was about a woman who was making a career for herself in acting, but someone caught her doing a happy dance and asked if she ever wanted to dance. She said "yes", and the next thing she knew, she's working with one of the best dance producers and they are working on a production that she will be in and traveling all over the world. All it takes is a willingness to try and reach for it!
The other article was about "self-talk" and how a lot of people spend a lot of time talking about what they want, but never doing anything about actually getting it. It reminded me of the exercise that I did with my career coach a few months back on identifying things that are standing in the way - tolerations - of being successful. Until those tolerations are cleared up, they'll just keep sopping our energy; which doesn't allow us to focus on what we really want.
In health related news, I did the weigh-in today and lost an additional 1.25 lbs - for a total of 13.25! WOOT! I've been trying to bust my ass to break my biking record and get over the barrier of 16.21 miles in 45 mins. I think I'm so worried about pacing myself to not waste my energy that I lose some precious mileage during the early stages of the time. I will do this! The people at the gym think I'm nuts when I start cheering for myself - but sometimes I just have to be my own cheerleader!
Well, it's 3pm and I haven't had lunch yet.... but I'm not really hungry. I just got involved with doing so much back at the office that it seems a waste to go out now. I had a handful of almonds, so they are appearing to hold me over to dinner at the bowling alley. Hopefully my game tonight is something to write about!
I attended the IS Manager's Meeting this morning to facilitate a workshop on motivating employees, with the end goal of actual agreed upon ideas to implement... yeah that went down hill! It's always fun when you plan your discussion with the key person who isn't going to be there, and have to rely on that key person informing everyone else what's happening. One person was just supposed to do a 5-10 minute recap of the employee recognition program, and he did 20 minutes trying to gain feedback and ask for ideas - and then shooting them down of why they wouldn't work. Hello - that's the whole reason I was there! To get ideas and lead the discussion!
I recovered and went on to share my interesting stats on what employees want from their jobs. There was a study conducted in the 1940s, 80s, and again in the 90s which all had the same findings - what employees want and what managers think employees want are two different things. The top 3 motivators for employees are what managers ranked as the bottom 3. This study intrigues me, because there is a large amount of buzz around the upcoming generational workforce and their needs, and the baby-boomers retiring. But, it looks like the 1940s worker and the 1990s worker want the same thing - to be valued and appreciated personally not generically.
I got back to the office to jump right into the changes for our upcoming catalog. This is not my project, but the project lead is on vacation, so I'm taking over the final editing process to ensure it gets completed on schedule. I usually have a lot of patience, but not for this. See, in my other life I was an eLearning instructional designer, so I spent a lot of time with SMEs designing online training. We would communicate via email/person to make changes to the modules. So, as I would edit, and delete a word, or move a paragraph, or whatever else, I'd automatically fix the "space" that was left over after the correction. For some reason our marketing department doesn't get this concept. They'll remove a whole sentence, and then leave a gaping hole in the middle of a paragraph - and send it to us as corrected. Ummmm... yeah....
The top of my desk was becoming scary so I just did a purge. I'm not a hippy tree hugger, but it still hurts me to see all of this paper that we print out, when we can just keep them electronically when needed. And to top it off, we have recycle boxes all over the building, but we are only allowed to use them for confidential items - I don't follow the logic on that either... but something about having to pay someone to come get them... I don't know.. I just sneak them in there anyway! hehe
MG, my coworker, gave me two articles from Oprah magazine yesterday that were really interesting. I apparently reminded her of the one young lady in the story who just said "yes" to change. The article was about a woman who was making a career for herself in acting, but someone caught her doing a happy dance and asked if she ever wanted to dance. She said "yes", and the next thing she knew, she's working with one of the best dance producers and they are working on a production that she will be in and traveling all over the world. All it takes is a willingness to try and reach for it!
The other article was about "self-talk" and how a lot of people spend a lot of time talking about what they want, but never doing anything about actually getting it. It reminded me of the exercise that I did with my career coach a few months back on identifying things that are standing in the way - tolerations - of being successful. Until those tolerations are cleared up, they'll just keep sopping our energy; which doesn't allow us to focus on what we really want.
In health related news, I did the weigh-in today and lost an additional 1.25 lbs - for a total of 13.25! WOOT! I've been trying to bust my ass to break my biking record and get over the barrier of 16.21 miles in 45 mins. I think I'm so worried about pacing myself to not waste my energy that I lose some precious mileage during the early stages of the time. I will do this! The people at the gym think I'm nuts when I start cheering for myself - but sometimes I just have to be my own cheerleader!
Well, it's 3pm and I haven't had lunch yet.... but I'm not really hungry. I just got involved with doing so much back at the office that it seems a waste to go out now. I had a handful of almonds, so they are appearing to hold me over to dinner at the bowling alley. Hopefully my game tonight is something to write about!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
week 12 in the year of 29
Looking at the calendar today, it's about 12 weeks in my year of 29. I thought that I would take a moment to reflect on things that have changed, and how I'm doing with them.
The biggest change is that I got accepted to my graduate school program. I start on September 10 with Orientation, and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll be so bogged down with reading assignments for the classes, but right now in this moment I'm so badly wanting to start. There's just a genuine excitement contained within me about my career choice, and the fact that I am in this amazing program. I'm truly blessed, and am eternally grateful for this opportunity. I still keep in touch with my coach, Matt, and he and his family are doing well. He has his own coach now, which is helping him develop his own private business. I can only hope that I will be in his place one day.
I've stuck with my goal of working-out at least 4 times a week. No, I'm not having dramatic results like I did about 5 years ago when I did the Atkins diet; but I'm losing the weight the healthy way now. I've lost 12 lbs, but if I go by the scale at the gym, and the weigh-in I did first thing Saturday morning, it's really 15 lbs. I haven't went down a size, but my clothes fit me better now, and are actually loose in my hip/leg/bottom area. I'm bound and determined to up my mileage on the stationary bike, but averaging at about 21mph for 45mins isn't too shabby! I'm still taking flax seed oil supplements which give me a noticeable difference in my energy and weight loss.
My "would have been" 2 year anniversary with my ex was last week, and I missed it. I had blogged a while back that I was probably going to be upset since it's a "dark blue pill" week and that's my most hormonal emotional time - but it didn't really even effect me. That sounds callous, which is not my intention, but I think I just finally moved on to a point where those thoughts are no longer in the foremost of my mind. I've really just let it all go... I didn't even feel emotional that week, which I guess means that it's not the blue pills that were making me react that way, I was just emotionally upset before. I'm not anymore. :)
I set-up a drama-free perimeter that I'm sticking too. I'm so empathetic by nature, that it's easy for me to get sucked into the drama of other people because I want to help. I'll coach and give guidance when needed, but I won't take on any one's problems or issues anymore, or feel the need to save them from themselves. That is their mistake to make, if it indeed turns out that way.
I've met some really neat people on okcupid. We have tentative plans to meet-up when I start going to DC regularly, which I think is adding to my excitement of starting my program! Maybe they'll show me things I've never seen before, or experience things I've never known.
I've reconnected with a friend, and I'm hopefully going to go see him and his new apartment in New Orleans in a few months. I had some hurt feelings from a few years ago, that have allowed me to put a "break" on our relationship.. but I miss him. We used to talk weekly on the phone, geez.. we did that for over 4-5 years. He met someone a few years back, which surprised and hurt my heart, and then I met someone... and we were cordial, but not as close as we once were. But things have changed, and my intentions are pure: to start our friendship back again.
I took up a sport - I guess bowling is a sport? And I'm having fun. But I can't help but have fun with Ryan and Heather, with our ritual grilled cheese sandwiches and the quest for a "Turkey Club" membership. I will get into that club... it may be the very last game, on the last frame of the season - but I will get it!
I'm also thinking about taking up golf. My coworker plays, and wants someone to play with, and Ryan has also been urging me for years to start, on and off. I'm undecided, but will likely take the plunge. You know, I'm not like my father in anyway... except for the 2 sports he plays - golf and bowling. It's interesting how life turns out that way.
So, I think, overall, these 12 weeks have been working out pretty well! :)
Here's to changes and living in the moment!
The biggest change is that I got accepted to my graduate school program. I start on September 10 with Orientation, and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll be so bogged down with reading assignments for the classes, but right now in this moment I'm so badly wanting to start. There's just a genuine excitement contained within me about my career choice, and the fact that I am in this amazing program. I'm truly blessed, and am eternally grateful for this opportunity. I still keep in touch with my coach, Matt, and he and his family are doing well. He has his own coach now, which is helping him develop his own private business. I can only hope that I will be in his place one day.
I've stuck with my goal of working-out at least 4 times a week. No, I'm not having dramatic results like I did about 5 years ago when I did the Atkins diet; but I'm losing the weight the healthy way now. I've lost 12 lbs, but if I go by the scale at the gym, and the weigh-in I did first thing Saturday morning, it's really 15 lbs. I haven't went down a size, but my clothes fit me better now, and are actually loose in my hip/leg/bottom area. I'm bound and determined to up my mileage on the stationary bike, but averaging at about 21mph for 45mins isn't too shabby! I'm still taking flax seed oil supplements which give me a noticeable difference in my energy and weight loss.
My "would have been" 2 year anniversary with my ex was last week, and I missed it. I had blogged a while back that I was probably going to be upset since it's a "dark blue pill" week and that's my most hormonal emotional time - but it didn't really even effect me. That sounds callous, which is not my intention, but I think I just finally moved on to a point where those thoughts are no longer in the foremost of my mind. I've really just let it all go... I didn't even feel emotional that week, which I guess means that it's not the blue pills that were making me react that way, I was just emotionally upset before. I'm not anymore. :)
I set-up a drama-free perimeter that I'm sticking too. I'm so empathetic by nature, that it's easy for me to get sucked into the drama of other people because I want to help. I'll coach and give guidance when needed, but I won't take on any one's problems or issues anymore, or feel the need to save them from themselves. That is their mistake to make, if it indeed turns out that way.
I've met some really neat people on okcupid. We have tentative plans to meet-up when I start going to DC regularly, which I think is adding to my excitement of starting my program! Maybe they'll show me things I've never seen before, or experience things I've never known.
I've reconnected with a friend, and I'm hopefully going to go see him and his new apartment in New Orleans in a few months. I had some hurt feelings from a few years ago, that have allowed me to put a "break" on our relationship.. but I miss him. We used to talk weekly on the phone, geez.. we did that for over 4-5 years. He met someone a few years back, which surprised and hurt my heart, and then I met someone... and we were cordial, but not as close as we once were. But things have changed, and my intentions are pure: to start our friendship back again.
I took up a sport - I guess bowling is a sport? And I'm having fun. But I can't help but have fun with Ryan and Heather, with our ritual grilled cheese sandwiches and the quest for a "Turkey Club" membership. I will get into that club... it may be the very last game, on the last frame of the season - but I will get it!
I'm also thinking about taking up golf. My coworker plays, and wants someone to play with, and Ryan has also been urging me for years to start, on and off. I'm undecided, but will likely take the plunge. You know, I'm not like my father in anyway... except for the 2 sports he plays - golf and bowling. It's interesting how life turns out that way.
So, I think, overall, these 12 weeks have been working out pretty well! :)
Here's to changes and living in the moment!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
self-reflecting
I think Focus Groups only go well when the audience participating actually knows what it is we are talking about. It's an endless balance of trying to figure out when the precise moment is to question people about a topic. Evaluations are similar, as the literature states that you should wait for application of the transfer of knowledge to be performed at the work place, before asking if it was helpful. But so often we evaluate right after a learning event, and folks really haven't had time to process it.
I have to say, this time, they waited way too long.. 2 years too long to be precise. The general idea of gathering data about the topic is a good one, but this is a process that only happens every 2 years, and frankly gets put aside once the after-work is completed.
Speaking of after-work, or rather reflection work of any kind, I had a comment left on my journal on my okcupid account about my "5 Women Men Avoid" blog. It was in response to my question if I was on target with my self-reflection or misguided. The comment's insight was based on the idea that only non-crazy people reflect on themselves, crazy people don't do reflection. Which means, I'm officially a non-crazy by that definition! hehe :)
I have to say, this time, they waited way too long.. 2 years too long to be precise. The general idea of gathering data about the topic is a good one, but this is a process that only happens every 2 years, and frankly gets put aside once the after-work is completed.
Speaking of after-work, or rather reflection work of any kind, I had a comment left on my journal on my okcupid account about my "5 Women Men Avoid" blog. It was in response to my question if I was on target with my self-reflection or misguided. The comment's insight was based on the idea that only non-crazy people reflect on themselves, crazy people don't do reflection. Which means, I'm officially a non-crazy by that definition! hehe :)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
sixdegrees.com
I'm sitting at my desk this afternoon and I had a flash back to my college days of sitting in the computer lab on campus. I recalled my favorite website to visit, which was SixDegrees.com.
Does anyone remember this? It was actually before the time of facebook and myspace, and it was based on the concept of six degrees of separation. I was a proud member, and would post trivia for my network every day on my bulletin board.
The cool feature that I don't see in facebook or myspace, is that you could see how you were connected to any member of the website. I could randomly search Baltimore, pick a person, and watch it form a "web" back to me of friends connected to friends. I could also communicate with my 2nd and 3rd degree level connections. So I could send a message to the people directly "hooked" to me, plus the people they were "hooked" to, and the people "hooked" to them.
The weblink still exists, but there isn't any content there. And unfortunately, it only was a live site during my college years, 1997-2001, before it was sold.
Does anyone remember this? It was actually before the time of facebook and myspace, and it was based on the concept of six degrees of separation. I was a proud member, and would post trivia for my network every day on my bulletin board.
The cool feature that I don't see in facebook or myspace, is that you could see how you were connected to any member of the website. I could randomly search Baltimore, pick a person, and watch it form a "web" back to me of friends connected to friends. I could also communicate with my 2nd and 3rd degree level connections. So I could send a message to the people directly "hooked" to me, plus the people they were "hooked" to, and the people "hooked" to them.
The weblink still exists, but there isn't any content there. And unfortunately, it only was a live site during my college years, 1997-2001, before it was sold.
5 types of women that turn men off
I like reading articles on relationships, because I always find a perspective that I wasn't expecting. This usually causes me to do some thinking, and to figure out how I can use this information to better myself.
As a former member of eHarmony, I am still on their email list and get some interesting tidbits every now and then. Today's email caught my eye with the title of the article, "5 Women Men Avoid".
The article goes on to explain that it's not about weight, age, or looks - it's about these personality deal-breakers that send men running.
Now, I'm self-reflecting to see if any of those women can be found in me:
1. The Flirty-Bird
She starts as fun to hang out with, as she makes conversation easy, light and charming and shows interest right away. Guys are normally drawn to this, as they don't really need to do a lot of the work. But then she doesn't stop flirting - and she flirts with everyone. At first it's fun, as guys are trying to discover how just to get her attention, but then interest goes away when they realize they will never have it.
2. The Commitment-phile
She spoils a wonderful first few dates by talking about marriage and her future plans for your life together with her. Which in turn scares men off, never to be heard from again.
3. The Cling-on
She can't go anywhere or do anything without the company of her man. His life becomes her life by adopting his interests, tastes in music, and normally calls a zillion times a day. She is more work than a relationship deserves as she is very needy. She relies on him to entertain her, and is at his beck and call, because she has no life of her own.
4. The Party Girl
I think this quote from the article sums it up, "While a guaranteed good time may seem like a good idea, what will she be like in the sobering light of day?"
5. The Windbag
She never shuts up, always constantly talking about herself and her experiences. She also has drama-queen tendencies, and never really has a conversation, just a monologue.
So... with my self-reflection, how do I rack up?
I've been told that I am a natural flirt, but I don't think I take it to excess like the article was mentioning... I use discretion, and once I capture the attention of a man, I stop flirting with everyone else. As for the commitment-phile, I have talked about marriage on the first few dates - but not in that context. A few of my dates asked about my 10 year plan, which for me involves marriage along the way, but I wasn't planning "our" wedding on the date.
I am physically clingy, but not emotionally clingy. I have my own life with my own interests, but I do like to be physically close to a man, either cuddling or holding hands, or just being in physical contact. But I'm also perfectly fine to find my own space when we are in public, and not have to be constantly on top of the man, hanging off of him. I'm not a party-girl... that's just not my style.
I can be a talker, but I've learned to control that unless I'm processing something. Being an extrovert, I process information out loud. But also being a perceiving type in my MBTI, I can see endless possibilities in every solution, so I'm constantly thinking... sometimes out loud. However, my ex was not a talker, nor really a conversationalist. I asked questions about his life, but since he didn't always return the questions, I stopped sharing. So I have the ability to shut my mouth off, and process elsewhere. But when I'm around people, I think I have a tendency to focus more on what they want to talk about, then what I want to talk about.
I wonder if my self-reflection is correct, or if it is misguided?
As a former member of eHarmony, I am still on their email list and get some interesting tidbits every now and then. Today's email caught my eye with the title of the article, "5 Women Men Avoid".
The article goes on to explain that it's not about weight, age, or looks - it's about these personality deal-breakers that send men running.
Now, I'm self-reflecting to see if any of those women can be found in me:
1. The Flirty-Bird
She starts as fun to hang out with, as she makes conversation easy, light and charming and shows interest right away. Guys are normally drawn to this, as they don't really need to do a lot of the work. But then she doesn't stop flirting - and she flirts with everyone. At first it's fun, as guys are trying to discover how just to get her attention, but then interest goes away when they realize they will never have it.
2. The Commitment-phile
She spoils a wonderful first few dates by talking about marriage and her future plans for your life together with her. Which in turn scares men off, never to be heard from again.
3. The Cling-on
She can't go anywhere or do anything without the company of her man. His life becomes her life by adopting his interests, tastes in music, and normally calls a zillion times a day. She is more work than a relationship deserves as she is very needy. She relies on him to entertain her, and is at his beck and call, because she has no life of her own.
4. The Party Girl
I think this quote from the article sums it up, "While a guaranteed good time may seem like a good idea, what will she be like in the sobering light of day?"
5. The Windbag
She never shuts up, always constantly talking about herself and her experiences. She also has drama-queen tendencies, and never really has a conversation, just a monologue.
So... with my self-reflection, how do I rack up?
I've been told that I am a natural flirt, but I don't think I take it to excess like the article was mentioning... I use discretion, and once I capture the attention of a man, I stop flirting with everyone else. As for the commitment-phile, I have talked about marriage on the first few dates - but not in that context. A few of my dates asked about my 10 year plan, which for me involves marriage along the way, but I wasn't planning "our" wedding on the date.
I am physically clingy, but not emotionally clingy. I have my own life with my own interests, but I do like to be physically close to a man, either cuddling or holding hands, or just being in physical contact. But I'm also perfectly fine to find my own space when we are in public, and not have to be constantly on top of the man, hanging off of him. I'm not a party-girl... that's just not my style.
I can be a talker, but I've learned to control that unless I'm processing something. Being an extrovert, I process information out loud. But also being a perceiving type in my MBTI, I can see endless possibilities in every solution, so I'm constantly thinking... sometimes out loud. However, my ex was not a talker, nor really a conversationalist. I asked questions about his life, but since he didn't always return the questions, I stopped sharing. So I have the ability to shut my mouth off, and process elsewhere. But when I'm around people, I think I have a tendency to focus more on what they want to talk about, then what I want to talk about.
I wonder if my self-reflection is correct, or if it is misguided?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
lost another 3 - now I'm up to 12!
I got the best compliment last night from a lady at the gym. She's really nice, and always smiles and says 'hi'. I met her in the parking lot when we both pulled in at the same time, and she made a comment about having to force herself to come every day. But she told me that she can tell that I've lost a lot of weight and inches, and that I'm looking good! That was very sweet of her :)
I had gained 2lbs at last week's weigh-in, but as of this morning I was down 3.25! WOOHOO... so I lost what I gained, plus an extra 1.25lbs! That doesn't seem like much, but I'm proud of myself.
I was talking to Sarah about dieting and weight loss on Friday night, and she gave me some great tips about calorie intake. I didn't really reduce calories greatly in my diet, just did some strong portion control - which has led to me really put on muscle. Which doesn't help when I'm trying to get rid of the weight, but damn my legs look great! I'm going to strongly watch my intake, especially at dinner, when I have a tendency to indulge in the starches. Hopefully that is the right step I need!
I've also discovered my favorite way to work out. I've gotten into a habit of trying all the aerobic machines, i.e. treadmill, elliptical, and bike. But could never last very long on the treadmill or elliptical. With the treadmill, I think I have to warm up on another machine first, because starting on the treadmill cold makes my legs hurt after a few minutes. After 10 minutes on the elliptical my heart rate is out of the zone and maxed out the range, so that can't be too good for me either. But - the bike, Amy the loves the bike!
I did 16 miles last night in 45 minutes on level 2, which roughly puts me at 21mph. I also got to catch up on Southern Living magazine while doing it, and found some really interesting places to visit in the South. They are all going on my travel list too. Then I went on to do some work on the weight-machines, ending the work out with some Pilate's and yoga to stretch.
I'm excited, my workout plan is coming together!
However, I am kinda upset, as I'm having a henna tattoo dilemma. When you last heard the beach story, we all got henna tattoos on that Saturday evening. I normally research things before deciding, but I went with the flow and got one. Well, the ink is now gone, but I'm left with a red rash in the shape/design of my tattoo. Apparently henna artists have been adding PPD, which is a black dye, to the henna in order to make them darker/black on the skin. Which looks great, but causes a huge reaction to humans. PPD is not supposed to be used directly on human skin, and according to some websites may even be illegal to use.
I'm assuming mine is not itchy like other people's, but it's hard for me to tell because I have a large collection of mosquito bites around my ankles from this weekend. I've been putting hydrocortozone on it anyway, but I'm told that it will fade over time, hopefully not leaving a scar.
I vaguely remember this happening years ago when I had one on my other ankle - but I thought the redness was from me getting sunburned on it. Note to me, don't do that again, unless they are using true henna, which is brown/reddish - not BLACK!
I had gained 2lbs at last week's weigh-in, but as of this morning I was down 3.25! WOOHOO... so I lost what I gained, plus an extra 1.25lbs! That doesn't seem like much, but I'm proud of myself.
I was talking to Sarah about dieting and weight loss on Friday night, and she gave me some great tips about calorie intake. I didn't really reduce calories greatly in my diet, just did some strong portion control - which has led to me really put on muscle. Which doesn't help when I'm trying to get rid of the weight, but damn my legs look great! I'm going to strongly watch my intake, especially at dinner, when I have a tendency to indulge in the starches. Hopefully that is the right step I need!
I've also discovered my favorite way to work out. I've gotten into a habit of trying all the aerobic machines, i.e. treadmill, elliptical, and bike. But could never last very long on the treadmill or elliptical. With the treadmill, I think I have to warm up on another machine first, because starting on the treadmill cold makes my legs hurt after a few minutes. After 10 minutes on the elliptical my heart rate is out of the zone and maxed out the range, so that can't be too good for me either. But - the bike, Amy the loves the bike!
I did 16 miles last night in 45 minutes on level 2, which roughly puts me at 21mph. I also got to catch up on Southern Living magazine while doing it, and found some really interesting places to visit in the South. They are all going on my travel list too. Then I went on to do some work on the weight-machines, ending the work out with some Pilate's and yoga to stretch.
I'm excited, my workout plan is coming together!
However, I am kinda upset, as I'm having a henna tattoo dilemma. When you last heard the beach story, we all got henna tattoos on that Saturday evening. I normally research things before deciding, but I went with the flow and got one. Well, the ink is now gone, but I'm left with a red rash in the shape/design of my tattoo. Apparently henna artists have been adding PPD, which is a black dye, to the henna in order to make them darker/black on the skin. Which looks great, but causes a huge reaction to humans. PPD is not supposed to be used directly on human skin, and according to some websites may even be illegal to use.
I'm assuming mine is not itchy like other people's, but it's hard for me to tell because I have a large collection of mosquito bites around my ankles from this weekend. I've been putting hydrocortozone on it anyway, but I'm told that it will fade over time, hopefully not leaving a scar.
I vaguely remember this happening years ago when I had one on my other ankle - but I thought the redness was from me getting sunburned on it. Note to me, don't do that again, unless they are using true henna, which is brown/reddish - not BLACK!
Monday, July 14, 2008
cat woman
So besides the fact that all the women in my family usually get divorced (I'm the exception as I've never been married), they all seem to have an unnatural fear of various animals.
For instance, Aunt Kass is afraid of turtles, my Mom is afraid of cats, my cousin Stacy is afraid of frogs and owls (she has two fears), and I'm afraid of birds (well, any bird over the size of a sparrow). My grandmother, Nannie, also had the fear of cats.
I'm usually the one my mother calls on to protect her from cats when we are out and about. They always seem to sense when one does not like them, and they pick that person to make friends with. My mom took off running down Eastern Ave once, after two kittens popped up next to her when they came around the corner of a building. I never laughed so hard... but, last night, the joke was on me.
There's a new grey tabby living on our block, who likes my car for some reason. We got home from running errands yesterday and I heard lots of meowing. I was able to locate the cat, who was under my car, and the neighbor came over to get him out, as my mom stood in the street waving her hands and pointing. The cat walked away, and we didn't see him for awhile, until we went out much later for dinner. On the way home, there he was again, under my car in the driveway.
He ran out, and went under our deck... which my mother now has to walk on to get into the house. After she had me on my hands and knees, trying to look under the deck, she stomped up the steps and into the house.. only to return with a bowl of water - for me to throw under the deck to scare the cat.
I did not see the point of this exercise, but to humor her, I took the bowl from her. Well, trying to stand on a ramp and aim under the small opening under the deck was not the easiest task. The water left the lip of the bowl, only to splash back all over me - none of it made it under the deck. Mother had cleared a safe distance away, now standing in the street again waving her arms. But I'm sure the look on my face was priceless when I turned to her with water dripping down the front of me.
She found this to be hysterically funny... me... not so much.
For instance, Aunt Kass is afraid of turtles, my Mom is afraid of cats, my cousin Stacy is afraid of frogs and owls (she has two fears), and I'm afraid of birds (well, any bird over the size of a sparrow). My grandmother, Nannie, also had the fear of cats.
I'm usually the one my mother calls on to protect her from cats when we are out and about. They always seem to sense when one does not like them, and they pick that person to make friends with. My mom took off running down Eastern Ave once, after two kittens popped up next to her when they came around the corner of a building. I never laughed so hard... but, last night, the joke was on me.
There's a new grey tabby living on our block, who likes my car for some reason. We got home from running errands yesterday and I heard lots of meowing. I was able to locate the cat, who was under my car, and the neighbor came over to get him out, as my mom stood in the street waving her hands and pointing. The cat walked away, and we didn't see him for awhile, until we went out much later for dinner. On the way home, there he was again, under my car in the driveway.
He ran out, and went under our deck... which my mother now has to walk on to get into the house. After she had me on my hands and knees, trying to look under the deck, she stomped up the steps and into the house.. only to return with a bowl of water - for me to throw under the deck to scare the cat.
I did not see the point of this exercise, but to humor her, I took the bowl from her. Well, trying to stand on a ramp and aim under the small opening under the deck was not the easiest task. The water left the lip of the bowl, only to splash back all over me - none of it made it under the deck. Mother had cleared a safe distance away, now standing in the street again waving her arms. But I'm sure the look on my face was priceless when I turned to her with water dripping down the front of me.
She found this to be hysterically funny... me... not so much.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Initiate Drama-Free Zone
Phase 2: Set up a drama-free zone
Activate in 3..2..1 {ACTIVATED}
There is now an invisible shield 20 feet wide in a sweeping arch around me that keeps the drama out. If you are currently within the field and have drama on you, you have 20 minutes to use the exits located at the front and back of Amy to remove yourself. All violators will be prosecuted, persecuted, and made to cry.
Sometimes my imagination runs away from me, and I have to chuckle at what it comes up with. But it's the truth. I had validation this weekend, once again, that what I've been preaching for years is correct. I don't know if people are afraid to hear what I'm saying, but I do this work for a living, so I really know what I'm talking about. Once again, here is the message:
You should not be in a relationship with someone who cannot give you unconditional love. Agape love is the ultimate level of love, and if someone plays games with your head, makes you chase them, jump through hoops, or feel insecure about their feelings toward you - they are NOT the right person for you. RUN AWAY! They are not capable of loving you fully.
I have friends who can argue on both sides of the following comment, but maybe I'm just a little more mature about things in relationships then they are. I've come to the conclusion that my ex boyfriend was bored with me. Why? Because I didn't give him drama. I didn't make him chase me, I did what I said I would do, I didn't pick fights, I didn't make him jealous, I supported how he wanted to live his life, and I loved him for who he was - without trying to change him. That's a scary thing for someone who isn't ready for it.
But in all honesty, I'm over it, and I don't want to dwell/talk about it anymore. The past is best left in the past. There are so many new things that I am moving toward, and so many new people that I'm meeting, that I don't need dysfunction in my life. My happiness depends on it. And frankly, if drama starts sparking around me, I'm walking away.
Anyway, the only drama that I currently want around me, is the comedic variety that I create for myself. Example: Yesterday I bought a new baby oil gel in lavender to put on after bathing. I used it this morning, went to mass, and proceeded to slip and slide off the kneeler - to which I finally had to brace myself on the pew, so it wouldn't happen again. There were some extreme giggles involved from those sitting around me, as it was pretty funny! hehehe :) As my friend David would say, these sorts of situations sit around and wait for me to happen by! hehe
Laughing at yourself is a great pastime!
Activate in 3..2..1 {ACTIVATED}
There is now an invisible shield 20 feet wide in a sweeping arch around me that keeps the drama out. If you are currently within the field and have drama on you, you have 20 minutes to use the exits located at the front and back of Amy to remove yourself. All violators will be prosecuted, persecuted, and made to cry.
Sometimes my imagination runs away from me, and I have to chuckle at what it comes up with. But it's the truth. I had validation this weekend, once again, that what I've been preaching for years is correct. I don't know if people are afraid to hear what I'm saying, but I do this work for a living, so I really know what I'm talking about. Once again, here is the message:
You should not be in a relationship with someone who cannot give you unconditional love. Agape love is the ultimate level of love, and if someone plays games with your head, makes you chase them, jump through hoops, or feel insecure about their feelings toward you - they are NOT the right person for you. RUN AWAY! They are not capable of loving you fully.
I have friends who can argue on both sides of the following comment, but maybe I'm just a little more mature about things in relationships then they are. I've come to the conclusion that my ex boyfriend was bored with me. Why? Because I didn't give him drama. I didn't make him chase me, I did what I said I would do, I didn't pick fights, I didn't make him jealous, I supported how he wanted to live his life, and I loved him for who he was - without trying to change him. That's a scary thing for someone who isn't ready for it.
But in all honesty, I'm over it, and I don't want to dwell/talk about it anymore. The past is best left in the past. There are so many new things that I am moving toward, and so many new people that I'm meeting, that I don't need dysfunction in my life. My happiness depends on it. And frankly, if drama starts sparking around me, I'm walking away.
Anyway, the only drama that I currently want around me, is the comedic variety that I create for myself. Example: Yesterday I bought a new baby oil gel in lavender to put on after bathing. I used it this morning, went to mass, and proceeded to slip and slide off the kneeler - to which I finally had to brace myself on the pew, so it wouldn't happen again. There were some extreme giggles involved from those sitting around me, as it was pretty funny! hehehe :) As my friend David would say, these sorts of situations sit around and wait for me to happen by! hehe
Laughing at yourself is a great pastime!
Friday, July 11, 2008
they are on to me!
Yesterday morning we had a farewell breakfast for two of my coworkers who are leaving the department. Jordan, who is moving back to Savannah, and Thane who is just transitioning to another hospital in our system.
Well, as part of the breakfast, we each went around and said what we would miss most about them. Then my boss had Jordan and Thane share what they would miss most about each of us.
Thane ratted me out!
He started by saying that he firmly believes that each hour one should get up and walk... we always accused him of being bored and just coming to bother us. Our cubes are the farthest apart, and he said that he always liked to come down and talk to me. He said that no matter what he said, I always had a charming smile, and I would nod to encourage him to continue... he always headed back to his desk with a good feeling, but then he started thinking. She neither agreed, nor disagreed with what I said, and I have no idea what she was thinking the entire time! She could have been thinking that I'm an idiot, and I'd have no idea!
Everyone was laughing, and then Carol, my boss, picked up on it, with "Wait - she does that to me a lot too - now I know that she thinks I'm a complete idiot when I'm telling her things!" Which got a huge laugh from everyone...
So yes, now my secret is out... I'm non-committal in conversations, and even if I don't agree, I smile and nod to keep the conversation going. I don't give opinions unless directly asked, and just ask questions to help you figure out what you are trying to say. I'm listening intently, and can replay the conversation... but I'm not really committed to anything. Your issue is your issue, and it's not for me to form an opinion on... hehehe :)
It worked well yesterday when I was meeting with my client about their retreat in November. With no prompting from me, it turned into "Operation SIPP" - complete with SIPP Cups, a code name for the CEO and their VP is baking cookies... I smiled, nodded, and wrote down "cookies" "coconut" "cups" "color-coded straws" on my steno-pad... all the while thinking OH MY GOOD GOD! The CEO of my company is coming to this thing... but they were excited, were having ideas, and were fully committed - so as my customer service dictates, I'll be providing the kind of retreat they want. On the inside, I'm horrified, but on the outside - it's fab!
Just smile and nod... :)
Well, as part of the breakfast, we each went around and said what we would miss most about them. Then my boss had Jordan and Thane share what they would miss most about each of us.
Thane ratted me out!
He started by saying that he firmly believes that each hour one should get up and walk... we always accused him of being bored and just coming to bother us. Our cubes are the farthest apart, and he said that he always liked to come down and talk to me. He said that no matter what he said, I always had a charming smile, and I would nod to encourage him to continue... he always headed back to his desk with a good feeling, but then he started thinking. She neither agreed, nor disagreed with what I said, and I have no idea what she was thinking the entire time! She could have been thinking that I'm an idiot, and I'd have no idea!
Everyone was laughing, and then Carol, my boss, picked up on it, with "Wait - she does that to me a lot too - now I know that she thinks I'm a complete idiot when I'm telling her things!" Which got a huge laugh from everyone...
So yes, now my secret is out... I'm non-committal in conversations, and even if I don't agree, I smile and nod to keep the conversation going. I don't give opinions unless directly asked, and just ask questions to help you figure out what you are trying to say. I'm listening intently, and can replay the conversation... but I'm not really committed to anything. Your issue is your issue, and it's not for me to form an opinion on... hehehe :)
It worked well yesterday when I was meeting with my client about their retreat in November. With no prompting from me, it turned into "Operation SIPP" - complete with SIPP Cups, a code name for the CEO and their VP is baking cookies... I smiled, nodded, and wrote down "cookies" "coconut" "cups" "color-coded straws" on my steno-pad... all the while thinking OH MY GOOD GOD! The CEO of my company is coming to this thing... but they were excited, were having ideas, and were fully committed - so as my customer service dictates, I'll be providing the kind of retreat they want. On the inside, I'm horrified, but on the outside - it's fab!
Just smile and nod... :)
Thursday, July 10, 2008
spoke too soon..
So, that whole thing yesterday about having chocolate cake and a slow day, and what could go wrong? Yeah, I spoke too soon.
I used to manage a Learning Management System which as transitioned to an in-house version. We cancelled our contract with the vendor, and to make a long story short, they continue to send us bills... why.... because 328 of our lovely employees are somehow getting into the system since January, and taking courses! They just told us this yesterday.
We had an internal re-direct URL that we disabled, all of the literature went out about the new system, and there's a huge sign that I created when you login that says "DO NOT USE THIS SYSTEM" - again, proving that no one reads!
It's a 2-fold problem... A - SumTotal never shut down access to the system (which they blame us for, and I'll get to in a minute) and B - somewhere in MSH, a few people have the real URL to the LMS bookmarked, and are getting to it.
They are trying to say that we advised them on Feb 8th that we wanted our system back up again. No, what happened on Feb 8th was that I spoke to the director of their hosting environment, discussing the transition of our data records to our system, and asked him for a report out of our system to validate the data that he's sending us. We were hosted, therefore I never had direct access to the data. He advised me that there would be a cost associated with it because he would need to get professional services involved. Or, I could login to the system myself and use report manager. He said that would be the easiest and most efficient way. So they put in a ticket to open the access up so I could login for a day and run the report - they never shut it back down. And considering that there were conversations with our SrVP and Legal going back and forth at that time, the intent was obviously that we were no longer customers. Now they are trying to take that single request as a statement that we wanted to maintain our service. Therefore we owe them over $50,000 and because of a few jerk employees who don't read - they have validation that people were taking courses on it.
Now we are calling the 328 people to determine how they are accessing the website, as our SrVP wants a full report... and the one lady my boss spoke to denied logging in, and walked her through the process for logging in to the other system. Those two systems don't talk to each other.. there's no way her record could transfer - so her memory is faulty. She probably logged in, someone saw what she was doing, or said something, and then she created an account in the correct system.
Why can we just be done with this.... and why is SumTotal out yet again to make a buck. We have paid them over millions of dollars, and I still did not get an exceptional product. They hated when I called, because it wasn't for something stupid. Their "out of the box" product had so many bugs in it, I don't even know how it passed Quality Assurance. They have compensated for my complaints so many times with "free features", it's insane! They got to a point where they would bypass the general help desk and just give me to one of their engineers, and they were all excited about meeting me at the annual users convention. I've saved their butts on more than one occasion, speaking to potential customers for them - yet they are doing this.
BUT - on a good note... Jordan came in today to say goodbye. She's moving back home to Savannah to be closer to her family - which I think she and Danny are both looking forward to. She brought in cupcakes from cakelove - OMG, they are amazing! I just had a strawberry one... heavenly... I was so happy to see her before she goes, and I know I'm going to miss her terribly! But, now I have more reason to take a road trip to Savannah! :)
I used to manage a Learning Management System which as transitioned to an in-house version. We cancelled our contract with the vendor, and to make a long story short, they continue to send us bills... why.... because 328 of our lovely employees are somehow getting into the system since January, and taking courses! They just told us this yesterday.
We had an internal re-direct URL that we disabled, all of the literature went out about the new system, and there's a huge sign that I created when you login that says "DO NOT USE THIS SYSTEM" - again, proving that no one reads!
It's a 2-fold problem... A - SumTotal never shut down access to the system (which they blame us for, and I'll get to in a minute) and B - somewhere in MSH, a few people have the real URL to the LMS bookmarked, and are getting to it.
They are trying to say that we advised them on Feb 8th that we wanted our system back up again. No, what happened on Feb 8th was that I spoke to the director of their hosting environment, discussing the transition of our data records to our system, and asked him for a report out of our system to validate the data that he's sending us. We were hosted, therefore I never had direct access to the data. He advised me that there would be a cost associated with it because he would need to get professional services involved. Or, I could login to the system myself and use report manager. He said that would be the easiest and most efficient way. So they put in a ticket to open the access up so I could login for a day and run the report - they never shut it back down. And considering that there were conversations with our SrVP and Legal going back and forth at that time, the intent was obviously that we were no longer customers. Now they are trying to take that single request as a statement that we wanted to maintain our service. Therefore we owe them over $50,000 and because of a few jerk employees who don't read - they have validation that people were taking courses on it.
Now we are calling the 328 people to determine how they are accessing the website, as our SrVP wants a full report... and the one lady my boss spoke to denied logging in, and walked her through the process for logging in to the other system. Those two systems don't talk to each other.. there's no way her record could transfer - so her memory is faulty. She probably logged in, someone saw what she was doing, or said something, and then she created an account in the correct system.
Why can we just be done with this.... and why is SumTotal out yet again to make a buck. We have paid them over millions of dollars, and I still did not get an exceptional product. They hated when I called, because it wasn't for something stupid. Their "out of the box" product had so many bugs in it, I don't even know how it passed Quality Assurance. They have compensated for my complaints so many times with "free features", it's insane! They got to a point where they would bypass the general help desk and just give me to one of their engineers, and they were all excited about meeting me at the annual users convention. I've saved their butts on more than one occasion, speaking to potential customers for them - yet they are doing this.
BUT - on a good note... Jordan came in today to say goodbye. She's moving back home to Savannah to be closer to her family - which I think she and Danny are both looking forward to. She brought in cupcakes from cakelove - OMG, they are amazing! I just had a strawberry one... heavenly... I was so happy to see her before she goes, and I know I'm going to miss her terribly! But, now I have more reason to take a road trip to Savannah! :)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
tingly tongue and other things ....
For some reason when I have chocolate sheet cake, with chocolate icing, my tongue starts tingling and gets all tickely - it's a very weird yet pleasurable feeling. I know, I'm a goofball.
I shouldn't be eating the chocolate cake at all, as I didn't do well on the weigh-in, gaining back those 2 lbs that I had lost last time. But the holiday weekend did me in, and then there was macaroni and cheese....that will be my demise. But I'm still slimming off inches and gaining muscle, so this is a good thing. Although, I think I have to be careful, as I'm becoming very buff under my layer of padding from all the weight lifting I'm doing... I just need to get the padding off, which only comes through cardio - and I hate cardio. The only sweating I like to do happens during intense and passionate contact with someone of the opposite sex... I'm just girly like that. Oh well - I must do what must be done!
Work yesterday was mentally draining for me. We had a 3 hour meeting to clean up 5 years worth of files on a shared network drive. By the second folder I was ready to crawl under the table, or run screaming from the room. But I was the one in charge of the computer, deleting the files, so I couldn't leave. I came out of there a blubbering idiot... which led to the suffering of my bowling game. Do you see the pattern, people? Everything you do in life impacts everything else.... After an embarrassing 99, 75, I pulled back up with a 110 - but it was horrible that it took that long before I got into my groove. We did beat the team, thanks to my teammates, but everyone's game was off. I think the alley wasn't oiled properly before the game, as there was always 1 pin left standing. The damn thing wouldn't fall for anyone!
Oh well.... today is going to be a better day! :) I had chocolate cake, what can go wrong when you have chocolate cake???
I shouldn't be eating the chocolate cake at all, as I didn't do well on the weigh-in, gaining back those 2 lbs that I had lost last time. But the holiday weekend did me in, and then there was macaroni and cheese....that will be my demise. But I'm still slimming off inches and gaining muscle, so this is a good thing. Although, I think I have to be careful, as I'm becoming very buff under my layer of padding from all the weight lifting I'm doing... I just need to get the padding off, which only comes through cardio - and I hate cardio. The only sweating I like to do happens during intense and passionate contact with someone of the opposite sex... I'm just girly like that. Oh well - I must do what must be done!
Work yesterday was mentally draining for me. We had a 3 hour meeting to clean up 5 years worth of files on a shared network drive. By the second folder I was ready to crawl under the table, or run screaming from the room. But I was the one in charge of the computer, deleting the files, so I couldn't leave. I came out of there a blubbering idiot... which led to the suffering of my bowling game. Do you see the pattern, people? Everything you do in life impacts everything else.... After an embarrassing 99, 75, I pulled back up with a 110 - but it was horrible that it took that long before I got into my groove. We did beat the team, thanks to my teammates, but everyone's game was off. I think the alley wasn't oiled properly before the game, as there was always 1 pin left standing. The damn thing wouldn't fall for anyone!
Oh well.... today is going to be a better day! :) I had chocolate cake, what can go wrong when you have chocolate cake???
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
MAJOR COUP!
It worked!
I mentioned last week in one of my blogs that my client needed to have a very difficult conversation with the medical director of the facility in order to correct the poor behavior of the physicians. They were resistant, as they felt he would not be on board with the idea of correcting the behavior, and would give them a lot of push back.
I met with them last week, and basically told them that I can't help them unless the conversation happens with him, and he's on board with the changes. None of the work I would do with the MA's would work, if the physicians were allowed to continue acting that way. They were supposed to talk with him on Thursday afternoon to gain buy-in.
In the meantime, I drafted a contract of services, which my boss was really proud of. She told me that I was the first one to write one that she didn't need to fix, or append some of the language - which knowing her, is a big thing. In the contract under client responsibilities, I made sure to include mandatory meetings with physicians to discuss their behavior, and to ensure 100% attendance at these meetings. Also, the internal medicine physicians were to meet and decide on a process for intake, and standardize any other patient procedures so they are consistently documenting and working in the same manner. I also asked that the President provide time for them to meet without affecting their pay (they only get paid based on the number of patients they see).
In exchange, I would coach the managers on any difficult conversations with employees, facilitate/mediate each individual team meeting, and assist the teams with writing action plans for change.
I GOT IT ALL! THEY AGREED TO EVERYTHING!
The meetings are mandatory, with the promise of financial disciplinary action if not attending. The President will pay them during the meeting. The lead doctor in internal medicine has a meeting scheduled with the rest of the physicians to discuss procedures and intake... and I'm meeting with each team starting in August to mediate their discussions!
I talked to my client yesterday, and she told me that on Thursday, she and her director laid out the entire plan to the medical director, and he agreed right away.
It's great when a plan comes together!!!
I'm so excited! :)
I mentioned last week in one of my blogs that my client needed to have a very difficult conversation with the medical director of the facility in order to correct the poor behavior of the physicians. They were resistant, as they felt he would not be on board with the idea of correcting the behavior, and would give them a lot of push back.
I met with them last week, and basically told them that I can't help them unless the conversation happens with him, and he's on board with the changes. None of the work I would do with the MA's would work, if the physicians were allowed to continue acting that way. They were supposed to talk with him on Thursday afternoon to gain buy-in.
In the meantime, I drafted a contract of services, which my boss was really proud of. She told me that I was the first one to write one that she didn't need to fix, or append some of the language - which knowing her, is a big thing. In the contract under client responsibilities, I made sure to include mandatory meetings with physicians to discuss their behavior, and to ensure 100% attendance at these meetings. Also, the internal medicine physicians were to meet and decide on a process for intake, and standardize any other patient procedures so they are consistently documenting and working in the same manner. I also asked that the President provide time for them to meet without affecting their pay (they only get paid based on the number of patients they see).
In exchange, I would coach the managers on any difficult conversations with employees, facilitate/mediate each individual team meeting, and assist the teams with writing action plans for change.
I GOT IT ALL! THEY AGREED TO EVERYTHING!
The meetings are mandatory, with the promise of financial disciplinary action if not attending. The President will pay them during the meeting. The lead doctor in internal medicine has a meeting scheduled with the rest of the physicians to discuss procedures and intake... and I'm meeting with each team starting in August to mediate their discussions!
I talked to my client yesterday, and she told me that on Thursday, she and her director laid out the entire plan to the medical director, and he agreed right away.
It's great when a plan comes together!!!
I'm so excited! :)
Monday, July 7, 2008
Hello Monday, Goodbye long weekend...
Hello Monday, Goodbye long weekend.
I had strict ideas of what I wanted to accomplish today, but my motivation hasn't kicked in yet. But it's only around 9:30am, so I should be feeling like it soon.
I was able to fix my hair this morning, that's always a concern after changing a hairstyle. However, I think my version is a little too full - but it'll settle down as the day goes on. Plus, the Baltimore humidity isn't helping things... but I feel pretty. Hopefully the inches I got chopped off will lower my weight for the weigh-in tomorrow! hehe
The current housing market is depressing me. I've come to the realization that I will not be able to afford my dream house alone. Not that I have a particular house in mind, but using the formula of 3x salary - I'd need to be making $100,000 a year to be approved for a $300,000 house. I want a large house, or at least an open floor-plan because I like to entertain. Fun for me is throwing a party for friends and family, cooking all sorts of food, and just enjoying their company. I want to decorate it for the holidays, and just create a home where everyone feels welcome. A place to build memories in and enjoy time with others. The condo I found in White Marsh has a loft, and lots of open space for entertaining, but condos are always hard to re-sell. I'm not ready to buy anything yet, I need to get through grad school and pay some more things off, but I just hope that things are affordable once I'm ready to enter the market. Maybe by then I'll meet a career minded man, who is making decent money, and we can pay for the house together. :) Notice I said "together" and not "buy it for me". What a revolutionary thought!
I had strict ideas of what I wanted to accomplish today, but my motivation hasn't kicked in yet. But it's only around 9:30am, so I should be feeling like it soon.
I was able to fix my hair this morning, that's always a concern after changing a hairstyle. However, I think my version is a little too full - but it'll settle down as the day goes on. Plus, the Baltimore humidity isn't helping things... but I feel pretty. Hopefully the inches I got chopped off will lower my weight for the weigh-in tomorrow! hehe
The current housing market is depressing me. I've come to the realization that I will not be able to afford my dream house alone. Not that I have a particular house in mind, but using the formula of 3x salary - I'd need to be making $100,000 a year to be approved for a $300,000 house. I want a large house, or at least an open floor-plan because I like to entertain. Fun for me is throwing a party for friends and family, cooking all sorts of food, and just enjoying their company. I want to decorate it for the holidays, and just create a home where everyone feels welcome. A place to build memories in and enjoy time with others. The condo I found in White Marsh has a loft, and lots of open space for entertaining, but condos are always hard to re-sell. I'm not ready to buy anything yet, I need to get through grad school and pay some more things off, but I just hope that things are affordable once I'm ready to enter the market. Maybe by then I'll meet a career minded man, who is making decent money, and we can pay for the house together. :) Notice I said "together" and not "buy it for me". What a revolutionary thought!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Pictures of my new hair...
Some people are really good at taking self-portraits... I'm not one of them. I'm in my pjs, it's 11:30pm, and I'm ready for bed. I don't even know what my face was doing in 1/2 of these... but by special request - here's some pics of my new hair:
 |
| MyNewHair |
Underoos
Apparently, I have a thing for panties. I just bought some more cute ones today, and I decided in light of the purchase, to clean out my underwear drawer. I don't know how they all fit in there - and that's just the first drawer! Yes... I have 3 drawers total, but I never realized it was a problem. I just like pretty things. ;)
I got my haircut today. I've been thinking about cutting it for awhile, but really didn't know what I wanted. I decided that today was the day, but my usual place was booked solid. I walked next door to the Ulta store, and met this wonderful stylist named Anne. I highly recommend her! She's quirky like me, but she did an amazing job! My hair is now short in the back, stacked slightly, and angled down to the front. But because of my fear of looking like a pumpkin head, the front actually is longer, touching my shoulders. It is very flattering! I apparently had an admirer while getting my hair cut. Anne whispered that some hot guy was standing there for awhile watching - she thought he was with me. Alas, no.
I don't know where this weekend went. It took its time getting here, then flew by! I have a lot going on at work too. Monday is going to be spent writing an outline for a workshop that I'm doing for my client's manager's meeting. They want to do team-building (everyone wants team-building), but they aren't a team. They are just a group of people who have similar jobs, who all attend the same meeting. Considering that this is the Manager's Meeting - they don't even make decisions about work related issues. Everything trickles down from the top... so this should be a fun and exciting workshop. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) It becomes tricky, because I can either treat them like a team - and work the discussion with them. Or I can teach them tricks/possible stumbling-blocks from working with their teams back in their offices. Their leadership wants both, but I think I talked them down off of that ledge when I reminded them that I only have an hour and 1/2. I have to go back to my notes and see what we finally decided.
A man I've been talking to found this website online... http://www.talktomepin.com/ Basically, it's a 14k gold pin with the letters TTM. You are supposed to wear it, so that other people will know you are available when you are out in public. "Available" meaning free and open to dating. Why did I not think about this first? I could be rich!
I got my haircut today. I've been thinking about cutting it for awhile, but really didn't know what I wanted. I decided that today was the day, but my usual place was booked solid. I walked next door to the Ulta store, and met this wonderful stylist named Anne. I highly recommend her! She's quirky like me, but she did an amazing job! My hair is now short in the back, stacked slightly, and angled down to the front. But because of my fear of looking like a pumpkin head, the front actually is longer, touching my shoulders. It is very flattering! I apparently had an admirer while getting my hair cut. Anne whispered that some hot guy was standing there for awhile watching - she thought he was with me. Alas, no.
I don't know where this weekend went. It took its time getting here, then flew by! I have a lot going on at work too. Monday is going to be spent writing an outline for a workshop that I'm doing for my client's manager's meeting. They want to do team-building (everyone wants team-building), but they aren't a team. They are just a group of people who have similar jobs, who all attend the same meeting. Considering that this is the Manager's Meeting - they don't even make decisions about work related issues. Everything trickles down from the top... so this should be a fun and exciting workshop. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) It becomes tricky, because I can either treat them like a team - and work the discussion with them. Or I can teach them tricks/possible stumbling-blocks from working with their teams back in their offices. Their leadership wants both, but I think I talked them down off of that ledge when I reminded them that I only have an hour and 1/2. I have to go back to my notes and see what we finally decided.
A man I've been talking to found this website online... http://www.talktomepin.com/ Basically, it's a 14k gold pin with the letters TTM. You are supposed to wear it, so that other people will know you are available when you are out in public. "Available" meaning free and open to dating. Why did I not think about this first? I could be rich!
4th of July - Take 2!
So, I think today is the kind of 4th of July weather I should have enjoyed yesterday. It did rain slightly this morning before I got up, but that was it.
I actually got to sleep in this morning, which was a true novelty. I haven't had a chance to do that in a long while, and it felt good to stay in bed for awhile. After waking up, I headed to the gym before coming home to get ready for my cousin Karen's 5th birthday party. She's a princess, so of course, pink was everywhere! This year her mom had the party at a local park, which gave the kids plenty opportunity to run around and enjoy themselves. I also got to meet my newest cousin, Erin, who is only 4 1/2 month old. She's utterly adorable!
My neighbor told us about Havre de Grace's 4th of July celebration, which we wish we new about in previous years - it was a lot of fun, with 30mins of fireworks. They apparently celebrate the entire weekend, with a huge carnival! I haven't been to a carnival like this one since I was a child - they even had a merry-go-round and bumper cars! I didn't enjoy any rides, but it was wonderful sitting on the promenade around the river, waiting for fireworks. Nothing like feeling the cool breeze, snacking on some strawberry ice cream, and people watching. The only downfall was that we sat right under a light post, which we thought they'd turn off... no.. we had lots of gnats that wouldn't leave us a lone.
There were hundreds of boats on the river, including a 3 mask sailboat, and an old-time ferry boat. I think one could have taken a ride out on the ferry boat to watch the fireworks... which I will have to research for next year. But, overall, it was a lot of fun. Traffic was horrible on the way home, but that was to be expected.
I'm planning an outing with friends next Friday night to get crabs. That should be a lot of fun, as I haven't hung out with some of them in awhile. I like planning get togethers.
By the way... if the big huge house on Rumsey Island falls through, I'll take any of the old Victorians on Union St. in Havre de Grace - beautiful!
I actually got to sleep in this morning, which was a true novelty. I haven't had a chance to do that in a long while, and it felt good to stay in bed for awhile. After waking up, I headed to the gym before coming home to get ready for my cousin Karen's 5th birthday party. She's a princess, so of course, pink was everywhere! This year her mom had the party at a local park, which gave the kids plenty opportunity to run around and enjoy themselves. I also got to meet my newest cousin, Erin, who is only 4 1/2 month old. She's utterly adorable!
My neighbor told us about Havre de Grace's 4th of July celebration, which we wish we new about in previous years - it was a lot of fun, with 30mins of fireworks. They apparently celebrate the entire weekend, with a huge carnival! I haven't been to a carnival like this one since I was a child - they even had a merry-go-round and bumper cars! I didn't enjoy any rides, but it was wonderful sitting on the promenade around the river, waiting for fireworks. Nothing like feeling the cool breeze, snacking on some strawberry ice cream, and people watching. The only downfall was that we sat right under a light post, which we thought they'd turn off... no.. we had lots of gnats that wouldn't leave us a lone.
There were hundreds of boats on the river, including a 3 mask sailboat, and an old-time ferry boat. I think one could have taken a ride out on the ferry boat to watch the fireworks... which I will have to research for next year. But, overall, it was a lot of fun. Traffic was horrible on the way home, but that was to be expected.
I'm planning an outing with friends next Friday night to get crabs. That should be a lot of fun, as I haven't hung out with some of them in awhile. I like planning get togethers.
By the way... if the big huge house on Rumsey Island falls through, I'll take any of the old Victorians on Union St. in Havre de Grace - beautiful!
 |
| Karens5tha |
Friday, July 4, 2008
I was on tv!
Water, water everywhere - and no, I don't mean the bathing suit store in Towson Town Center.
My day started with rain, and ended with rain, and rain a lot in between. My mom woke me up at 6:45am this morning to begin our annual 4th of July tradition of going to the Dundalk Parade. I informed her it was raining, but where they were showing the news in Dundalk, it wasn't. So, after hurrying to get ready, we were out the door by 7:30am, with chairs and umbrellas in hand, to see the parade start at 8:15am. It did rain slightly while we were sitting there, but as Sen. Barbara Mikulski was shouting - "The sun is shining in Dundalk!"
I got home, answered some emails, and then took a quick nap before picking up Ryan and Heather for the O's baseball game. The sun was shining, so we were hopeful that the rain would hold off. My mom got me the Publisher's tickets to the game, which are literally the first row behind the dugout of the opposing team. Anytime anyone was up to bat, the camera pointed straight at us. If anyone caught the O's game today on TV, I was the woman in the blue t-shirt and a tan fishing hat sitting between the woman in the white shirt (my coworker Lori) and the guy in the orange shirt (Ryan) with Heather sitting next to him. Lori was constantly getting text messages from her friends seeing us on TV - one even commented on my kick-ass hat! My family saw us too, they were calling everyone they knew to check it out on tv... pretty cool! It did start raining, but we trooped it out, and sat there the entire time.
After the game, we headed over to see the fireworks at the Inner Harbor. There were mobs and mobs of people everywhere! We all had to go to the bathroom, and the line to get into the ladies room wrapped down and around the hallway... but at least it was moving fast. While waiting in line, it started pouring again, but soon passed. After standing in a great fireworks watching spot, it was right before 9:30pm, the tarp was off the barge to start the fireworks, when the sky opened up and began pouring. We could see Dundalk's fireworks across the harbor, which started at 9pm, but with the late start, we weren't so lucky. We gave up, as they were covering the fireworks on the barge back up - but I did get some good pictures of the harbor before that time.
It stopped raining by the time we got back to the car, but we were too tired to walk back. As we were driving home on 95, we could see the fireworks from the Harbor going off - so at least we saw something!
Hopefully tomorrow night it won't rain, as another location is shooting them over the water... my fingers are crossed!
Ryan insists stuff like this happens so I'll have something to blog about... I think he's right! :)
My day started with rain, and ended with rain, and rain a lot in between. My mom woke me up at 6:45am this morning to begin our annual 4th of July tradition of going to the Dundalk Parade. I informed her it was raining, but where they were showing the news in Dundalk, it wasn't. So, after hurrying to get ready, we were out the door by 7:30am, with chairs and umbrellas in hand, to see the parade start at 8:15am. It did rain slightly while we were sitting there, but as Sen. Barbara Mikulski was shouting - "The sun is shining in Dundalk!"
I got home, answered some emails, and then took a quick nap before picking up Ryan and Heather for the O's baseball game. The sun was shining, so we were hopeful that the rain would hold off. My mom got me the Publisher's tickets to the game, which are literally the first row behind the dugout of the opposing team. Anytime anyone was up to bat, the camera pointed straight at us. If anyone caught the O's game today on TV, I was the woman in the blue t-shirt and a tan fishing hat sitting between the woman in the white shirt (my coworker Lori) and the guy in the orange shirt (Ryan) with Heather sitting next to him. Lori was constantly getting text messages from her friends seeing us on TV - one even commented on my kick-ass hat! My family saw us too, they were calling everyone they knew to check it out on tv... pretty cool! It did start raining, but we trooped it out, and sat there the entire time.
After the game, we headed over to see the fireworks at the Inner Harbor. There were mobs and mobs of people everywhere! We all had to go to the bathroom, and the line to get into the ladies room wrapped down and around the hallway... but at least it was moving fast. While waiting in line, it started pouring again, but soon passed. After standing in a great fireworks watching spot, it was right before 9:30pm, the tarp was off the barge to start the fireworks, when the sky opened up and began pouring. We could see Dundalk's fireworks across the harbor, which started at 9pm, but with the late start, we weren't so lucky. We gave up, as they were covering the fireworks on the barge back up - but I did get some good pictures of the harbor before that time.
It stopped raining by the time we got back to the car, but we were too tired to walk back. As we were driving home on 95, we could see the fireworks from the Harbor going off - so at least we saw something!
Hopefully tomorrow night it won't rain, as another location is shooting them over the water... my fingers are crossed!
Ryan insists stuff like this happens so I'll have something to blog about... I think he's right! :)
 |
| 4thofJuly2 |
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Holiday Weekend!
I always stick my head up around this time of the year and wonder how time flies so fast - to be at 4th of July already! It's odd how sense of time alters as we get older, and things that took so long to get to, are here before we know it. I miss the old 4th of July's spent in my grandparents backyard, with a cookout and swimming pool, before piling into the back of my dad's pick-up truck to go see fireworks.
One tradition left from my childhood that I don't like to miss is the Dundalk 4th of July parade. We've sat on the same corner since I can remember, and even parked on the same street. We'd stop to get fast food breakfast, and then we were there early enough to watch as people started to arrive, and they ran the 5k parade race. I always felt bad for the bands in the parade, as they normally hit Dundalk first thing in the morning, Towson in the late morning, and then Catonsville late afternoon. It must take strong dedication to walk all of those parade routes with full band gear.
I'm one of those crazy parade goers who gets the crowd clapping for everyone, and of course, you have to stand and clap whenever any of the military troops walk by. Why sit there passively? We should honor the people who are marching down a street for my 4th of July entertainment. Ms. Dundalk Idol should be in the parade, and she's actually a friend of a friend of a friend... I don't know her personally, but it will be nice to see her. I hear that she has an amazingly strong voice. My cousin-in-law, Wayne, is also in the parade as a driver for one of the convertibles. And my old neighbors are usually in the parade, as they own an antique fire engine. I grew up with their eldest granddaughter, Laura Ann.
This year I'm heading out with friends to the O's game on the 4th. We have the seats in the first row behind the opposing team dugout. My mom scored me those tickets from the Publisher, and my friends Ryan and Heather, and my coworker Lori are going. I think we are going with Lori after the game to a rooftop deck party in Federal Hill to watch the fireworks from the Inner Harbor. Should be a lot of fun!
Today at work we have another interview, this time for the senior consultant position. Hopefully this is the last one we'll have to interview for awhile! Those things are draining... especially when it's painful. My fingers are crossed that this will work, but I understand that she is going through a lot of emotional things right now, with a divorce, so there's a general "sadness" about her. Hopefully we'll get a good representation of her during the interview.
Today is also the day when the director I'm working with is supposed to confront her Medical Director on various issues about the physicians and get him on board with fixing the problem. I'm not going to be in that meeting, but I think they are meeting in my building, so I may be called in to lay down the law if the management team can't get through to him. I've been advised that he's hard-headed and has a 1950s management style - I love a challenge. But frankly, he needs to grow a pair.
Come on holiday weekend - lets get here!
One tradition left from my childhood that I don't like to miss is the Dundalk 4th of July parade. We've sat on the same corner since I can remember, and even parked on the same street. We'd stop to get fast food breakfast, and then we were there early enough to watch as people started to arrive, and they ran the 5k parade race. I always felt bad for the bands in the parade, as they normally hit Dundalk first thing in the morning, Towson in the late morning, and then Catonsville late afternoon. It must take strong dedication to walk all of those parade routes with full band gear.
I'm one of those crazy parade goers who gets the crowd clapping for everyone, and of course, you have to stand and clap whenever any of the military troops walk by. Why sit there passively? We should honor the people who are marching down a street for my 4th of July entertainment. Ms. Dundalk Idol should be in the parade, and she's actually a friend of a friend of a friend... I don't know her personally, but it will be nice to see her. I hear that she has an amazingly strong voice. My cousin-in-law, Wayne, is also in the parade as a driver for one of the convertibles. And my old neighbors are usually in the parade, as they own an antique fire engine. I grew up with their eldest granddaughter, Laura Ann.
This year I'm heading out with friends to the O's game on the 4th. We have the seats in the first row behind the opposing team dugout. My mom scored me those tickets from the Publisher, and my friends Ryan and Heather, and my coworker Lori are going. I think we are going with Lori after the game to a rooftop deck party in Federal Hill to watch the fireworks from the Inner Harbor. Should be a lot of fun!
Today at work we have another interview, this time for the senior consultant position. Hopefully this is the last one we'll have to interview for awhile! Those things are draining... especially when it's painful. My fingers are crossed that this will work, but I understand that she is going through a lot of emotional things right now, with a divorce, so there's a general "sadness" about her. Hopefully we'll get a good representation of her during the interview.
Today is also the day when the director I'm working with is supposed to confront her Medical Director on various issues about the physicians and get him on board with fixing the problem. I'm not going to be in that meeting, but I think they are meeting in my building, so I may be called in to lay down the law if the management team can't get through to him. I've been advised that he's hard-headed and has a 1950s management style - I love a challenge. But frankly, he needs to grow a pair.
Come on holiday weekend - lets get here!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
$500,000?
Just when I think I've seen it all, I haven't. I'm coasting along checking my personal email at work, when this headline catches my eye, "Buy my house and marry me!"
Watching the news clip, this woman put her house on the market, and for an additional $500,000 she'll marry you. Now, most guys would probably think that she's good looking, as she's incredibly skinny with amazingly large fake boobs with bleach blond hair - but watching the interview, she looks a little cross-eyed to me.
Now, as a single woman, I know what's it's like to be hard-up for some sexual contact. After 3 months it's something horribly missing from my life - but I wouldn't have someone pay to marry me to get some! Where's the self respect?
Besides... I'm worth way more than $500,000... geez!
Watching the news clip, this woman put her house on the market, and for an additional $500,000 she'll marry you. Now, most guys would probably think that she's good looking, as she's incredibly skinny with amazingly large fake boobs with bleach blond hair - but watching the interview, she looks a little cross-eyed to me.
Now, as a single woman, I know what's it's like to be hard-up for some sexual contact. After 3 months it's something horribly missing from my life - but I wouldn't have someone pay to marry me to get some! Where's the self respect?
Besides... I'm worth way more than $500,000... geez!
Fowl-up!
So all of us came close to joining the Turkey Club last night (three strikes in a row is a "turkey"), but we all ended up as Chickens (my terminology for two strikes in a row). But at least we didn't completely fowl up! hahahahaahah I do crack myself up sometimes! hehehe We did sweep the other team with a 2 out of 3 win, but they were so drunk I'd be afraid of how they bowl sober. My personal game wasn't that good overall, but I was just completely drained from this week.
I've been so busy that I haven't really had any time for self-reflection. My blogs are usually filled with some sort of inspirational drivel, but nothing has been going on that much to inspire me to be introspective. I know I'll probably have a melt-down sometime around the week of July 12-17th, as that is when I had met my ex and it would have been my 2 year anniversary with him. If you'd like to skip the next few weeks of blogs and just come back around that time, I'm sure it will be entertaining. Actually, I'm being a smart ass - something I do well.
I think I'm officially over the whole thing, and just so done with it, that I'm ready to move on. I guess I called it correctly when he asked me if it would be hard for me to get over him, and I answered with that I'd be fine in a couple of months. I'm just also so done with trying to get the attention or love from people who really don't want my attention or love. Last I checked, the telephone, email, and IM both send and receive, communication is not one way. If they want me in their life, then they will have to make the effort. It's really that simple.
I need to practice what I preach, and have the difficult conversations and courage to stand-up to the behavior that I find unacceptable. The issue I run into is that the other person isn't mature enough to see the behavior, so I come across as "crazy". Because you know, I have nothing better to do than sit around and plot these sorts of things and make shit up... how tiring.
I'm sorry, but in my need and drive for growth, if the train leaves without you, that's your own fault.
I've been so busy that I haven't really had any time for self-reflection. My blogs are usually filled with some sort of inspirational drivel, but nothing has been going on that much to inspire me to be introspective. I know I'll probably have a melt-down sometime around the week of July 12-17th, as that is when I had met my ex and it would have been my 2 year anniversary with him. If you'd like to skip the next few weeks of blogs and just come back around that time, I'm sure it will be entertaining. Actually, I'm being a smart ass - something I do well.
I think I'm officially over the whole thing, and just so done with it, that I'm ready to move on. I guess I called it correctly when he asked me if it would be hard for me to get over him, and I answered with that I'd be fine in a couple of months. I'm just also so done with trying to get the attention or love from people who really don't want my attention or love. Last I checked, the telephone, email, and IM both send and receive, communication is not one way. If they want me in their life, then they will have to make the effort. It's really that simple.
I need to practice what I preach, and have the difficult conversations and courage to stand-up to the behavior that I find unacceptable. The issue I run into is that the other person isn't mature enough to see the behavior, so I come across as "crazy". Because you know, I have nothing better to do than sit around and plot these sorts of things and make shit up... how tiring.
I'm sorry, but in my need and drive for growth, if the train leaves without you, that's your own fault.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Status quo
Well, the seafood buffet and creamed chip beef put me over the edge this weekend, and I didn't loose any weight this week. :( But not gaining anything is always a good thing too! My coworker keeps telling me that she thinks I'm losing inches, as I look slim in my clothing - yay!
I've been making new online friends in the DC/NOVA area on a few of the websites I have accounts. It's funny that most of my percentage matches are in that area of the world, but I did read somewhere that the largest population of 30something professionals is in that part of the US. It'll be fun to meet up with them while I'm down there for class starting in September. It's always exciting to meet new people and learn about them.
My "Win a Date With Amy" contest came to a close with only three potential entries - the rest were weirdos! The first is from Canada and has a girlfriend, but likes to answer questions. The second is from NY, but he's looking for a wife to get married tomorrow. Ummm.... no. And the third is my brother from another mother, Ryan. Out of the 3 of them, the only one I can grant the winner to is Ryan - but we don't live in West Virginia. :) However, we do have a pact that we made when we were both around 20, single, and thought we'd never find love: If we were both single when we are 30, we are to go on a real date (it was never as dramatic as the pacts that others made of marriage, just a date so that we both weren't alone on our 30th birthdays, and we could dress up and go somewhere fancy.) hehehehehe :) But, he's happily in love with Heather, which is a wonderful thing for them, so I'll need to make a pact with someone else ;)!
My coworkers have joined the bandwagon and are trying to make my henna tattoo permanent too. Why people have a need to ink me, I'll never know! My mom thinks it's too big, but agrees that with my coloring it looks good. They seem to forget that I'm afraid of needles, and am in the process of losing weight, so it's not going to look the same when I'm old and grey.
I'm glad that this is only a 4-day work week. It seems like I've been here all week already, and it's only Tuesday. We've been interviewing like crazy at work for 3 open positions, and they last about 2 hours each. Plus I've been dealing with my problem child client. I finally had to lay down the law with them yesterday afternoon, and tell them that I can't help them unless they get their Medical Director on board and he sets expectations. I told them that I can do all the training/coaching in the world with the MAs, but unless the physicians are held accountable for their behavior, it won't work. I also told them they need the courage to stand up to him, and tell him it's a major problem, and they aren't going to stand for it anymore. If he has any reason within his brain, then he'll see that this is a major issue. My fingers are crossed for that discussion to happen on Thursday.
Bowling tonight - hopefully I'll join the Turkey club!
I've been making new online friends in the DC/NOVA area on a few of the websites I have accounts. It's funny that most of my percentage matches are in that area of the world, but I did read somewhere that the largest population of 30something professionals is in that part of the US. It'll be fun to meet up with them while I'm down there for class starting in September. It's always exciting to meet new people and learn about them.
My "Win a Date With Amy" contest came to a close with only three potential entries - the rest were weirdos! The first is from Canada and has a girlfriend, but likes to answer questions. The second is from NY, but he's looking for a wife to get married tomorrow. Ummm.... no. And the third is my brother from another mother, Ryan. Out of the 3 of them, the only one I can grant the winner to is Ryan - but we don't live in West Virginia. :) However, we do have a pact that we made when we were both around 20, single, and thought we'd never find love: If we were both single when we are 30, we are to go on a real date (it was never as dramatic as the pacts that others made of marriage, just a date so that we both weren't alone on our 30th birthdays, and we could dress up and go somewhere fancy.) hehehehehe :) But, he's happily in love with Heather, which is a wonderful thing for them, so I'll need to make a pact with someone else ;)!
My coworkers have joined the bandwagon and are trying to make my henna tattoo permanent too. Why people have a need to ink me, I'll never know! My mom thinks it's too big, but agrees that with my coloring it looks good. They seem to forget that I'm afraid of needles, and am in the process of losing weight, so it's not going to look the same when I'm old and grey.
I'm glad that this is only a 4-day work week. It seems like I've been here all week already, and it's only Tuesday. We've been interviewing like crazy at work for 3 open positions, and they last about 2 hours each. Plus I've been dealing with my problem child client. I finally had to lay down the law with them yesterday afternoon, and tell them that I can't help them unless they get their Medical Director on board and he sets expectations. I told them that I can do all the training/coaching in the world with the MAs, but unless the physicians are held accountable for their behavior, it won't work. I also told them they need the courage to stand up to him, and tell him it's a major problem, and they aren't going to stand for it anymore. If he has any reason within his brain, then he'll see that this is a major issue. My fingers are crossed for that discussion to happen on Thursday.
Bowling tonight - hopefully I'll join the Turkey club!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
