Holiday Party

Last night was our annual company holiday party at the Westin Hotel. We had a great time; the food tasted and looked wonderful, everyone dressed up, and the liquor flowed freely. Lots more people danced this year, and I danced with Brandon, the very cute, very young sous chef in our Cafe as well as TJ, the reluctant but sweet.

Here's to a fun holiday season!

Another Week

My uncle is doing better. I went to see him Monday night and he was still sedated in ICU with a ventalator and a big bandage on his head. Thursday, he was sitting up, breathing room air, and talking up a blue streak. He still has a way to go, but I think he's going to make it just fine.

Work has been interesting, and a bit on the frantic side, but what's new, really? I'm excited about the new position and I would like to get down to business on my new projects. Now, to get management to agree... I have been pulled back into the day to day business pretty strongly. I am going to have a talk with my manager to make sure I'm on the right track.

I really enjoyed the rain today. The clean fresh smell during and after the rain was such a refreshing change after all the snow this winter.

Enough randomness for now, more later :)

Promotions Poetry and Posting

It has been a while since my last post, and I missed February entirely! (It's a short month, easy to miss... right?)

I just wanted to put out a quick post on a couple of things going on in my world. First of all, I got the promotion that my manager spoke to me about back in September. Yay! Now to get on to the first real project, well, second project after this report for Sales my director wants done by the end of next week. I'll be the content owner of all policies and operating procedures for the entire department including accts receivable, credit and collections, and deductions. Nothing like a big challenge to start off a promising new job.

I've been reading some poetry books I recently bought, mostly anthologies. I'm reading familiar favorites as well as meeting new friends. I might review some of the poems (if I get adventerous). For now, I am really enjoying them. I'm getting inspired to try my hand at poetry again; it has been a few years since I seriously wrote poetry on a consistant basis. I have also re-read some of my friend Kerri's poetry and that has been inspiring in other ways.

The sun is shining today, even if it is a bit cool out, and I am off to enjoy some of the pleasant late winter weather. Have a great day!

Day of Projects

This week pretty much flew by. My trip to Scottsdale AZ was quite lovely. The weather was quite hot (well into the 90s). We stayed at a lovely resort with no less than three pools (and me w/o my bathing suit!), ate copious amounts of resort food (and drank quarts of grapefruit juice... yummy!), and even learned a little along the way. It was amazing to be in the same room with a large group of people who understand the work I do and can get excited about it. I won't bore you with the details, but the job I do is a specialized niche of accounting that generally only CPG (consumer packaged goods) companies have to deal with.

Today, I'm planning on getting some projects if not finished, at least started. I have stuff I'm doing for the band for their final shows (which makes me a bit sad), more along the lines of personal projects I've wanted to do for years and just never made it a priority. I've also got a few things around the house to do, so I'll just have to see how much I can get done.

On another note, I received my free* Day Timer leather binder with all the inserts and accoutrements I recently ordered last night. It came with samples of all sorts of different pages, including graph paper! Now I need to get the phone book tabs and I'll be set. Most of my contacts are in my email program or on my Palm (yes, I have both a paper and an electronic planner, I'm finding out what will work best for me as I have used both to varying degrees of success) but I learned from the Laura Stack, the Productivity Pro, to use the alpha tabs in the phone book as a filing system in the planner as well as a phone book. Since there are some very exciting opportunities coming up at work, I want to work hard on my productivity and my organization to give myself that extra boost.

In my slightly scattered way, I just checked my queue in the midst of writing this post. My next movies coming from Netflix are quite exciting, and the tv show is one I've been waiting to see all year (since I don't get WB on my rabbit ears). Netflix is my compromise with myself regarding visual entertainment. I just cannot justify the $40+ a month for cable for me and my kitties, when I have so much else I should do (writing, reading, projects). So I get my movies, fit them in when I can, and call it good. I'm sure I've ranted this before, but I do feel strongly about it (and I can get digital cable at Mom's whenever the urge strikes).

Off to check the mail and get working on those projects.


* with purchase of a year of inserts and S&H, still a good deal overall.

Business Trip Prep

Whee! Today I'm going about making lists, ironing clothes, figuring out what items need to be checked and which I can carry on all in preparation for my business trip next week. I actually leave tomorrow afternoon, so hence the running about today.

My department is sending me to beautiful Scottsdale AZ for a conference. I'm going to meet others in my field (which is fairly specialized to CPG companies) as well as folks from my parent company. There will be a presentation by our new software provider about the module we just implemented for my department (for which I'm busily troubleshooting and refining processes). I'm glad I got business cards a couple months back, they'll get a work out this week.

I also have time to bond with my current supervisor, who is the other attendee from our company. We have gotten along well over the last couple months since she joined our department. I'm hoping that the time together will be good for both of us. I know that I can learn a lot from her, and I hope that she can learn more about our specialized field from me.

When I get back, I'll let y'all know how it went. It's a short trip, so I'll see you soon!

Reunion

Today we had a reunion of sorts at my office. We've been in the new building since December last year and we finally have a beautiful new full service cafeteria. Everyone who ever left the company was invited (and I heard quite a lot of opinions about this).

There was a treasure hunt (going around to all the floors and getting stamps from different places, learning that the main executive office is the size of a small apartment) and a prize drawing. Tee-shirts, water bottles, and a long line for some scrumptious finger foods. It was fun to see some of the folks I worked with over the last several years.

At the prize drawing, both my guest (my mom) and I won prizes (gift cards to the new Cafe).

Then we took a long, hot drive to Aurora to enjoy a chocolate malted.

Happy Hour

Tonight we went to happy hour at Dave & Busters. It was fun (they had a deal where you could get a meal and a card for playing at a good price). We played trivia and I messed around with some other games (the horse racing is my favorite, but there are not always two players). I got myself two cute little shot glasses that look like beer mugs. And they're even glass (classy!)

Happy July!

Today is the first day of July, and the first day of EDog's 100 Days Novel challenge. I'm feeling frisky today (and have been working on plotting it for over a week) so I'm going to start. The goal is to write an 80,000 word novel in 100 days (July 1 to October 8, roughly). I have a rough outline, that I am going to continue to work on in parallel to writing the actual novel. I figure I can get the rest of the plotting work done in a week or so, and I won't be THAT far into the actual story to make the changes I anticipate from the background work I've already done.

On another note, I did not get the job that I had interviewed for a few posts back. Thanks to everyone who gave me moral support. I will keep my eyes out for a new challenge as I go boldly forward in the position I already hold. In this uncertain job market, I am quite pleased to have a good job with benefits, my true desire is to find something that is a challenge to me, as I have been doing a similar job in the last three companies I've worked for. And I wouldn't scoff at a sweeter compensation package, or more growth opportunity, either, mind you. I appreciate everyone's good thoughts and I will keep you up to date if anything else comes along.

Now that I've made a little post, I'm going to set up my word counter and get to work on the novel.

Nervous and excited

I just put in for a new position at the company I currently work for. I’m a bit nervous, as we have already lost 2 of our team to this new department, and my manager is understandably concerned. She is not standing in anyone’s way, which is a nice surprise. Since she came I have felt both more cared for as an employee, and more free to develop myself, and that is in large part due to her style. While I haven’t liked everything that has come down the pike in my tenure here, I’m still a big fan of my current department. I don’t want to leave them high and dry, however, I feel that it is time to spread my wings and take off into the unknown.

Wish me luck!

Random Jack of Kindness

On Tuesday I got a call at my desk at work and a nice lady at the other end said she wanted to bring pizza to my office. Who was I to say no? I had registered on Jack 105.5 FM to win a lunch for my office like the day before. It was really cool!

Being the slightly paranoid bundle of joy that I am, I double checked the caller ID number before I let my department know that pizza was coming. Once I was sure, I checked with my manager (she said free food is always welcome) and then sent out my massive email.

The department has grown more than I thought and I estimated 35 people for pizza and wings. When the time came, there was a large line to the conference room. I got a t-shirt and a nifty certificate and everyone said I should go first. Well, I'm not much of a pizza person and my mom brought me a sandwich (we were supposed to have lunch anyway). Everyone came and went, and thanked me for getting the lunch (which was nice). In about 20 minutes nearly all the food was gone. I took a couple of slices to the security guard and the receptionist and brought one of the facility managing type people up for a slice. A couple of people came in for seconds, but it was pretty slim pickings.

Then my supervisor, my manger, and my director all came in about 30 minutes after the food arrived. There was like one wing left. I felt bad, they hadn't told me they were going to be in a meeting. I did say it was first come first serve. One of the other directors said not to feel bad, I brought joy to many other people. There was even a guy who always looks dour and he was smiling and laughing being personable and everything. So I shrugged it off. Not my fault.

So anyway, thank you to Jack 105.5 FM for a lovely Random Jack of Kindness. Now I just need to call them and leave them a message so they can play it on the radio *grin*

Another good day...

Today, I brought my copy of Heart of Gold with me, because I was going to show one of my writerly fellows at writing group tonight. When I got into the office, one of my coworkers asked how my novel was. Pleased she asked, I told her I had it in the car. She wanted to see it, and later in the afternoon, I went down to get it and show her. She liked the phrase "supporting her words with numbers" on the back in the little about the author blurb. Warm fuzzies all around.

Then, a friend from another floor came in to say hi, and I showed her the book, and she was suitably impressed. Beyond the book, I was glad I ran into her, since I rarely see her anymore. We used to work in the same department and now we're on different floors. And she's been very busy flying hither and yon for the company. So all around good to see her :)

Then I showed the book to the security guard, who's a very nice man who always says hello. He was amazed. He asked when it would be published and how did I possibly write a novel in 30 days. More warm fuzzies.

I went up to the executive floor and showed another friend, the EA for the president , my book, and she was just floored. We chatted for a moment and then I went back downstairs to show my former supervisor (who gave me a day off in November to help finish the book). She had already left for the day *snap* so I'll just have to bring it in tomorrow.

Not like I mind, after all the positive reactions... I should write a book every November... Oh wait, I do!

And now, back to the writing or editing or something resembling such.

Writing

I feel that for too long I've been too busy to write. I'm not talking about the wonderful and crazy time in November, but just every day, every week kind of writing. I don't think I'm ever going to be an every day blogger; I just don't see having that much interesting to say, let alone having the time every day. I have a daily journal that I manage to find the time to write five lines about my days, and most days that's more than enough to write. I know people who do write daily, who make the time every single day for one if not more entries on their blogs. These people inspire me; their dedication and devotion to their writing, no matter the subject, is amazing.

I've recently been told that I should blog more. My jaunts through blogland show that it is possible. I know that a few people consistently read my blog. I find that I want to be entertaining, and I'm not sure if I achieve that. (No, I'm not looking for validation here; I have a fairly good view of my own writing - I just am thinking on the screen here.) I suppose not every day is a circus.

More than the blog, which can be a good source of discipline and feedback, I'm thinking of my other writing, what I write for the various groups I engage in and what I write that inspires me. Weekly, I sit with mostly like-minded writers and lately I tend to use the time as social and kick back time. I should be using it more for the actual process but I think I've needed a place to blow off steam and to have no requirements. Which is probably why I haven't finished any of the assignments given.

I think some blame belongs with my day job (which incidentally I just mistyped day joy) and the extremely hectic and stressful last two months. I got so run down that I got sick (just a little head cold but more than enough to slow me down a lot and make me feel woozy and unproductive). I'm working to get through the next month on a more even keel and just do my hours and leave; no over time, no late nights, no taking work home. I am working personally on letting all the junk the last two or three months go; getting past the anger, jealousy, resentment, frustration, and under-appreciation is important for my own mental and emotional, not to mention physical, health. As I work through that junk, I expect I'll become more productive in my professional life as well as more productive in my personal life. Free of all the negativity, I will be able to shake off this seeming cloud over my writing and get down to it.

I want this year to be a very productive year. I expect to have a large body of work, whether it be short stories, exercises, poems, or a novel or two, by December. I want to page back through the files, touch the pages, and generally tap the reservoir of ideas and stories I know I have in me to tell.

Busy Busy

Haven't been updating as much as I should due to training at work. I'm on a project team working toward implementation of a new ERP software package for my new company (we combined forces with two other CPG companies and are going to market as one entity). While this is VERY exciting and I'm thrilled to be part of the project, I'm pretty worn out. I've learned more about my company and the way things work on a macro level this week then in the last 2 years. Of course I had my nose in my numbers and worked in my little corner of the company most of the time anyway.

So now I'm hoping to get some balance and to post here a bit more regularly (well as regular as I ever am...)

Morning Commute

This morning, as I do every morning, I turned off of the turnpike onto a state highway for the last leg of my commute. The parkway was a bit slow. I was running a bit late to work already and I knew this would just make me later. But what can I do? I continued along and then out of my rearview I saw this motorcycle zooming along in the right hand breakdown lane. Then another car saw him and decided to follow suit.

I have been in a few fender benders, had a couple speeding tickets (many years ago), and one careless driving ticket (long story about a U-turn and no turn signal). And as Girlzoot will tell you, I’ve run my share of red lights (they were PINK!)(well, except for that one on Leetsdale, it WAS red). In general, though, I take my safety and the safety of others around me seriously. Besides, I know that if I do something so flagrant, I’ll get caught, there’s no question.

Something else that has been bothering me: no one in their car is more important than me; we all have somewhere to be but that doesn’t mean you have to break the law or be a jerk. Besides, what would happen if there was an ACTUAL emergency and someone needed the lane, or everyone had to get over for an emergency vehicle? But that wouldn’t happen, not for just a moment while I’m driving over here in this completely empty lane… not to me… I’m so IMPORTANT…

So this morning I’m thinking that I would just get caught if I pulled anything that stupid. And as I pull around the final curve and make ready to pull into the right hand turn lane and what do I see but the little car, the motorcycle, and three or four other cars all pulled over to the side getting ticketed by two police officers. I felt such vindictive glee as I made my turn and went to work. Was I wrong to be happy at another’s misfortune? Well, they kind of brought it on themselves, now didn’t they?

And I’m still smiling.

CFO's R US

My company is going through some changes, people coming into the company, people moving around in the company, and people leaving. One of the people leaving is our current Executive VP/CFO. I wondered how long it would take to fill her position, and what the search would entail.

Earlier this week, we met our interem CFO at a lunch for the accounting department. When he got up to talk, he said he was part of a group of current and former corporate CFOs who provided companies with a person to fill that position on a temporary or permanent basis. I'm thinking to myself, this is like a temp company for high level corporate types. CFO's R US... And it can be temp to hire, some of the people stay with their temporary positions at the request of the companies who needed their services.

I did some temp work back in college and after, and it even started me on the path to my current position. Never did my temp company call me up and say, hey, would you like to work at XYZ company as their temporary CFO? Be in charge for a while? Nope, never happened. But now I know, they have their own group or service. Things you learn...

Inappropriate response

Today has been less than stellar in my world. I find that when one feels the need to cry 3 times in less than 24 hours for any reason at work, that day is on the down side. When one actually does cry, a frustrated, overwhelmed, panicky sort of crying, then truly one’s reached the pinnacle of bad form. V. bad form.

Tear stains on one’s shirt in important month end meeting, not appropriate.
Snapping at one’s v. understanding, gentle boss, definitely not appropriate.
Having snide joke in said meeting backfire, pissing off person with authority to sign off on finished invoices, priceless.

Overly emotional, everywhere you don’t want it to be.

I think I’m broken.

On the other hand, the people around me, including boss, care about me and send me funny pictures. And know I’m having a v. bad day and still treat me like I’m not stomping around, tossing my pens around, grumbling under my breath, and generally being beastly. Even when I say that yes, it’s good that it’s Friday because I’m buying silverware which doesn't make much sense, now does it.