January flew by

So I went to the interview on Friday with my divisional manager.  It was to be for both jobs I applied for and to last 30 minutes.  It lasted 45 minutes and I thought the interview went well.  My divisional manager had not been part of the process when I was first hired over a year and half ago so he hadn't got to ask all his 'normal' questions.  For those of you who know me you all realize my answers aren't usually 'normal'. 

When asked if I'd ever fired or reprimanded any employees before I got to launch into the tale about years ago when the regional manager insisted on hiring our cashiers for the book rush time through a temp agency citing it was cheaper in the long run and made better use of my time and the other managers hiring.  That would have been true had she not hired from an agency that was NOT bonded (even though she swears they were) and in the first 14 hours I found out they were stealing.  So we got to call the cops and have them escorted out. 

That stunned him a bit and he continued with another question as to if I ever had to deal with a manager or someone above me doing something wrong or getting angry and how did I handle it.  I said, "Remember the stealing cashiers?  Well, the regional manager and the store manager began to scream and fight with each other on the floor so I called one of the company vice-presidents in New York and had him fly down."

I think my current manager is still analyzing how I dealt with that.  I did it correctly because there wasn't going to be any other way to slow down the two 'adults' with serious pay checks and anger issues.  Somehow I don't think my answers fell into the cookie-cutter sorts of responses he was used to receiving. 

Other than that the weekend was great!

My 100 post

So does that mean I am supposed to get a cake and make an episode to be shared with YouTube?

Nevertheless...life is lifelike.  I haven't talked about my work much lately because I've been waiting to see how it all shakes out.  There has been a mass exodus in my division causing our reviews to be delayed nearly a month past the due date.  I had mine on Monday.  It was probably one of the most favorable reviews that I've had in a very long time.  First off the manager gave me a 2% overall raise just because she thought my current pay wasn't 'market rate' and then on top of that I received a 4.5% raise.  Now this is a company with only 3 choices for answers on the review - Satisfactory being the highest?  Wow, in my old careers that meant your body temp was average and you were in your chair.  Seriously.

Now here's the kicker.  I was actively encouraged by a number of folks in management to apply for the new positions posted.  This morning I sent in the paperwork for two. One is Lead and the other Supervisor.  While I truly qualify for Lead since I've been doing that job without the title for over a half dozen months I was a tad apprehensive about the Supervisor job since it is for two divisions.  Who knows.  All I can say is I risked.  One of my unspoken resolutions was to be open to things normally I would shy away from in life.

We will see.

Dream hangover

It was interesting to see Bernie's posting about dream hangovers today.  I was having an intense dream about rescuing a small creature that someone was shouting was a mouse.  I pulled it free from the watery area where it was nearly dead and began to feed it canned tuna that I'd somehow magically knew to press through a sieve.  The creature stirred and purred and began to expand at a rapid rate. 

Soon I was holding a solid gray smokey colored cat that I immediately called Greystoke from the Tarzan novels.  I wasn't even precisely sure it was Greystoke or Greystroke (still not and haven't bothered to google it).  The cat was holding my arm cherishingly and had it's claws carefully sheathed.  I pulled the cat up because someone kept saying it was a girl kitty and I quickly noticed it was obviously male.  I have never owned a male cat (have issues with cats that can spray musk - go figure).  I woke missing that damned dream cat.  Solid and patient cat. 

Then I read Bernie's blog and saw the pics of the house cat that frequents their home and smiled.  I get dream hangovers both good and bad.  I was happy to have had a good one.  But I still am missing the smokey colored cat.

Winter Musings

As all my family and friends were brushed with a bit of winter weather so was my edge of the world.  I actually put on tennis shoes, with sox mind you, and wore a light cotton overshirt and long pants.  I know - I really should dress before going outside but hey I like skyclad *grin* - it doesn't sound like much but when the mean temperature ranges in mid seventies to mid nineties you can see how twenty degrees to the south can flip out the natives.  And just so you don't think I've gone soft I had passed more than one person wearing a down filled coat with gloves and hat asking me if I was freezing.  After assuring one and all that I was fine and it really wasn't that cold I kept having flash backs to living in Detroit and wearing a long quilted jean jacket walking in the snow and having people ask me the same thing from their even thicker jackets and multiple layers of cotton and wool. 

There were a few gusts that actually made me feel a tad under dressed but I had shoes on.  I am of the school if my feet are warm so am I.  It wasn't twenty below freezing with wind chills it was just cooler.  The local news folks are waxing on how it'll be mid seventies today and all was right again in the weather.  The idiots.  We need rain and we need weather swings to keep the crops growing.  Extreme cold weather also helps thin down the non-native species that are slowly invading the area and choking out the real species. 

My weekend was nice and non-eventful.  I didn't really do much of anything but rest, watch some movies and write a bit.  Not nearly as much as I wanted but some.  Today is mid-month close or I would have taken today off to stretch out the weekend a bit more.  I made chicken breasts last night smothered with some cream soups roasted in the oven for hour and half.  Tossed some baby Yukon gold potatoes in a pot and made garlic smashed potatoes with skin on.  Salad rounded out the meal.  A nice Sunday afternoon dinner that filled me up without making me feel like I was being bad.  I am nearly ready for the week ahead. 

A week nearly into the year and I still can't catch a break

I eluded to Sand in a quick chat that life had been changing rapidly around my work.  The company has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year.  In fact we got our 10,000th cell tower.  Did the company give us gift certificates we could use for our own celebration?  Nope, we have plastic door stops or dust catchers.  What have you.  The commemoration plaque came in a box and weighed enough to keep a door open.  They laser etched the company name, the commemoration comment and Q4 2011.  I put it on my little office cube shelf but really wanted to take it home and see if it keeps the door open. 

Well the international division I work with has grown even more than expected.  Thus this week after a few closed door meetings we were all rounded up in my immediate division for an impromptu 'meeting'.  I had already been told what was going on but still I trod into the conference room to hear it from our division manager's lips.  After a few verbal missteps he finally spit out that International is getting their own little space, my supervisor is now head of ONLY the International division (she is cool and oddly enough on vacation while this shakeup commenced).  The supervisor of the other department I started working for was getting a 'cross-promotion' (meaning no more money and her life has been dumped sideways) to a new department and instead of the staff of 8 she reigned over she gets only 2 people (she sees it quite accurately as she is a failure as a supervisor - she terrorizes most of her staff and ends up in HR often).  Now instead of moving the lead folks (baby supervisors) up they are hiring a new supervisor for both departments.  NOT a job I am remotely interested in even if they throw real money at it because of the staffing issues. 

So everyone is looking like deer-in-headlights with all the changes and trying to shuffle their corporate politics into shape so as to keep their positions.  The gal who is getting moved out of her department called off sick yesterday further illustrating she didn't have a clue about the shake up.  All in all very politically charged climate.  I am keeping my head down and working.  We still haven't had our annual reviews that were supposed to be done last month.  *sigh*

Winter of sorts

Having lived in snow covered areas I still crack up when everyone freaks out the moment a cold front heads down from Canada.  It is not glacially cold here but folks are bundled like they are heading up the trails to reach a 10,000 foot pinnacle of snow and ice.  I do feel bad for the exotic butterflies - they become little butterfly-ice cubes once the temps hit the thirties. No empathy or a smidgen of sympathy for the reptiles smuggled into the area.  They can freeze for all I care because they inhale the local flora and fauna without boundaries.  Two winters ago a little kid was pulling iguanas from outside where they appeared to be near death and the girl's mom was massively shocked when she found out that reptiles can and do defrost if 'rescued in time'.  I wonder what her first reaction was (not the fake one on camera later seen)? 

"Oh, my -insert swear word or phrase - why the hell did you pull these things into my house?"  Naturally screamed from the safety of her nearest kitchen chair or counter top.

That said, I got my first tomato from the topsy-turvey planter my sister sent for my bday.  Yeah, a ripe tomato in December.