Spent my Friday writing a paper and working on assignments. Lots and lots of hard work sitting in a chair all day and typing away. Actually, it wasn’t too bad. Only problem is, I have many more papers to complete before the semester and I still haven’t found a replacement chair for my office yet.

Today I am busy being crazy (or is it lazy). Hopped out to G&E pharmacy for cat food this afternoon and finally picked up my Gordon Lightfoot tickets for next week’s concert. I’m sorry that Drew will miss it but I think L will enjoy being my “date” for the evening. He’s a big fan as well and taking him is the least I can do after he spent a large part of this winter being my snow shoveling fairy.

I spent the rest off the day being little miss homemaker. I vaccuumed, washed dinners, did some laundry, and cooked. Someone better check to ensure I haven’t been taken over by some sort of alien pod-person. I don’t even recognize my behaviour today.

Expecting the hubby to be home before June and going a little crazy now that the countdown has begun. Not knowing when he is coming home has made the duration of his absence seem longer. Then again, the original plan would have has him home last month so I guess not knowing when he’d return has forced me to be a bit more self reliant than I’ve had to be in the past. Or perhaps that’s just because I’m not used to being stuck home alone over an entire winter.

It’s a lot easier to manage whem there’s no snow on the ground to contend with.

Ok. Enough whining for now. Off to bed. Take care blog ‘verse.

Day three is the new job and I’m really enjoying it. I dunno. Maybe I was cut out to be a gov’t employee 🙂

I know it still has that “new job smell” and I’m still in the honeymoon phase but I’m loving what I’ve learned about my new position and department to date. I think that’s an auspicious start.

I’ve since learned that if I’d accepted one of the jobs I turned down an interview for I would be working with whoever would be doing my new job. I’m wondering if any of my former co-workers interviewed for or accepted the position. This may end up giving us an additional opportunity to work together. Could be fun.

Last night I went to the #yegtweetup with Loxley. I met some new people and am surprised at how easy it is to relate to everyone. I am always thankful that Loxley comes with me since I’d never attend these events alone. When Drew comes home I need to drag him to one. People have heard of him and want to meet him. apparently you don’t need to tweet to drink beer *w00t*

The trains to work are often crowded but I’m learning to be patient and wait for a less cramped train on the way home. I’m looking forward to claiming the tax credit for using public transit next tax season. At 70+ $$ a month for passes the tax credit is a big incentive to take public transit to work. I’ll admit it. I’m bribable with me own tax dollars.

Lots of studying left to do. Off to do homework. Have a great night everyone.

Managed to wake up nice and early for my first day at work and I now know that to get to work on time I need to leave the house by 7:30am. The trains on the way home are packed like sardine cans but if you wait another 6 minutes you can usually hit a train that’s less scary when it comes to invasion of personal space. Home by 5:15pm. Not bad.

I had to cancel my P&B meeting this afternoon to attend a meeting related to one of my portfolios – ooh, I have portfolios – so it’s been rescheduled for first thing tomorrow am.

I don’t have any IDs or a computer yet but hopefully that will be sorted out in the next day or so. Until then I have lots of reading to do.

My new boss and co-workers are very upbeat and friendly. People seem to enjoy what they’re doing which is always a good sign. I’m the only external hire in the group so others have a really good grasp on the services offered in the department. What I bring to the table is a lot of software and development experience.

My summer vacation is approved as is an upcoming day off to write my final exam for my Mil Psych class. The other two exams are written in the evenings so I have nothing to worry about there.

The office is downtown which will take a bit of getting used to. I’ve never really spent any time downtown so I don’t know my way around well. However, since the gov’t offices are spread out everywhere, I’m sure I’ll learn quickly. If I do get lost my phone has google maps on it and can help with directions.

Overall it was a very nice first day.

Tomorrow I head off to begin my new job. I’m alternating between really excited about the new opportunity and shaking in my boots from fear and anxiety. The whole ‘what if I don’t measure up to expectations’ bingo that plays in the head on occassion. I’m sure I’ll get over it after I survive the first day. After all, I’m good at what I do. I have knowledge, skills, and experience to fall back on.

I still haven’t managed to reset my sleep cycle so I’ve set every alarm clock in my house to 6:30am so I don’t sleep in. I’m so excited about the new job that I’m afraid I won’t be able to get sleep. Big Momma R has volunteered to give me a wake-up call at 7:00am to ensure my butt’s in gear. Have to be on the LRT platform for 7:30am to get to work on time.

I’ve already made my lunch – roast beast on rye, carrot and celery strings, plum, and tomato juice – but am still waffling over what I’m going to wear. At some point during the day I’ll need to hike about 10-15 blocks to visit the benefits and payroll office so whatever I choose needs to go well with comfortable shoes!

Time to do some homework and then I’ll spend more time trying to determine what to wear. See what an exciting life I lead?

Once upon a time I had a very incompetent co-worker. One who spent hours each day talking to friends on instant messengers or surfing the internet, took 3-10x longer to complete assigned tasks than her brand new co-worker, and couldn’t follow written or spoken directions. My boss, co-workers and I did everything we could think of to get her work to meet the bare minimum standards. We were unsuccessful. Finally, my boss had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with her and discussed her performance. She quit immediately. We could say it was in a fit of pique but honestly it was probably to pre-empt being fired by the boss.

So, now that my office mates and I have found new jobs and my former boss is gone, who does the department hire to fill in for D for the final few months of the project? If you guessed the sweet but clueless former co-worker treat yourself to a cookie.

I feel for D who must spend the next few weeks trying to train her. The re-hiring justification is that since she used to work with us she knows the software and processes. For the moment, let’s ignore the fact that she never learned much beyond the basics of the old LMS we were using and took weeks to complete a 4 hour assignment with less than 70% accuracy. The program converted to a new LMS a few months back. One that she’s never seen before. Every process in place when she was working for the dept. was refined or replaced with the advent of the new LMS.

I think they’re in for a rude awakening if they think she’s capable of doing even 10% of what D or Big Momma R used to do.

None of us should be surprised by this hiring decision as it’s a perfect representation of all that’s gone on in the past, but I have to admit, the absurdity of the situation is making us giggle on our way out the door.

You just can’t make this stuff up.