To be completely accurate, it’s my eyes and general head area that hurts. I’ve spent so many hours gazing at my monitor collating data and writing an analysis that I’ve had to result to wearing my glasses nearly 24/7 just to try and combat eye strain.

I’m not entirely certain that all the pain is caused by eye strain. My brain feels like it’s swelling and about to pop out of my ears. Whenever I move my head I have a quick moment of dizziness and then experience a quickly dissipating dull ache. It’s a bit like a beer hangover without the benefits of drinking the nectar of the gods…

On the bright side, the analysis is complete. The report is written, attached to an email, and sent off to the high-up muckety mucks.

Now for the downside: I’m once again staring at my monitor trying to find errors in training manuals. Tomorrow I’m going to search for a monitor anti-glare cover to see if that will help this headache move on to greener pastures.

Technorati Tags: headache, eye strain

Working in a global environment exposes you to amazing and wondrous things – like great trips to foreign countries, new learning experiences, cultural norms, languages, different foods, work ethics, etc.

There’s a dark side that only seems to rear it’s ugly head when I’m desperate for sleep – conference calls at 0 dark 30 in the morning.

As someone living in a Mountain time zone area, I’m used to getting up early in the morning in order to make an early morning call scheduled in Eastern time. Usually, the time zone with the most participants gets first priority on determining what time the calls occur. Sometimes that means that I’m getting up for a 5am call on a Monday morning. At other times it means working in the middle of the night.

The reality is that a global work world means that not all participants are based in North America. Ergo, I’ve got a series of 11pm-1am conference calls on my calendar in a few short days. Hopefully no one expects me to share coherent thoughts during the session.

Wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: conference calls, time zones, sleep, global work environment

Today was my first day back in the office. I’ve been working from my home office since leaving Saint John at the beginning of the month. It’s odd being surrounded by so many people again. It wasn’t as bad as I expected though. Unless of course you factor in the ewwww quotient that comes with having to clean out someone else’s desk drawers.

See, Boo* and I were moving cubes and since I was going to be away, Boo put in the paperwork and recommended I pack up my stuff so that it’d be easier to move when the approvals were complete. I packed up my stuff (how does one accumulate 4 boxes of “stuff” in only 8 years?) and set it aside for the move before heading to my parents house. I cleaned out all of my drawers and tried to make it suitable for the next occupant.

Today I spent the first part of the morning cleaning out the drawers in the desk I’ve inherited through my move. With all the crud in the drawers, I thought maybe the previous occupant had quit or been fired while I was away. Along with the stale foodstuffs, condiment collection, scraps of paper and crumbs I found employee personel records and financial reports. Skip the fact that I’m under the impression that these items shouldn’t have made it out of HR, they should have been shredded the minute the previous occupant left the company. They definitely should not have been sitting in unlocked drawers in the middle of the production floor. Imagine my surprise when I learned that she hadn’t left the company. I bumped into her later in the morning and learned that she’d just moved cubicles.

UGH! UGH! UGH!

Some people just have no respect for themselves, others, or other’s property.

* Boo earned her nickname due to her line of work. Just like the little girl from Monster’s Inc., she’s the sweet little girl surrounded by “monsters”.

Technorati Tags: home office, work, co-workers, cubicle

I love my job. Ok, if I’m being honest, I love chunks of my job. I especially love the analysis part. I love asking questions, getting answers, then asking even more questions. I love sifting through piles of data trying to find the key that helps me find the right questions to ask so I can work on developing an approach that may, in the end, provide the answers.

Life isn’t a bowl of cherries – it’s a constant search for the right questions to ask.

I do have a confession to make. I really don’t like the development bit. Despite the cute whoosing sound they make going by (didn’t Scott Adams say that?) I really don’t like deadlines. Of course, my current dislike of dealines is likely fueled by the close-of-business Friday deadline I’m currently facing.

Other things I’m not so fond of? Having to rely on others. Teamwork. Not having complete control over every aspect of a project. I know I need to learn how to let go. I need to learn to actively solicit help and learn to graciously accept it when offered. I’ll get right on that as soon as you find the cure for my type A work-til-I-drop personality.

Technorati Tags: work, instructional design, project, deadlines

I admit it. I’m a closet horoscope reader. My friend DA has a great theory about horoscopes. If you read them at the beginning of the day, they can influence the outcome of the rest of your day by colouring your perspective and approach to the things that you do. She admits to reading them, but waits until the end of the day when any damage can be mitigated by quickly heading off to sleep.

She’s got a good point, but since I have my horoscope blaring across my My Yahoo! pages, it’s hard for me to make it through the day without checking it out at least once.

I’m pleasantly surprised by today’s horoscope, which I think really reflects how I’ve been feeling the past few days (granted, it might have been better suited to my position earlier in the week):

“It’s not just your retirement portfolio that should be diversified — think about your life portfolio. Instead of doing what’s comfortable and safe, think about what scares you just a little bit. Then tackle it.”

See, I’ve been desperate to blog about training, learning, elearning and distance education issues. I’d put off doing it for so long because I wasn’t sure I had any right to start ranting and raving about any of these topics. I’m so new to the field of adult education that my shoes still squeak. I’m devouring everything I can on the subject and continually working to improve my own understanding through course work, research and dialog. However, I never really felt certain that I should blog about any of these subjects. What if someone laughed my opinions off the face of the planet? What if I’ve completely misunderstood the point and have done nothing more than display my ignorance?

Blogging about the military, travel, and life in general is pretty safe. After all, descriptions of your experiences globetrotting or the colour you want to paint your office aren’t likely to be challenged. Blogging about learning is a whole other kettle of fish. The prospect terrified me.

Despite my fear earlier this week I began blogging about the things that fascinate me, the things I’m passionate about – learning, analysis, design and performance. I’ve jumped in and discovered that I do have something to offer. In the end, it wasn’t so terrifying after all.

Thanks so much to Harold Jarche and Tony Kerrer who didn’t laugh when they read my post but instead offered more insightful questions for me to chew on over the next few days.

Technorati Tags: learning, blogging topics, fear, horoscopes