19 posts tagged “work”
After a hellish bout with the stomach virus made popular by cruise ships called the Norovirus, I am BACK! Yes, my grandfather brought the Norovirus to Thanksgiving and it made its way around my family. I started feeling twinges after I got back from Black Friday shopping with my mom, and by 4pm I was down for the count. Tadd tucked me in bed and I nodded off for a couple of hours only to wake up to the sound of him wretching in the bathroom as well. We both stayed in bed all day Saturday and by Sunday we were feeling well enough to put up the tree. I don't have much else to say about the Norovirus, other than I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!
Unfortunately, I made it back to work on Tuesday to find that I was all alone during what is likely the busiest week in the entire year for my industry. My boss's kid is severely ill, our data entry specialist was out with pink eye, and the other case manager is in NJ due to a death in the family. That left just me. The data entry person came back Wednesday, and my boss was finally able to come in for a half-day today, but I have been doing about six times the amount of work I normally do and my stress levels have been through the roof. I'm trying to console myself with the fact that the week is almost over, but I have NEVER been this behind before. Through no fault of my own, of course, but it is bothering me all the same. I'm only one person! Luckily, everyone should be back in the office on Monday and the December new business should start tapering off. But sometimes it feels like I'll NEVER be caught up again.
In happier news, we got a new camera on Black Friday! We got the 10.3 megapixel Kodak that was on sale at Target for $89.99. It's not the fanciest, but it is worlds better than the camera we have had since we first got married in Summer 2004. I can't wait to take it along for our Disney weekend a week from tomorrow. I am SO looking forward for a little getaway, and it will definitely give us a reason to try out all the features of our new camera.
Originally when we made plans for my in-laws to come to town, I was only going to take the first half of the week off. But since then I decided to see if I could get the rest of the week off. I really didn't know how my boss would react, so I hemmed and hawed awhile about it. Today, I finally bit the bullet and asked and she was TOTALLY fine about it! I filled out the request and it has already been approved and put on the company calendar. So I have a full week of vacation to look forward to in two weeks!
Woo hoo!
It has been a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time since I've taken a full week off of work. Actually, I think it was 2005 when Tadd and I took a cruise with friends.
Definitely time for some updating around here...
I am still alive and well. Very happy that summer is over and embracing the start of my favorite time of year...FALL! I actually pulled out all my Autumn/Halloween decorations over this past weekend and our place is looking quite festive. And smelling festive too! Lots of pumpkin/apple/cinnamon/spice-scented candles and wax tarts scattered around. Not that we really have many people over to show it off, but I decorate mostly for myself anyways. It makes me happy. This past weekend I also baked some pumpkin sugar cookies and we had friends over for a somewhat impromptu autumn seasonal beer tasting. We tried some Pumpkin Jack Ale, Oktoberfest, and Harvest Moon. Ryan had to be the weird one who brought blueberry beer, but it was yummy, so I forgave him.
Last week, we got to see the Red Sox beat the tar out of the Rays. We went with Betsy, Richard, and Ryan. Richard's coworker worked out a deal with a rock star tour bus, so for a grand total of $60/person, we got to ride over to Tampa in total luxury and see the game at Tropicana Field. It was SO much fun! The bus was huge...two living rooms each with stereos and flat-panel TVs, a bar, kitchen, sleeping quarters for (I think) 12 (and each bed has its own flat screen TV!), etc, etc, etc. It was SO nice! We also got unlimited food & drinks on the bus. The game was great too...6 homeruns, one of which landed about 6 seats away from us. The final score was 13-5! Of course, they lost the next two games in the series, which led to the operations director at work teasing me that we were lucky we picked Monday night's game instead of the others.
The next few weeks are going to be kind of crazy, especially for Tadd. He leaves for a week in Memphis for work next Sunday, then the weekend after he returns, his mom, brother, & uncles come to stay with us for a week, then the week after that, they may be sending him to Virginia for another week. I'm not looking forward to spending so much time away from him, but it's for the best. Things at his job are going very well, so I won't complain...too much.
My job is going pretty well too. I'm SO much more at ease than I was when I first got promoted back in June. They just did a little reorganizing, which means a few things are being taken off of my plate as of October 1, but for the most part my responsibilities will be staying the same. I'm happy about that because when they announced all the changes, I was worried that now that I am finally into a good groove in this position, they were going to change everything around on me and I would be stressed out all over again. Luckily that will not be happening. For now at least...
Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe it. We aren't going to do anything until Saturday, but I think I'm going to stop by Publix on the way home and buy a bottle of champagne for us to enjoy tonight. I think we're also going to watch our wedding DVD. Not sure what we're doing Saturday because Tadd won't tell me. He's sneaky like that.
Things in other aspects of my life are ok. Work is getting better as I learn more and more. I'm much more comfortable now than I was in those first couple of weeks. I could do without some of the office drama, but every company has that.
I know this is a quick update, but I must get back to work. More later!
My new position is totally kicking my bum. It is SO stressful and as a whole, our department is SO behind. I still have to get over a lot of my insecurities when it comes to handling unhappy people on the phone, and I still have a lot to learn. I have been coming home every night exhausted and have been working remotely from home after hours to keep up. I'm trying not to worry so much about it, but the stress does get to me and I have found myself longing for my old position where I knew what I was doing and could do it quickly and efficiently. Hopefully that day will come again soon...
Luckily, we have a few fun things going on to distract me. Tadd and I talked to my mother-in-law last night more in-depth about her plans for when she comes to visit in October. I actually put in for a quote with a travel agent last night and am waiting to hear back. She wants to do a few nights in a Fort Wilderness cabin, which should be so much fun! We're planning on getting there about mid-morning Monday of the week they are going to be in town, go to a late lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge, then the Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom. Then Tuesday we'll be at Epcot most of the day for Food & Wine Fest. Then Wednesday we have breakfast at Kona in the Polynesian, followed by a day exploring Fort Wilderness, maybe mini-golfing, hanging out at Downtown Disney, etc. We're going to rent a golf cart while we're there to get around the Fort, and I plan on decorating our cabin (and our golf cart) for Halloween/Autumn.
Also, Tadd found out that his boss might be sending us to Las Vegas! We don't have many details yet, but he wants to take Tadd to an industry convention and said if I pay my own airfare, I was welcome join them. We'll have to see about work time-off and such, but it would be tough to turn down, especially since I think it is right around our anniversary.
Well, after less than 5 months at my new company, I was able to do what I never was able to do in four years at AAA. I officially got the promotion to Benefits Specialist as well as a 16% raise! I start my new job Monday and they have actually already hired my replacement. Things are moving so fast my head is spinning. I'm nervous about my new responsibilities, but luckily I have a few weeks of training before I have to start dealing with brokers on a regular basis.
So instead of worrying about everything that lies ahead of me, I'm just taking a little time to bask in the glow of my achievement. Take THAT AAA! Ha!
Apparently there is a doctor in NYC whose last name is Chelsea-Clinton. I don't know why, but I found that really amusing.
STILL waiting on my 90-day review. At this rate, it will be a 120-day review. My hopes for getting offered a raise are dwindling...
I've been catching up on the new HBO mini-series John Adams, which I have really enjoyed. The plot is a bit slow at times and it's somewhat dry, but being the history nerd that I am, I can get past all that. Paul Giamatti is SUPERB as John Adams. Icing on the cake is that I found out that the very last book my grandfather read was the book that the movie is based on. So now I have a sentimental tie with it as well.
I've been doing freaking AWESOME at my CVSing. The cabinet in the master bath is overflowing with free stuff. Just yesterday I spent a little over $3 for two 16-packs of AAA batteries, three large bottles of body wash, three exfoliating facial scrubbers, and a 12-count box of Alavert allergy medicine, and I got back $25.47 in ECBs for next time! I love it!
Looking forward to the weekend. Hoping we get to go to DHS on Sunday. We'll see...
That is all for now.
I can't believe we're almost halfway through the week. It always seems like the first few days of the week fly by, and then the last half of the week just drags.
Well, our marvelous and much-anticipated date night didn't quite go as planned. Anyone who reads this who lives in Central Florida probably knows why. It poured buckets most of the drive to WDW Saturday afternoon. By the time we arrived at the Grand Floridian Resort, the rain had stopped, so we decided to go to our dinner reservations at the Grand Floridian Cafe and see how the weather was afterward to decide what to do. We really enjoyed our dinner...I started with the mushroom soup, then for my entree had the chicken in a wine sauce with spinach, fingerling potatoes, mushrooms, and roasted onions in a delicious vinaigrette. Tadd had the french onion soup, then the shrimp & prosciutto penne in an asiago cream sauce with asparagus tips. Everything was very good and the service was top-notch.
The weather was still holding up when we finished dinner, so we walked down to the boat dock at the back of the resort and caught the next boat launch to the Magic Kingdom. We had a 20-second shower while we were on our way on the boat, but I had hope that things were clearing up. We got through the turnstiles and to the end of Main Street when the skies opened up again. We made it to the covered passageway between Adventureland and Frontierland and had to take cover. After about 20 minutes of intense wind, a deluge of rain, and crazy lightning and thunder, there was a lull. So we, unfortunately decided to try to make our way out of the park. The main reasons we wanted to go to MK that night were to see Wishes and Spectromagic, neither of which can go on in the rain, so there unfortunately wasn't much reason to stay if it was going to storm all night. What a bummer... Tadd said he'll make it up to me and I at least have Flower & Garden Festival to look forward to next Saturday.
Various other things going on:
The compressor in my car decided to die last week, so we had to spend $400 for another. Luckily Tadd was able to replace it himself on Sunday, or it probably would have cost three times as much. But it's really nice to have air conditioning in my car again.
Fantasy baseball is going great! I'm in first place in our league. Go Chase Utley!
I reached the 90-day point at work. Got my benefits packet, but still no 90-day review. Hopefully they will schedule one for me soon. I'm definitely in need of a raise!
Work is still crazy, but at least I don't feel buried at the moment. There has been more talk of hiring another person to help me out. I hope they actually go through with it soon. I'd like to be able to take a minute to just breathe every now and then. I am counting down the days until our trip to Tennessee...I need a vacation!!!
Our Disney blackout dates for Spring Break are over and we can go back again until sometime in June when they are blocked again for the summer. We were both surprised how much we missed having the opportunity to just go to any of the parks for most of March while we were blacked out. We've decided we are definitely going to do our best to renew our passes in September, because we both feel the investment has been well worth it. Anyways, Saturday night, we are going to do a date night. Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, so we're going to have an early dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse and then walk over to MK for the rest of the evening, mostly just to wander around and take in the night parade and the fireworks. Then the following weekend, we're going to go to Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival. It will be my first time at F&G, so I'm excited about that.
Well, I have to be getting back to work so I don't get too far behind. More later.
Work is insane.
I am exhausted.
Have to work this weekend, but getting paid triple-time for my trouble. Part of me is SO bummed to be cheated out of my weekend time, but I just couldn't say no (partly due to wanting to prove myself, partly due to the ca$h).
Off to veg on the couch until I pass out...
