Category: work

Go Speed Racer!

Whoo! Had quite the day at “work”. I put the air quotes around it, because even though I got up at the usual time and drove in to work, I didn’t do any *actual* work today.

It was the occasion of my group’s annual holiday offsite event. This is only my fourth week of employment.

We went to a new and very well managed Go Kart Racing facility. They are set up for corporate “team building” events. I dunno if talking smack and bumping your coworker ’round the curves is building a team, but it was a heck of a lot of fun.

We were broken up into two teams and each team got two goes at the race course. First was “warm up” laps, to learn the course. Then it got serious. I placed in the middle of the pack for times in the warm up laps.

Then we did a “qualifying round,” and from the results would be positioned for the final round.

So, while we waited for the qualifying round, oh did the smack talk begin. The “you’re going down!” comments started flying. And not from me. No, they came AT me. And I smiled. And I put on my pink helmet.

And I kicked everyone’s ass.

That’s right, I won the qualifying round, got the pole position, and never looked back.

Many of my new coworkers were like “wow, you were really…aggressive…out there.” Umm hmm…they wouldn’t have said that to a male driver. I’m just sayin’.

I was proud because another of my coworkers, one who took the MOST grief (they told her she drove like she was taking her kids to school. That ain’t right) came in second right behind me.

Girl Power!

After the racing then we played pool, ate and talked about the team and how we’ll approach next year.

So far, I’m really digging this job. Some of the best folks I’ve ever worked with. I just hope I can step up soon and be a fully functioning member of the group. They’ve been nothing but great to me.

Next up: the entire corporation has a holiday event Saturday. The Good Man gets to go too. It’s gonna be BIG fun!

The Spirit of Christmas I Don’t Wanna

That’s me. See me rattle my chains.

I am such the scrooge this year, I just don’t have “that special spirit” inside of me.

I *want* to have the spirit. I just don’t. Not a bit.

You ever notice that? Some years, the whole joy of the season takes hold and it becomes a good idea to festoon every surface available with blinky lights and tinsel, guzzle eggnog and play Burl Ives on your CD player.

And some years, it’s like pain to even unfold the fake tree and plug it into the wall.

That’s me the year, the second one.

Not even rousing Xmas carols in the lobby of my building at work can draw me out of the holiday doldrums.

You know it’s bad when I mentioned to The Good Man about Biscochitos and how maybe I should again this year. But that I just *can’t* get up the energy to make ’em (despite looking forward to nipping a sip of the brandy the recipe requires).

You *know* if I can’t get it together to make cookies, then SOMETHING must be wrong with me!

I did have an hour or so of the holiday “thang” over the weekend when TGM and I went to Toys R Us to fulfill the wishes of the kids on The Family Giving Tree tags I pulled this year.

As TGM and I discussed the relative merits of one Lego Bionicle set over another, I can say that, yes, I was feelin’ it.

But then trying to get our purchases to the car and get out of the ding dang parking lot…it evaporated again.

Oh well, I can’t change the inevitable. The Hellidays will be here soon, whether I’m ready for them or not.

*sigh*

Strange days indeed

So. I made a stop this morning to get petrol for my hoopty so I could make it to work.

I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t even look at the price anymore. Because it gives me a pain. I just pull up, put the nozzle in the tank, swipe my card and fill ‘er up.

So I was idly hanging about, checking email while the tank filled when I noticed.

One dollar and ninety nine cents!?!?!??!

I need a neck brace for all the whiplash! It was, what, two, three months ago that I had to take out a loan promising my life and any future offspring to the Gods of Petrol just to get enough gas in the tank to get to work?

And now, it’s at a rate lower than I think I’ve ever seen it since I moved here eleven years ago.

Wow.

So then. As I drove in to work, I started to ponder.

All those freight carriers. They were adding a “fuel surcharge” to my orders to get them to me.

Have they lowered or eliminated those?

The airlines were bumping up rates for high fuel charges. Am I seeing a fare reduction?

And plastic materials. Their price was up because of the rising costs of petroleum. Have they lowered their prices?

Ha! Doubtful.

And then I was ticked off.

Not a good way to start my Friday.

One of my very sweet employees, noting my rough mood, offered me a slice of coffee cake. Which I accepted.

These economic times are weird.

And I know I can expect that fuel won’t stay at this gloriously low rate for long.

Strap in people. Bumpy road ahead.

Mother Teresa of the Flu Virus

As one of the many hats I wear in my new gig, I manage a help desk. Ok, I don’t manage it, I have an incredibly good young manager who manages that team. She’s new at the role, but thoughtful and smart.

Today is starting out tough for her because we’re getting a series of folks calling in sick. This also includes my own manager, the Director of us all. *coff, coff, sniffle, sniffle*

Not good.

So I was chatting with my help desk manager today about our situation and how we get through it. While talking, she pulled a box out from under her desk and handed me the following things:

She is now going desk to desk, ministering to the sick and wounded, laying on hands and providing the same kit to each of our call agents.

See, it’s our fiscal year end, and we really need these folks on the phones, doing their jobs.

And with an arsenal of flu fighting products, there shall be no excuses!

I think this new, young manager is one smart cookie. I better keep an eye on her, I think she’ll be running circles around me in no time.

How lucky I am to have good folks on my team!

It’s the small victories that add up

I am ridiculously excited because, on the advice of a couple coworkers, I’ve found a different route to take to work. It’s actually a few miles longer in distance, but since traffic rolls and no stop-go, stop-go, it actually shaves 10 to 15 minutes off my commute.

TEN TO FIFTEEN MINUTES! That means that over the course of a week, I could get around two extra hours with my sweetie. Or sleeping. Or fast asleep next to my sweetie. All good options!

I’ve got the drive down to about 25 minutes each way, now. Commute to the old job was 45 to 50 minutes each way.

THIS is a victory for sanity!