sunflowery's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ...And Another Thing. I forgot to tell you this. This morning I got more done before 8am than I've really managed to get done at all after. I got up, made breakfast, washed all the dishes in the sink, washed out the crockpot, put in a ham to cook for today, cleaned out the kitty litter boxes, took out the trash and picked up around the apartment. All before getting dressed and going to work. Once I got to work the marketing staff was handing out HUGE soup mugs and saucers, along with a can of soup and oyster crackers. It's to promote this month's recognition event at the end of the month. Oooo! More fun from the Big Bank Co! Have I told you lately that I love working here? No? Well, I have now. Supe just got back from the doctor and it turns out he just has a nasty virus and NO Strep. Yay! So, more liquids and rest for him. Poor thing. He is NOT a good sick person...but I have seen and dealt with worse, so here's to hoping he gets better quickly! Love you Sweetie! _______________________________A Year Ago Today: January 08 Wind Chills and Working for a Living Another day of temperatures in the 50�s. It is 52 degrees right now and it�s 4pm. They (who are "they" anyway?) say it will get back to chillier temperatures tomorrow starting with a backbreaking wind. So even if the temperature starts out pretty high, it will feel colder due to the wind chill effect. If you do not live in a colder climate, you may not know what a wind chill effect is. But we who reside in the Northland know that the wind-chill is the log with which to plan your outdoor winter activities. Say the actual temp is 5, but the wind is blowing like it�s nobody�s business and it�s coming in from the North. Then you could have temperatures that "feel" as if they were 25 below. That is some jumping freezing weather. Schools won�t let kids go outside for recess if there is a 20 below wind-chill or lower. It makes the snot freeze right in your nose and your nostrils stick together. Also, if you have facial hair, your breath will condensate and freeze right on your facial hair so it looks like you drooled all over your chin and did not have the heart to clean it up before going outside. It�s cold! I don�t want this site to be all about how terrible my job is, because, really, my job is not all that terrible. It was terrible last spring, for about 3 months, but then the air cleared and it has been better ever since. In addition, I hate to seem ungrateful for a good paying job with good benefits in this shaky economy. I am grateful for the work and glad that I am working somewhere where I am not bored 60% of the time. Finally, I like the aspect of my job that lets me just work. My bosses believe in giving me stuff to do and then leaving me alone to do it. I LOVE that. People standing over me or checking in with me every 5 minutes to see if I�m doing the job and doing it right make me crazy. BUT there are some aspects of my job that do drive me crazy. I am an office administrator for a small insurance office. I do all the things it takes to make the office run. I answer the phone and direct the calls and customers to the right agents, I open and distribute mail, I keep track of business and run reports, I order office supplies and keep our back room stocked with forms and supplies, and I do about 500 million other things that keep us up and running and making money. I have been with this company for a year and a half and have learned most of my job on the fly and as I go. This means that almost all that I do is only done by me and only known how to be done by me. So if I want a day off or a week or 2 of vacation, it�s like pulling teeth to get it. Everyone acts as if they are afraid that the world will fall apart and business will come to a screeching halt because I am not here to answer the phone and put calls into voice mail. It is nice on one hand, but so frustrating on the other. It definitely is job security though! My manager is OK. He is very charming and friendly...as long as things are going his way. He has turned on me for the smallest of things when his stress level has been high. The good thing is, he has always apologized after. The odd thing is his wife is the assistant manager of our office. This makes for some very uncomfortable moments at times, especially when she and I clash. I have to say she is not the brightest bulb in the bunch. I do not say this to be mean...maybe she has had people there to take care of her all of her life and is not used to thinking on her own. I have to admit that she is an amazing sales woman...that befuddles me completely. But once she gets what she wants, she backs waaaaay off and focuses on something else she wants. Here is an assistant manager story (believe me, I have TONS of them). For purposes of protecting the "innocent", I will call my Assistant Manager SM and her husband, my manager CM. Right before Christmas, our company sent out the 2003 vacation schedule. I put one in both managers� mailboxes and alerted them to it when they got in. SM was looking hers over when she got all agitated and asked CM, "What in the world is Independence Day?" CM calmly replies, "S, it�s the 4th of July." SM: "Oh God...right! Well, why didn�t they just say that?", not noticing that the date is printed right NEXT to the name of the holiday. I had to close my door so they wouldn�t hear me snickering in my office. Good Lord! Also, in my office there are about 20 agents at any one time. Most are OK to deal with, but occasionally we get a rascal or two. There is MA; he is the veteran agent that has been here since dirt was born. He thinks he knows everything about everything and my job is easier if I let him think that. Then there is MA�s buddy NA. NA has been with the company for about 5 years. NA is the MOST negative man you will ever meet. If he makes a lot of money one week, it is a fluke. If he makes an appointment, it probably will not be a good sales call. If the weather is sunny and warm, he hates it because that is not what winter should be like. I don�t know how this man makes a living or how he�s stayed married to his wife for so long. I must say his wife is a joy and a delight and must be the most laid back and patient woman on the face of the earth. NA does have his sweet, soft side though, but it is a rarity to see it. The funniest thing is that he and his wife raise breed and show German Shepherds. They never had kids, but they live with three or four dogs at any one time. I think NA does this just so he can say Bitch and get away with it. It still hits me funny when he comes back from a show and says his bitch did well. So funny! So, that�s the scoop on where I work. Occasionally I will probably stories about the people here and just wanted to write a little about what I do and who else is here with me. Thanks for reading!
1:29 p.m. - Thursday, Jan. 08, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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