Archive for the 'Workplace' Category
Three-day weekends pretty much rule
Don’t they? It’s a sunny Sunday morning here in north Seattle and I finally feel buoyed enough to post. I have a long to-do list for the rest of the weekend: early yardwork (trim back dead annuals, buy new trellises, contemplate turning over compost pile once I figure out best way to do it), make soup, vacuum rest of house, dust, CLEAN BATHROOM, scrub kitchen floor (hell, scrub kitchen!), try out new Tai-Bo cardio DVD, read, and harass cats. (That last item is of course an ongoing project.)
One reason I haven’t written anything until now is that I wanted to complete a full week at my new job before describing what I felt about it. If I’d written the evening of my first day, you would’ve read a post full of anxiety. After the second day, a post full of confusion. But now? I can safely say that I think I am really going to enjoy this job. Everybody is so nice; even though I am the new person and have a bit more lowly status as far as title and pay, they treat me like an–gasp!–adult, nay, an equal! Imagine that! Also, being on the academic side, the atmosphere is very casual. My new boss says that being on the academic side of a gov’t-run operation like the U.W. is a constant struggle between toeing the gov’t line in having to follow of the rules and regulations that come with it, and the faculty/students insisting on a free-n-easy, I-wanna-do-things-my-way-so-hang-the-rules atmosphere. That part generally wins. Fine by me!
As for the actual work, I’m still trying to figure out what exactly it is I’ll be doing. It’s a newly created position, so even they are unsure precisely what I will end up taking over/doing. I had to ask a number of my new coworkers what they feel my job duties are and made a list over the week. I’ll essentially be supporting a certain group of the faculty within this particular academic school–they both teach and have NIH-funded research grants, so I will be helping out with grant work at this position. Grant money is what funds a part of the department budget. I have yet a load of training classes to take to learn the numerous databases that I will use to do my job. I look forward to six months from now, when I know how to do everything and can just walk in, sit down, and get to work!
On the home front, Barrett left for his 2-week tour with Kinski on Thursday. They played Stockholm last night and Helsinki tonight. I miss him a lot this time around, much more than any past tour he’s been on. He’s been such a steady rock for me in the past six months, when I’ve been so down about my work situation and other things. He’s my best buddy (not excepting Anne, of course!) and definitely the one person I can be absolutely my goofy self with. Goofiness is a big part of our relationship, it turns out! Saying my stupid punny jokes out loud to the cats just doesn’t cut it, ya know? I get the distinct feeling that the cats DON’T SPEAK ENGLISH.
It’s noon and the shower beckons. Then let’s see how much of my list I can get done by midnight tonight–ready, steady, GO!
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