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Random Musings and Things Accomplished

January 28, 2007 By

I finally got that mix CD made for the exchange I’m participating in. Here’s the list of songs I came up with:

  1. A song from the year you were born – Free Man in Paris by Joni Mitchell
  2. A song having to do with your favorite color – Turn Back Time by Aqua
  3. A song that mentions a place name – Gulf of Mexico by Cameron Dezen
  4. Up in the air and beyond (sun, sky, atmosphere, moon, planets, outer space, etc.) – Blue Sky by Patty Griffin
  5. A food or mealtime song – Pizza Cutter by Letters to Cleo
  6. A cowboy song – A Common Disaster by Cowboy Junkies
  7. It’s about time – See #2
  8. A song about music – Mix Tape by the Original Broadway Cast of Avenue Q
  9. A song about the weather – Listening for the Weather by Bic Runga
  10. Pick a name, any name – Susan by Aimee Mann
  11. It’s getting dark – Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest
  12. Something imaginary – Imaginary by Evanescence
  13. A song by a singer/band from a continent you don’t live on – Going Home by Sophie Zelmani
  14. A pretty ugly song – Beautiful by Joydrop
  15. Don’t just sit there, get moving! (a song about some sort of action/physical activity) – Push and Pull by Nikka Costa
  16. Money – either you got it or you don’t – Dealer by Chantal Kreviazuk
  17. Seasonal songs – a song either mentioning a season or having to with certain seasons – Season of the Witch by Donovan
  18. Hello/Goodbye – Big Exit by PJ Harvey
  19. The animal kingdom – Smelly Cat by Chrissie Hynde and Phoebe Bouffay (found this one by accident on a music search of a different flavor – I don’t think there’s an official release of it.)
  20. Wildcard – put on a song just because you want to include it – ‘Cuz I Can by P!nk

That’s ready to mail out to Saturnine, i just have to go to the post office tomorrow and do that. I like the mix exchanges, they’re fun to do and even more fun to get the CDs with new music on the. On my iTunes player, I created a playlist called “Mix CD Repository” where I dump all the music from these things on there. It’s great to put it on shuffle and just have it playing while I go about my chores.

I also managed to vacuum my apartment yesterday and get the piles of laundry done. I feel so much better now with those things out of the way.

In other news, lately I’ve not been feeling too inspired to post. I feel like my postings have been a bit trite, simply reporting on my daily happenings and such. I need to get my inspiration back. Dr. A has been going through a blog block lately, and seems to have resolved it with a video post. You aren’t going to get that lucky here, as I hate being on camera, especially video. So, I’ll need to find some other way to resolve my blog block.

I suppose I should get going now. I need to eat something and get back to bed (I slept all day). Tomorrow is another day, and I do have to go to work.

Filed Under: Music

No More Word Verification Hell

January 27, 2007 By

I don’t know who started it, but there seems to be a trend going around the blogosphere. People are turning off word verification. I’ve done the same, because I know I hate it when I try typing in those silly letters and I have to do it again because something didn’t compute. I know I can read, and I know I can type, so having to do that a second time is really annoying.

I’ll still leave comment moderation in place, because this is my blog and it’s still a great way to avoid having spammy comments. But yay! no more wonky words!

Filed Under: My Blog

Settling Down

January 26, 2007 By

Well, things at Security job have settled down a bit. For one, I won’t be working my graveyard dispatch shift as long as I’m in the office during the day. So getting some sleep is a distinct possibility. Second, I’ve decided not to take the director position. I’m not a director. However, I will be staying in that chair in an administrative capacity until they find a new director, and with me there, they have time to find someone competent. After that, I’ll be moved back to graveyard dispatch, but full time.

Today was payday in the office, which is normally a mad zoo. Dozens of guards come in all at once to get their paycheck, and usually most of them have some problem or another with their pay. Considering the situation that I got thrown into, I was prepared for the onslaught. I think I only saw about 6 or 7 people for payroll problems. I was told that it was the easiest payday we’ve had in a long time, so for that the kudos and high-fives were flowing freely, all in my direction. That felt good, not only that I did that good a job but also that I was recognized for all my hard work. As long as I’m in the office, I’ll have a bump in pay. I’m kinda hoping that I can stay in the office on a longer term basis, because now that I have the hours somewhat regulated I can handle it, plus it’s day hours, which I can do for a much longer period than graveyard shift.

This weekend I’m looking forward to having some time to do laundry and clean my disaster area of an apartment. It will feel so good to get some personal things tended to, and to have some time off. If we get all the shifts that are open for the weekend filled, and can clean up the scheduling boards a bit, then I should be able to take the weekend off. So looking forward to that!

Filed Under: Work

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

January 22, 2007 By

And it’s just about out. I can’t do what I’ve been doing at security place long term. I’m just not cut out for that stuff. Like I’ve said before, I’m a paper person, a clerical worker. I mean, I know a lot of what I’ve been dealing with this past week stems from the disorganization of previous problems and the fact that I’m doing it pretty much all by myself without a clue as to how, but still. Will it get better? Somehow I don’t think so.

Yesterday I went into the office to finish payroll, and was there from about 12:30pm to 5:00am. The business being what it is, I had so many distractions and was sidetracked out of the office not once but twice – once to bring a guard to a site just to get it covered, because I couldn’t arrange transport with another patrol driver, and the second time to drive over 30 miles one way to help a patrol driver who had inadvertently gotten himself locked out of his truck. And of course trying to finish up payroll with all the knowledge that the two-minute tutorial I got has given me. And we can’t forget that I am a very conscientious person, so I wanted to make sure that everything was correct to the best of my ability to ensure that payday (which is typically a mad zoo) goes as smoothly as possible. Grrr.

I have heard that the director’s position has been offered to me. That’s news to me, since no one has come up to me and said, Gee, I’d like to offer you the position. If that’s a taste of how good the communication is in that place, then I don’t want it. Also, being a huge proponent of efficiency and organization, I just don’t know if I could do it without screaming in frustration on a regular basis. I’ve known since the first minute I walked in there that efficiency and organization were not strong points that this company has. So, can I do the job? Yes. Would I be good at it? Most likely. Would I be happy? Probably not. Especially since I’m sitting home today, still burnt out on the place, avoiding it with everything I have. And I’m not even officially a director yet.

When I did go in yesterday, Dispatcher Guy, who is still trying to get me into the company he works for, asked me where the heck I have been. Apparently HR has been trying to call me and not getting through. I only have my cell phone, but it’s on all the time. I never ever turn it off unless I’m required to by say, a flight crew. Other than that it’s either on or just silent. And I have no issues getting voice mail, unless I’m out of range. Living in a large city such as this one, having no signal is not something I encounter on any regular basis, so getting messages is not something I have an issue with. Heck, I always get messages from my mother, and she’s in the middle of nowhere, New Hampshire. But yeah, I’d like to get into that company. It’s a large company, the pay is great, the benefits are great, and I hear it’s just an all around great company to work for. So why would I want to kill myself at security when I could have something better, even if the title isn’t as high?

Another reason for not wanting that job? It’s a black hole, as I’ve previously mentioned. Over the past month, mainly the time since I’ve been hired there, I’ve barely had time to do laundry, clean my house, or really do anything at my house except sleep, and even then I don’t have the time. I need to take care of me. I’m not getting any of that lately. Sure, I do have a social life – but that’s part of me holding on to my sanity as much as I can. But ME time? That I don’t have. I’m the kind of person who enjoys being able to come home and just chill. When the fuck was the last time I did that? I also know that I need a regular schedule, not this all over the map shit I’ve been doing lately. I need the same hours, and the same regularly scheduled time off. I’m so burnt that I haven’t had time to go grocery shopping, and as a result I have about 4 sheets of toilet paper left. I must go get toilet paper today.

I’ve also not had time to take care of things that really need doing, like my traffic school and fine stemming from the citation I got in September. The traffic school I can do online, which I am doing now, and that needs to be completed and the fine paid by 7:00am tomorrow. That’s 15 hours from now. No way in heck am I going to work tomorrow. Of course, I’d get this shit done a lot faster if I were not required by the fucking timer to spend so much time reading a certain page. The chapter I am on now is making me spend 41 minutes on it. I had it done in 4.1 minutes. All I can say is thank goodness for Firefox and tabs, so I can catch up on blogging at least.

Right now I just really need to withdraw, hide, and take some alone time to recuperate. I’m just feeling sick over not having that at all lately.

Filed Under: Grrr, Work

It’s So Close I Can Almost Taste It

January 21, 2007 By

After working way too long on Friday, getting too little sleep and then hanging out with some friends on Friday night (gotta keep my sanity, you know), sleeping in way too late on Saturday and not getting into the office until dinnertime, I spoke with the operations director regarding some ideas I had to make at least part of the place run more efficiently. He suggested I write it up as a formal proposal and if it’s good he’ll bring it to the owner. I stayed there too late writing it up and put it on his desk before I left. He also had heard that I had expressed an interest in the vacant director’s position. I don’t recall actually expressing an interest, but I am interested in a full time steady job that pays me enough to live on.

Anyway, here’s what I know about working at security place:

  • I’ve been getting quite a few pats on the back this week for jumping in and keeping the standing room going while the director is on vacation
  • They like me, they really like me
  • I’ve developed a decent rapport with the guards that I have had contact with, which goes a long way since good rapport = happy workers = happy company
  • I’ve only officially been employed there less than a month, yet a director position seems very likely
  • My proposal for co-directors in the standing guard room will make that room run much more efficiently (read: increased revenue) than two separate directors doing their own things

So, assuming the proposal I wrote up in my severely sleep deprived state makes any sense and is coherent enough to sound like a good plan, then I will know by the end of the week (how many times have I said “end of the week” lately?) whether or not I will be getting a promotion at work – at a job that was only intended to be temporary until I found myself a full time day job. But, it would be a more challenging position and a huge step up, which is what I said I was seeking, right?

Anyway, while I may not know exactly what I want as far as a career goes, I do know what I want right this second: sleep. I need to get a few winks, because I have to get up early for church in the morning before heading into the office to make sure payroll is done, because with the director on vacation, that’s about 150+ guards who won’t get paid if I don’t get that done. Gosh, I love having that kind of power!

Filed Under: Work