KirstenL4W

Well, not by myself.  And not because of any of my knowledge, which is sorely lacking when it comes to all things mechanical.  But Mister had purchased some new rotors, brake pads, ball thingys, and some other parts for his truck, so he spent the weekend replacing all that stuff.  I started my Saturday by unpacking a few more boxes and trying to do some stuff around the house, but eventually Mister wanted some company so I sat and chatted with him and helped by handing him some tools.  Soon, handing tools to him became “hold this” and “bang this in place” and “put that nut in when you can see the hole” and other important, mechanic-type stuff.  And since we didn’t have a lift to put the truck up on, we were rolling around on the (by now) greasy garage floor.  And since we didn’t have power tools, this was all done by hand.

Saturday took a lot longer than Mister estimated with the help of a super high-tech estimating program he has access to for work.  So by Sunday morning, we still had the left front and both back sides to do.  We started out by stopping at Home Depot for one very important power tool that would save much time.  We also happened to buy a range-hood microwave oven, which we were wanting since our house did not come with one, so as soon as that’s installed we can regain some counter space.  (BTW, does anyone in the Las Vegas area need a microwave?)  Anyhoo, back to the truck.  I stayed out and helped Mister all day Sunday, because he likes my company and I’m a great tool-hander-offer and part holder.  Except when I can’t remember the name of the part and I have to scan the entire collection for something to trigger my memory.  And when I don’t know what size wrench or socket he needs for the but or belt he’s pointing to saying “to fit this one.”  We did finally finish, much later than we thought we would, but it’s done.  And we are very sore.

Today I took the day off from work, which after this weekend turned out to be an excellent idea.  I am going through all sorts of things that need doing for my legal name change.  I spent nearly an hour in line at the social security office before they opened, and got the first step towards changing my name done.  Then we went out for breakfast, which was a nice meal out, and because of work and busy or lazy weekends, we don’t eat breakfast out a lot.  After that, Mister and I dropped his truck off for an alignment, and we went to the insurance company so I could get proof of insurance with my new name so that I can change my registration.  Now I’m off to run a couple errands and head to the DMV to get a new ID.  I can’t blog from the waiting area at the DMV, but I’ll bring a book.  The waits there get really long.

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

This is what happens when you share happy news about your personal life with your co-workers:

Except for the fact that I don’t like people making a big deal over me, it’s kinda fun.

I don’t often write about work, mainly because I work for Big Company and I don’t want to get myself in trouble for anything that might end up on this blog. But this I have to tell you about (without giving away any major identifying details, of course).

We had what was being sold as a mandatory departmental meeting, being held at an off-site location. Of course, this location was a well-known video game arcade. We were supposed to be doing team-building exercises. Most people I know aren’t keen on these forced fun activities, but hey, it was an afternoon out of the office on their dime, so who cares if we have deadlines!

I headed over to the meeting location and was shown to a room with lots of tables set up, and sat down at a table with the rest of my group.

We found out the meeting was being catered, so we all lined up to fill our plates with yummy fajitas and enchiladas. Good stuff, man. The brownies and eclairs were divine. Oh, and there were drink tickets. We were assigned 2 each, but there was very low security surrounding the tickets, so obtaining more than the alloted 2 drinks was really easy. But, I did have to drive home, so I only had 2 of these, which went perfectly with the Mexican food. Did I mention I have a camera phone? Comes in really hand, let me tell you.

After stuffing our faces, we were let loose in the arcade. We had a list of 10 games in the place, were put into teams, and each team had to have most of its members play every game on there. Each teammate had to play at least 3-4 games. Then there was scoring and shit. Our team ended up tying for 2nd place. Woo hoo!

I’m generally not an arcade person, but since it was for the team, I decided to play. (We had cards for free play, btw.) First up was Indy 500 racing. I came in 1st when racing everyone else on my team, then in the finals came in dead last. It was cool, though, because you sit in this car that moves so you feel all the bumps in the road. They are really hard to handle! But way fun.

Basketball is kind of basic. I got 14 in like, a minute or something. Then it was on to skateboarding. I had no idea what I was doing, but ended up with 34/50 coins, which is pretty decent on the tutorial level, I hear. Ms. Pac Man was easy, since I played that as a kid. The motorcycle one was really hard. I ended up getting lost INSIDE a building on that one. And the pinball game we were supposed to play was broken, so I played another one. Good old fashioned fun! I did skip the Dance Dance Revolution, since I was being a responsible driver and not swiping everyone else’s drink tickets, which would have been the only way you could have gotten me on that game. Also skipped 2 shooting games and the Star Wars one, since I suck at all those kinds of games. All in all, a decent day, even if it was supposed to be for team building. But I do think that mission was accomplished, because we were all put on teams with people we didn’t really know all that well, so I met some people I had never seen before in our department.

Check out these other pictures I took with my camera phone:

Here’s the Coke Bottle from inside the building.

The Lion in front of the MGM Grand.

Snoskred had a great post today about an internet friend who was this close to getting sucked in by a scammer. Although she didn’t lose any money, she lost her kids spots at the daycare she works at, which, as anyone who has ever dealt with daycare knows, daycare wait lists are a mile long, so if you lose your spot the kids might be in high school by the time it comes back up.

Since this particular scam involved the job boards (online job postings), and I have some experience in that arena, I wanted to talk about that. Not only have I searched for a job using the major job boards (Monster, CareerBuilder, etc.) but I have also worked in the recruiting industry and it was a daily task to search the boards not only for resumes but also what other jobs were available that were in our specialty.

Having been on both ends of it, I know that there are 2 likely scenarios when you post your resume online. The first one is that you apply for jobs, and a hiring authority from that company either will or won’t call you back to schedule an interview. The second thing that can happen is that you will start getting random emails from people saying that they saw your resume on (insert internet job board here) and they would like you to call to set up an interview.

How Can I Protect Myself?

When you’re looking for a job, the internet is an excellent resource, and that includes the job boards. Many legitimate employers post jobs online, so it’s worth the time to check them out. But be sure of who you’re contacting. When you read the job posting (not just the title in the results), make sure you can identify which company it’s for. The legitimate jobs will usually tell you who they are, so you can do your own research. And if you’ve never heard of them, do a search. This is useful because not only do you want to know who you are applying to, you also want to be armed with information about the company should you be called for an interview.

Also, don’t discount using a recruiter. Never pay a fee to a recruiter, but if they like you and they’re sure they can place you somewhere, they are usually specialists in their field or the industry they recruit for - even the temp agencies, who recruit for clerical, administrative, light industrial and manufacturing. If they’re advertising online, chances are they have plenty of positions, even if the particular job they listed isn’t available. (A side note about Appleone - my personal experience, and word on the street, is that they are “resume farmers.” I don’t know anyone who has had a decent experience with them.) No matter who you apply with, be sure to keep records so you can keep it all straight. If you’re hunting on the boards, chances are you’ve been putting in a lot of resumes. Being organized is a definite advantage here.

Now, since Monster and CareerBuilder, and to some extent HotJobs, are the most popular job boards out there, be aware that there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there paying the fees to be able post jobs and search resumes. There are lots and lots of work at home “opportunities” listed. These are the scams. One website I subscribe to, I’ve Tried That, makes a point of listing scams of this sort. Their viewpoint is that there are basically no legitimate work at home jobs being advertised online. If you want to work at home, there’s no easy way to do it. You must either be in a position to telecommute, or be enough of an entrepreneur to build something yourself. The rest of us are working for the man.

A special note about Craigslist: While here, too, are many legitimate job postings, there are just as many that are not. Craigslist makes it even easier for the scammers because it’s free, which is always a bonus, and it offers even greater anonymity than traditional job boards. Here’s a few ways you can find the legit jobs on Craigslist:

• The posting will list the approximate location within your metro area along the posting title. Example: Administrative Assistant (Downtown)
• The pay scale will be DOE (dependent on experience), competitive, or will give an actual dollar amount that is low to reasonable for the job.
• The job ad will list duties involved and experience needed. It might be very detailed, like you see on the big boards, or very light, like in the newspaper. Either way, the job description is not vague.

Like I said before, don’t discount the recruiters. Most of them are specialists in their fields, so they can be a valuable resource - just don’t ever pay a recruiter. Their pay should come from filling the job, not taking your resume. And if you’re still shy about the big job boards, do a search for smaller, more focused boards. If you’re in the technical/engineering field, Dice.com is the leader there. There are job boards for medical, government, banks, even temps! Do a search and see what you can come up with. I’ve also searched on the specialized job boards and found a lot less spammy job postings than the big guys.

A good job can be found through the job boards. I found my current job through CareerBuilder. I applied to a job posted by a recruiting firm (Accountants, Inc.) and was called for an interview. It’s interesting to note that I do not have an accounting background, but I found out during the interview that they will take “outside the box” job orders from established clients. I wasn’t considered for the original job posted, but a week later I was on an interview for another job, which I am still in. I’m still there on a contract basis, but the requisition was filed with HR to make me permanent, so I’m hoping for a long career here.

In Summary

• Know who you’re applying to
• Keep track of who you’ve applied to, and through what resource
• Vague job descriptions are not worth applying to. Know what job you’re applying for.
• Job salaries should be reasonable, possibly on the low side. “DOE” and “competitive” are also found in legitimate job postings.
• If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

An extremely inebriated me, courtesy of Boyfriend’s birthday present of Grey Goose Vodka. Boyfriend keeps laughing at me for some odd reason. Anyway…

I went into work feeling pretty good today. First of all, it’s Friday, so that in itself is a good thing. Plus, I was still high from the success of Boyfriend’s birthday celebration last night. Yes, his birthday was yesterday, but I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. I still managed to pull it off. I’ll detail that in another post, though - hopefully tomorrow.

Anyway, I’m at work, doing the menial shit that I do, and something happens to burst my bubble. On the one hand, I like my job because I do mindless busy work all day. I’m very good at mindless busy work, and it’s very low stress. On the other hand, I have to deal with my superiors who I feel don’t really know my full value. I am constantly questioned about how much work I have to do and how I’m keeping up with it. Here’s a hint - my inbox is empty. I always have things that people ask for - if I couldn’t produce these things, I wouldn’t be doing my job. It’s that simple. My desk is not a mess. So what’s the problem? Apparently, because I am in a clerical position, I am not supposed to have an IQ of over 80. Now, I’ve not been professionally evaluated, but various online quizzes, both simple and in-depth, put my IQ at around 125. So it’s not that I’m overqualified for my job. Well, maybe just a little bit. But I’m way over intelligent for my job. This is where the problem lies.

I have never really been in a job that I haven’t done extremely well at. But I also haven’t really been in a job that I’ve been really passionate about. Talking with most people, Boyfriend included, I get the idea that it doesn’t matter so much about what the job is or how much I like it, as long as the paycheck has lots of zeros on it I should be happy. Well, that’s not me. I want enough to pay the bills, sure, and enough to do a few things outside of work that I want to do, like eat and maybe buy a CD once in awhile, but the paycheck is not what I live for. Think about it. If I’m going to spend most of my waking time working, shouldn’t I enjoy that work? Shouldn’t I get some sort of satisfaction from that job beyond my bank deposits? I think so. So why is it that despite the fact that I am good at nearly everything I have tried thus far, I do not like most of it?

Take retail, for example. Retail jobs vary wildly in what is being sold and the clientele that the product or service is being sold to. I know that I do not care at all for commission positions. No matter how much I like the product, knowing that there are quotas that I need to meet kind of kill the passion for me. But knowing my product, knowing it well and enjoying it to some degree are all things I like, as are making the customer happy with that knowledge. But everyone knows that retail hours suck, as does the pay. Unless you are in management, in which case you get much better money and way more regular hours, but you don’t get to work with the customers as much unless you are the last ditch effort to placate them. So that kills retail for the most part.

I got burned out on retail, so I decided to get into office work. I started with a temp agency and kinda floated my way around the admin assistant world, where I still wander aimlessly. I like admin work to a certain degree. I like being the indespensible person who is the “glue that holds the office together.” (I think one of my old bosses said that once, when I worked for a graphic design firm.) I like being the one, a la Jennifer on WKRP in Cincinnati, who doesn’t seem to do much of anything but has the office totally fall apart when not there.

I also noticed that I like being in a somewhat creative environment, which allows me to be my regular wacky (though somewhat closeted wacky) self. I wrote about more creative desires a few months back. My feelings haven’t changed much. I still have very creative inspirations, however pent-up they may be. I have creative desires, though I don’t know much what I want to do with them. I like fabrics, because it’s a very tactile thing. I would love to sew my own clothes and have everyone ask who the designer is - not be that person who looks so obvious that they only know one pattern when they sew their own stuff. I like paper crafts - not scrapbookking so much, because those who know me know how I feel about jumping on the popularity bandwagon. I feel more drawn to cardmaking and collage stuff. I like little bits and bobs, and scraps of stuff and imagining how they will all go together - and this is where I get stuck. I can’t quite seem to turn the ideas that are in my head into a tangible object that someone might actually want, and maybe, just maybe, even want to pay money for.

Right now I am working in the finance department of a big company, whose name and industry shall remain nameless for the sake of my job security. I am a clerk. Myself and one other clerk that I work closely with are the lowest common denominators in the entire finance department, as far as I can tell. Everyone else does actual finance stuff. I am still there on a temp-to-perm basis, and going perm would be nice. The company has good benefits of which I would like to take advantage. They have educational reimbursement, and ever since the hell of setting up a company in Quickbooks, like I did in my previous job despite the lack of any accounting education or real experience, I found that accounting would be a safe and practical vocation to get into. So the plan is to stay where I’m at, get shit on daily, and eventually get hired so I can actually take advantage of their benefits. I’ll get my accounting degree on their dime, already have my foot in the door and be friends with everyone in the department so I can learn as much as possible, and then, um, do something with the degree. Not sure yet. Accounting bored me silly in college, but that was all classroom and no practical experience. Now I find I am good at it when I can put it into practice, and like it ok, but there are so many facets to accounting. Cost? A/P? A/R? Corporate taxes? Personal taxes? Audit? Revenue? General Ledger? Which one do I choose and why? Do I fall into one because the job is offered or will one of those actually hit me in the head and say, “Hey, shithead, THIS is the facet of the accounting world that you will excel at, be deliriously happy at, and make lots of money at!” I just don’t see that happening. So how do I get myself psyched up for that kind of career?

I read at Aurelius’s New Direction today a post entitled What’s Your Specialty? I swear, someone out there is reading my mind, or at least living a parallel life to mine. I have not specialized in anything. I started working retail because that’s what most kids in high school and college do to earn some cash. It was ok, and I stayed at it even after I graduated college. College, by the way, was a study in existence rather that goal-achieving. I started out as a candidate for an assiociate’s degree in interior design, based on my monthly spending on interior decorating magazines and books and lack of spending on fashion magazines. I drank too much first semsester and stumbled around a bit. Second semester, I decided to major in the only class I passed - business. Small business management, to be exact. Good skills to have, if you know what kind of business you want to run. But along with business came balance sheet and accounting stuff that I couldn’t grasp as long as it was conceptual and not practical. So after bullshitting my way through an English Lit final, I convinced myself along with the professor that I wanted to be an English teacher. I finished up my last two semester of the two-year college as a Liberal Arts major, transferred to a four-year school as a double English/education major, and all of a sudden - I felt like I was in the wrong life. So very wrong, it was overwhelming and my life had taken on this echo-like outside looking in feeling, like I had been reincarnated in the wrong life. So I quit school and continued on with my supermarket retail life.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah. How the hell do you people do it, day in and day out? Are you passionate about your jobs, or more passionate about the paychecks? I have a theory that people who bring home the bacon in a big way do actually really like what they do. Either that or they like being a miserable, backstabbing ass just so they can get ahead in whatever their mind determines to be ahead, but that’s not me. I want to be happy. I just haven’t figured out how to do that, at least career-wise, without losing what I already have. I can’t afford to take a step backwards. I still have bills to pay. I want to really enjoy my time at work as much as I enjoy my time off work, and I don’t want to do that with any mind-numbing, zen like exercises that my Dad taught me, the same ones he uses to deal with my stepmother and other idiots in his life. No, I want organic on the job happiness, enough of a paycheck to live off of and be able to adequately enjoy my off time, and perhaps another drink.

If you are a list freak, check out 1001 Lists You Must Read Before You Die.

Today I learned that a good set of claws will make life easier.

My first day of work went well. The company that the agency placed me at seems decent, and the position is temp to perm for the right person (meaning me). Right now I have to get a whole bunch of documents ready to scan, so I spent the day removing staples from packets so they’ll go through the scanner. It was mindless busy work, but it was busy, and the day went by pretty fast.

Tomorrow I have a bunch more stuff to un-staple, then I get to learn how to scan it all in. It all seems really easy, and I was told it’s pretty hard to screw up royally, but even so, there were 3 temps before me who couldn’t cut it. But having worked in the staffing industry, I know that those kinds of people are exactly why temping has a bad name.

I spent the better part of the morning online doing the job application thing, like I have been nearly every day since unemployment. I was also in touch with one of the employment agencies I signed up for, but I was really not thrilled with what they had to offer me at this time (I told them I could work retail for more money and more hours). Then, late this afternoon, I got a call from the other agency regarding the interview I went on last Friday. Long story short - I got the job! I thought the interview went really well, and I seemed to have a good chemistry with the interviewer (who will be my direct supervisor), but I came away thinking it was a great shot, but I probably wouldn’t be selected. I was so wrong on that second part. They need someone asap, so I’ll be starting on Wednesday. It’s with a great company, and it’s temp to perm, close to home, and all that good stuff, plus it will give me a chance to learn a bit more about accounting, which was my original goal months ago when I parted ways with MRI. So yay! Time for some ice cream and vintage movies with Boyfriend.

What a week. I quit my job last Friday, which I’m kinda glad about because I was so freaking bored. I mean, you saw the frequency of my posts increase, and they were all posted during work hours. So, needing something to do, I went out in search of a new job. If anyone in Vegas has any connections looking for an admin, let me know.

Saturday Boyfriend and I moved my stuff. Ugh. Next time we hire someone. I’m still not all completely unpacked, but it’s been tough trying to fit all my stuff in with his. I’ve been going thru and making decisions on what can go, and honestly, I feel fine with that. I start getting anxious sometimes when I think about all the schtuff I have, but in this day and age how is it possible to do with less? I mean, I have a computer, and with that goes lots of cords, printer, modem, paper, speakers, blah, blah, blah. Next time I get a new computer, it will be a laptop because at least then I won’t need such a big freaking desk to put everything on. Anyhoo, yeah. Just trying really evaluate what I need and don’t.

And one more thing:

Happy Birthday, Dad.

I started my new job today. It feels good to be in an office environment again, with regular office hours and normal co-workers. I think I’ll be happy there for quite some time. Of course, getting up early this morning was no picnic, considering that I’ve been keeping very late hours the past few weeks. Let’s just say this - the time I got up this morning is the same time I’ve usually been falling asleep, so yeah, I was a bit tired today. I don’t think it showed though. I’m feeling ready to crash very soon, so I’ll be cooking dinner and heading to bed. I should probably stay home for the next few nights and not make any plans, just so I have a chance to re-adjust to the schedule and not wear myself out.

I’ve been getting a lot of comments on my toe. It’s quite funny, actually. Ok, so you may not think it’s a lot of comments, but it’s up there for my blog. I just think it’s weird that I go and post about all sorts of stuff that interests me, like music and such, and then something as mundane as a blue toe gets people’s attention. Perhaps I should damage my digits more often.

Oh well. It’s getting tired in here, and I’m hungry.

I knew that quitting without having something lined up would be a good move. First of all, I feel more relaxed than I have in a long time, so that is carrying over into everything. I had a 2nd interview yesterday and about an hour after I left that I got the call offering me the job. Yay! I can get back to a normal life, finally. It’s been too long and I’ve felt too out of the loop. It’s good to finally feel like I’m moving forward again instead of treading water.

I did it. I quit my job at security company. Without notice, no less. It’s just been way too stressful for me, and if I’m supposed to be looking for another job, how can I do that when I’m at work all night and asleep all day? That job was making sure that I couldn’t get anything else done, so it had to go. It was only supposed to be short term anyway, to pay the rent while I looked for something else. Now I’ll have time to look for another job and also to get some stuff done around the house that I’ve really been neglecting. I know it’s never wise to quit a job without having something else lined up, but right now I really feel that this is the best thing for me. Besides, I can always go back to temping. I’d rather do that than work the crazy hours and stressful job of security company again.

Kirsten took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!“Seeks the determination and elasticity of will nec…” Click here to read the rest of the results.

Ok, not the most scientific of tests, but it’s not way off base either. I took this based on Gem’s recommendation.Valentine’s Day was uneventful for me. I had 2 job interviews, one of which looks fairly promising, then I headed to work at security firm. I was supposed to be catching up on payroll stuff, but ended up doing dispatch pretty much all night. T-Bone just can’t seem to multi-task well, so when it comes to multiple phone calls, or the phone and radio at the same time, he can’t handle it. My need to make sure the job gets done means that I just start picking up the phone and the radio when I’m there and taking over. Anyway, T-Bone ended up having a family situation which necessitated his leaving, so I became the one and only dispatcher for the rest of the night, which put me even further behind on payroll. But I was able to get caught up on it tonite, which is good. Tomorrow I’ll finish out the week so I won’t have to go in at all during the weekend. I’m really starting to hate that work is all I ever do, and let me tell you how much working evenings sucks. I feel so isolated from my friends and the rest of my life. I absolutely have to get back to a regular day schedule. I’m much happier that way.

Getting back to Valentine’s Day. I’ve had years when I’ve had a Valentine, and let me tell you, every time I’ve had a special someone on that day it’s been a disappointment. Not that not having someone is everything that I’d hoped it would be, but at least there’s no getting my hopes up. If I did have someone, I would hope that he wouldn’t need a holiday like this one to up the romance factor. My favorite romantic moments have been quiet, impromptu, casual moments - like the time when a fairly new beau called me one morning as I was getting ready for work to tell me that he loved me. Let me tell you, that had me floating on Cloud 9 so much more so than a generic box of candy, the obligatory bouquet of red roses and sappy card would on February 14th. Moments like that make me want to bend over backwards to do everything I can think of and more to want to make my beloved feel, well, loved. Loved and happy and well cared for.

On years when I don’t have a special someone to celebrate contrived holidays like the one that just passed, I’m glad I have a black hole of a workplace to go to so that I can forget that there is no one to be on the receiving end of all the love and affection I have to give. Do you remember that famous line from the movie Jerry Maguire? “You complete me.” I love it when I can have someone in my life who can make it seem like my whole life exists for his happiness. I’ve found so far in my relationships that I’m happiest when I am able to make my partner happy, because let’s face it, you get what you give.

Anyway it’s late, or early, depending on how you look at it. The sun is coming up and I should get to bed.

I knew I had to go into work Saturday, since I had to close out the pay period. I made my edits and put the final touches on the timesheets, printed them out, and printed out any status change forms. I figured I’d be there for 3, maybe 4 hours at most. Of course, being Super Bowl Weekend there were still lots of shifts to fill, so my help was desperately needed. Super Dispatch Guy and the Night Director both were on the phone, calling people and looking at the schedules to see where we could shuffle people around to make things work. Then, all hell broke loose.

There were supposed to be 2 guards at a specific post. One was calling us, telling us she couldn’t find the other guard. And come to think of it, dispatch never heard the other guard call in that he was on post. Hmmm. But, not only is the other guard not on post, the security vehicle was not where it should have been. We knew it was there, because the previous shift was using it. But now it’s nowhere to be found. A patrol supervisor showed up on the site to help find the missing security car. As they were looking, the car went zipping past them. A few more passes and descriptions of the driver and they finally got the car to stop, only to discover that it was the missing guard. Now if this guard had only called in that he was there, we wouldn’t have gone through all this. The other guard, instead of manning the post, was searching for the vehicle and trying to solve the mystery. And back at dispatch, we were this close to calling Metro to report the vehicle stolen. So that ate up the last few hours of the night.

Sunday I was determined to have the day off. I went to church, and then just really wanted to get home to nap. Since I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather this past week, I know that getting some rest is pretty important to my recovery. But nap was not to be. I checked my voice mail as soon as I left church, and of course there’s a message from work asking me to come in to do F’s payroll, since he’s been sicker than me and out of the office most of the week. Great. I have my payroll stuff under control, but his system I had no idea on. So into the office I go to figure it all out. The Big Kahuna was in and making a big deal about how he was missing the game because he had to be there, until I reminded him that we did have a tv in the office. So that got plugged in and added one more thing to my list of distractions. I just wanted to get through it all and get home to sleep. Of course, with F being sick and out of touch since he left his phone chargers at work, I was worried about how he was doing, so I turned on the IM while I was there, hoping he was still alive and would IM me. Of course, he did, so I ended up leaving the office to meet him for supper. I caught him up on the goings on, and we went back to the office so he could see what a mess he had and I could finish his payroll. Didn’t get home until just after midnight. Had to check my email, and of course F is online again, so we chatted for a while before we just had to call it a night.

Today, I was in on time and spent the day fighting the big sleep while trying to make sense of all the scheduling issues from the weekend so that I could make sure that people got paid properly. I think I’m going to try and take Wednesday off to sleep or something, but somehow I don’t see that being likely. Oh well. Maybe next weekend I can stay away from the office. At least I don’t feel like that place is sucking the life out of me anymore. A new director was hired and will be starting next week, I believe. I will be going back to dispatch a few nights per week, and as far as office duties go, I think I’ve carved out quite a nice little niche for myself there, so I think I might stick around for awhile.

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!

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 concientious 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 tomrrow. 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.

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 severly 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!

I was doing fine working my 2 nights here at security doing dispatch. Then a director went on vaction, and the other director in that room, well, let’s just say that desk has a revolving door on it. So I’m filling in here. I’m getting nowhere near enough rest, and there’s so much work to be done. I’m not a scheduler, or manager, or anything like that. I like clerical work. I’m a paper pusher. But I’m getting sucked in more and more here. Now, tonite, from one of the guards (one who is not usually a reliable source of information, I might add) says there are rumors that they want to make me a director. No way! This place is eating me alive and I’ve not even been here that long. I must get out!

I contacted my friend at the day job that’s been on/off/unsure, and she still wants me there, so she just needs to make sure that it’s still available because she thinks they may have hired someone else for her, but she would rather have me in there. The other job, the one for the company that Dispatch Guy works for, is being slow in its hiring process, so I don’t know how long that will take or if I can wait through the whole process. We shall see. I need to return to some sense of normalcy as far as my schedule goes, because doing this crazy hours thing all the time is killing me. If I have a regular schedule during the week where no one bothers me, then I can handle crazy hours on weekends only, part time until I get ahead with my bills.

Anyway, yeah, must get going because the black hole is calling.

So I worked last night, and was up pretty much all day Sunday, so by the time I left work I had been up for something like 24 hours. I was exhausted. I went home and went straight to bed. I woke up around 10pm, after 12 hours asleep, but I have to go into work at security (currently my only job) for 9am Tuesday. See, one of the directors didn’t work out, and another director is going on vacation for a six day weekend or something like that, so the standing room won’t have any director at all. The mobile room director is also the operations director, so in addition to his stuff he has to run the whole place. Yeah. So, to fill in, I’ll be helping out the standing director with help from the night director. At least I’m getting some hours there, but I’m starting to feel like Security job is a big black hole that will suck me in and no one will ever see me or hear from me again - sorta like what happened to F. Now that I see how it is there, I’m wondering how I ever even met him or got to know him. Anyhoo, at least I have some work for now.

Since I’m up for a little while, I’ve been catching up on some blog surfing through Bestest Blog and all I can say is Bobby’s been busy! Lots of new blog submissions for the new year, and for the past 2 weeks there are 227 new blogs. I usually just open a bunch of them at a time in new tabs and go from there. Once in awhile I find one that I actually want to add to my list and read regularly, so it’s worth it, I think. I get quite a bit of traffic from there myself, so the link exchange was a great idea. My only gripe is that I am listening to my music, stuff I like, thru iTunes right now, and too many blogs play music automatically which bugs the shit out of me. You know who you are. Why on earth do people think that I want to listen to their music? If I want to listen to it, tell me what it is and give me the option of listening or not. But the so-called radio wars I do not like. Anyway.

I still have a lot of catching up to do, mostly in the form of computer stuff. Not catching up necessarily, but just things I want to do. Good thing I surf with a notebook on my desk, so I can write down stuff I want to visit or check out. Then, as I find the time, I go thru and hi-lite the ones I liked and will visit again, and cross off the ones that aren’t worth it. Not the most efficient method, but it works for me, and it keeps me from having tons of post-its on my desk.

Ok, enough middle of the night blabbing. I’m going to blog surf a bit more then get a bit more sleep before going back in to work in the morning. So much for laundry. I still have stuff I can wear, but hopefully I’ll be home tomorrow evening and can get some laundry done then. I hate not having a washer and dryer in my apartment, I tell ya. Next time I move, that’s on my list.

Still no progress on the job situation. I’ll be following up on that big time this week, because I really need to get that settled very soon. However, I am done at the shoestore. If I’m picking up more hours here at security, and the day hours interfere with my current schedule. This leaves me open to pick up more shifts at security, and when I get a day job, I know I can change my hours here at security on short notice to weekends only, so the shoestore won’t get in the way when I need to change my schedule suddenly. So goodbye shoestore, hello Sunday afternoon naps.

And even though I should be picking up some shifts here at security, I also have a lot of things I need to get done, so a couple days off will be really nice. I have boatloads of laundry to do, plus I need to do the annual vacuuming of my apartment. I forgot to run the dishwasher today before I left, so that needs to be done. I also have a few other cleaning things to do, and I’d also like to get a bunch of stuff done online. And music, I need to finish the mix exchange I committed to, and I’d like to start ripping a bunch of my CDs to iTunes so that I can sell them. I’m in a lean mean cleaning mood, so I’d like to really get some of this done and feel like I’ve accomplished something. Anyhoo, yeah.

Living in the desert you’d think we don’t see much in the way of winter weather. Normally, we don’t. Averages for winter temperatures see us in the mid- to upper 50s during the day and upper 30s to mid 40s during at night. Right now, at 5:30am, it’s about 39 degrees Farenheit and dropping. Yes, dropping. Not rising like it should with the sun. We are officially under a winter storm warning. The weather people are all excited that we might see snow here in the Las Vegas valley, to the tune of 1-3 inches. Do you know what that kind of precipitation will do to a town that normally does not see any precipitation, frozen or not? All I can say is that the news will be very interesting, and driving will be precarious at best. Not looking forward to it. And before you say anything, yes, I will be careful. The last thing I need right now is another car accident.

The job situation still hasn’t moved at all, but there is the possibility of yet another offer in the works. So although things are stagnant at the moment, it’s a possibility that I will have a storm of offers all at once. Who knows. At this point I don’t really care much as long as something pans out. I need full time, daytime, regular hours so that I can live a life of sanity and be able to pay the rent.

Ahh well. Time to get going now, things will be getting busy here within the next half hour.