Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Say What?!?
Yesterday was a busy day at work. Mondays are generally our heaviest volume days. Lots of people are out of the office due to the holidays. One of my co-workers (who just got engaged - yay!) is out for the week. Another one, who works remotely, has been a butt and taken off every Monday this month (except next week, and only 'cause it wasn't available). She has done this several times this year, along with taking other heavy volume days off. She took today, too. *I* was supposed to have today off...but, I digress. Not the point of this post. ::side eye:: to her azz, anyway.
Some time after lunch, we all got an email. Something to the effect of, please join us for a conference call at 1pm. Umm hmm. It's Monday - I got 6 new claims, my phone is ringing off the hook, I ain't even leave for lunch. Oh - and you haven't told us what this little call is about. Yeah, ok. Next!
I promise you, of the skeleton crew that WAS in the office, 90% of us were not on that call. LOL! That's so bootleg, I know. But given that the email had no subject, and we weren't told what the call was about, we all kind of thought, "whatever!" Usually, if something is really important, our office manager will send out an email telling us that attendance is mandatory.
While that very short conference call was progressing, I was on the phone with a customer. I began to hear rumblings and grumblings around me, but I couldn't really focus on what they were saying. I couldn't wait to get off the phone with that man. Especially because, while I was on with him, we got an office wide email that we should meet at 1:30 to discuss The Call in more detail.
Uh oh.
I got him off the phone about 4 minutes before the meeting was to begin. I said to my co-workers, "OK - what happened now?"
Her reply? "They sold us to (name of competitor)."
::blink::
Um. I'm sorry. What??? I think I just hallucinated. Mind you, less than 6 months ago, we were fighting to keep this competitor from taking our account. The only account we work on in my office. If we had lost the account to them, I wouldn't have had a job. So...yeah. This sale is akin to Dunkin' Donuts saying, "we got into this coffee thing, and it was great. But now we just want to focus on our bread and butter - our donuts. So, we're selling our coffee operations to Starbucks."
Usually, when something this big happens in my industry, you hear rumblings of it WELL before it goes down. Trade publications, rumors from management at other companies, etc. We heard NOTHING. And judging by his reaction in the meeting, I don't think our office manager knew it was going down, either. Might be why we didn't get that "mandatory" meeting email.
When we walked in the meeting, my stomach dropped, 'cause the Grim Reaper was in there. Who's the Grim Reaper, you ask? Well, he's the HR Manager who handled the layoffs when this same company laid me off in 2005. You don't want to see him, 'cause that usually means somebody's gettin the ax. Well, I guess if he's the Grim Reaper, somebody would be getting the scythe. Anywho, whatchu doin' here, Grimmy? I need my job, man!
Long story short: we've been sold, but we're all going to be offered comparable jobs. That was part of the sale deal (insert sigh of relief here). All of this will be in place by the end of 1st quarter 2011. Grimmy is just there to help us with the HR questions of it all. How will benefits terminate, what happens to 401Ks, cash balance pensions, PTO, etc. Oh. A'ight. Good lookin' out, GR. Don't touch me, though. I choose corporate life, I promise!
My new year is starting out crazy, and it's still December! Word? Word.
My take aways:
1. When you get an email telling you to get on a conference call, get on the dang call. :lol:
2. Expect the unexpected!
3. Change is inevitable.
That's the ball game! Thanks for comin' out. It's been real. Tip your waiter on your way out.
Some time after lunch, we all got an email. Something to the effect of, please join us for a conference call at 1pm. Umm hmm. It's Monday - I got 6 new claims, my phone is ringing off the hook, I ain't even leave for lunch. Oh - and you haven't told us what this little call is about. Yeah, ok. Next!
I promise you, of the skeleton crew that WAS in the office, 90% of us were not on that call. LOL! That's so bootleg, I know. But given that the email had no subject, and we weren't told what the call was about, we all kind of thought, "whatever!" Usually, if something is really important, our office manager will send out an email telling us that attendance is mandatory.
While that very short conference call was progressing, I was on the phone with a customer. I began to hear rumblings and grumblings around me, but I couldn't really focus on what they were saying. I couldn't wait to get off the phone with that man. Especially because, while I was on with him, we got an office wide email that we should meet at 1:30 to discuss The Call in more detail.
Uh oh.
I got him off the phone about 4 minutes before the meeting was to begin. I said to my co-workers, "OK - what happened now?"
Her reply? "They sold us to (name of competitor)."
::blink::
Um. I'm sorry. What??? I think I just hallucinated. Mind you, less than 6 months ago, we were fighting to keep this competitor from taking our account. The only account we work on in my office. If we had lost the account to them, I wouldn't have had a job. So...yeah. This sale is akin to Dunkin' Donuts saying, "we got into this coffee thing, and it was great. But now we just want to focus on our bread and butter - our donuts. So, we're selling our coffee operations to Starbucks."
Usually, when something this big happens in my industry, you hear rumblings of it WELL before it goes down. Trade publications, rumors from management at other companies, etc. We heard NOTHING. And judging by his reaction in the meeting, I don't think our office manager knew it was going down, either. Might be why we didn't get that "mandatory" meeting email.
When we walked in the meeting, my stomach dropped, 'cause the Grim Reaper was in there. Who's the Grim Reaper, you ask? Well, he's the HR Manager who handled the layoffs when this same company laid me off in 2005. You don't want to see him, 'cause that usually means somebody's gettin the ax. Well, I guess if he's the Grim Reaper, somebody would be getting the scythe. Anywho, whatchu doin' here, Grimmy? I need my job, man!
Long story short: we've been sold, but we're all going to be offered comparable jobs. That was part of the sale deal (insert sigh of relief here). All of this will be in place by the end of 1st quarter 2011. Grimmy is just there to help us with the HR questions of it all. How will benefits terminate, what happens to 401Ks, cash balance pensions, PTO, etc. Oh. A'ight. Good lookin' out, GR. Don't touch me, though. I choose corporate life, I promise!
My new year is starting out crazy, and it's still December! Word? Word.
My take aways:
1. When you get an email telling you to get on a conference call, get on the dang call. :lol:
2. Expect the unexpected!
3. Change is inevitable.
That's the ball game! Thanks for comin' out. It's been real. Tip your waiter on your way out.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Getting Ready for 2011
I don't make "resolutions." I never really have. I think about things that I want to do, figure out what I need to do, and then make the plans accordingly. I have some friends who are really detailed about what they are going to do. They journal, make vision boards, and sometimes blog about their plans. I like to read and then watch them accomplish what they set out to do.
Me, personally? I don't do all of that. I already know what I need to do next year, and it revolves around 2 things: my finances and my fitness. I've already met with the financial planner to get the ball rolling. As soon as my physical therapy eval is done today, I'll have a better idea of what types of work outs I can do over the next week. I've already done my research about alkaline diets. As much as it pains me to give up my beloved sweet tooth, I will have to drastically cut back.
So, those are the things I'll be working on for next year. We have our family reunion in July (on my mom's side), and I think we're going to try and take my mom on a cruise. She doesn't know that yet. :) The problem is, figuring out which cruise, how long to go, etc. She's always wanted to go to Hawaii, but with her back problems, I can't forsee her making it through the 8+ hour flight to get there. I really wish she could. We could get a travel agent to plan it for us.
My biggest wish for 2011 is for LDR to get his job transfer here. Good employers are hard to come by, so we both would rather he get a transfer, then have to start all over somewhere else. We're just gonna keep hope alive on that one.
So how do you get ready for the next calendar year? Are you very detail-oriented, or do you go with the flow? Or somewhere in the middle?
Me, personally? I don't do all of that. I already know what I need to do next year, and it revolves around 2 things: my finances and my fitness. I've already met with the financial planner to get the ball rolling. As soon as my physical therapy eval is done today, I'll have a better idea of what types of work outs I can do over the next week. I've already done my research about alkaline diets. As much as it pains me to give up my beloved sweet tooth, I will have to drastically cut back.
So, those are the things I'll be working on for next year. We have our family reunion in July (on my mom's side), and I think we're going to try and take my mom on a cruise. She doesn't know that yet. :) The problem is, figuring out which cruise, how long to go, etc. She's always wanted to go to Hawaii, but with her back problems, I can't forsee her making it through the 8+ hour flight to get there. I really wish she could. We could get a travel agent to plan it for us.
My biggest wish for 2011 is for LDR to get his job transfer here. Good employers are hard to come by, so we both would rather he get a transfer, then have to start all over somewhere else. We're just gonna keep hope alive on that one.
So how do you get ready for the next calendar year? Are you very detail-oriented, or do you go with the flow? Or somewhere in the middle?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Dear Messiness
Dear Messiness:
I have seen a lot of you over the past 2 weeks. First, you pop up as a crazy chick spending way too much time worrying about what's going on with me and LDR. She called herself wanting to tell me about somebody that LDR talked to briefly IN THE PAST, that we both know and speak with now. We're all cool. It was in the past, not a serious relationship, and we all have our own lives. So...exactly what did you do by revealing that info - that I already knew, other than make us laugh at you and officially check you off on the list as certifiable?
This afternoon, Messiness, you made two appearances. First, in the form of a co-worker who just FINALLY realized, that another co-worker has been smiling in his face, but talking smack behind his back. Um...if she spent so much time talking to you about others, why wouldn't you think she was talking about you TO others? Oh well, I tried to break it down to him so that it could forever and consistently be broken. Maybe he listened. But probably not. My guess is that he will let you jump all into the middle of the situation. I wash my hands of it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we're here to do a job. We don't have to be friends. We don't even have to speak outside of hi and bye. You gotta know who to exchange pleasantries with vs. who you can talk to. That last group of people is very small. Sometimes it doesn't exist at all.
The second appearance involved a complete IDIOT disparaging the mother of his child via his blog. Really, dude? Really? So...what are you going to do when your child gets older, and is able to Google and see this mess? And really, you're going to put somebody's FULL GOVERNMENT NAME out there for the world to see? And their job info? I just can't. If that wasn't the Spirit of Messiness Past taking over someone's body, I don't know what is. Just sad. What kind of example are you really setting? Not to mention, you've really just made yourself look like an azz, in an attempt to make her look like one. Good job! Messy begets messy, but I hope she stays on the high road.
Verily I say unto you, Messiness: GET THEE BEHIND ME! I don't wanna see you no more this week or this month. Shoot, I don't wanna see you for the next calendar year! I've done my best to remove some of your influences from my life, but it's inevitable that you'll pop back up. But I just simply CANNOT with you. Stress is not good for the health. I don't need any more gray hairs or facial wrinkles from the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot frown that comes with you. GO AWAY.
That is all.
Signed,
Marilie
I have seen a lot of you over the past 2 weeks. First, you pop up as a crazy chick spending way too much time worrying about what's going on with me and LDR. She called herself wanting to tell me about somebody that LDR talked to briefly IN THE PAST, that we both know and speak with now. We're all cool. It was in the past, not a serious relationship, and we all have our own lives. So...exactly what did you do by revealing that info - that I already knew, other than make us laugh at you and officially check you off on the list as certifiable?
This afternoon, Messiness, you made two appearances. First, in the form of a co-worker who just FINALLY realized, that another co-worker has been smiling in his face, but talking smack behind his back. Um...if she spent so much time talking to you about others, why wouldn't you think she was talking about you TO others? Oh well, I tried to break it down to him so that it could forever and consistently be broken. Maybe he listened. But probably not. My guess is that he will let you jump all into the middle of the situation. I wash my hands of it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: we're here to do a job. We don't have to be friends. We don't even have to speak outside of hi and bye. You gotta know who to exchange pleasantries with vs. who you can talk to. That last group of people is very small. Sometimes it doesn't exist at all.
The second appearance involved a complete IDIOT disparaging the mother of his child via his blog. Really, dude? Really? So...what are you going to do when your child gets older, and is able to Google and see this mess? And really, you're going to put somebody's FULL GOVERNMENT NAME out there for the world to see? And their job info? I just can't. If that wasn't the Spirit of Messiness Past taking over someone's body, I don't know what is. Just sad. What kind of example are you really setting? Not to mention, you've really just made yourself look like an azz, in an attempt to make her look like one. Good job! Messy begets messy, but I hope she stays on the high road.
Verily I say unto you, Messiness: GET THEE BEHIND ME! I don't wanna see you no more this week or this month. Shoot, I don't wanna see you for the next calendar year! I've done my best to remove some of your influences from my life, but it's inevitable that you'll pop back up. But I just simply CANNOT with you. Stress is not good for the health. I don't need any more gray hairs or facial wrinkles from the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot frown that comes with you. GO AWAY.
That is all.
Signed,
Marilie
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Is This How It's Gonna Be?
Yesterday I had a great cardio workout on the elliptical. I wore a ACE bandage on my knee, and it seemed to be ok. Later that afternoon, I did have a little bit of pain and stiffness when walking around. I chalked it up to the normal aches and pains associated with exercise.
This morning, I wanted to hit the treadmill. I figured I'd do one of the Couch to 5K type work outs, with intervals of jogging for 2 minutes and walking for 1 minute. I always start with a 5 minute warm up walk. I tried to jog the first interval, and it was a no-go 10 seconds into it. With every step I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I had to slow the treadmill back down to walking pace, and actually was hopping on my right foot at one point because it wasn't slowing down fast enough and the knee was hurting.
I have no idea what I did to it, but it happened the night we went bowling in NY. Luckily, OrthoCarolina had an opening today at 11:20. This is the same doctor who saw me for my Achilles tendonitis, and his P.A. saw me for my plantar fasciitis. They should be very well versed on my chart of aches and pains.
It seems like the more I try to exercise and do right, the more injuries crop up. I see people who run miles and miles and miles with no issues. Why can't I be one of those people? Is this just part of gaining another year of life? I'm going to be 36 next month. I'm not trying to be crippled by 40. This is getting ridiculous!
I guess I'm bummed because all through my 20s, exercise came easily. Even times when I wouldjust abandon it, I could pick right back up like nothing happened. I've been trying to run consistently, but have been sidelined since June. What's funny is that last year, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and managed to successfully run a half marathon. Now that I'm actually trying to be cognizant of my training and what I do, injuries are jumping up like the 1-2 punch.
Sigh. I can't win with my joints right now. We'll see what Dr. McBride has to say. :(
This morning, I wanted to hit the treadmill. I figured I'd do one of the Couch to 5K type work outs, with intervals of jogging for 2 minutes and walking for 1 minute. I always start with a 5 minute warm up walk. I tried to jog the first interval, and it was a no-go 10 seconds into it. With every step I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I had to slow the treadmill back down to walking pace, and actually was hopping on my right foot at one point because it wasn't slowing down fast enough and the knee was hurting.
I have no idea what I did to it, but it happened the night we went bowling in NY. Luckily, OrthoCarolina had an opening today at 11:20. This is the same doctor who saw me for my Achilles tendonitis, and his P.A. saw me for my plantar fasciitis. They should be very well versed on my chart of aches and pains.
It seems like the more I try to exercise and do right, the more injuries crop up. I see people who run miles and miles and miles with no issues. Why can't I be one of those people? Is this just part of gaining another year of life? I'm going to be 36 next month. I'm not trying to be crippled by 40. This is getting ridiculous!
I guess I'm bummed because all through my 20s, exercise came easily. Even times when I wouldjust abandon it, I could pick right back up like nothing happened. I've been trying to run consistently, but have been sidelined since June. What's funny is that last year, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, and managed to successfully run a half marathon. Now that I'm actually trying to be cognizant of my training and what I do, injuries are jumping up like the 1-2 punch.
Sigh. I can't win with my joints right now. We'll see what Dr. McBride has to say. :(
Monday, December 6, 2010
Back on the Grind
This morning was my first morning workout in quite a while. Probably since early October, at least. I did work out a few times while I was home, but all of that was negated with LDR feeding me biscuits/eggs/turkey bacon/grits with cheese/etc every morning when he got home from work. We won't even get into the snack food.
Needless to say, I need to get back on the grind. I refuse to wait until January 1 to do it. So this morning, Istruggled got out of bed at 5:00am, and made my way to the small gym at my job for a morning work out. I got here later than I expected, so in turn I got to my desk later than I expected. None the less, I got my elliptical work out in.
I had some slight pain in my left knee, but I wore the ACE bandage brace, and that seemed to keep it in check. Tomorrow, I would like to try and alternate walking/jogging on the treadmill, but that might be a smidge ambitious. I'll stop if I feel any significant pain.
I'm also looking into joining Lifestyle Family Fitness here in Charlotte. I looked into the Gold's in Cornelius, but I didn't hear any favorable reviews from people I know. That, coupled with the fact that I'd have to fight rush hour traffic to get there, meant that was not an option. I really enjoyed my workouts in NY. Although I didn't need the gym when I was running regularly, I miss that atmosphere. I really enjoyed the classes I took with LDR, and I want something like that here.
I really miss running. This weekend is the annual Thunder Road 5K/half marathon/marathon. This is the one I ran last December. I really, really, really was looking forward to running it this year. I was psyched to beat my time from last year. Then I got sidelined with the plantar fasciitis. I've been dealing with the PF since June. JUNE. I can't even explain to you how sad I am that I won't be running on Saturday. :(
What's your fitness plan? Do you have any specific goals you're trying to reach? Are you a member of a gym? What keeps you motivated, when really you just want to sit on the couch and eat a cookie? Or maybe that's just me who wants to sit on the couch and eat Wegmans cookies... :lol:
Needless to say, I need to get back on the grind. I refuse to wait until January 1 to do it. So this morning, I
I had some slight pain in my left knee, but I wore the ACE bandage brace, and that seemed to keep it in check. Tomorrow, I would like to try and alternate walking/jogging on the treadmill, but that might be a smidge ambitious. I'll stop if I feel any significant pain.
I'm also looking into joining Lifestyle Family Fitness here in Charlotte. I looked into the Gold's in Cornelius, but I didn't hear any favorable reviews from people I know. That, coupled with the fact that I'd have to fight rush hour traffic to get there, meant that was not an option. I really enjoyed my workouts in NY. Although I didn't need the gym when I was running regularly, I miss that atmosphere. I really enjoyed the classes I took with LDR, and I want something like that here.
I really miss running. This weekend is the annual Thunder Road 5K/half marathon/marathon. This is the one I ran last December. I really, really, really was looking forward to running it this year. I was psyched to beat my time from last year. Then I got sidelined with the plantar fasciitis. I've been dealing with the PF since June. JUNE. I can't even explain to you how sad I am that I won't be running on Saturday. :(
What's your fitness plan? Do you have any specific goals you're trying to reach? Are you a member of a gym? What keeps you motivated, when really you just want to sit on the couch and eat a cookie? Or maybe that's just me who wants to sit on the couch and eat Wegmans cookies... :lol:
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