So much for that blog fodder...

I have been a little disturbed this past week believing that the Westboro Baptist Church actually requested that the public not protest at the funeral of their founder ....

Not that I would have anyway....

I live nowhere near Topeka, thankfully...

And I hope I would never stoop so low.

But it has been bothering me that they would have the audacity to even make such a request...

And tonight I was ready to blog about it.

And then,  I thought to myself, maybe I should check that claim out....

Thank you, Inquisitr, for setting me straight....

May the (Good) Luck of the Irish be with you Today!

Happy St. Patty's Day.

This will be one I remember.

I am not doing anything special to celebrate the day, other than taking the day off work and visiting  my grandpuppies and their owners...

And that is why I will remember it.

There have been quite a few St. Patty's Days that I am sure I enjoyed at the time, but I certainly do not remember much of...

But I have heard stories....

What are you doing to celebrate today?

Missing that hour already...

I feel like I have lost an hour this morning.

Oh wait, I have:(

And I have to wait until fall to get it back.

I do not like this one bit.

I would like it a lot better if I could lose this hour at a time of my own choosing. Sunday morning at 1:00 AM does not cut it for me.  I need all the (beauty) sleep I can get. Monday afternoon at 1:00 PM (or 2 or 3 or 4) works much better for me.

What time works best for you? 

The whine colored glasses are getting misty....

It has been a trying couple of weeks...

I have been working long hours in a position I am totally not cut out for...

I have always considered my self a fast learner, but learning how to analyze what is wrong with what we have been doing for the past few years and figuring out how to fix it is not my strong point....

They pay people good money to figure out that shit...and supposedly keep us on track...

And if those people have failed at it, I am pretty sure I am not going to be much more help.

However, a few of us came to a conclusion within a few minutes that we also came to after 4 hours of analysis following the expert approach - so maybe I/we are ok at it.

But noone really wants to hear what I think.

I have been talked over and talked down to more in the last two weeks than in my entire career.

About 300 people in our location have been put into roles that our totally new to us and that we were not hired to do.

Every week we are (subjectively) rated by our team leads as red/yellow/green. Green means you are ok; yellow indicates reason for concern, and red puts you out the door.  You can imagine the stress associated with that.

Trust in management is on a steep decline.

Frustration is on a steep incline.

Good people are finding the door - on their own or with a security escort.

I find myself working even longer hours than the mandated 10 per day because some of the work for the job I was doing prior to this fiasco still has to be done. And doing that work helps me feel ok about myself.

I know I need to get my resume in order.  I have been trying to do that.  But doing that just has me thinking about all the reasons I need to be doing that....

And I get angry and frustrated all over again....

I hoped writing about it would help settle me down so I can get the things done that I need to do this weekend:

• Get several release packages structured and submitted for review (my real job).
• Prepare a presentation for early Monday morning showing gaps in one of the company's many screwed up current processes and my proposals for filling those gaps  (WTF????).  Not gonna lie - I am concerned that this may put me in the red....
• Update resume and LinkedIn profile. 
• Go for a couple of long walks.

I think I will start with one of the long walks.

I claim a non-working weekend...

I claimed this weekend as a no-work weekend since rumor has it that working weekends may be mandatory in the near future (if I am lucky enough to be working at all, that is).  And since I have not been lucky enough to win the lottery....

My goal for this no-work weekend was to update my resume.

I have since realized that that is going to take more than a weekend.

I have not seriously updated my resume since I started at my current company, almost 12 years ago.

Side Note #1: This is officially three times longer than I have been at any other company. I must like this place more than I realize.

I did make a couple of minor adjustments over the years when I considered making a move within the company. But nothing that amounts to selling myself outside the company, nationally, or internationally.

Internationally?  Did I say that? 

Yes, I have decided that if a decent job on a tropical island calls my name, I will answer.  The guilt factor around making the kids move yet again reduces significantly once the kids no longer live with you.

I started with my current company as a technical writer of user documentation.   Since then, I have come a long way. baby. 

The way has not been up...that is not for me. Though, if the way had been up, I would probably have less of a hard time trying to sell myself.

I have evolved within and around the technical publications team to the point that I no longer actually do any writing.  In fact, I  have not written a user instruction type document for at least 5 years.  

Side Note #2: My LinkedIn  profile is seriously outdated.  Add that to my list of non-working weekend things to do.

So what have I done in the last 5 years?  A little of this (translation/localization coordination) and a little of that (documentation control). I seem to grab at the tasks that others shy away from - which raises my popularity among the "others".  Let me do that for you; in fact, let me do that for all of you.  While you do what you like and are best at, I will do what you do not like to do and struggle with.  Because I like to struggle.  Win. Win.

Serioulsy.  The technical publications team that I work with has had several managers over the years.  About 5 or 6 years ago, the manager that took over asked us how we would like to change the department, if at all. We had the bright idea of dividing tasks functionally, rather than by project.  Previously, the lead writer for a project coordinated all user documentation tasks -  including planning, writing, content management, localization planning, and release to production.  Most of us hated at least one or more of the required tasks. Most of us did at least one of those tasks exceptionally well.  So a functional approach was born...and lives on to this day.  It works so well that it has survived several reorganizations and managers and has been mimicked in other groups.

I have taken on a couple of functional roles as needs arose and resources were reallocated.

I still work with the technical publications team, but am no longer within that specific group.  My role as Customer Support Documentation Specialist allows me to work with both the user and service doc writing teams to release their work to production and distribute it to our engineers in the field.  And I get to share our ways of working with other writing teams throughout the company who are struggling within the traditional roles.

 And what do I want to do for the next 5 or 10 years  - since it is looking more and more like I will not be able to continue status quo? Good question...

Keeping at least one of my resolutions...

I never have been very good about keeping my New Year's resolutions.

And the ones I do keep are pretty flimsy.

For example, I resolved to walk 3 miles at least 3x per week...weather permitting.

Well, the weather has not yet been permitting.

I live in Ohio.  I knew the weather would not be permitting until March, at least.

But since the weather has not been permitting, I have been stuck inside more than usual.

So I have been working on keeping one of my other resolutions - making my apartment  a little more homey.

 My January project was a DIY clock, which I wrote about here...

When I bought the clock, I also bought some wall art.  I managed to attach that to my living room wall today.  

If it does not look straight, have a beer or two or three.  It will look much better after the beer takes effect.  I promise.

Yesterday, weather was permitting enough for me to get out of the house and walk around downtown Kent a bit with my daughter.  We had breakfast at Wild Goats Cafe and then visited a few of the shops.

I had the best time browsing in Off the Wagon.  It was there that I found some awesome art for my bathroom wall.

Inflatable Art-in-a-Can...for my can....

I have started on another project as well.  It shows off my personality a little more than projects above.  I will save the details of that endeavor for another post. 

Super Bowl Recovery Act

I love watching the superbowl...

I love making a party of it...

As do most Americans, right?

I always schedule a vacation day Super Bowl Monday just in case I party a little too much during the game, which I have been known to do ...

But I cannot take Super Bowl Monday off this year.  The company I work for is not approving any non-emergency PTO at this time.  I am expected to be in the office, ready to work by 8:00 AM.  

Yeah....

We'll see how that goes...

I am not as young as I used to be.  

Hangovers tend to hang on a little longer these days...

Of course, if there are no touchdowns or first downs or field goals, I may not be in such bad shape Monday...


If Superbowl Monday suddenly gained National Holiday status, as I think it should, my problem would be solved.

I would even be willing to give up one of the other National Holidays.

Personally, I would give up President's Day. I have no need for recovery  that day.

In case you are wondering which team I want to see win this game of games...

Since neither Shittsburgh or Baltimore made it to the game, I cannot cheer against them...  

Since Cleveland is not in it, I cannot cheer for them...

I was turned off by Richard Sherman's post game interview a couple of weeks ago...

I do like Peyton Manning...

So....

But more importantly, I want the last digit of each team's score at the quarter/final to match one of my squares:

Seattle 1, Denver 5 wins me $100/$200
Seattle 7, Denver 4 wins me $100/$200
Seattle 3, Denver 0 wins me $200/$240.
Seattle 3, Denver 7 wins me $10.
Seattle 3, Denver 6 wins me $10.
Seattle 0, Denver 0 wins me $10.
Seattle 9, Denver 0 wins me $10.

Party On!