A feel good moment...

So, work is still work and I am still part of the same team trying  to fix things that are broke...

We are making some progress....

I think...

It is hard to tell at times.  

We had a management review session of our proposal Thursday which got a lot of positive feedback.

And then Friday we were reminded of several things we "missed" in our proposal.  I clearly remember some team discussions where we decided these "misses" were out of scope. And me, being me, brought that up, out loud.  Apparently, I remember wrong - or at least not right enough worth mentioning, because no one else admitted to remembering the discussions.  They did not say they did not remember them; they just did not say anything at all.  Someday, I will learn to just nod my head and not look the fool.

Anyway, we have a lot more work to do this week. I am not complaining - at least I still have a job for the time being.  

And the team I am working with is an ok group.  We get along for the most part and even have a little  fun. We have been together a little over 2 months now.

 A few weeks ago, we participated in a mandatory workshop - one of those all day drink the kool-aid sessions.  The final activity of the day mandated that we tell the team about some life-changing event we have lived through. 

My first response was NOYFB...and I pretty much said that.  I did not want to tell any of these people, most of whom I had met just a couple of weeks earlier,  about anything that has been life changing for me. And I was not sure I wanted to hear their 10-step stories - at least not in a team setting.  

But rather than risk losing my major source of income, when it was my turn, I went with this.... 

I do not feel comfortable with this activity and I am not going to share a story from my life with you.  But I will tell you that I have three adult children that I am proud of and have learned so much from. I am proud of them for making their own way in life  - doing their own thing. They each have an entrepreneurial spirit.  Watching them grow, I have learned that even though all kids are different and each mature in their own way and time, they do find their way, even if it is not on the same path that I or their Dad would have chosen for them. 

There was the usual moment of silence after the confession.

One day this week, as I was leaving our team "war" room with one of  my teammates,  he told me that my little spiel at the workshop got him thinking about his relationship with his kids. He said he started to feel better about himself as a parent, accepting that it is ok that his kids are not doing things the way he thinks they should do them. He said he had been wanting to thank me for that....said it was like a church experience. 

Wow,  what a feel good moment.  It made me thankful that I did not go with my second response to that activity and tell some made up, heart-wrenching, total  BS, Mental Poo-worthy story.   (Sorry, Rodney, I couldn't help myself.  I think of BS and I think of you and Perhaps I've Said Too Much.)   

Also, I am assuming this guy's church experiences are better than mine.  

We have Day 2 of the workshop later this month.  Lord, help me.

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.