"Just Roll w/it."

I would have to say that it’s been a crazy couple of months for me.  In addition to getting into that car accident and everything else, there have been a lot of really big changes for me going on at work. 

First of all, somebody in my old department got fired let go a couple of weeks ago, leaving them an employee down.  And since they’re a pretty vital department to our company (they work very closely with our database system), the bigwigs at the company made asked to step-in and help them out for a few weeks since I still have a pretty good working knowledge of said system and it would take a while for them to hire a replacement. 

A few days later, after I had a chance to re-acquaint myself with the job, they called me into their office and asked me if I’d like to return to my old department….that I only left a year ago to advance my career. 

Apparently, aside from my old boss, I was the only person in the company who knew the system so well.  And with my old boss being so indispensable (enough so that she can’t even go on vacation), they realized how vulnerable this potentially left the company should she decide to retire / leave.  As an incentive to return, they promised me an increase in pay as well as some managerial duties with a promise to promote me once my old boss retires (she’s sixty-one right now and will probably retire at sixty-five).  

Ultimately, though, they said the decision was mine; I could either move back to my old job and return to the boring old system-work that I used to do, or stay where I currently am and leave the company to fill that position from the outside. 

Initially, I was pretty hesitant.  It felt like a step back in my career (such as it is).  Plus, I didn’t particularly see myself being there for that much longer considering how overworked I’ve been lately (barely enough time to blog).  Plus, as much as I complained about how stressful my current job is, I have to admit it’s never boring: I now deal with multiple aspects of the company (billing, service issues, contracts, etc.) and have acquired quite a few job skills in the short time I've been doing it.   

Plus, commiserating with your co-workers is half of what makes the job fun. 

After talking it over with my mom and a few others, I decided that it’s better to not look this ‘gift horse’ in the mouth (especially in this economy).  So I’m taking the “senior position” that management created for me (along with a hefty pay increase – or so they promised; otherwise I'm staying where I am) and waiting for the job market to heal.  

Hopefully this means I’ll have more time to blog again.  I’m not sure how much more work will be required of me (more money = more responsibility), but hopefully I’ll have a little more free time on my hands. 

**NOTE** For those of you who know where I work, please don’t say anything on this blog.  They have this “tracker” thing that catches anything that mentions the company online and I’d rather not have this post show up in the company E-Newsletter, okay?  I’M TRUSTING YOU HERE. 

Vacation Rationing

So by now you all know that I got a promotion at work and have this new job with all these cool & crazy responsibilities; I’m totally an essential part of my department and contribute to the growth of the company, blah, blah, blah…..!

And while that’s really great – something I felt was really missing in my last position – it means that I can’t afford to take as many vacations as I used to.

……which really sucks, because I feel the need to take more of them now since this job is kind of stressful.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because I might not be able to fly home for Christmas this year. My vacation time was cut down significantly by my recent trip to New York and I’m not sure I’ll be able to accrue the needed days-off for a Christmas vacation this year.

It gets even trickier this year because half of my current department consists of L.A. transplants - people originally from the South, the East Coast, Scotland,…..and now Hawaii.

My old department consisted of people whose families lived in Los Angeles and could afford to work during the Christmas holidays. Christmas vacation was never really an issue back then.

But now….I’ve heard it can get kind of vicious around the holidays when it comes to asking for time off – begging, bargaining, lots and lots of toadying to the boss, etc. etc.

I don’t even want to think about what I’ll have to go through to get time-off approved for Evan & Mahea’s wedding in Hawaii next year.

Ah well, working up the nerve to ask today – wish me luck! 

Today is a Special Day

Just wanted to jot down that today I did something that my gut tells me I'll regret for the next couple of years (should everything go as planned) 

Since this is a public blog, I can't really say anymore without shooting myself in the foot, but look at the labels to get a hint at what this refers to. 

PRAY THAT IT ALL WORKS OUT FOR THE BEST! 

Outlook not so good?

So rather than tell you about my recent battle with the stomach flu (an exciting, yet graphically 'T.M.I.' story that I'm sure will haunt you for years), I thought I'd let you in on my recent attempts to move up the corporate ladder. 

See, last week I heard there was an opening in the department that works closely with mine (and pays better) so I applied for it, thinking I had a good shot at getting it. 

I'm assuming they were very interested in hiring me because they interviewed me right away (the very day I turned in my application).  

And at the time, I thought I did okay (I'm never really sure how well my interviews go) but now I'm not so sure. 

They initially told me I'd get an answer (good or bad) "by the end of next week."  (i.e. this week)  But they just called me and said they're still interviewing and will have an answer by the end of the week after this. 

That's not a good sign, is it? 

So I guess my interviewing skills need work.  Any tips??