This week I started my new job. It is totally different from what I have done for the last four years. I am at the same employer but now I am in the facilities operations area, not in anything to do with academics. It was a switch I wanted and looked forward to happening. I am working for the same employer so I understand the systems, the people and the culture.
That is where it ends. There have been a steady stream of people stopping by my door to say hello and then to give me their opinion about how things are working in my new area. I have had suggestions about staff and how they are working (some well, some not so well). One person has turned in their resignation this week and another is on an extended medical leave.
I told my boss I have a running list of items I need to review with him and find out how he wants me to work with him and the department I supervise. Yikes, this is fun and exhilarating and scary and overwhelming.
I know I am up to the task and soon I will find my "new normal" but right now I am just treading water as I am working my way around the deep end of pool. It will get better and soon I will feel like I know what I am doing.
Wish me luck. How have you managed taking on the tasks of a new job? Do you have any tips for me?
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Thursday, May 11, 2017
Our Pack has lost a member
This week ended with the loss of a member of our pack. The Princess, who had been with us over 16 years, came to the end of her life. My husband and I made the painful decision to have her euthanized. She had a long, wonderful life but in the last few weeks had gone downhill quickly.
The Princess was an exceptional dog. She was not easy, being part chow and part lab, she had the best and the worst attributes of both breeds. She was very strong willed and wanted things her way. Variations in her schedule were not handled well. Yet she took her job as the head of security for our house very seriously. No one, either human or animal, crossed our yard without her knowing about it and letting us know that our perimeters had been breached.
She did tolerate grand dog and The Beagle, our latest pack addition.
The Princess allowed hockey players who lived with us for many years to be part of her pack. She loved the snow and I would often take her for long walks on winter afternoons. She would bury her head in the snow and then jump out of it with her face all covered with the icy stuff.
I will miss her so much. She was my faithful companion and, like many chows, picked me as her favorite person. She would tolerate my husband (he said she considered him "better than nothing").
I know we made the right choice, allowing her to leave us in a way that was painless and peaceful.
Sleep well my Princess. I know you crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. I will see you when it is my time to make the same journey.
The Princess was an exceptional dog. She was not easy, being part chow and part lab, she had the best and the worst attributes of both breeds. She was very strong willed and wanted things her way. Variations in her schedule were not handled well. Yet she took her job as the head of security for our house very seriously. No one, either human or animal, crossed our yard without her knowing about it and letting us know that our perimeters had been breached.
I will miss her so much. She was my faithful companion and, like many chows, picked me as her favorite person. She would tolerate my husband (he said she considered him "better than nothing").
I know we made the right choice, allowing her to leave us in a way that was painless and peaceful.
Sleep well my Princess. I know you crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday. I will see you when it is my time to make the same journey.
Friday, May 5, 2017
A Walk of Faith - Update
Several weeks ago I posted about the fact my position at my employer was being eliminated at the end of May. The notice of my job disappearing was frightening and threw me totally off course. I had everything planned for the next few years but life sent me elsewhere.
So I wrote about my journey to a new job as a walk of faith. It is so hard to rest in God's promises that He has a plan and will take care of us. I had to remind myself daily that this transition was in God's hands. I did many things that took me out of my comfort zone as part of this transition. I talked to friends and co-workers. I asked for help and guidance from others. There was lots of prayer, both on my part and from a group of prayer warriors who offered to help me.
It was starting to look pretty bleak, I had done all the right things and had applied and interviewed for several positions, both with my current employer and with others. My husband was my rock and we planned how we would handle things if I did not get a job. It included a call to our son saying, "If this does not work out we will sell everything and move in with you!" He welcomed us and and told us that would not totally suck if it happened.
In my prayers this week I told God that no matter what happened I knew He had a plan and it was perfect. On Wednesday I got a call that changed my life. I was offered another position at the employer where I work. It is a total change from what I have been doing yet not really that different from my previous position.
Here is how God works, at least from my perspective. The position I was offered was originally opened and advertised. I had thought about applying for it but doubted my qualifications. I was asked to be on the interview committee for the first posting of this position. After the interviews there was a candidate who seemed perfect for the position. He was offered the job and accepted. I told the supervisor that I had thought about applying for the position but did not. Then a few weeks later the supervisor contacted me and told me that the candidate had withdrawn his acceptance of the position. How often does that happen? I applied for the position as soon as it was re-posted. That is the position I was offered this week. How can I doubt that this was not the working of God when a job I wanted was offered to someone else and then it ended up being offered to me.
So where I was expecting an ending now I am looking forward to a new beginning. I will be changing departments and supervisors. This looks so exciting for me and as always God's plan is perfect.
Trust that all things will work out for the best. God is truly good.
So I wrote about my journey to a new job as a walk of faith. It is so hard to rest in God's promises that He has a plan and will take care of us. I had to remind myself daily that this transition was in God's hands. I did many things that took me out of my comfort zone as part of this transition. I talked to friends and co-workers. I asked for help and guidance from others. There was lots of prayer, both on my part and from a group of prayer warriors who offered to help me.
It was starting to look pretty bleak, I had done all the right things and had applied and interviewed for several positions, both with my current employer and with others. My husband was my rock and we planned how we would handle things if I did not get a job. It included a call to our son saying, "If this does not work out we will sell everything and move in with you!" He welcomed us and and told us that would not totally suck if it happened.
In my prayers this week I told God that no matter what happened I knew He had a plan and it was perfect. On Wednesday I got a call that changed my life. I was offered another position at the employer where I work. It is a total change from what I have been doing yet not really that different from my previous position.
Here is how God works, at least from my perspective. The position I was offered was originally opened and advertised. I had thought about applying for it but doubted my qualifications. I was asked to be on the interview committee for the first posting of this position. After the interviews there was a candidate who seemed perfect for the position. He was offered the job and accepted. I told the supervisor that I had thought about applying for the position but did not. Then a few weeks later the supervisor contacted me and told me that the candidate had withdrawn his acceptance of the position. How often does that happen? I applied for the position as soon as it was re-posted. That is the position I was offered this week. How can I doubt that this was not the working of God when a job I wanted was offered to someone else and then it ended up being offered to me.
So where I was expecting an ending now I am looking forward to a new beginning. I will be changing departments and supervisors. This looks so exciting for me and as always God's plan is perfect.
Trust that all things will work out for the best. God is truly good.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Advice from a pro
Recently I attended a conference sponsored by my local chapter of the Romance Writers of America(RWA). The speaker was Kristen Lamb, blogger and author. She did a presentation on how to use a blog to promote yourself as a author.
Her advice included posting a blog about three times a week at a minimum. I am lucky to get one post a week in. She also had us go through an exercise of a word cloud to list things which described us or in which we had an interest. From our word clouds she suggested topics we could use to blog about.
Since that time I have been noticing which of my favorite authors blog, or use social media, or link their blogs to their social media. One of my favorite authors is J.T. Ellison. She does three blogs a week and links them to her social media (at least Facebook). I look forward to those postings every week. They cover a wide variety of topics, not just writing, and allow me to get a glimpse of her as a writer and a person.
As a result of the presentation I learned new ways of presenting myself as an author. I know that I need to work regularly on promoting myself also. I also need to find what works for me.
Previously I wrote about how writing fiction is hard. Being an author is hard work also.
What do you think? Would you follow a blog or would it be better to stick with social media? Should I focus on both and post the blog to Facebook and Twitter?
Her advice included posting a blog about three times a week at a minimum. I am lucky to get one post a week in. She also had us go through an exercise of a word cloud to list things which described us or in which we had an interest. From our word clouds she suggested topics we could use to blog about.
Since that time I have been noticing which of my favorite authors blog, or use social media, or link their blogs to their social media. One of my favorite authors is J.T. Ellison. She does three blogs a week and links them to her social media (at least Facebook). I look forward to those postings every week. They cover a wide variety of topics, not just writing, and allow me to get a glimpse of her as a writer and a person.
As a result of the presentation I learned new ways of presenting myself as an author. I know that I need to work regularly on promoting myself also. I also need to find what works for me.
Previously I wrote about how writing fiction is hard. Being an author is hard work also.
What do you think? Would you follow a blog or would it be better to stick with social media? Should I focus on both and post the blog to Facebook and Twitter?
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