I Hear You...

I have been asking for some clarification about my role at work. I was hired for one thing, but because yours truly is soooo skilled and capable (ha!), they immediately started giving me completely different tasks which are now over 80% of my responsibilities. I like the new tasks - Love them - because they are things that I actually went to school for, that I have always wanted to wake up everyday to go do, and get paid for. Except, I'm not... getting paid for them.

I had a big problem with this when I first started working here, because it felt like I was being take advantage of. Then, not so much because I'd calmed down and accepted it as an opportunity to wow everyone with my skills and make it impossible for them not to promote me into that role permanently. I was perfectly happy with working my first full year that way because those tasks were only required of me once in a while. "This is not an every day thing, but once it becomes busier and there are more needs for those tasks to be completed, we can certainly move you into this role permanently, and back fill your other tasks".

So, as the reasonable human being that I am, I said OK. Until they came back at me last week with "this is going to be more prominent in the upcoming weeks. In fact, let's make 3 out of 5 of your goals for this quarter all about these tasks. But let's not change your role or anything. Noooooo... Let's stick to this until you crack.

So, imagine my surprise when the context changed over the supposed transition into the other department. Wouldn't you have asked? I did. And the answer from my boss was: "I hear you".

That's it.

You hear me??? Really? I mean there was no conversation about it. Not even a small edit to slide me into the department to explain why I am doing all this extra work for this department but somehow am still not part of it? Or why now on top of all of that, I have even more responsibilities in the team in question?

I know you're thinking: "Hmmmm!".

Yeah, me too.

So today, her boss was in the office and I - of course - asked him directly (oh, I sure did!). He deferred back to her, she repeated that she "heard me", everyone laughed, but I kept asking. He says we will revisit and we will discuss in depth at my annual review. He feels it makes the most sense to do it then, which is normal and I agree with him.

Only a few months until then so I'll wait and see.

Work Mountain

I've been working at this company in Houston, cleaning up their file room since the end of February. Well after almost a month without system access, and another month of sifting through and organizing files, I am finally done... with the active section. Now time to sort through all the random papers thrown around the file room by my predecessors.

At least I'm not alone in this. They hired someone for my role (yeah, no need to get bitter about it) so we powered through the last of the active files when she started. Now hopefully it will only take us a month to go through the rest of this madness so I can go on my merry way. Until then, Happy Friday peeps!

Whoa! Time flies...

Yes, I know - I have been away the longest this time around, but SO much has happened in the last 7 months... Your girl has been caught up in a whirlwind of emotional changes but thanks to another fan a worlds away, I'm back again baby!! I'll try to sum this up in 7 paragraphs to catch you up with what's been going on so put your seat belts on people!

The program chair for my degree program put in a good word for me so I could join in the Graduation celebrations and walk on stage with family present. We all went to Atlanta and had an amazing time. I think I ate more than I ever have in my entire life, it was that insane! I dearly missed my brother and his family, and two of my sisters who couldn't make it though so I hope we get a real family reunion soon with everyone in tow, lol.

 

We were able to sneak away again, this time back to Houston for Thanksgiving. So much fun! Older sister and her cute baby boy joined us and we all spent the week at my brother's.
Also, unexpected but very happy news ensued :)

It's confirmed! Little Peanut is on its way to us next August... very strange feeling, kinda surreal. I mostly wanted orange juice and eggs at that point - all the time! I remember I was heading into work one day and made it to the complex entrance and decided I really wanted an omelet. I had to turn around and feed my craving :). Needless to say I was late to work, but everyone assumed it was due to traffic and I didn't correct them. Bad girl, haha!

In other fantastic news, we found out hubby got a job offer in Houston, so within one week, my entire life changed and everything I thought 2014 would be, was now moving to a warmer locale. We flew to Florida for the holidays and shared both news with our family there and I mostly tried to come back to earth from my cloud but it never really happened, lol.

I gave my two week notice at work when I returned from Florida. Bitter sweet time trying to transition everything I was working on while trying to pack my desk, which I actually never did... my friend Scott helped on my last day as I frantically said goodbye to everyone! Shameful.

Packing was a drag and it was awful! Thank goodness for the amazing friends who helped un-mount T.Vs and bar shelves from the walls, and pack up an entire kitchen at super speed! You know who you are, you kick-boxing rock stars!

I made it safely to Houston mid January and spent exactly two weeks lounging on the couch everyday staring at my adorable baby nephew! He smiles all the time!!!!! It's so cute :) We celebrated my sister in law's birthday at home, low key with cake she made but I can't remember which flavor... were there cupcakes too? Hmmmm maybe

Didn't do much for Valentine's day, or at least I don't remember. I guess we went out to dinner the following night? I was pretty much battling chronic sleepiness the entire time so all I remember of the first couple of weeks is that I slept A LOT!

I started to get cabin fever and had to start looking for work again. I found a temp job in HR with minimal movements required but the place is a freaking nut house! Filing system is completely out of whack, but not to worry...SMS TO THE RESCUE!

Got really nauseous for the first time and had to leave work. I was sick the whole day, and it was not fun. I have no idea how other pregnant women survive 9 months of being sick like that, but more power to them!

Brother's birthday was also celebrated low key at home with black forest cake! I couldn't even enjoy it because the baby decided if it doesn't taste like Nutella, I don't want it :( Little brat! lol.

AND NOW... We found an apartment :) Moved in on the 22nd but still a lot to buy so we're crowding my brother's place a little longer, hehe! I don't wanna leave my nephews, but it's time to make room for our little one, and get his stuff put together.

Until next time, VOILA!

The Ninja Diaries

And we're back at it again... I know how you've missed my work adventures. There isn't as much as in previous "diary" installments, but nonetheless, there are some fun moments.

Day 1 (Friday) went by without a hitch. It was busy but we knew we were leaving early so we got all the work done early and answered requests as they came in after that. It got really quiet around 11 and by 1pm, the boss's boss told us to go home and enjoy our holiday weekend.

Days 2 & 3 dragged and dragged and I wrote "come baaaack" on your white board and later on, "don't ever leave me again", and such... but then I erased them b/c of the spies and left only the two you saw when you returned :)

Day 4 - Remember how everyone was given a stack of filing before you left? Well, some of us who do it all the time were in the file room for about an hour and a half and only got through half of our stacks. Others who never do, somehow completed 2 whole stacks in 30 minutes... total. I concluded that the rest of us slow-pokes need to get with the program :/

Later on, I cheated on you at lunch... and then again after lunch...I know. I'm ashamed and I feel dirty - as per my text to you right after it happened. It meant nothing. One thing led to another and before I knew it, we were in my car driving to DD for coffee :(. Thank you for forgiving me by the way, LOL!

Day 5 - I can't really remember what happened or didn't happen then... I think there was more of the fake filing, the randomness, and me being superwoman, ha! No big deal :)

Day 6 - Someone decided it was a good idea to do nothing that Friday. I vaguely recall the inbox being completely out of control and our filing friend disappearing 3 times in the file room. And then there was me... working. Once again, no big deal - same-o, same-o!

So glad you're back!!!!!!!!!

D.E.X.T.E.R.!!!

Don't worry, No Spoilers Below!

I hate when people ruin shows for me so I won't do that to those of you who haven't caught up yet. I just wanted to share my excitement over Dexter being back this past weekend! He's my favorite non-villain/villain on television bar none!!!

Can I just say how much I LOOOOVE the twists on this show? They're just insane! From the first episode of Dexter I ever watched, I loved that they made you believe they would take their time to develop the episode. Then, BAM!!! Ice-Truck Killer leaves little presents for Dexter and then BAM, Miguel Prado happens, and then BAM again, Trinity... I mean, it just keeps going and going and going!!!!

I am very curious to see how they will close out the series though. The finale last season was so freaking intense. It'll be most heartbreaking to those of us who just started watching it. I only started watching it last Fall and yes, I know "welcome to 2006" as a very good friend pointed out, haha! Anyway, I caught up to all 7 seasons within a few weeks and then suffered through the long wait to June 30th with everyone else.

This season looks like it's going to be one of those insane ones already. I don't plan on breathing at all during the time it takes to watch the final 12 episodes, haha! I also expect an insane amount of heart-stopping moments, crazy twists, and intense palpitations. I'm sure they'll build the anticipation WAY up to bid Dex adieu.

Summer summer summer tiiiiime!

S.U.M.M.E.R.!!! It's finally here. Time to trade your pumps for flip flops, sandals and open toe wedges ladies! I tried to remember the last time I was this excited about summer, and I think my living in Florida with year round summers took away that feeling. I am slowly getting back into the groove of loving the temperature change and the anticipation of warm weather.

All this was really to say I had ice cream for lunch and it was delicious... well I lied. I had ice cream for desert but I didn't really eat all of my lunch because I was too excited about the ice cream. Needless to say that in our excitement about getting ice cream, we drove around for 20 minutes to get to the place down the street that is only 5 minutes away. Fail.... but it was delicious ice cream :p

In other random news, I had  to fend off rants about basketball championships on my Facebook wall because friends insist on tagging me even though I don't care about sports, haha! Well, honestly I don't mind bugging them and starting conversations by yelling out "Go Celtics" randomly... just to see what ensues, buuuut I digress, lol.

News & Such

Welcome back to the land of the mad..

Once again, I am the gem of the team handling almost everyone and everything on my own for the most part. It's funny how when one of your co-workers is out on vacation, the rest act as though they are as well. Showing up when they want, picking and choosing what they'll work on and what they'll leave for God knows who to deal with... love it!

One of the girls in my team left about a month ago to greener pastures, and we just replaced her last week with the receptionist. I have mentioned her before, and as I already knew and was friends with her, the transition has been the happiest time for me. It's so great to have her up here, and makes me feel like I'm not alone in a sea of negativity.

The others however, are acting strange. Some of them just went about their business as if nothing had changed or happened until her second week. None of them offered to show or teach her anything, and basically just looked baffled anytime she asked what she should do. Remembering how fantastically my training had gone when I transferred here, I decided to take on the trainer role and help her get acquainted with as much of the basics as I could. She picks up quick so I knew there wouldn't be any issue there.

I still don't understand why everyone is acting as though she was solely for me to train; even though I don't mind at all and enjoy it. I just don't get it. Shouldn't we all chip in??? Is it because I was already friends with her? What is wrong with people?? They also expect me to do all of their work while I'm training, and doing my own work too, soooo ya. There's that.

Anyway, that's the mini update for now and I'm sure there will be plenty more to come.


Ta-ta!

Crisis Averted!

First, I apologize for disappearing for nearly two months but I had to deal with a major school crisis... not to make an excuse, but eh... it's my blog, and I understand you have become quite enthralled with my wit and need a semi regular fix, so I will work on that =p.

Last year when I received my permanent residency from the United States government, I was finally able to correct my name in their system, the way I had always wanted/needed it to be reflected on my paperwork. All it took was filling out the application form stating that my first name and my middle name (post-name, in my country), had be placed in the wrong order - according to U.S. standards.

The Immigration representative was very helpful and said, as long as I mark "previous name" on the application form and supply them with my original birth certificate as proof, I would be all set. I completed everything last year and after receiving my Green Card (permanent resident card's nickname), I used that to correct all my other documents in March of last year.

WELL... that didn't seem to be enough for my school... Nooo way, no how.



I received a nasty email from my school one random day in early March of this year, to tell me I was to call the Financial Aid department immediately because they could not process my financial aid payment. My name was different in the government education system as they had it at the school and blah blah blah... I explained the whole situation and asked them which documents they would need for me to confirm the change.

After talking extensively to several people in the FA office, and submitting more duplicates of my entire life documents (Social Security card, Permanent Resident card, Driver's licence, birth certificate, blood, heart, lungs, kidneys...), they finally told me that none of these would be acceptable to resolve the issue.

SAY WHAT NOW???

Needless to say I was completely frazzled, devastated, depressed because what else could I do? I was mostly and shocked that they refused to accept an original official document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security because "it was not a letter"... and because they were unsure that I was the same person. I even went to the Social Security Administration to ask them if they could write me a letter explaining that I corrected my name, which they did, but the school STILL wouldn't take it. I was at a loss.

Over the next few days, they had effectively locked me out of class, blocked me from making payments or doing anything on the virtual campus. They said it would take 30 to 60 days for everything to be reestablished and that in the meantime, I would be dropped out of school. I sat in tears every night in front of my computer, wondering what to do and how the heck I was going to get the strength to re-track my "count-down to graduation" from my Facebook page.

I have to give a shout out to my hubby for keeping me sane during the madness and trying everything to get the problem fixed. He even had people at his job trying to help me transfer to the university where he works. Thankfully, I did not need to start my entire degree program over. Last Tuesday, the school's financial aid called me again to let me know that my name was fixed with the Department of Education and that everything was back on track.

The moral of the story is - DON'T CHANGE YOUR FIRST NAME!!! Haha, just kidding. Kind of... but really, you should exhaust every option while making any type of update to your legal information. If you are a student in the U.S., make sure to find out from every department that has anything to do with your information, what they will need to make the updates seamless. I thought I had, but oh well... I'm just glad it's all over and I can get back to schoolwork. I have a ton to catch up on since I missed the first week and a half of school, but both my professors were kind enough to give me extensions.

Until next time :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

I said this two weeks ago about my mom, but I equally miss my dad. He's the strongest most dedicated man I know and I am lucky to have him in my life. Pretty much, everything I said about my mom applies here.

My favorite memories with dad are of simple moments. Riding along with him in Kinshasa, going to buy madeleines. Sitting in the living room in Berlin, eating spicy bacon and toast. Driving around town because it's a beautiful day, listening to Tracy Chapman on a Sunday afternoon. Handing him the tools while he fixed the DVD player in Addis-Abeba.  Watching 24 in Tokyo, having a beer on the couch.Watching TV Game shows like Questions Pour Un Champion in Turkey, guessing the correct answers along with the contestants.

I love you Dad!! I wish you a wonderful birthday and hope to see you this summer at my graduation.

"Mamu".

Already?!?!

Well it looks like I missed a whole lot of days, and went M.I.A. again, sorry about that!

First off... HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013 is going to be grand, I can feel it!!!
So a whole lot has happened over the last two months. Christmas was spent low-key at home just the hubbs and I exchanging gifts, drinking and watching TV, same for New Year's.

Then I made a declaration that this year will be the year of weekend excursions and we started off with 3 days in York, PA visiting friends. It was such a blast! We went to Hershey Park, more so to the Chocolate World. How can you not love an entire building that smells like melted chocolate?... EXACTLY!
Sunday, we went to Philadelphia to an auto show, which I'd never been to. It was pretty impressive, lots of gorgeous cars to sit in, and I took about a million pictures, haha. I need to find my camera cable so I can upload them and add a few of them here. It was a great time!

Been busy at work as well after we completed an acquisition and had a lot of paperwork to enter into our system and such, but it's finally starting to wind down. I'd also been blissfully out of school for the winter break and returned last month. This is the final week for the current session, and the next 5-week session begins Monday. After that, I will have 10 classes left, aka 5 session, aka 3 semesters before graduation.
I... CAN'T... WAIT!!!