Impromptu Trip

I got a new camera as a Christmas present. As a result I then had to get a camera case. Me, being me, I am not content just to go with what they have in the big box store that the camera came from. I had to do some investigative work and look for a good case. This is why I have an STM backpack for my laptop and an Otterbox case for my BlackBerry. For once though I didn't have to order it online. I decided to go with M-Rock and fortunately for me it was carried by Quinte Photo Fotosource. Gave me an opportunity to go "home" for the first time in a decade. If that hadn't panned out I might have been driving to Belleville but it all worked out.

On the way into the 'Burg we drove by the old house. That was a little disappointing even though I knew what to expect. I already knew they had torn down the garage and built a new one. To me it looked oversized and gawdy and made the house itself look small. The new garage also emphasized the dilapidation of the barn.

Then it was off to the 'Burg. A lot has certainly changed since I was last there but a lot has also stayed the same. I was really only interested in the downtown. There were new stores but it still felt like home as a lot of those stores and buildings had remained the same. Got a picture of Victoria Hall before heading off to the photo place to get the camera bag. They had 1 in stock of the bag I needed. Then took a walk down by the lake. Walked out as far as I could towards the lighthouse and then back and onto the beach. It was pretty cold and my hands were numb since I was using this as an opportunity to test out the camera and take some scenery photos. I think I am good now until Spring for outdoor shots. LOL I am extremely happy with the results.

Visited a few thrift stores while we were there. Even picked up Monopoly... but it wasn't just any Monopoly. It was the electronic banking edition. Picked it up really cheap. So it was definitely a good day. And it was nice to be back in the 'Burg even if it was just briefly. Hopefully the next time is less then 10 years from now.

Vacations Are Just Not Long Enough

Don't really have much to report as far as the vacation goes.... It was largely just R&R. Got caught up on my sleep.... Didn't really have any obligations or appointments. Azrael got plenty of attention. I also watched plenty of TV. It was a great vacation... but it was over way too quickly.

Week in Review

Okay so the week is only about half over. But since I wasn't sure I would get to the post at the end of the week I thought I would post this now. Plus I am hoping the last couple of days are more routine. I might be on vacation next week. I know that you are now wondering what the "might" is all about. And I can think of at least one person that might have a vested interest in when I will be free. I always book vacation around my birthday. This year is no different. I booked it month's ago and it was approved. According to my current schedule I am on vacation next week. So what changed? Well I have been in training for the last 5 weeks. It has felt like a mini vacation. This week we went live and while the in class training has been completed the first two weeks on the phones is called TCC. Still not sure what it stands for but it means we have weekends off, time off the phones and most important floor support to assist us with our calls. I want to be there for all of that. Get a couple of weeks under my belt before going on vacation. Problem is that the week after is booked solid for vacations. Next week... or 2 weeks from now it would be no problem. But that week... not so easy. I talked to my trainer and he told me no. Then I discovered that TCC was only the 2 weeks and I really wanted to be there for all of it. So I talked to one of the managers on Friday. He thought it was a great idea and beneficial to the company for me to be there for all of it. But it has been a crazy week and so far the request has fallen through the cracks. Hopefully I find out before the end of my shift on Friday. Wouldn't want to make plans or anything.

So Monday was the launch date. *C*R*A*Z*Y* Basically Murphy's Law was in effect. "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." The IT department was updating the systems so there weren't enough desks. And then the main database system that we use crashed. Now normally I would cheer for time off the phones. But when it's the first day you want it to go smoothly. Instead that just meant the stress was heightened. It was a rough day but I survived.

Just in case work didn't contain enough drama then there was the stalker. Seems he had freaked out the day before on more then one person. Went as far as threatening suicide. So suddenly I had to deal with that... as if my day wasn't trying enough. But he had an appointment with the doctor the next day.... which resulted in what I would call a "Get out of jail free" card. Got a doctor's note to be moved to another team at work... where it will be less stressful. Don't even get me started on that one.

I was more stressed going into the second day then I was the first after everything that happened. But once I started taking calls I settled in and it was a much better day. And today was also a good day. As far as the calls go any ways. Tech support is a much better fit for me then billing ever was. So I am settling in. And yes it is challenging and will take some time to come together and for me to be completely comfortable with it.

Outside of the job I haven't been sleeping well. I am thinking that the lack of daylight is part of it... along with going live.... and the fact my routine seems thrown off. Or maybe it is the small feline that has taken to curling up with me at night and disturbing my slumber. But I love Azrael so I can't really get mad at him. Just hope that I can start getting some sleep.. or should I say sleep through the night.

Am I Really Home?

So I get home and am greeted by the sounds of a kid screaming and crying.... I started to wonder if I was really home or if I was just living in some twilight zone at the moment. Get to the door and then hear Azrael start crying. Yep I am really home. I get in the door and he keeps going. Azrael is not a happy cat. So I pick him up like a child and was carrying him around the apartment. You'd think he was my baby or something. Get him calmed down and fed. He seems to be happy.... Or maybe not. He just hissed at me and bit me. The biting I am used to. He never hisses. But I think that was actually because of the static build-up in my shirt. I think I might have just shocked him. It's not because he is still mad at me. Cats have an extremely short attention span so he has already forgotten that I left him for 3 days. And I have decided that I really should leave him a little more often.... I can count the number of times I have left him in the last 3 years on both hands. That's kind of scary and tells you I have no life.

Every parent... or anyone that works with kids will probably get a kick out of the second half of this. My desktop picture is of Azrael and over the weekend I changed it. I know I am just such a rebel. When you're interacting with kids your vocabulary tends to change and you start pointing things out. The 2 year old really liked pictures of the cat and would constantly point to it. So I get home an set up the computer (and in case anyone is wondering I really did put everything else away first). Azrael hops up on the couch and what do I do? I start pointing to the screen saying, "Who's that on the screen? Is that you Azrael?" And then I caught myself.... It would've been even scarier if I had got any kind of answer out of him. But now back to the real world and the fact I do not have a child... and while Azrael may be my baby (and I do have great conversations with him at times... cheap therapy bills) I really don't need to point to the screen and say "Cat" now. *LMAO*

Separation of Home and Work

There is always talk of leaving your personal life at the door when you come to work. That might be true in a perfect world. But we don't live in a bubble. No one can do that. I am not saying that you should allow your personal life to affect you at work or be an excuse for poor performance. However, I believe that a good manager should still acknowledge anything that might be affect that person and if the circumstance warrants should allow them the opportunity to talk about it.

I remember a long time ago there was a situation that stayed with me... Something was going on (the details aren't really important and I don't even remember) and Carrie (my performance coach at the time) pulled me aside and asked me what was going on. She knew it was affecting me. I never forgot that. She took the time to address it and empathized with me.

Christie does that. I can't speak for other agents, although I have seen it. But even with me she acknowledged the frustration of my student loan and my heating woes. That doesn't mean that she would allow me to use it as an excuse but at least she acknowledged that I might have something else on my mind. Likewise, I know that Christie isn't going to be focused on work 100% of the time. Right now she is sick so I know that it affects her. Life happens...

Contrast this with my former team leader. 2005 was a horrible year for me. The biggest impact was being raped by a coworker. Now rape in and of itself was bad enough. How do you possibly separate work and home in that case? Not only did I live in the same building I worked in but Mike also worked there. I was told not to say anything. Chris never even acknowledged that it might be affecting me. I would see him at work but it was always this unspoken ghost haunting me. Now, me being me, I never would've talked about it. But I think it should have at least been acknowledged. Or even a referral to the EAP counsellor. She swept it under the rug like she did everything else that might be affecting my performance at work.

So if you ever find yourself in a managerial position acknowledge the employees personal life and discuss anything that might be important to them. It builds a more positive work relationship. It doesn't mean making excuses for the behaviour or poor performance but you do build a relationship with your employees that way.