I forgot to mention yesterday that I finally had the “sit-down” with the boss and he told me that they hired someone (even though I already knew, because I just happen to drive in every day with a woman in HR). He apologized that they hired internally (as if he thought I was disappointed) and I explained to him that I really wasn’t interested in the job (but I said it very nicely) and also that we weren’t staying in San Diego, so I was perfectly happy to keep temping.
He told me he’d be happy to give me a glowing reference (which is fabulous, because I know I can get about 3 or 4 from this job, which is great since my other references are six years old!). He told me that the new person is going to have to transition from her present job to her new job, because that group lost an employee recently, and another is on sabbatical (more on that later), so she can’t just leave. Goody for me!
Then, he told me that she’d be starting with 2 hours a day at the new job, just training, and would eventually go to full time. I asked if that meant he would only need me for 6 hours a day, but he said that when she’s training she wouldn’t be working, so they would continue with me full time. Goody, goody for me!
Then, I told him that my deepest wish was that I could keep temping at this firm, because I really love it there and I was hoping that by the time this job ends, there will be another opening. He said that seemed like a great idea, but who knows (honest answer). So, I’ll just keep my fingers crossed, but I told the woman from HR of my conversation as we were driving home and she said I would definitely be there for the rest of May. Hallelujah! I think I’ve been really lucky to find a full-time temp job for over 4 months!
I’ve also had a chance to refresh my skills and learn new things. I have old versions of MICROSOFT OFFICE on my laptop at home, so learning the newest versions of PowerPoint, Word, and Excel was a real benefit. I also got to use Outlook for the first time.
Although I have plenty of experience with emailing, Outlook has a lot of new options, including scheduling, which is really cool. I got to use it for 4 months, so although I’m not an expert, I can definitely say I’m “proficient.” This job has also given me the confidence that I can do well back in the corporate world. It’s not a place I was dying to go back to, but – hey – you do what ya gotta do. Right now, it is the best thing for us, and it’s the same as always – I manage to make it fun every day.
Now, about the sabbatical – this firm is fabulous. If you work for 7 years you get 6 weeks paid sabbatical, along with your regular vacation. I think that’s amazing! You can take it all at once, or 3 weeks at a time, or 2 weeks, etc. No wonder the turnover at this firm is minimal!
So, I managed to keep pretty busy today. I finished a PowerPoint presentation, which was signed off on by my boss and two other people who are participating. I then had it copied and bound, and put together folders for all participants in a client meeting tomorrow morning at 8:30am. I had it all done by 2:00pm, and just read my book (which I finished at 2:30pm).
At 4:45pm, one of the other execs called my boss and told him there was a page out of order. First of all, it wasn’t my fault – that’s how they told me to do it. Second of all, they both signed off on it, so I guess they both didn’t notice before I had it copied and bound. Third of all, the “Fulfillment Department” closes after 4:00pm, so there was no way I could get it fixed tonight.
I printed out the two pages that need to be replaced (since the page numbers changed) and have it ready to race to the Fulfillment Department first thing tomorrow morning to have them take the presentations apart, remove the two wrong pages, insert the two right pages and re-bind. I’m assuming they’ll get it done before the 8:30am meeting!
It kind of annoyed me, and freaked me out a little, because they had all afternoon to notice and of course everything happens at the last minute, which I hate. I purposely get everything done ASAP, so that there’s room for emergencies (which always arise), but never expect them to happen right before I leave for the day! I would have been happy to stay late (and I’m sure my ride could have stayed, too), but there was no one there to rebind it anyway.
The cable guy came to the apartment this afternoon (right on schedule) and replaced my DVR box in the bedroom. I’m hoping I’ll have no more problems. Now, I just have to be sure to go through the schedule and set all my programs to record! So far, so good. I recorded DR. PHIL, AMERICAN IDOL, HELL'S KITCHEN and DANCING WITH THE STARS.
I had every intention of making dinner for us, but after watching TV for a while, I didn’t feel well and fell asleep around 7:00pm. I don’t know what it was, but I felt much better after Eric woke me up after 8:00pm. Since I said I wasn’t feeling great, he made dinner! It was so delicious. He made us NUTRISYSTEM pizzas with broccoli, and he also steamed broccoli and melted low-fat cheese on top, which was great, too. To top it all off, he made my salad for tomorrow’s lunch. Is he great, or what?
It was so nice to sit and relax (I watched DANCING WITH THE STARS) while he cooked. Then, we ate dinner together and watched AMERICAN IDOL. After that, he cleaned up and washed the dishes (it just gets better and better) while I blogged.
After that, we had dessert (low fat frozen yogurt) and watched HELL’S KITCHEN. I do feel better, but when I was falling asleep I was hoping I wasn’t getting sick. I HAVE to go to work tomorrow, because I have a very important job to do first thing in the morning, so I’m hoping I’m not coming down with something. That would stink! I do have something great to look forward to – my boss will be in a meeting for three hours and I have a new Dick Francis mystery!