Update #2: bye bye fog, it's gorgeous out.
For all things NaBloPo head over to The Inbetween in Mine
Friends, writing is hard. In theory all that I should have to do is post a picture of dinner and tell a random story about what happened in my day and hit publish. The reality though is that when it comes to writing I'm slower than molasses. Without even blinking I have 30 blog post topics for NaBloPo and none of them are cooperating with the writing process.
I actually used to be a technical writer by profession. After about an hour of staring down my computer screen I'd get squirrley and start wandering around the office looking for an excuse to do anything except write. That's how I ended up becoming an accountant!
So here goes: see picture of dinner above. Meal planning is never a problem on Fridays. If it's an adults weekend we go to the drive in hamburger place and if we have the kids we get pizza. Sometimes we get wild and do something else, but that's 99.9% of our Friday dinners.
As long as I play my cards right, Fridaze are pretty chill day at work. The rest of my team is in another country in a time zone far, far ahead of mine. Unless something's on fire, they peace out after lunchtime and I take my sweet time about starting my work day. My natural work style is to focus and get a ton of stuff done, take a break and chill out, and repeat the cycle as many times as needed. Let me tell you that that approach works much better at home than in an office and also on a different time zone than the rest of your team.
Funny story about being the only 'Murican on the team: the finance department at my company is huge and everyone else but me is in the Home Country. For my first all hands department meeting people were logging into to Zoom and chit chatting waiting for the meeting to start. Someone said "why is everyone speaking English?"
Without missing a beat a few people shouted in unison "SO THAT YOU CAN PRACTICE!!!!"
It took a while to settle in to this job, but since I last wrote about it, things have been going pretty well. My boss will be going on maternity leave in January, and you-know-who will be taking her place. I'm not 100% sure that I want the job, but I can do anything for nine months (I did say that the home country isn't the US...the rest of the world has a better grip on maternity leave) so it's a low-risk way to try it out and it looks good on the ol' resume. I'm not sure if my job title will change (the one I have is the one I want) and there have been hints of more $$$ but nothing's come through yet though I did get a phat bonus this quarter so that's a good sign.
I keep an eye on job postings just because I have a LinkedIn addiction but I haven't applied for anything since this summer. Lately I've been thinking that I should apply to something just to keep my interview skills sharp but I hadn't acted on it. And then today for the first time in a long time a Cool Startup contacted me so...oh you know that's catnip to me. Hey I'm not married to these people so there's no harm in flirting right???? I'll talk to Cool Startup on Monday and I'll keep you posted. Most likely I'll just end up making fun of Cool Startup on the blog but you never know.
Peace out! Do you ever interview just for the fun of it?
I love Fridays; they just feel so fun and light. Good luck with the maternity leave coverage! Here in Canada we get a whole year! I was so shocked when I visited our Houston office and they said they got something like two weeks, but they could save all their sick days and vacations and make it six weeks. Six weeks! I think you're still bleeding through those giant pads at six weeks. Crazy! (actually I don't remember much, sleep deprivation, etc)
ReplyDeleteWow I did not know that MLA was one year across the border. I bet that most people in the US don't know that or there would be mass immigration. At least we've worked our way up to 12 weeks down here and I know of one state that allows 16 weeks...but still if the rest of the world can swing 6+ months what the heck are we doing?
DeleteThat pizza photo is making me drool. I think flirting with Cool Startup is a great idea. Like you said, you're not married. Maybe Cool Startup will be Prince Charming, and how would know otherwise? But very nice that you will be taking over your boss's position while she's on maternity leave. (I do hope it comes with extra $$$ though.) Good experience and extra skills for the ol' resume, as you said.
ReplyDeleteCorrect, there's nothing to lose by flirting! I'm just so surprised that this opportunity came out of the blue.
DeleteI wish I were as chill as you about work stuff. My job is officially ending in a couple of weeks and I've had several interviews, but no actual offers. I'm tense about it, but trying to relax because I'm doing the best I can. Oh, well. I'm curious to see how your situation is going to pan out.
ReplyDeleteI'm chill only because I've settled into my current job...a few months ago when I was bored to tears and watching executives lose it in meetings it was a different story. I was climbing the wall trying to get out of there!
DeleteAnd yes you are doing the best that you can in dealing with a crappy situation that you do not deserve!
Yes, Fridays are my favorite dinner night because we get Chipotle. Sounds like your Fridays are pretty nice in general. I haven't interviewed for a job in ages- I've been at my current one for seven years. That makes me feel kind of unambitious, but it's close to home and close to my kid's school, yada yada. I think it's good you're still looking around and not getting complacent- I'll be interested to hear what happens with Cool Startup!
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing unambitious about having the ideal work situation to support what your family needs!
DeleteOMG, the thought of interviewing just for fun gives me hives. I should probably admit that I have not had a proper job interview in my life and the thought of it just stresses me out to no end! LinkedIn also intimidates me. Maybe I could learn a thing or three from you?
ReplyDeletePizza Friday sounds like a great routine. I also think you're doing fantastically with NaBloPoMo. Keep it up, Birchie. I am now counting on you. You're 1/6 of the way in.
The first job interview that I did last year when I started looking felt really odd. I felt a little bit like I was going on a dinner date with someone who wasn't my husband. At a minimum it felt STRANGE. But every interview after that felt much more natural. It is exactly like dating - if it feels weird than it is, if it feels like a natural conversation then you're in the right place.
DeleteI think it is good to keep the skills up. Also this way you know what you are worth and can maybe discuss better salary in your current job.
ReplyDeleteAgree. While I've taken full license to make fun of all the companies that I've interviewed with on the blog, the fact is that I've learned so much from interviewing. Especially the salary part!
DeleteCan we please swap Fridays? Because Friday is our typical meeting day. Friday. We have a general "no meeting" approach to *Mondays*, to which I say, what the hell? No, seriously, what the hell? It's honestly one of my least favorite things about this particular place (employer? University? "place" just sounds... weird...). Other places I've worked have had meeting Tuesday, which seems perfectly reasonable to. Nope. Fridays. Friday AFTERNOONS, to boot.
ReplyDeleteI would like to come work for you, please. :)
And, Friday is officially Pizza Night in America, according to my family. Now that, that works for me.
UGHHHHHH!!!!! Your Fridays sound miserable. Fridays are for finishing and wrapping everything up for the weekend, not for being stuck in meetings all day.
DeleteThe only downside of my work situation is on Monday morning everyone else is halfway through the day when I start work, so I have to go from zero to 60 pretty fast.