One of the downsidesa of where I’m working is that the only day that is universally recognised as a day off is Christmas Day. Because, as I know you have probably guessed, the organisation is a 24/7 type operation, there is really no distinction between Bank Holidays or weekends and such like. So, while the rest of the people around you observice the usual 4 days off for Easter and the Bank Holidays, unless I am not down to be in that day, or I decide to take it as a day off (arranged well in advance of course), then I have to work it. Such is life. I am working mid -afternoon to late evening tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.
Not to worry though. Yesterday I took my car to our “designated” garage, where it had a full service, which I’m happy about. Nothing serious, but there’s two tyres I have to get later on in the week, when hopefully the place I think is still there, will be open.
Today, I went with Polyhex and Agent to the local park to do a a number of geocaches, which was fun and a bit muddy. I remember last time that my GPS was all over the place, mainly because I didn’t know how to work it. But now, even though I still don’t’ know how to properly work it, I was able to navigate reasonably well. I didn’t find any caches myself: I left that to the seasoned professionals. Thanks to Polyhex and Agent again for allowing me to get some fresh air (not to mention making 4 burps).
Blog wise, I’ve re-arranged and updated my links again. One thing I’ve noticed is that I have to get new links to include on that thar right hand side. I have a particular process I go through when selecting the links, and looks like I have to make some time to do that (or maybe taking my time is the best thing to do) I know from just looking athrough a few blogs that it’s not as popular as it used to be, and that quite a lot of bloggers have silenced their keyboards. It may be slightly difficult to look for new ones. Oh dear.
This weekend has been, and next weekend will be, a bit of a novelty for me.
Because of the job I work in, where weekends aren’t really counted, but a way for the company to get more money, we are given our “timetable” well in advance, and as it so happens I have 2 weekends in a row off. That’s never happened in my “new” job, not including holidays or sickness.
Oh, and because of the hours I can work, Monday to Friday will be a bit of a novelty with me. I’m working 9am to 5pm, with the weekend off next weekend. Just like old times.
Today was also quite sunny to begin with. So I managed to get some sorting out done (moving stuff about and throwing some stuff away that I now longer need.) I really think that it’s going to be a warm summer – no doubt the “global warming” lobby will start up again. But it’s true, I feel a lot better when it’s warm and the sun’s shining.
This morning I was awakened by a rap on my bedroom door to look outside. Yes, snow everywhere.
My Dad managed to clear most of the snow off my car, and I had a reasonably smooth journey of not being able to see any lines in the road, and a traffic queue on the M60. My journey took an hour rather than the usual 20 minutes.
Right the way through my day in work, I was more worried about how the journey would be during my journey home. There were a few signs of worry, like having to be pushed out of the snow from the car park, and then on the motorway, I couldn’t see the lines in the road, because there were areas that were not cleared or gritted. And then coming off the motorway, in my lane was a gritter clearning the road, which I had to move deftly past. I am unable to park my car in it’s usual place on the drive, as my wheels roll when I try to move the car up a small ramp (more like a step actually).
Tonight they have forecast widespread frost. The roads are treacherous near to where I live: there are places that have not been gritted, and the side roads definitely have not. Because my car is in the situation it is, and because I have to leave quite early on in the morning, if I can’t move the car away, or I’m slipping and sliding on the roads, I won’t be going in to work.
Which is all okay, I have no worries about that, because about 20% of the people I work with and about 50% of the total number of people on the office floor didn’t bother turning up today.
Over the past few days (since around about last Friday), my bedroom has been in a state of upheaval. In fact it’s in a mess. It’s in the process of being decorated from top to bottom, and I’ve finaly got a new wardrobe that I’ve been thinking about getting for the past 6, maybe more years, to replace the one I’ve had for the past 15-odd years. It’s been a faithful wardrobe, but it’s habit of listing to one side (luckily towards a wall) has meant that it was beginning to show it’s age. Therefore it had to go.
I can say that it put up a fight. I am helping my Dad when I’m not at work, so helped break it down. Took us about 10 minutes, when I thought it would be easy.
I’m jumping the gun a bit here. I had to take everything out of the wardrobe, and this is where I’ve realised how much crap I have around the place. I have the usual scarves, caps and files in the wardrobe, and of course, clothes. I like my extensive DVD collection and also my vast CD collection, but I also have magazines and X-Box games to be concerned about. Oh, and loads of books. I was beginning to run out of space a bit.
So tomorrow will involve putting a new carpet down on the floor, a new wardrobe up, and basically putting everything back to roughly where it was. And I’m very conscious of the amount of stuff I’ve been accumulating…
Today I was back where I’d spentlast week, doing stuff I should have done last week but had to do other things.
I don’t really mind that. The people I go to see there are friendly and quite kind to me. I know that everything that was done before by people in my department is now in safe hands. What worries me is that they have underestimated how much work there is to do. But such is the nature of the beast that I have heard twice from independent sources: they either sink or swim. In 3 weeks time it is no longer my concern when I start my new job, and also new shifts, which should be interesting.
I suppose I’m not giving too much away when I say I’ll be moving to a workplace that is quite close to the Newton Heath Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Football Club. It’ll be interesting to see what happens during match days, whether I have to camp out for a short time while the traffic clears. I’ll have to wait and see. I’ve been told it’s not that bad.
Last week while I was away, I got a few pointers from people who have been there, seen it, bought the t-shirt. It’ll be interesting, even though there may be a chance that I become just a number. That may be a good thing, as in this job and my last, I have always been the one that people turned to for help. I know that’s fine, and all okay, but it would be nice to go into a job where I’m “doing my own thing” and not having to rely on people, or people relying on you (even though I was never a manager).
On Friday, I get my shifts for the new job. Should be fun.
You know when you open up your blog program, get ready to do a post, and then you find you have nothing you want to write about, even though a few minutes ago you had something to talk about?
Well, that’s just happened to me.
Back to normal then…
Ah, the weather is beginning to pick up a bit. No, the weather is picking up quite a lot. All the girls come out. Like the girl I saw today, wearing a short white skirt that got me wondering…summery type thoughts, which I know is healthy for me (even though one thought led me astray a bit).
So. I dedicate this song to that girl. Over to you, Bruce.
I know, another post about how good the state of the economy is, and how it looks as though my work is being moved to another location, and which I’m not going to follow it to that new location.
But while this process is going on, the lack of organisation is plain to see. Various milestones have to be met – I’ve worked that one out – but due to conflicting advice from various people around the building, I’ve begun to realise that there is a lack of direction going on. Like I’ve said in a previous post, we’re all in the same boat. It would be good to have some guidance about what to do. One one hand we are being rushed into doing things, and on the other, we have to wait for the first stage to pass before we can move on.
It is really frustrating.at the moment for me. I have yet to go for my second meeting about this whole episode, when just about the rest of the section has. Why the delay? Manager is too busy. I was supposed to have said meeting this morning, but the meeting was moved days ago, and they “forgot” to let me know. While I’m not one to start wailing because I feel left out, I just want to get this whole thing settled.
But then, it’s been that sort of a day. Don’t get me started.
Rave over.
Today has been the first really confusing, difficult day since the so-called “credit crunch” reared it’s ugly head. When the head people where you work all go for a 3 hour meeting with the Head Honcho of the place, rumours are bound to spread about what it could be. In these trying times, you begin to wonder what is going on.
That’s precisely what happened today.They all went into a meeting, then someone called up to ask about “the move”. So of course, all of us “normal” people begin to think and verbalise what we think is happening. Nothing’s been announced yet.
All I know is that if it was bad news for all of us in our small department, would the managers who came out of the meeting be laughing and joking like they were? It’s probably nothing, but you never know.
Like I said, I suppose it’s the economic climate we’re living in which makes me put up my guard.
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