Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Instead of watching the Academy Awards show on Sunday night, we watched The Hurt Locker.

You all know that it won Best Picture, with the director winning as well. In my humble opinion, it totally deserves those awards. And Jeremy Renner deserved his Best Actor nomination.

My only quibble is with the commissary scene - at no point in my experiences of going to the commissary did I ever see one so barren of people. I told Beau that every time I went with my mother the place was over-crowded with people.

Excellent movie that gets 4 stars out of 5.

Finished my online course on Monday and now I’m tackling a week of intense boredom since I still do not have access to the systems I need to do the new job. And I have two more weeks of training at the end of the month, so even if I do get into the systems and start learning my job in the next week or so, I’ll forget it all by the time I return in April.

Ah, new jobs!

Can’t complain too much though. I get to wear jeans, I have a TV in my office and internet access, my commute is a dream, and spring is coming.

Friday, March 05, 2010

After the rough First Day on Monday, the rest of my first week in the new job was a lot less exciting. Tuesday I finally met my boss, I got the official tour of the facility (which is huge and maze-like and very, very cool), got set up with a computer and phone and all of that fun stuff. I was strongly encouraged not to dress in my business casual attire - that things are way more casual than that. And they are.

I am to have a desktop and a laptop, apparently, and should be able to work from home when I want/need once I’m up to speed. I won’t press on that for the first year. I got my new blackberry.

And then, since I still don’t have access to the computer systems that I need to start learning my job, I am taking an online course that I need in order to become a COTR (Contracting Technical Representative). I’m signed up for another class at the end of the month - that one is in a classroom and I have to schlep to DC for that one. Joy.

Cool side note: my boss is in the Pipe & Drums for the agency and they practice at our location. They’re over on “the other side” so I can’t hear them, though. They’ve been practicing this week.

My commute is so much easier. It is so nice to walk in the door at 5:30 or 5:45 instead of an hour later. I get to feed Molly her dinner. I’ve actually been able to cook our dinner a couple of times. This is the best part of the job, if you ask me.

So far, so good.

Monday, March 01, 2010

5:55am - I am awakened out of the deepest sleep by a panicked voice. “Jen, aren’t you supposed to be up by now?” Beau woke up, on his own, as has become his norm lately.

Wha? I open my eyes and panic myself. It is one hour later than the alarm was supposed to come on. I check it and see that the light is on - I did turn it on last night. Then I check the volume. Turned all the way down. There is only one person to blame for that - Jesse.

I stumble into the bathroom to start the getting showered/dressed process. Because I’m not awake, this took much longer than it would/should have.

6:40am - I am dressed, with a towel on my head, to go get breakfast. I know. No time, but Beau has been making my breakfast since I was pregnant with Jesse. It’s his routine and I benefit. I am unhappy because I’m supposed to be leaving the house in 5 minutes. Right, that ain’t happening.

7:30am - I don’t know why it took so much longer than normal to do my make-up and hair, but it seems like everything is in slow motion and I can’t move any faster while the clock is moving too fast. I can’t keep up! I run downstairs to get coffee for the drive, my coat, and to kiss the family buh-bye.

7:45am - I have been on the road about 10 minutes and I make the first call to Boss A, whose number is the only one I have available to call. I warn her that I will be late and that I hope to arrive by 9am. That is 30 minutes late. Not a good first impression on the first day with the new bosses.

8:30am - I call Beau, on the verge of tears because I have been driving in a quagmire of traffic and I’m still not even at the Metro station. Five minutes later I call Boss A again to warn her that I won’t even get there by 9am and that I hope to be there by 9:30am, but I make no guarantees. It’s that kind of morning.

8:45am - I finally get to the Metro station, only to find that there is not one available parking spot. Even the curbs are blocked. The snow piles don’t help. Then I see a line of cars leaving the lot and heading straight across the street to what looks like a parking garage behind an apartment building. So I follow them, because I am a lemming at this point. I park on the 3rd of 5 levels and start the 20 minute walk to the station. My artfully disheveled hair is now a tangled mess thanks to the gale force winds.

9:10am - I am finally on a train. I manage to change train uneventfully and then to find the offices. Time of arrival 9:30am on the dot. So how’s that for getting there on time? Fully one hour late.

I am greeted by an admin for the Division. She takes me to get my HQ building pass and then we go to see Boss A.

This is where I realized that my friends on FB who encouraged me when I posted about my panic were right - God was totally in control of my morning. And he has a sense of humor.

Boss A had just arrived because of ...

wait for it ...

traffic.

I Love DC.

She totally blew off my apologies and said she forgot she was meeting me today, too (in my relief I wasn’t offended). And then she told me that Boss B wasn’t in yet because she had to take her mother to a rescheduled doctor’s appointment.

So we chatted and learned that I can’t log in to the network and took care of other sundry things while we waited for Boss B to arrive. Then when she arrived, they shared a juicy bit of gossip with me (wow, first day!) and then I was told my Blackberry and aircard (really? I’m getting an aircard for a desktop?) are waiting for me at my new office, that I actually should have a laptop instead of a desktop, and that it’s possible that I can telework in the future.

And then they sent me home for the rest of the day.

Actually, they said a few other things about what I’ll be doing, but they are super secret things and the reason I need my clearance. Beau and I laughed that now it is like The Fugitive!

That was Day One.

Day Two tomorrow and I go to my new office and get oriented to my new tasks. I’m hoping that I’ll have a computer to use and that I’ll be able to get logged in. Otherwise it’ll be a long, boring day.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Tomorrow is my last day in my current job/office. It’s bittersweet to be leaving. I am excited about my promotion and the increase in pay and to learn new things and meet new people. I’m sad to leave what has been my work home for nearly 8 years. I have loved this job, even with the challenging people and bureaucratic frustrations.

I’ve quickly turned over tasks this week, completed the desk manual yesterday, and spent the past couple of days cleaning up the clutter in my office. Last night I unplugged my mini-frig to defrost it - tonight I’ll try to load it into my trunk. If it doesn’t fit, then I’ll drive Beau’s car tomorrow, which has a larger trunk. The walls are bare. The desktop is clean. It is so odd.

This morning I stopped by my new office to get my building pass and keys and to drop off a box of my stuff. My new office is cushy - easily twice the size of my current office with a huge desk. There’s a large flat panel TV hung on the wall, which is lovely surprise. They ordered a new computer for me, which won’t be there for a couple more weeks, so I’ll be borrowing one I think. I’m told things are super casual - people roll in at whatever time in the mornings. That will make a nice change from the clock watchers here. And the 30 minute commute is a dream - the only bad thing about that is that it will take me twice as long to finish listening to a book, but I can live with that for the shorter drive.

On Monday I start my new job with a visit to HQ (hello, Metro!) to get a building pass for that location and to meet my bosses - I’ll have an administrative boss, whose office it at HQ, and I’ll have an operational boss, whose office is in my new location.

The admin staff here took me to lunch yesterday - we went for Indian buffet. Chicken Tikka Masala = divine yumminess. Since all management are on travel this week, they will be doing an office luncheon for me and a deputy who is departing next month sometime in a couple of weeks.

And that’s about it. Big changes ahead - I’m nervous, but I know that it’s going to be good for me, for our family.

Monday, February 22, 2010

It’s my last week in this job and it’s going to be stressful. I need to finish the desk manual. I need to clean out my office. The admins are taking me to lunch on Wednesday (hello, Indian buffet at Raaga!). We’ve postponed the official farewell luncheon in the office because all management is on travel this week. So I get to go back in mid-March for a pot luck in my honor. That will be nice.

I report to HQ on Monday morning. From the email I got, I think I’ll spend most of that day there. Not looking forward to that commute at all, but at least it’s just one day.

I’m going to try to get to my new office on Thursday to take my personal crap over there early. That will depend on how well I’m able to complete the little tasks that need doing.

I’m excited. I’m nervous. I alternate between the two frequently during the day. I think the next couple of weeks are going to be mentally exhausting.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

On March 1 I start my new job.

Holy moley.

I got an emai lyesterday that said I was approved for my interim TS clearance. Not 30 seconds into reading the instructions (yes, instructions for the form that I need to submit pronto) my phone rang. It was my new Chief calling to welcome me and ask if I had questions and to let me know that he expected to see me at my new office in two weeks.

Holy moley.

The panic in this office officially set in about 5 minutes later when I told my boss (who is Amazing One, by the way. My boss retired in December and I don’t think I mentioned that Amazing One got his job. Useless One is not happy. I’m half sad, half relieved to leave that drama).

So this week I wrap up tasks to turn over to my cohort/interim back-up next week. I’ll spend most of next week cleaning up the clutter and packing my personal items. I need to remember to defrost the mini-frig, too.

The Lord is good - He used the wait to teach us patience and frugality and blessed us with provision in the process.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

I am back at work in the office today. I was on “snowcation” for roughly 10 days and aside from a 15 minute test drive last week to see what the roads were like, I didn’t really leave my house. It was sort of weird to put on make-up this morning.

Fortunately, the commute was pretty easy this morning. I’m guessing it’ll be not so easy tomorrow and the next day as things really get back to normal.

There are 8 foot piles of snow on the sides of the roads in places. Those will be there until sometime in April for sure.

I’ll be happy for no more snow this winter, but there’s something in me that thinks we’ll get more in March.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Adding insult to injury, Mother Nature has decided she is ready to unload another batch of the frozen white stuff on an area that already has plenty, thanks.

My zip code is expecting another 7-14” on top of the 2 feet we got over the weekend - starting tomorrow afternoon and ending sometime Wednesday evening/night. My parents’ zip code (a mere 15 minute drive and maybe 5 miles) can expect 10-20” on top of the nearly 30” they got.

I took an experimental drive today to get a feel for how awful the roads are in my neck of the woods. The road leading from my neighborhood to a main highway looked better than last time, except for the standing water on the visible pavement that had nowhere to go because of the snow/slush and enormous piles. That stuff is a sheet of sheer ice at this point - we have temps in the teens tonight. Tomorrow morning that would make for a nasty commute.

The good news (safety-wise) is that the Federal Government is closed again tomorrow. As a taxpayer, it’s annoying. As an employee I’m grateful - it’s not safe to be on the roads yet. Add new snow to the mix and it means your government will be out of commission here in DC for most of the week.

As for the work not getting done - it will get done. Trust me, it will get done.

In the meantime we’re working on a really excellent case of cabin fever.

2/6/10 - 7am - 14” on the ground.

About 10:30am - 17” on the ground. Note the tricycle handlebars - this is the constant.

About 1pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

The two cars with the wipers up are ours.

About 3pm - no measurement. Tricycle.

About 4:30pm. 22” on the ground. Tricycle.

Sunset that same day. Beautiful.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

We took a bunch of pictures during our 24-36 hours of blizzarding here in our neck of the woods.

We ended it all with a couple of feet of snow - measured on the deck at 22”.

We have piles that are enormous in our front yard from Beau’s shoveling efforts and neither one of our cars is completely in the clear yet. Thanks to the kids next door, the clear sidewalks that he worked so hard on are now covered again with nicely packed snow that I couldn’t shovel away after they were done playing.

With temps in the single digits tonight and a cold week ahead, this stuff will be around for a while. And we’re supposed to get a “wintry mix” Tuesday into Wednesday. Fun times.

This winter is far worse than any of the five winters I spent in New Hampshire for snow.

Friday, February 05, 2010

I finished listening to Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell yesterday. As I said on FB:

*In my best British accent* Mere words cannot express how much I love the lovely writings of Miss Gaskell. My esteem for dear Miss Matty knows no bounds, which I believe was the aim of Miss Gaskell in the telling of the Cranford Amazons. *British off* This will be a favorite above all others for a very long time. In addition to the greatness of Miss Gaskell’s writing is the narrative perfection of Ms. Porter. She is unmatched.

5 stars out of 5.

And I see that Miss Gaskell wrote two other Cranford stories, so I’m off to see if there are audio versions of them as well. If not, I’ll just have to find the time to sit with the dead tree versions.

I’m working from home today. The Feds are shutting things down early today. The courthouse closes at noon. And yet I have to work the full day without getting the free time off because I opted to telework. Ah, well…

Here’s the forecast:

... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY…

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM EST SATURDAY.

* PRECIPITATION TYPE… HEAVY SNOW.

* ACCUMULATIONS… STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 20 TO 28 INCHES.

If we hit that 28” mark, DC will set a new record for seasonal snowfall. The record was last set in 1898-99. OK.

We are snug. We have plenty of food, including this in the crock pot. I’m doing the first version. Beau will be making the rolls tomorrow for the sandwiches. I’m very excited…

We already have snow - the really wet stuff. I’ll post pictures as we proceed.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

After last night’s episode of 24, the verdict is in. I’m done. There’s more that I loathe about this season than I like. This means I will no longer watch. It gets deleted from the schedule on the DVR. Makes me sad - the early seasons were awesome.

In good news, though, LOST starts tonight and I’m muy excited.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

The medical team from my church has been working hard since arriving in Haiti on Sunday night. Monday was a day of logistics issues and confusion, but once things got settled they were able to get to work. They have performed many surgeries and ministered to a lot of hurting people. You can read more from our team here.

There’s also an update from the school where our team is based on the school’s website. The information from the school is very interesting to read.

As the church update says, there’s another team being prepared for departure on February 8. The prayer need for them is a return flight - I think all other logistics are arranged.

Pray for our team. The Facebook updates tell of harrowing encounters with deeply grieving people. The team will come home with much to process when they are back in their real lives.