How long has it been?

Almost a year since I last posted? Can that be true?  Where did the time go?
It went into lots of overtime, getting this enormous project completed. 
It went to miles driven.
To take out food for dinner.
 It went to general survival and time with the friends I needed to see.
 It went to working inside my old facility when my former colleagues were on strike.  How horrible that was. 7 strait days of 12 hour shifts.
It went to supporting Morgan, who has been out of  work for 6 months.  He has an interview on Tuesday, so I'm wishing him well with that.
It went to quick reads about sewing, rather than doing the projects.  That needs to change.  I need to work on some of my own projects.
It went to a year of never getting sick!  That's a first.  Maybe my lungs can heal.
It's going to see my dad this summer.
It went to helping Lynn with Bear's death.  Sometimes you just gotta miss work, ya know, even if the work is piling up around you.

And I thought childbirth was hard

Dropping off a student at college is crazy hard.
Hard, as in the hardest thing I've done. Sad knowing that I will not be witness to the growth that will be made over the next few years. Knowing that his contact with me will be because he wants money and not because he wants mom..
Hard, in that he can tell his girlfriend of 2 months that he loves her and yet I've never heard these words from him.
Damn, it's difficult to say goodbye to someone who is so loved.

What a difference!
The male I dated a few years ago, who is now married after dumping me via text, is so night and day different from the man I am currently dating. TS used to complain how women only wanted him to help pay the bills.  He'd complain that women wanted a paycheck to help pay the college bills and that women always expected men to pay.  As such, I found myself trying to prove him wrong.  I'd pay for things more often than necessary. I was generous with gifts.  I bought him a washer and drier for his new house. I also had to ask him for a thank you, as he didn't offer one on his own.

Fast forward a few years.  I am dating a man who wants to be with me. He wants to help me around the house, as he sees how hard I work around the clock.  He wants to help me in every way possible.  When I told him my son has chosen the University he is attending next school year as a freshman, he even said he was looking forward to helping me pay for my son's education.  Holy Crap! Is my guy for real? Does he WANT to help me pay for college?  I never asked him to do this and it's just blown me away.

Sure, I know I shouldn't compare apples to oranges, but the difference is just so darn huge.  I wanted to say how much I appreciate my new guy and the things he freely is giving to me, without me having to prove myself or my motives.  And without asking.  He's amazing.

Men are Pigs

Written towards the end of my month of flights.

I’ve been on 16 flights over the last 3 weeks.  I’ve noticed I don’t mind sitting next to a female stranger, but male strangers definitely make sharing space harder.  Why?

• Men sit with their legs spread; pretty much taking up as much room as they can.  Personally, I do not like my own legs to be pressed together, being forced to have a stranger’s leg pressed against my own, with him in MY SPACE
• Men believe they own the arm rest.  Again, I don’t want some stranger’s sweaty arm resting along mine for an entire flight.

Yes, I know most men are physically larger than most women, but I have shared my arm rest with some pretty large women and I have never had a large woman rest her arm or leg against mine for an entire trip.  Men, wise up.  You are sharing very tight quarters in modern airplanes. Don’t take up more than your share!

August Musings

I forgot to post THIS writing, done in August:

What was Switzerland like?

I absolutely loved the chalet in which we stayed, I loved the countryside, too.  The food was quite excellent, indeed.  I enjoyed spending time with my father, my kids, and my boyfriend.  What I did not like about it was:

• Bug bites.  Lots of mosquitos. Lots of biting flies.  Lots of wasps.  Only 2 of the 3 bit me, but I happen to have developed an allergy to one of them. Yuck.
• Getting bats shooed out of the house.  We did learn to turn off indoor lights if we were sitting outdoors at twilight. We also learned to close our bedroom windows when it turned to dusk
• Being with people, even beloved family, 24/7.  Yes, showering with a boyfriend is fun, but really, that is (sometimes) my ONLY chance to be alone.  Once, I wanted to take a walk to find some quiet time to let my thoughts wander, and I got company on the walk.  I do love my family very much, but in order to feel settled and comfortable, I need some alone time, too.  Don’t get that on family vacation
• Prices.  When I was a little girl, the exchange rate was 4 SFr to the dollar.  When I was there about 5 years ago, it was 2 SFr to the dollar.  This trip, the dollar dropped to below the SFr.  It was expensive here 5 years ago. Now it’s doubly so!
• Learning to get everything one needs before Sunday.  The small towns shut down on Sunday, thus no groceries or other shopping for necessities.  This isn’t so bad, but it’s a tad difficult for a 24 hr grocery shopper to remember.

So, how was Morgan? Quick Answer: Nothing to complain about.

Oops, I forgot to post for a LONG time

It's been a long year.  I'm much better now, thank you. I got a new job 7/25/11 and on that day I flew to Madison, WI for training.  A few days later I flew home, arriving home around 2 am, only to turn around and head back to the airport with my kids to go on vacation (which was its own ordeal).  I return from 2 weeks in Europe to do the same - arrive in the evening and head out the next morning on a 6 am flight. Only this time I'm jet-lagged.  Learning something when one is horribly tired is difficult.  A flight back home, a weekend free, and back out to Wisconsin yet again for more training.  I believe it was 18 flights in 4 weeks.  Since then, I have been certified in Epic Orders, I've supported a "go-live" event which included 3 hospitals, working 130 hrs in 2 weeks. And I'm tired!
  I just heard that the hospital is asking for more support over the next two weeks, so I may be heading back to more 12 hour shifts.. I guess I can rest when I'm dead.

Team work

I believe most people recognize good teamwork when it happens.  What is involved?  Good team members, good leadership, clear communication, understood and common goals, and practice trying to get there.  Most good teams have pre and post meetings surrounding important events.

When teams have dissent, unclear communication and unclear goals, then chaos reins.  Decisions by leaders will be questioned because the decisions were not made through a team process and members of the team will question every decision made when done without input.
 
I currently work where we do not reliably have good teamwork. Leaders have pulled themselves from discussions with the team members, decisions are questioned as they appear to go against the standing practice, team members, due to lack of leadership following agreed upon rules, feel free to go their own way.  Everyone is not working well together, to say the least.  I currently hate where I work.  I hate the favoritism, I hate the lack of communication, I hate the "us vs  them" feeling, the secretiveness, and the general flavor of the place.