Journey & Adventure

I don’t know about any of you with children, but when my son was little and was having a melt-down, being disrespectful or just plain out of control, we would put him in a “time-out”.   The time-out was typically done away from others, in a quiet spot, with no outside stimulation.   For us, the bottom step on our staircase worked wonders since there was nothing around, and nothing to look at except a wall.   The time-out period usually only lasted 5-10 minutes, but in extreme cases it could last longer. Today, I wish someone would put me in a time-out.   I’d happily find a secluded staircase somewhere in the building where I could refocus my energy and have a moment to myself, to readjust my attitude. I woke up from a good sleep and was ready for the day.   AND THEN…I got to work.   Duhn, duhn, duhn, dunnnnnn!    I wish I could say the rest of the day will get better, but alas – it won’t.   I have a “team” lunch meeti...

The Boy has returned from school. He has successfully completed 20 months of non-stop college education and has come out with a certificate in Blasting Techniques and a Diploma in Resource Drilling. For those of you that have followed my blog, you will know getting to this point was a HUGE undertaking – many false starts, much money spent and much anxiousness on my part. I am so very proud of his success in getting this far!' Now the period of readjustment begins. The Boy, J and I need to learn how to function as a family unit again. Overall - so far, so good but the tiny cracks are starting to appear. The Boy seems for forget, we still own the house and expect it to be kept in an orderly manner. J and I need to remember he is technically an adult and should not be micro-managed. The plan is for The Boy to live at home, while working in order to save money in order to pay off some of his outrageous school debt. He could make a lot more money if he moved away for work, b...

Do you every feel you can’t move forward because your feet seem to have been cemented in place?   Well lately, I feel like most every day. Work is the biggest culprit – there have been lots of changes, lots of changes to come and until those changes are finalized, my job duties are like a revolving door – constantly changing with the winds.  Don’t get me wrong I like change, but I also would like to have a sense of where I’m going to be long term and by long term, I mean for at least for the next few years.  We are short-staffed and I’ve been called upon to take on more duties until a replacement can be found.  How can they find a replacement when they aren’t even looking?  It’s been almost 6 months with no end in sight.   I’m not one to shy away from a challenge or hard work, but I also don’t like being treated like the “fix-it” girl – especially when it won’t be recognized in any way shape or form by the “powers that be”.   By the time...

That’s what I feel like I’ve been doing lately – slacking, procrastinating, stalling or diddlefarting – the act of doing very little, while appearing to be very busy.  Diddlefarting is an art form and I’m proud to say that I have mastered it through many years of practice. In my previous jobs, I had plenty of time on my hands, so I became creative with how to pass time while maintaining the sense of having an extreme workload.  If you want, you can read about the finer details here .  *Disclaimer:  Results may vary.  Use at your own risk. Now, I’m very busy (for real), but with that said, I’m feeling burnt out this week and with that comes lack of motivation to work on the mundane task of this job.  So, for the time being, I’ve brought out the binders and sticky notes and it’s time to practice a little diddlefarting. Tell me, do you diddlefart?

For years, I’ve struggled with happiness in my career.   I’m easily bored, need to be challenged and most important of all, don’t like to be micro-managed.   Well, I’m 3 years into my current position and am still unhappy with my choice in careers.   It’s my problem and I’m dealing with it, BUT knowing it’s only short-term (3-5 years) definitely helps.     That being said, I’ve come up with a plan of sorts – something that should keep me engaged, reduce my exposure to unpleasant people, allow me to be slightly creative and the best part – my report structure should change.   AND, there is a need for this position within the organization – they just don’t know it yet!   Here is where by diabolical scheming comes in.   I need to figure out a way to – make them aware of the need for this position, convince them I’m the right person for the position, convince my boss he’s not the reason I’m want out of our department, so he’ll give the ne...

For those that have been following this blog for awhile, you know that I have a terrible history for staying at one job for a long period of time. Other than my favorite boss, whom I stayed with for 12 years and where I’d still be if it wasn’t for a non-solicitation clause in his employment agreement that kicked in after a corporate take-over, I’ve never lasted in a job position for more than 3 years. Yep, since 2000, I’ve worked for 6 different employers. I have varying reasons for why I left and moved on – everything from earning more money, needing more challenges, stupid co-workers, unbearable bosses, to extreme boredom and no work. The list goes on. I’m hopeless in the sense that I can’t seem to find my career groove. I’ll toot my own horn and say that I’m really good at what I do, but tend to get bored, easily if not engaged. I liked to be challenged, but not micro-managed. I like the freedom to make decisions on my own, but also like knowing that if I need guidance o...

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are my own and are based solely on my life experiences. I will say that I’ve worked with some fantastic women, but recently my bad experiences have outweighed the good. Can I just say how much I dislike working with women? Yes, I realize I am one; however I’m more of a “tom boy” type of gal. For the most part, I have great working relationships with my male co-workers. The women – not so much. They are an entirely different story. Don’t get me wrong, I can tolerate them, I just don’t enjoy interacting with them. My male co-workers for the most part, are minimalistic. You ladies out there might disagree but I find that they don’t need as much babysitting. I can ask them to provide me with information and they don’t whine about it. Guys get shit done. My female co-workers will do EVERYTHING in their power to avoid taking responsibility for anything. They will not simply respond to an e-mail request. Nooo, they insist of calling to “discuss ...

I’m constantly perplexed at how I could have possibly made so many bad career choices over the years that I am now once again sitting at the crossroads of disconbobulation and quagmiredness. Yeah, I don’t know what it means either, but it pretty much sums up how my job has been making me feel for at least the last six months. Oh well, life goes on and I’ll manage to get through this. It helps knowing that it’s only a means to an end… Perplexed Definition: (i) filled with uncertainty; (ii) full of difficulty; Disconbobulated Definition: when something odd happens and you get an indescribable confused feeling. Quagmire Definition: (i) soft miry land that shakes or yields under the foot; or (ii) a difficult, precarious, or entrapping position;

I owe all the credit for this blog post to Chloe Carter from LearnStuff.com .   I find it fascinating how we have all become so consumed with "getting the job done", that we forget to stop and take time for ourselves and this unhealthy work habit is slowly condemning us to an unhealthy lifestyle.  I am so guilty of this...

I don’t usually hate Mondays, but I do today. I would prefer to come to work and do my job without drama – especially on Mondays. Alas, it’s not meant to be. Instead, I get to deal with internal sales people. Let’s just say, sales people and the legal department cannot possibly live cohesively. I’ve tried and failed - miserably. All I want to do is do my job.  My job is to point out legal risks and all the sales people want to do is sell product and they could not give a rat’s-ass about legal risks. They want to make their commission. Honestly, they’d prefer if I was not allowed in the building – it would make their job easier. Believe me, I’d prefer if I was not allowed in the building – it would keep my blood pressure lower than it is at the moment. The worst part is - they are cowards. If they have a problem, it would be so much easier to call us and talk about it, but instead they play stupid games and call meetings to discuss the legal department behind...

If you are a regular reader, you know the story…I’m restless in my career. Apart from working with the best boss in the world for almost 10 years, I’ve never stayed in one place for very long. The longest stint within the last decade has been 3 years. In case you’re wondering, I’ve held 6 jobs within the last 10 years, including the current one. My restlessness is beginning to surface again. We are currently at the 1.5 year mark. Eeek, I have a problem. What is my problem exactly? Good question. I have many issues, BUT the biggest factor in my restlessness is the “need to make a difference”. I don’t need to save the world, I don’t need public tributes, accolades or recognition of any kind, but I need to personally know that my contributions are doing something for the organization. If I can’t take something that’s in disrepair and make it better or improve upon a process, I don’t see the need to continue. If I can’t do my job well, I don’t see the need to do it at all....

Dear Co-Workers,   In an effort to save some time and frustration on both our parts (okay, mostly mine), I’m providing you in advance with this office etiquette list.   Don’t tell me to do something. If you ask, you will likely get a better response. If you tell me, it will likely go to the bottom of my priority list. Similarly, don’t tell me something is mandatory – especially meetings. I don’t do well with the whole “do it or else” mentality. Regardless of how old you are - if you are my co-worker, you shouldn’t be calling me “missy”. This missy gets mighty pissy when that happens.   Don’t ask me how my weekend was or how I’m doing if you’re not intending to listen to my response.   Don’t cut me off mid sentence. I appreciate your opinion regardless of what it is, so I would appreciate if you listened to mine.   Unless you want to see a very cranky person, kindly refrain from piling files on my chair when I’m out of my office. I h...

I’ve always been perplexed by that phrase, but now that I have a specific goal in mind, that phrase holds new meaning to me. “A means to an end” is exactly what my job is…something done to achieve something else. My current job is simply a way to facilitate my disappearance from North America culture. I’ve always done well with my career, but I can say with 100% certainty that I don’t enjoy what I do and I haven’t enjoyed what it for probably the last decade. I’ve come to the realization of late that this latest job, while the most financially fruitful has left me feeling like I’ve sold out – money for happiness. My previous jobs left me counting the hours down until the end of the day. I was always bored and unfulfilled, but I seemed to find a way to make it work. At least I had the freedom to come and go as I pleased, I was able to freely surf the internet, to blog, or to just laugh with co-workers.   Here, there’s none of that. Every hour of the day, I’m monitored ...

What has become of us?   All we do is scurry from one appointment to another, from one chore to another, from one day to another.   We don’t stop to appreciate what’s around us, the seasons, each other.     We rarely take time for ourselves and it seems we don’t even have enough time in the day to stop and breathe.   The Boy said to me this morning…”All I can think is how exhausted I am.   I don’t have any time for anything and the most depressing part is…that’s the way my life will be forever.”   I was so shocked by that statement coming from someone so young and so inexperienced with the real world.   I wish I could have disagreed with him.   The only words of wisdom I could muster were “Don’t let your life get out of control now or you’ll never recover.   You’re young enough to change your destiny.”      I wish I believed what I said to be true.     As much as I like to believe we are in c...

I love my office – you know it's one of those things with a door and a window.  Apart from the filing cabinets, it’s pretty sparse so far, but over time I’ll try to introduce some of “me” to the mix.  I have an unhealthy collection of fridge magnets which would go nicely on my shiny new 4 drawer filing cabinet or perhaps my bobble head flamingo will go nicely on the corner of my desk.  Only time will tell how much of me I choose to let show…   The people seem genuinely nice.  The majority of them are long, long, long time employees, so it can’t be all that bad of a place to work.  I haven’t found one person that has irritated me today, so that’s a plus.    There is an awesome cafeteria here, equipped with an ice cream vending machine.  Oooyaaaa…  Okay, so there isn’t a beer keg or ping pong table, but I’m sure I’ll manage.   I think the work will keep me busy and entertained - once ...

Well, the day has finally arrived - it's my last day of work here and of course when I want to slack and skip out early, it ends up being my busiest day in the last 2 years.  Oh well...such is life. My co-worker, Miss Daisy (not her real name), made me a cake - a naughty cake.  She's a saucy girl and I'm going to miss her.  I'm sure you'll have no problem figuring out what this is.  Oh and as a bonus, you get a photo of me too - so sorry for your luck (no refunds).

I’ve made a mistake.    I should have given the standard two weeks notice and then gotten myself the hell out of this place.   Instead, I had a moral dilemma and decided to give 7 weeks notice.   I thought by doing this, I would give them lots of time to get a replacement and perhaps even given me some time to train said replacement.   I was trying to be nice.  Mistake. I’ll admit, I might have been a bit selfish too.   I have holidays coming up and didn’t want to start with the new company and then take a week off.   I was worried it would look bad to my new co-workers and I certainly didn’t want to take it unpaid, which was what I would have needed to do.   Stupid me. So, here I sit in Week 5 of my notice period – bored beyond belief and aggravated by my stupidity.   They still haven’t started the interview process for my replacement, so instead of utilizing this time to train someone, I’ve been asked to writ...