Thursday, February 25, 2010

Aloha Recoginition

Hubs has been working on a strategic transformation project for almost a year, in addition to his day to day tasks. This project has taken off like gangbusters but has had him in the office late, coming home cranky and frustrated and put him in front of some executives. His boss's boss hand picked him to participate in this project because she sees his potential.

Last week, Hubs was extremely frustrated and snappy. He could not relax or sleep with all the pressures of work on his shoulder. He (like many others) felt unappreciated and was dealing with a number of personalities with their own agenda that is making him do more work than necessary. It was not good.

On Monday, he grumbled into work. When he came home, his spirits were lifted. He asked if I had looked into any vacations this year (I have been on and off looking a places to go) and when I replied no, he said "That is good because we are going to Hawaii!"

*Insert my mouth hitting floor*

His hard work was recognized by the person who placed him on the project as well as the executive team. He was selected with a few others to join the companies excellence club and will be recognized in Hawaii.

And I get to go! All expenses paid (well except for my taxes).

I am so proud of him and all the blood, sweat and swearing that he has done for his company. I am so glad to be his support! He deserves this!

Of course, now it means I have to hit the gym....well for him, it is worth it!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How did I get here?

Last week, this lovely blogger asked me a question " I would love to hear more about your old life in NYC and how you ended up in Chicago!"

So picture this, early 2002 in NY a 20 something woman happily moving though life. It was like the stars aligned, I was in a happy relationship, I had just moved into my first apartment in Brooklyn with my best friend and work was decent despite a lot of turmoil.

Then it all fell apart, one by one. My boyfriend broke up with me via VM while I was away at a wedding in Scotland. (this was before the even classier move of breaking up via text). We were together for almost a year and a half and this came as quite a shock. I was devastated, I became a shell of my formers self. I just got up went to work, came home and went to bed. During that time I lost 15 lbs by not eating because I was not interested in food.

My best friend got seriously involved with her boyfriend and it just added salt to the wound to see how happy they were together while I was miserable. Then they got engaged on what would have been my anniversary. So I was a mess.

Then my job took an unexpected turn. The VP of my division decided he did not want to be bothered with managing my team so he turned us over to another VP who decided that we were of no use to the company in Manhattan so we had to move to the operations facility in Long Island or get laid off. Fun hun?

I am not a fan of Long Island and never wanted to commute to that office. It was, to put it nicely, a dump. Nor did I want to get laid off, I have a huge fear of not having a job even if I hated it, I am fearful of what would happen if I did not have one.

Prior to this news, I was realizing that I needed to make a change in my live, in my environment. My apt was filled with ghosts of memories and I was stuck in a rut that I knew if I remained there, it would really do more damage than it has already bestowed. During this time of reflection, I was sent out to California to visit a client of mine (known for their couch jumping celebrity spokesperson) and I got to stay in Santa Monica. I fell in love with the town, the idea that it was warm and that the Pacific ocean was different. I decided that I wanted to move to California.

Then my job situation became undone. So California was not a possibility now because I would not be able to move so quickly without money. But a new opportunity opened up for me. My company had an office just outside of Chicago and I asked if I could be transferred there. To my surprise, they were delighted and did everything possible to get me out here. I must say, I negotiated a very sweet deal.

So in August of 2003, I moved to Chicago. I had my own apartment, a new car and only one person who I knew. It was hard, very hard. There were a lot of days when I got home and just cried. I shook my life up for sure but, I was not sure if this was what I wanted or if this is where I wanted to be. But then I slowly made friends at work. I forced myself out of my apartment and took flamenco dance classes. I even joined a dating site to get myself out (whole other blog post).

And I began to blog.

Now the move that was only suppose to last a year has turned into almost 7. I met my husband here, I have met some great friends here and one of my good friends from college moved out here a year and half after I did.

It was a hard road to get where I am but, I had to challenge myself, I had to make it happen I had to survive...and I did.

What about you, what have you done to shake up your world?

Monday, February 15, 2010

A Random 5

Things have been very quiet lately. It seems that all we have been doing is getting up, walking the dogs, work, walk the dogs, eat dinner, walk the dogs, sleep and repeat.

But here are a few questions that I have been wondering about:

1-If you could compete in an Olympic winter sport, what would it be?

I always longed to be a figure skater, I used to take skating lessons yet, did not have the skills nor patience to even attempt to make it.

2-Do you think valentine's day is overrated?

In a way yes, I think that it is just another day. when I was single it would sometimes sting, especially when your co-workers would get flower boquets that were non stop. But as I have gotten older it is just another day with my loved ones.

3-What are you tired of hearing about (news wise)?

I am so tired of the health care debate. All this talk of us vs them really annoys me and then when they talk about bipartisanship while pointing fingers....well who is calling the kettle black?

4-What is your quick go to homemade dinner meal?

It is tacos! Although I never underestimate a good panni or grilled cheese sandwich.

5-What is the best piece of advise you were ever given?

People will never act (or react) in the way you want them to. But you are in charge of how you will respond.

Your turn...and are there any answers to questions that you want to know?

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

My head hurts

I rarely discuss my job in the blog. I never mention the company nor specific details about what I do. However, work has become such a pain in the ass for me. It is not the job per say, it is the people. Here are some highlights from the past week:

-Yesterday, the whole company got a spam email. I did not open it, it went straight to my trash box. However, a few did and then people started to "reply to all". We have about 12,000 employees around the world. Our email was clogged for 2 1/2 hours. The sad part, most of the reply to all and then the emails telling people not to reply to all, were written by managers. At last count it was up to 300 emails!

-Would you tell your co-workers that you are on an anti depressant? Would you tell you boss? Would you start crying at your desk (and some of your co-workers desks) complaining about menopause, your doctor and insurance? Yes, this was the same person!

-I am trying to wrap up a project. A project that was to be completed by the end of 2009. then was pushed back to the end of January and is now pushed back till March. Why the hold up? Well the team leader has decided to "check out" and is not being as active as she was in the beginning. So as the project leader I pick up the slack and all I hear are crickets. People don't get back to me, they do not get back to my boss. It is beyond frustrating. What kills me, is that this project has affected my 2009 performance review. Thankfully, my boss is very understanding and has supported me through out. Which is a good thing otherwise I would have flown out east to kick some ass.

-IT is overworked and not communicative. So they do not respond to my requests for info and updates.

-Our office is overdecorated for Valentine's day. I am a fan of a few things here and there, but it is over the top. Not as bad as Christmas, when Ms. Prozac wrapped all the pictures on the wall.

-I am over the passive aggressiveness.

I need a drink.

What is giving you headaches?