Scheduling meetings and having my performance review

My first day back at work went well. I impressed myself getting up at 6:45 am for a 7 am conference call.

I had a performance review meeting with my manager just after lunch. Before I went on vacation, he made it for 3 pm for an hour. I had 3:30 pm onwards blocked off as being out of the office on my calendar due to my early start. I also had a meeting at 3 pm.

I got to love when folks don't look at other people's calendars to schedule meetings. My favourite is my diva colleague who asked me to specify what time would work for best for me for her meeting when she clearly knew that I was training our new intern for two weeks.

Dumb. Just dumb.

Anyway, my performance review went well. My boss called me a "rock star." Not to sound weird or pompous, but I have earned it.

A human resources person recently spoke to my manager and did a review of each team member's salary. This HR guy asked my boss why my salary was "significantly higher" than the rest of my team colleagues.

Here's my short list:

• Experience - I have been doing my job for years. I have the most experience on the team.
• Competence - I do my job well and take pride in it. I also complete many tasks with quality and at a faster pace than the rest of my peers.
• Education - I'm the only one with a master's degree in this field.
• Knowledge - I have a lot of it. It explains why I train new employees joining our team.

My manager said everything he had to say about my skills and performance. I am working at a different level than the rest of the team. It's true, which satisfied the HR guy.

I have earned my salary through hard work. It's nice that I have a manager who agrees. I am looking forward to a bonus!

My friend is recovering well after surgery

My friend had surgery on her bowel. It got twisted, which caused her abdominal and back pain. She lives roughly two hours away from me.

I went to see her on Saturday. She is healing nicely. She was understandably tired, but in good spirits.

I have known her since we were both twelve years old. She is roughly two weeks older than I am.

Both of us never thought that we'd have surgery. I had back surgery eight years ago, almost to the day. I think she felt better when we talked about and shared our surgery experiences.

I gave her a card and a gift card. I wrote how much I appreciated her. I said that our friendship meant even more now.

She thanked me several times for coming. It was the least that I could do. The drive wasn't anything. I was thankful that I could brighten her day as she continues to recovery.

It was good seeing her. I hope to check up on her again soon.

Being compassionate is positive

I am fortunate to have three students this term. One of them, before she started her internship, had indicated that she needed surgery in July.

She had her surgery last Wednesday. She stayed in the hospital for a couple of days and has been discharged. She is resting comfortably at home.

I am a sensitive person when it comes to such matters. When my manager injured his eye, I got everyone on the team to chip in for a fruit bouquet. When another writer on my team got injured in a car accident, I ordered a flower and food basket while I was in Montreal training writers over there on behalf of our team.

With my other two students, I made the suggestion to send her a get-well gift. They liked the idea.

As expected, the one student who started in May took the initiative to look up floral gifts and even order it! The other one, who has worked with me the longest, is the youngest, and doesn't exhibit as much initiative, seems to be more comfortable with these two students than the last one that she was with. I am glad, because the other two are slightly older and are mature beyond their years.

We all corresponded back and forth about the floral gift, how to expense it, what to write, and so on. It was a good exercise in being caring human beings.

They will do just fine in this world.

Why can't medical folks communicate well?

My biggest beef this year seeing various medical folks is that they don't communicate with one another. As someone who needs to communicate with people often, it drives me crazy.

The other day, when I went in to see my doctor for my regular quarterly checkup, as well as for my bronchitis. She asked a ton of questions about my eye stroke. I couldn't answer any of them. I asked if she got the report from my ophthalmologist. She didn't. I know that I gave him my family doctor's name and address.

She asked for the phone number of my ophthalmologist's office. Luckily, I had that on my phone. So, I showed her the number on my cell phone. She called her receptionist and asked to get my report from that office.

"Do you mind waiting for the report?" she asked me.
"Frankly, I want to go home and sleep," I admitted. "I don't know how long it will take."
"You have a good point."

I had already waited for 40 minutes in the waiting room to see my doctor. Why do I need to do it for an unspecified period when I am obviously not feeling well with all that coughing and sniffling?

My doctor is understanding. She said that she would follow up with me once the report comes to her. I just wish that medical folks made my life easier, rather than causing more havoc that I do not need to be subjected to.