Heading back to work today

I go back to work today. Luckily, our company goes into the office once a week. It's not Monday, so I'm happy.

I will admit that it was nice working a single day between December 13 and now. I will miss sleeping in and focusing on getting better health-wise.

I am down to a mild cough. I also find that I get tired faster. I'm not sure if it's because I have been indulging in carbs over the holidays or if it's a symptom of coughing up a lung.

If you are heading back to work this week, I wish you an easy transition. I am now trying to figure out when I should take my next vacation!

My colleague needs a lot of help

Earlier this year, I trained a woman who was supposed to replace a writer. It turned out that this woman was equally as bad. Our manager decided to terminate the first writer's contract.

This second woman's birthday is three days after mine. Yet, we are so different on so many levels. I call her the fake Cancerian, as she does not express a whole lot of empathy towards anyone and doesn't exhibit any traditional Cancerian traits. Everything is also centred around here, which is not Cancerian in nature, either.

I noticed during training that she was not good with details. She followed steps 1 through 4 in a procedure, skip a few, then do steps 7, 9, and 12. I found her lack of following sequential steps to be odd.

My manager recently gave her a task to create a document from scratch. I would be supervising. 

She isn't the best communicator. When we had our first demo session on the application, I asked questions. She didn't.

When I looked at her first draft, it was incomplete. She was given a playground to create and delete items -- literally play around with the application in a safe environment. She never did that. She simply used the data that others had provided. 

I noted a typo in a screenshot and asked her to replace it. She couldn't create a new item to fix the typo. It was almost as if she was intimidated to explore.

She called a meeting with the software developer who provided the demo. He called a few other folks. She didn't ask any questions. It's her downfall.

I have provided constructive feedback on her first draft. I have yet to see her incorporate my changes. I don't get her. I don't know why she is reluctant to make the changes.

She just sent her second draft out. She claimed that she included all topics. I didn't see that. Neither did the developer.

Our manager revealed to team leads yesterday that there will be a staff reduction. She is the one who will be let go. It's mainly because she does a mediocre job with tasks and she has poor communication skills. She is also under contract.

I don't know when he will break the news to her that she will be out of a job. Perhaps she knows that her time with our department is coming to an end. She applied for a job with the company in Ottawa.

I know the hiring person. I hope that she seeks an account about this candidate from me or my manager. She will face the same issues with this writer as we are.

It's interesting that this post was not the one that I had intended to post. It is nice that I have this outlet to share some weirdness going on. It also motivates me to write here more frequently.

Courses are fun

At work yesterday, we had our weekly team meeting. Our manager indicated that we had a couple of courses to take as a group.

I have re-inherited a writer who needs to be hounded because she can't work independently. She has told me for over a month that she has work for me to review. I have yet to do any reviewing because she has been working on "last-minute changes" that apparently stretch for weeks.

She used to be a part of my team years ago. She got a different team lead. Due to a bunch of assignment shuffles, I now take on more of a team lead role and I lose writing new software enhancements. I basically have half the team under my wing.

Change is good. Inheriting this woman again isn't good, though.

Anyway, this incompetent person had this exchange with our manager in the meeting:

"How about Cutiebootie? Did she complete the courses?" she asked.

"Of course she did. It goes without saying," he replied.

It was odd that she asked if I did. It actually made the females on our team look bad. The males are doing much better in the course completion department. I'm the only female who has completed them.

My manager knows how I tick. Give me a course to take and I will do it as soon as I can because I like learning. It's that simple.

The ex wants to have dinner with me

Last night, the ex wrote me an e-mail. He is now teaching at a college in my city. In other words, he commutes for two hours to get there.

He let me know that he teaches there every Wednesday. He wants to have dinner with me.

I did not have a great experience dining with him over three years ago. He broke up with me and I was clearly upset.

I'm not sure how happy I'd be seeing him. There is nothing enticing about meeting with him.

He said that we "always have a good time" together. Nope, that's not true anymore.

I feel that he's delusional, often referring to the good times, but ignoring how I feel and not addressing it.

I haven't responded. I don't know what to make of his message.

My ex-guy no longer works at the same company as I do

I have a LinkedIn account. I don't use it often. I check in every couple of months.

My ex-guy and I are connected on this platform. I checked in yesterday. I found out that he had left our employer last month.

Part of me is relieved that I will never bump into him at the office. I don't know how I'd react if I did see him again. 

We started working for this company the same year. He started six months before I did. We didn't know each other until the following year. We started dating then.

The other part of me is curious as to why he left. Naturally, I haven't spoken to him in years and won't ask him. 

Taking my friend out for dinner to lift her spirits up

I have a friend who got laid off last month. We used to work together before she went to this company that laid her off.

I suggested that she could take a contract with us and get rehired. My guess is that she didn't want a three-month contract with a chance to renew it.

When she called me to break her layoff news, it was just before I headed to the Twin Cities in October. I said that I'd take her out for dinner. It will happen a couple of Mondays from now. I hope that it will lift her spirits up a bit.

I have been laid off twice in my life. A good friend took me to a CFL (Canadian Football League) game and it was great. I'm sort of paying it forward.

Work anniversary and spaghetti

Yesterday was my work anniversary. I have been with my employer for twelve years.

My manager acknowledged it, and thanked me for supporting and leading our team. It was nice. I essentially got a $100 e-certificate, which I spent at Amazon.

I fell asleep an hour ago. I dreamt of spaghetti. I wonder what it means.

Connecting my satellite radio to my car that doesn't have an aux port

I have been working on an interesting challenge with my new car. It doesn't have an auxiliary (aux) port.

I have owned a SiriusXM satellite radio since my past car didn't have the app built in to the system. It requires an aux port to get the music going.

On Saturday, I managed to get it to work. My car has two USB ports. The one at the front makes Android Auto work. The other one is in the storage compartment next to me.

I managed to get an adapter that has one port for USB C charging and an aux port. This setup only works if I use the USB port on the dashboard and not the adapter.

Instead, I got a transmitter where you insert the audio plug into the aux port of my radio. It then becomes a Bluetooth device. I connect my car to it and I can play music. It works nicely.

The problem is that if I want to use Android Auto, I can't stream from my satellite radio. Android Auto does have the SiriusXM app, but I don't want to stream music as I drive.

So, the key is to use my GPS on my phone and connect my satellite radio as a bluetooth device from my car's console to play music. It's a nice workaround. It's simply a bummer that I can't have my GPS map displayed on my console and listen to music on my satellite radio simultaneously.

It's a minor inconvenience. I'm simply glad that I got my old satellite radio to work.

My boss recovering from COVID-19 and my sleepiness due to humidity

My manager caught COVID-19, as did his entire family. He returned to work yesterday, working remotely.

We had a virtual interview to conduct. I had asked the person who had set up this interview to reschedule it to accommodate my manager.

My manager started losing his voice today. He talked for maybe two minutes during the interview. I did all the talking in the interview with the candidate.

The kicker is that this candidate wasn't a perfect fit right off the bat. I wanted to shut down the interview immediately because she has no writing experience.

Such a waste of time!

Anyway, I didn't sleep well last night. It was way too humid overnight. Having the air conditioning on has made things better. I've been napping throughout the day to make up for my sleepiness.

My manager is out sick for the entire week

My manager's entire family has the flu. I am pretty sure that he got his yearly flu shot, so the strain must be different and pretty nasty.

He said that he was out for the entire week. We had an interview scheduled for this Friday. I asked the woman who had scheduled it to change it. She was extremely accommodating and it's now set for next Monday.

I like that this week has been light workwise. I hope that it remains that way for a bit. 

My manager and the flu

My manager has been away sick for the last two days. His message to our team was oddly worded.

He said that he has "tested positive for flu symptoms." Wouldn't it be sufficient to just say that he has the flu?

I can't tell if he tested for COVID-19 and was negative and used the same sentence construction for the flu or if he is indeed so sick that he can't form a clear sentence.

Last week, we had a department outing. I didn't go due to heel pain. Perhaps he caught the flu from that event?

I hope that he feels better soon. He said that he may or may not be working later on today. We'll see.

Heel pain

I woke up this morning at around 4:30 pm and had heel pain. Whenever I walk a lot, I end up overusing my right foot in some way. I ended up with heel pain.

It took several hours for the pain to subside. I was supposed to go to a work bowling events, but ended up not going because I was tired. I needed a nap.

I'm doing a lot better now. Luckily, it doesn't happen all the time. However, when the pain arrives, it does take a while for it to subside.

Escaping work for an escape room

I have roughly half a workday later on today. We have a team event in the afternoon.

I am looking forward to not working. I get to see most of my colleagues tomorrow. Two of them couldn't make it. I'm actually relieved because one is the diva and the other talks so much that he drowns everyone out.

We are doing an escape room. I've never done one before. I assembled a list of escape rooms for us to choose from and we have chosen one that is near my old neighbourhood.

My manager asked me for suggestions to have a drink and a snack afterwards. He quoted allotting $10 for each of us. I indicated that it would be fine to go over that amount and shell out ourselves for any overage. I would rather be satisfied with what I choose to eat and drink than abide by a sum that won't get me what I want.

That's just me, though. I like the flexibility to choose what I want to snack on and drink without a ridiculous restriction.

Here's hoping that the afternoon is fun and enjoyable.

New week with more training

Weekends certainly fly by. I'm back training my new colleague. It's week two.

She's not a technical person, but I do appreciate that she's hard-working and determined.

Here's hoping that this week will pass by as fast as this past weekend.

Training a new member of our team at work

Later on today, I begin training a new contractor joining our team. I interviewed her with my manager a few weeks back.

He decided to hire her early. So, we basically got her to join our team without getting her a laptop or any account information set up. All of this craziness happened while I was on vacation, with my friend and colleague taking over my usual onboarding duties whenever we have someone new joining our team.

Luckily, she has all her software access rights in place now. I simply go into training mode, which hopefully goes smoothly.

Being in the same online meeting with the ex and hearing his voice

This morning, I had a knowledge session at work. We all connect online. 

The ex-guy was apparently chatting with a presenter whom I work closely with when I joined the session. I heard his voice. He said a single word that I couldn't make out. I have a feeling that he saw my name and reacted by saying some word before he stopped talking.

I hadn't heard his voice since June 2019. It was weird.

I was okay. I am okay. As long as we don't interact, I'm fine. 

We still work for the same employer. It helps that we aren't in the office and we are in different departments. Otherwise, it would be awkward.

Returning to the office with more questions

Yestterday, I got official word from my employer that the office will be reopening to employees who are fully vaccinated on April 4. I have more questions than anything.

On a good note, I have taken April 4 off as a vacation day. I am doing a working vacation the previous week. It will likely be my last one working remotely.

We will be adopting a hybrid work model. It's supposed to be a 5-50 split being in the office and working remotely. Considering that it takes me an hour to drive into work, I want to see if I can make it more like a 60-40 split in favour of working from home.

I'm not sure how it will be organized. What if everyone wants to go into the office for work on April 4? I don't think the office can handle that capacity.

There is no organization or detailed planning. Do we sit where we used to over two years ago? Will my badge to get security clearance work?

Anyway, we'll see how things are communicated over the next few weeks.

Weekend cooking and trip planing

The weekend is here. Yay!

I'm thinking of making shakshouka this weekend. I have never made it before, but the combination of eggs with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices makes me want to give it a try.

I booked my plane ticket to return to the Twin Cities. I'm taking in a couple of hockey games. It'll be a combination of work and time off.

Have a great weekend!

Busy workday and bonus pay

It was a busy workday on Tuesday. The day flew by. I loved it.

Diva woman drives me crazy. I asked for her feedback last Friday. She provided it yesterday. Ugh!

She also said that she had "a couple" of thoughts, which ended up being three. A couple is two. Double ugh!

My friend, who is also my colleague, asked me about when we typically get our bonus pay. It's coming up. It's typically the last pay period in March. It feels like you have won the jackpot because you get your bonus pay with your regular paycheque.

I like looking forward to a surplus of money. 

Extended weekend, and shoulder and neck pain are over

My five-day extended weekend is over. I feel rested. My neck and shoulder pain are gone. All is good.

Shorter workweeks tend to be busy for me. I am hoping that this week is an exception.