Tuesday, January 31, 2006 7:59 pm  <|>
<246> Hello Goodbye: It's a weird thing, starting a new job. I mean, you leave a job for any number of reasons. I certainly had plenty of reasons to leave... but still - after you actually leave (and as it's coming to an end) you can quickly realize more and more just how much you are going to miss your current situation. But then again, I guess my problems were never exactly the job itself at what is now my old workplace. I've been at the new job for two days. Everyone is really nice. It's a lot slower pace than I'm used to. I'm also used to being a one woman show and being in charge of a lot more than I am now. It's weird how used to something you get I guess but at the same time why wouldn't I be - I mean I did the same thing everyday for almost 2 years. That life is now over. What's ahead isn't fully certain yet, but I know it's gotta be for the best.

It is going to help out so much to have a set, regular income again for starters not to mention not sending almost $600 a month back just to pay for health insurance. Plus, after June I'll be able to share my benefits with Dan, which will be good for the both of us of course. I'm hopeful for financing in 2006, but it's going to be a catch up year and hardly filled with extra money. But hey, it's a start!

One thing that does bother me at the new job is that things are actually blocked from employees - everything from email to your bank website! The latter really freaks me out for some reason. I just don't believe in blocking access like that. For instance, you should have every right to check your bank account at lunchtime or really check your email for that matter... as long as it's not on company time and it's not taking away from what you are being paid to do. I have a real problem with companies that take this right away. Yes, it's their equipment... and yes I understand that without limiting it all the time they have no way to keep you only doing those things on your own time while at the workplace, but then I also feel a company should have more trust in their employees than that. I realize that a lot of people would indeed do personal things on company time... but that is what people do at jobs! If I ran a company, if you got your work done, you could still do within reason what you wanted. There is really a better middle ground, but at these financial, big companies apparently it's the norm to block things this way. What's probably more annoying is that me being one of two people who use a mac at work, I could get around it no problem... but still I'd have it up on my screen and that really wouldn't be fair. I think I'm going to bring it up in my group (Marketing that I'm a part of is just 7 people including me) so maybe they wouldn't mind if I checked into my home computer for a little bit around lunch time during the day. I don't want to be too pushy, but I just feel really weird about being so disconnected when before I was connected to my home computer the entire time I was in the office.

I'm really behind on personal work right now. I've been battling a cold for the last couple of weeks. I felt pretty bad yesterday and the first half of today. I'm feeling a little better tonight - which explains why I'm finally getting some things updated - but I'm several DAYS behind in email and people are starting to take grand notice! Ahh the world of the internet - why can't it live without me?? Haha. This weekend will be busy. I have my high school five year reunion on Friday night, then Saturday and Sunday I'll be in Brooklyn for a mini residency for my grad program. It should be fun but I go back and forth between wanting to go just because I've been feeling so run down lately. But I'm sure that I'll go. I'm taking the bus up early Saturday then staying with a friend who lives in Brooklyn then probably taking the bus back later Sunday night.

So that's that. Things continue along. I want to get myself back on track now that I shouldn't be as distracted as I was with work issues. Of course I'm still supposed to be working as a consultant with my old company. I'm going to train whoever comes into my position (eventually they still have no prospects) but also I'll be doing some light work and help monitor my account/position in the next few weeks. We'll see how all that works out... who knows but it hopefully can't hurt to have extra for a little while. Until next time!