Kingfisher Cove

I'm on VACATION, Baby!

Oh, what a feeling!  Sooooo very glad this week is done and I don't have to worry about anything (work-wise) for a whole two weeks!  I know it'll fly by.  But I'm going to relish this moment of having it all laid out before me right here, right now. 

Picked up a truckload of groceries tonight.  And it's mostly for this weekend at Camano.  I'll get to do it all over again Tuesday in preparation for Harstine.  And then probably a few different times while we're down there, since the trailer fridge definitely has its limits. 

But ahhhh.

Here's an interesting website with a contest for "The Worst Boss Ever".   It's amazing all the horrendous stories!  Like the boss who had a screaming hissy fit seeing his employees huddled around the TV -- on 9/11.  "Do you know how much money is being lost across the country today with everyone glued to the television!?"  Or the woman who was fired for taking time off to go to her mother's funeral.  Jeeze.  In fact, there are so many horrendous stories of greed and cold-heartedness and lunacy that it's clear that all these companies and corporations -- in America -- are basically little Saddam Hussein-run mini-countries-of-evil.  The American Dream has become hell on earth. 

And on that note....have a wonderful 4th of July!

It's the Twilight Zone Again

Today was one of those Twilight Zone kind of days. They tend to haunt me wherever I go, and I’m beginning to wonder if the problem might be ME. And yet….what would you do differently?

Situation: You are assigned a proposal for the design of roundabouts in a nearby community. You have a couple of relatively similar previous proposals to use as a basis to go by. Your boss sends the project manager (PM – an engineer who is supposedly adept at managing these types of projects and is the lead on the proposal) and cc’s you an outline and schedule for all the benchmark deadlines to get the proposal done and outa here – a little ahead of schedule due to the next week having the 4th of July holiday, lots of people taking vacation, including you and your boss, as well as the PM. There’s still adequate time – the proposal has just a 12-page limit.

Issue #1: The project manager needs to identify who he wants to include as key people, and which projects they worked on to highlight in the proposal. He names them, and you send him cNates of their resumes which are missing many many project descriptions that he wants to include. Since he’s in a branch office, his duty is to nail down these individuals and have them provide a brief description of what their roles were on the projects and send them to you (you then wordsmith and edit). However, this doesn’t happen. He does nothing.

Issue #2: You pull together what you think is relevant from the other proposals, based on what the request for proposal (RFP) instructions require. Keep in mind, you are not a roundabout traffic engineer. Based on this client being very local, you pull local information and local references. They are also a small community, so your thinking is that they might be intimidated if you brag too much about having national experience, but you touch upon it without flaunting it. You include pertinent graphics and photos. You wordsmith and transition into the following sections.

Issue #3: You call up the PM and act all warm and friendly, because you get so much more with sugar than you do with vinegar. You remind him of the schedule and ask about the status of the items he’s responsible for providing (staff project descriptions, project understanding and approach, matrix details, etc.). He coldly states that he’s too busy. You, yourself, are also handling all the details of another project interview and attending practices that take up many hours of your day, so yes, you understand “busy”. But you also understand that there is a looming deadline that absolutely must be met. You remind yourself that engineers tend to be blasé about such things. Keeping your voice calm (and sweet, because you don’t want to go all vinegary) you say, “Oh, it’s nuts, isn’t it? So, when can I expect to see something from you? Keep in mind that the schedule calls for the final document to be QC’d (quality controlled) tomorrow afternoon.” The response is vague, non-committal, brusk, and somewhat condescending, read between the lines as “this is so beneath me.” He does say, “I don’t think we need to include an organizational chart.”  And then he whines, "This isn't due until next week!"  You remind him that nobody's going to be around next week.

Issue #4: You have a very brief opportunity to discuss things with your boss, and mention the lack of response and that the PM doesn’t want an org chart – which is typically standard. She says, “What? No, we definitely need an org chart! What’s he thinking?” So you design the org chart and insert it in the rough draft.

Issue #5: The (very) rough draft goes to what is called “red team review” – to certain knowledgeable people, including your boss, who critique the document and ensure that it’s following the requirements of the RFP. Normally it's supposed to be very close to being final, but it's not because of the holes the PM has not yet filled.

Now Comes the Twilight Zone Stuff

A member of the red team responds with somewhat scathing remarks. A lot of her points are valid, because you have purloined verbiage from other proposals since you haven’t received specific direction from the PM. You’re making a lot of assumptions based on very little information (plus you are not an engineer), and you were only hoping that you’d hit the mark, at least somewhat, until the PM “wasn’t so busy” so that he could be more specific with what he had in mind. Your feeling is that providing something is better than providing nothing at all.

Issue #6: You ask to meet with your boss to go over the proposal and the (scathing) comments, and hope to get some insight. You feel that being proactive about this will be a positive thing – you do want the proposal to be an excellent document that should win the project. And now that you don’t have jury duty, you have a little more time to ensure that.

Issue #7: So you meet. Turns out, according to your boss, that the red teamer with the scathing remarks has spoken to your boss behind your back and bad-mouthed you Big Time. Your boss assures you that she stuck up for you, and explained to the red teamer that the PM had not adhered to the schedule, had not been responsive, was not asked to even be responsive to items other than he alone could provide, and that if he felt overwhelmed or out of his element, he did not communicate that fact. You are quite bewildered that the red teamer would blame you in the first place, but are relieved that your boss was supportive.

Issue #8: You recommend to your boss some improvements to the proposal, inquire about her thoughts about your ideas on revamping specific portions, such as “How about if we have call-out boxes for the staff members that indicate their benefits to the City?” She thinks it’s a great idea. She also has some great ideas of her own. The two of you collaborate and improve and high-five both of your great contributions and you feel really good about it. And supported. The red teamer arranges to meet with both of you in a couple of hours. [Apparently the PM is now out of the picture, which is weird]. You go to your desk and fill those two hours scrambling to make all the revisions and revamps and you skip lunch and listen to your stomach growl but pretty much ignore it.

Issue #9: You and your boss and the red teamer meet. Red teamer says, “We’ve got to focus on our national experience! Why would anybody think to just focus on the local?” Your boss agrees, although your logic was based on this being a local client. Then your boss takes all the credit for all the improvements to the document. “And so I came up with these staff call-out boxes.” You stare at her. She is oblivious to your stare. Red teamer is very pleased and relieved that your boss is involved and has come up with all these great ideas. You feel like a dweeb. A total idiot. You think about speaking up and saying, “Hey! That was my idea!” And yet, how would that go over? How would that be perceived? Is it worth the risk of repercussions or even the possibility of being shot down? Red teamer says, “I think it’s absolutely stupid to have an organizational chart.” And your boss says, “That’s what I thought, too! It’s just totally unnecessary.” [See Issue #4 above].

So.

Yes, I guess I made my boss look good, which is what we’re supposed to do, right? At the expense of making me look like an idiot. (And was she really supportive of me during her earlier conversation with red-teamer?)

What the fuck have I gotten myself into?

Better, But Still Stewing (why do I do that?)

One deadline wrapped up.  I am very relieved about that.  But the other one has turned into somewhat of a nightmare -- at least until a little while ago when I learned that I do not have to report for jury duty tomorrow or Friday.  I'm relieved about that, even though it would have been an interesting experience.  But knowing that I have some more time to meet this other deadline has lifted some weight off my shoulders.  Today was extremely frustrating -- seems that literally everything went wrong.  Even to the point when I realized how parched I was and I ran down to get some ice water -- and there was no ice!  I mean, just stuff like that.  Printing, then hiking down the stairs and along the yellow brick road to the color printer just to discover that there was a "call service person" message flashing.   Needing cover stock and they were all out and having to scramble to get some more.  But the main thorn in my side (wish I could think of a original metaphor but the brain is done for the day), was that I still didn't receive the information I desperately need from the engineer (in a branch office).  I just haven't figured out what it needs to take.  Maybe I'll really have to resort to utter bitchiness.  Like I've mentioned before, that doesn't seem to work for me.  But neither does being nice, cajoling, pleading, humorous, or respectfully firm.  What's left?

When I left to head home tonight, not knowing whether I'd be back in the office (due to jury duty) until after our vacation, I felt a little giddy.  That giddiness is over now, but I'll be feeling it Friday!  Two whole weeks off from work!  I haven't had that much time off from work since Nate was born.  The time off between jobs can't really count because even though that was really quite pleasant, it had the backdrop of worry going on.   What's also Way Cool is that for the foreseeable future, the weather is supposed to be quite nice.  Not nearly as hot as it's been -- today was utterly perfect.  It was 75 degrees.  Doesn't that sound perfect?  You can appreciate the sun and blue skies and not feel crabby and oppressed. 

It will seem very strange to not be able to blog for two weeks.  I will really miss it.  I hope you all (the throngs, heh) don't forget about me.

Kinda Crazy

I'm glad it was ever-so-slightly cooler today.  (85 -- which is typically still too hot for my taste, but it actually didn't feel too bad by comparison, except inside my car.  Instead of 147 degrees in there (yesterday), it was only, oh, 117 today.  Big difference.  (Right).

Work is a bit nuts.  OK, a lot nuts.  I'm juggling two big deadlines that hit at the same time and one or the other keeps soaking up so many hours of my day and then I'm suddenly behind on the other one.  And then I keep getting them confused.  I've been very careful about that, keeping separate "To-Do" lists, keeping the files in separate areas on my desk, and even doing a lot of talking to myself.  Things are getting down to the wire and much of my angst (as usual) is relying on others to contribute their part and (of course) I'm waiting for them to respond.  I'm at the point where it's dire that they do respond.  I call (they're out).  I email.  I explain that the deadline won't be met unless they do their part.  I beg.  I plead.  I set deadlines (ignored).  I haven't yet gotten to the point where I become a flaming bitchy monster threatening to cut off their balls.  For some people?  They can get away with that and it tends to prompt some action (heh, gets "the ball rolling", so to speak).  Doesn't work for me.  Someone will invariably go behind my back to a Big Boss and complain that "Tonya was rather prickly and difficult to work with..." and then I hear about it in a very negative manner and my side is never listened to, and I'm the bad-ass, and I hate being the bad-ass because it's really not my nature... Anyway.  You get the idea.  (I've also been accused of "being too nice."  Sometimes I just can't win.)

On top of all this, I keep thinking about all that needs to happen before this weekend at Camano followed immediately by over a week & a half at Harstine.  Laundry, menu-planning, grocery shopping, food preparation, obtain shellfish license, water plants, make a list for Nate (such as keeping the cat alive while we're gone).  Plus more, like what books to take?  Yes, it's for a fun cause, but this work thing sure does get in the way.  And my weekday evenings are not especially conducive to flying around and accomplishing a whole lot.  When I get home from work, I'm pretty much spent.  Tonight I DID pick up my prescriptions, plus some food items.  (Note to self:  marinate the flank steak).  (Eh, I'll do it tomorrow night).

I'm good at that, too.  Procrastinating.  I never really used to be that way, but I sure am now.

I also know it'll all work out.  I may go through some hell to get to that point, but IT'LL BE FINE, I keep telling myself.

To borrow another phrase* -- 2 HOT 4 ME!

Good God Almighty!  Normally we get a bit of an opportunity to grow accustomed to (relatively rare) uber-hot days with progressively warmer days leading up to a heat wave, but this just hit us like a sunspot from hell.  It was 95 degrees today.  It was 91 yesterday.  And 90 the day before.  (And something like 65 the day before that). I feel withered and wilted.  We were pretty much slugs all weekend at Harstine, I'm ashamed to say.  The camping trailer has a killer A/C unit that blasts (I'm sure it's the old freon type that works noticeably better than this new stuff they use now), and so we spent a fair amount of time staying cool and comfortable inside.  Sad, I know.  But the deck was sweltering!  And the idea of the baking beach at very low tides reflecting all that heat and then having to hike back up the slope...well, we just didn't go there.  (Bailey did on her own yesterday just before we left to head home.  She trotted all the way down and took a dip!  And then bee-lined it back up, feeling ever-so-pleased with her wet self).  It was beautiful, I have to say that.  But just too fricken hot to enjoy.  If it's like that again during our vacation down there, I will definitely be IN the water at some point.  (The low tides weren't conducive this weekend, though).

Even the birds were pretty sluggish.  They were entertaining early in the mornings, but not much activity during the heat of the day.  I noticed something interesting with the bird-behavior, in that the different species tend to get along just fine sharing the feeders or the spilled seed on the ground.  They even get along just fine with the chipmunk (yup, at least one of them was back).  But the males of the same species are "bitchy" toward each other!   They fight and grouse and chase and squabble.  And that especially goes for the hummingbirds!  Man, it truly was like Star Wars light sabers in battle all around us. 

I can hardly believe we're back in the rat race already -- the drive to Harstine Friday night was a three-hour nightmare and we spent those two heavenly/peaceful days rather shell-shocked at how horrible the traffic (and over-population) was.  It was such an incredible relief to be away from it.  And as soon as we left to head home last night, we were back in it.  It was depressing.

Today was a little nuts, but also pretty fun and interesting.  I went into work and then took off just before 11:00 and met JDub here at home, then together we went to Salty's on Alki for JDub's commemorative 25th anniversary lunch with Da Airplane Company.  I got to meet his boss and his boss's boss (both of whom are pretty high up).  There were also two other employees and their spouses who were celebrating their 25th anniversary.  It was So. Very. Nice.  Photos were taken outside with the Seattle/Space Needle backdrop.  I didn't get very dressed up because it was HOT, but I think that's OK -- it wasn't super formal.  A little, though.  These upper managers are well-versed in keeping conversations going and filling quiet spots with anecdotes, etc.  There were moments of Dilbertisms, but overall it was very pleasant, especially when they'd let their hair down a little and talk about their families and weekends and stuff like that.  They became very human.  The food was awesome.  JDub and I both had a fillet and it was to die for.  (Why don't they taste like that when we cook them?  I think the secret is "searing", which I don't know how to do.  I'm afraid that for me searing = burning).  The lunch also came with a chocolate chocolate cheesecake (did I mention chocolate?) -- and oooooh.  I never order dessert out, and this was just absolutely decadent.  So bad.  (So good).

And then JDub dropped me off at home and he turned around and headed back to work, and I headed in the opposite direction back to work.  It was a nice break in the middle of my day -- didn't get back until about 2:40, but I made good use of the time left.  I'm busy and have multiple deadlines this week that I'm trying really hard to not stress about too much.   But I accomplished quite a lot and feel pretty good about it.

I sure hope it's noticeably cooler tomorrow.  But with sunshine. (I do like that part).

*My friend, Helen, sent me an email yesterday with this subject line, and it just totally fits.  However, in Portland, OR where she lives, it was well above 100 deg.  Gah!  She said, "They're saying that the "official" temperature at the airport was 99 -- but who the hell lives at the airport?"  (tee hee!)

Cute!

OK, I just love this. My manly-man husband just emailed me with the subject line: “Lil’ Itty Bitty Rabbits”.  Turns out there’s apparently a litter of young’uns out & about around the grassy areas of Da Airplane Company and they’re just, well, itty bitty.  And also, according to JDub, sooooooo cuuuuute!

Is that cool, or what?

I love my manly man. Who appreciates cute.

They Like Me!!!

I had my "mid-year review" today.  Which is kind of funny, since I've only been there 7 weeks.  But apparently it's required every June and December, and it involves goal-setting, etc.  It was actually very informal.  I met my boss at a local Starbucks and we ordered iced lattes and shot the breeze.  It was uplifting and even rather fun -- she truly is a character.  We are very different from each other, and yet we seem to connect well.  She's easy to talk to.  She told me how pleased and excited and relieved they were to have me on board, and that she'd been hearing great feedback.  How wonderful to hear that!   And it certainly makes me want to strive to make sure she still feels that way six months from now.  I'm currently quite busy, and it involves that nasty "m" word:  multi-tasking.  I'm coordinating an interview (presentation) with one city and a proposal for another, and keeping them straight is challenging because there are a lot of similarities between them.  Plus, they're both due at the same time.   (But then, when they're both out of my hair, I'll have vacation to look forward to!)

Another thing I like about working there?  I'm paid every other Friday!  How cool is that?  (At The Other Place, it was once a month!  Yuk!)  I'm looking forward to a month that has three paydays.  There are a couple of them, I believe.

Oh, and all us marketing staff (of which there are quite a number of us throughout the company -- I'm guessing, 30?), get to attend an annual retreat this fall.  Not sure yet where, but it sounds like they're a lot of fun.  There's educational aspects involved, but also "relaxation" -- because the company knows that burn-out happens in marketing.  Should be interesting.   

Tomorrow's Friday already.   We're heading to Harstine tomorrow night!  Yay!  It's supposed to be in the 80s all weekend long!  Maybe some kayaking?  Maybe get the boat in the water?  Mmmm.

An Interesting Day

I like to learn stuff.   I'm not particularly fond of information overload, such as what happens when you start a new job, but I have to say it hasn't been too bad.  I've been doing what I do for a long time now, and aside from internal company procedures, the industry doesn't differ all that much from company to company.   

What I do in my job requires the storage and accessibility of a ton of information that really needs to be available at my fingertips so I can grab what I need (quickly) and incorporate it into the attractive format required and then meet the deadline.  (That's explaining it pretty simplistically).  For example, I might need to know which projects the company completed that involved the design of roundabouts within a certain geographical area and within the past three years; which company personnel worked on those projects and what their roles were; what the projects cost in terms of overall construction and the portion for which we were responsible; which projects went over or under budget; who were the client contacts and phone numbers for references; what type of funding was involved (federal, local, etc.); what type of environmental issues were involved.  You get the picture.  Tons of information.  And there are databases available that are designed exclusively for our needs -- you can probably imagine what a beast that database would have to be.  And can you believe this:  At The Other Place, we didn't have a database.  The information was scattered here and there (mostly in Word -- gag me), and required the most idiotic method of trying to nail it all down.  We had to rely so heavily on technical staff who were just not forthcoming (or cooperative).  The time and effort it took to put together a proposal was astronomical (and a major headache to boot).  Where I work now?  We have a database!  Woohoo!  However, it's becoming rather obsolete (technology-wise) and cumbersome (although it's still heaven compared to what I was used to), and the software was sold to another company who is no longer going to support it (you have to upgrade to their version). 

Sooo....today, us marketing staff spent several hours in NetMeeting being presented demos on two different databases (designed exclusively for our industry).  It was truly interesting and exciting!  The things that technology can do now!  Wow!  One product definitely stood out as the best, and we were all unanimous in our consensus about that.  That's the other thing that excites me -- we have say.  At The Other Place, that wouldn't fly.  No say, no consultation, no advice asked for, and, well, no database. 

Sorry.  Boring post I reckon, but I enjoyed the day!  It's not often that I get to be enlightened and learn fun and interesting things intended to make my job easier!  Doesn't it make sense to do whatever it takes to be more efficient in our jobs?  (Sometimes there's this attitude of why make it easier for them -- we're paying them to work hard!)  Of course, the "easier" or more efficient our work is, the more volume of work that is laid on our shoulders.  I remember that when wordprocessing came into being.  It once was, whatever you could handle in your Selectric Typewriter was as good as it could get.  With the advent of all this technology, came the advent of multi-tasking.  I truly believe there's a limit to what our brains can honestly multi-task at any given time and maintain quality.  And I also believe that people who say they're super good at it are either lying or totally unaware of all the mistakes they're making.

Hey!

All you geeky wonderful and knowledgeable computer professionals, don't come flocking to my blog all at once now.   I'm just saying.

To borrow a phrase*... OH, EXCREMENT!!!

Do you even know how often I'm on the internet and for whatever-reason-who-the-hell-knows-why Explorer crashes and kicks me completely out of it?  Very Often.  Very Very Often.  And it just did it (again) in the midst of writing a post that I hadn't saved as a draft and so I lost the whole thing.  In fact if any of you geeks wonderful and knowledgeable computer professionals out there have any idea what this means and what I can do about it, I'd surely appreciate hearing from you:

Grrrrrrrr doesn't even come close to expressing my pissed off-ness.

At any rate, jury duty is a "go" for me -- I have my company's blessing.  Although it's not without angst because I don't actually know if I'm supposed to appear until I call the night before each of the two days I'm scheduled.  I might have to go into work, or I might not, but I won't know until the night before.  Then of course, there are deadlines and meetings that fall on those days.  Of course.  Doing my civic duty is not without its stresses.

Yup, JDub and I are taking a two-week vacation beginning next weekend!  (I'd prearranged it when I was hired at my new job).  That first weekend we'll spend at Camano and celebrate the 4th of July along with my brother and his family and Nate and Dad -- it'll be fun.  We'll set off illegal quality fireworks purchased from the local tribal reservation on the night of the 3rd so my brother and his wife don't have to stay up late on the 4th and then head back to work the following day.  But on the 4th, JDub and I will head down to Harstine for the rest of our time off!  Woohoo!  There are projects galore, company coming (we hope/think), and lots of relaxation to be had.  Heh heh.  We'll put the boat in the water for the first time this year, we'll kayak, and watch birdies and chipmunks at the feeders.  Sounds heavenly, doesn't it?  It'll be the last vacation I'll have for a while.  I'm pretty sure I'll be taking this without pay, which is fine.  But it'll take me a while to accrue the 10 days I'm allotted per year.  (Vacation allotment just sucks in the U.S. corporate world).  So be it -- if necessary, I'll just take some time off now and then without pay (or rack up and keep track of my overtime).  JDub has TONS of vacation time and the idea of him going to Harstine alone -- with the weenie dogs -- while I have to stay home and go to work?  Makes me want to cry.

Oooh, discovered two new albums released today from hereinbefore unfamiliar artists (to me).  Ever heard of Guster?  (They're out of Boston and apparently very hot on the east coast -- make me think some of Death Cab for Cutie which are out of Bellingham, WA and are very popular on the west coast).   The other is a soulful British gal named Corrine Bailey Rae.  Things I've read compare her to Billie Holladay (which I don't know about that), but there's a bit of Alicia Keyes in her style.  Very nice. 

Bed time.  (Much later than I anticipated since I had to REWRITE MY POST).

*I will give credit where credit is due -- I stole this from Margaret!