Terrible Tuesday

I am not having a good morning. My heart still hasn't slowed down from my little accident this morning.

Things started out well. I woke up around a time that I needed to, and actually got out of the house on time. Dunkin Donuts was relatively painless, and I was on the road with just enough time to get to work. Things started to go downhill, however, once I got off the highway. There's this horrible, insane traffic circle that I need to go through to get to the street my place of employment is located on. I've done it a hundred times. I waited, saw an opening, and took my foot off the brake. BOOM! I rearended the car in front of me, which I had assumed had taken off once it left my field of vision. I don't know what she was sitting there for, but she hadn't moved nearly as quickly as a normal driver. The impact wasn't bad at all, since I had barely moved from a stationary position (didn't even touch the gas), but startled me. I've never actually hit anything before. We both pulled over, and she was nice enough to let it go. I know I should have insisted on getting all of her information, but I was still kinda in shock and worrying about being late to work.

I think I'm still a bit in shock, which is probably why my heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest.

So I get to work, and start doing the little things I have to take care of (reading /. is essential, I tell you!). I finally get the number from the IT chief I'd been waiting for, and send out the phone list to our "all hands" mailing list. About one minute later I get an email back telling me that I'd sent it to the wrong list. Shocked, I go back and check the sent message. Sure enough, I'd sent it to a totally new list for a disaster in Indiana. DOH! Why do I even have permission to send anything on that list? It baffles me. Completely embarassed beyond description, I send out a "please disregard, I'm so sorry" message. I think my face is still red. I didn't even notice the new list.

I was also notified that I may have to interview for the network job that I'm longing for today. Great. I'm not going to curse myself by the usual phrase, but I'm really wishing I could go back to bed right now. I need tea, or something soothing. Guess I'll have to deal with a hot cup of coffee (feel that blood pressure rise!), and 80's music.

...Hours later...

Ok, my black mood is lifted, and I am damn happy. I got offered another position to work with a mapping program at the headquarters in NYC. Very cool. If the Network job falls through, I'm off to NYC. Happy happy, joy joy. All expenses paid. I'm feeling some love for my country. Someone check me for a fever. [img]eek.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 16, 2003 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Shadowcat ]</font>

Shadowcat, that is good news, Congrats!

Sorry the day has been so hard, but glad your accident wasn't more damaging.

Wow Shadowcat. That was greatly needed good news on a really crappy day. You are so lucky the woman didn't get upset about her car. Actually, its better for you that you didn't exchange information because now she has no way to get in touch with you if she later decides that you caused her whiplash and all sorts of other "injuries".

The email scare at work makes me wonder...

What is it you do anyhow? You seem to be very technically smart so I'm thinking you do some kind of computer work? Sorry for sounding so dumb.

I work in the IT department at my university so that always interests me.

Thanks AsIs. ^_^

So I guess my question now is, should I take the job that pays more, but may only last a few months, or should a take the other job that pays a little less, but will have lots and lots of work?

Gem, I am a displaced tech. I was originally hired as help desk, but they were getting rid of people and had an opening for a switchboard operator. I'm used to phone work (I've done CS and IT over the phone), so I took it. I work for FEMA, which is an emergency management agency. They usually only stay around for about 3 months at a time. So the last disaster ended, and I was jobless for about 3 weeks. Two weeks ago, they called me up and asked if I wanted the switchboard job back. I said yes, and here I am again. However, there is an opening in IT for a network tech, and now an opening in I&P for someone to use their mapping software. The I&P job is for a permanent employee (it's an on call basis, though). I don't know if the network job is just for this disaster, or permanent.

As for what I do as a switchboard operator, I answer the main phone, take messages, and keep the DFO phone list up to date. I also kinda act as a receptionist, by telling people to sit down and calling people to get them away from my desk. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Hey, I'm making more money answering a phone than I did doing help desk.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 16, 2003 03:52 PM: Message edited by: Shadowcat ]</font>

Well, a few months is a really short time, unless you have another job lined up after that, but it might be fun.

You probably didn't see my above post before you posted yours.

What do you do for a living?

I didn't want to double post, but you beat me before I could finish editing.

Personally these days I think long term is a better bet over short term, but I am approaching old fogey status, so stability is a bigger issue for me. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Good luck with either.

I haven't had a stable job since I worked in a grocery store for minimum wage several years ago. [img]wink.gif[/img]

I'm leaning toward stability, too, but I'm afraid that it'd mean I couldn't make it to my cousin's wedding. Oh, well. I'm still thinking.

See, and my morning was nothing near that bad.

First of all, I was tired when I went to work, and exhausted when I got out.

Then, I noticed that we had an unusually high number of people asking for wake up calls between 5 and 6am. We have a cart we set up for coffee for people that get up before the coffee shop opens. There were so many early wakeup calls that I asked my security guard to make an extra pot of regular.

The coffee shop opens at 7am. At 6:30, they used up the first pot of regular. At 6:45, they used up the second pot, so I went to the kitchen and got more. At 6:59, they polished off the third pot. At that point, I just yanked the cart, and told them that the coffee shop would be open in a minute. At that point, they started sucking the Decaff pot dry. (Free coffee, even free decaff coffee, has more caffeine than coffee you pay for.)

They, btw, would be a group of people attending a conference about selling real estate. One of those companies that recruits its sales people from, please to excuse my arrogance, trailer parks. Honestly, I haven't seen a mob like this since I was working at the hotels with the free continental breakfast, and I had to take a whip and a chair in with me to put in a new tray of donuts.

While this was going on, my desk clerk that was supposed to show up at 6:30 to relieve me showed up at 6:50. And told me that a) she was in a dingy mood because her divorce hearing starts today and b) she left the iron on at her house. I told her to go home and turn the iron off, since things like that can short out and cause fires, and then, on the one hand, she wouldn't have to worry about who gets the house in the divorce, but on the other hand, she'd get lots of money from the insurnance.

Then my 7 o'clock clerk showed up at seven, which was good, but, just as she was going to go get a cup of coffee from the kitchen (there being no cart at this point), the phone rang, and a woman walked up to the desk wanting to know about late checkouts for a group of rooms. I redirected the late checkout person to the 7 o'clock clerk (because I was tired to begin with, and late checkouts are a daytime planning thing that I'm no good at), and I answered the phone. We finally got rid of the people asking for late checkouts, and I shooed the clerk off the desk.

Fortunately, nothing happened while she went to get coffee. The phone operator had shown up by that point, and she was laughing at me, because I was going back in her office to bitch about the crowd of people at the desk. She said something about "Oh, so there's a reason you're the NIGHT auditor, right? You don't like people?" I laughed, and said, "I like SOME people, I like CERTAIN people, I like people in SMALL DOSES, but I don't do mob scenes, and that's what's out there right now."

The clerk finally showed up with her coffee, and I bolted.

So, not a bad morning, just a weird one.

Anyway, congrats on the job offer Cat, it's nice to see you getting some happy news. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Shadowcat - I'm sorry you had such a bad day and I hope today is going better. I can only offer this advice. As a retail manager, I can tell you that the job market right now is shit. The quality of people I'm getting right now is vastly better than what I was getting 3 years ago, which means there's less job out there (quality people don't go into retail unless they have to). That said, my advice is to take the more stable job.

Eris - This job would be great if it wasn't for the customers, eh?

Today has been pretty good. I love hanging out with the security guys. I'd go insane if they weren't right next to me.

So it looks like I'm going for the I&P job working with GIS software. I'm excited! They hope to get all my paperwork through, find a replacement for me in my current position, and put me through some training before sending me to NYC in 3 weeks. w00t!

Wow Shadowcat, if you were at all legal to work in Canada, I'd suggest you come here. The university IT department I work for has been hiring several people over the last few months and I don't think we are finished yet. You'd at least be doing something to do with computers.

I'm not that gifted myself, so I can't say what the various positions are specifically. I am just the Public Relations Specialist, which means I take their techno-babble and translate it into English to promote the achievements of the department. Its a great job for an extroverted techo-groupie like myself. [img]smile.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ September 18, 2003 09:03 AM: Message edited by: Gem F ]</font></font>

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 19, 2003 09:53 AM: Message edited by: Gem F ]</font>

Hey, not very long ago I was dying to move to Canada. [img]wink.gif[/img] I'd still jump at a university job, but my whole not having a degree thing makes them shy away.

Congrats on the new job, 'Cat. Way to go, having two offers to choose from.

Congrats Shadow!

Hopefully. Keeping my fingers crossed. I should hear something next week.

I just spent a lot of money on spiffy clothes to wear to the wedding. I hope I still get to go. I must do my MiB impression.

Congratulations on the new job! Plus you get to go to NY. Sounds like you'll be having fun. :)