11 posts tagged “work”

After working several hours on the syllabus for this class I'm teaching, today I was checking enrollment numbers and nothing was showing up. Then I found out from the registrar the Academic Affairs Dean told her to freeze the course.  Emailed the dean.  She came over a few minutes later and said she was sorry but they weren't getting the enrollment numbers they'd hoped for, so she had to shut the section down and would reopen it if there was somehow demand.  In fact, I wasn't too disappointed as I figured this would free up time for me to work on other stuff, but I would have liked to have known before I'd invested time in class prep.

Five minutes later she walks back in with the Dean of Admissions.  Turns out they have a dozen soccer players who couldn't register for any of the other offered time slots.  Would I like to teach a morning section?  Uh?  Ok.  So, now it's back on again.  At least for today.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We finally closed on the house this week.  In the end, it was sort of anti-climatic.  Last week we were informed that the new loan docs were ready for signing.  So, we scheduled to go into the escow office in Irvine on Monday rather than pay the premium for a mobile notary service.  Then on Friday we received the infamous 9a report.  It consisted of 2 permits, which I have had in my possession since June 8 and which are available online for anyone to download for free, a statement that there are no liens registered at the county or city on the place, and that the hook-up to the sewer is permitted.  That was it.  That was the info we needed that delayed us two weeks.  Anyway, we signed on Monday, the lender reviewed the docs on Tues and on Wednesday I got a call from the mortgage broker saying they were funding the loan that day.  So, on Thurs.(8/13), the title was recorded with the county in our name and we were officially given the keys.

And now begins the rush to get it all rennovated in time to move in before Little One starts school on 9/9.  It's gonna be a push.  But at least we've settled on a contractor.  Little Sis is taking Little One for the weekend and we're going to work with the contractor today on nailing down the colors for the paint and carpets.  Might also begin packing and start ordering appliances.  The dent and scratch place we bought our washing machine from is out of biz, but now Sears has outlets for such things and the deals look good.

In other news, things at work have been quite busy, especially for summer.  Put a lot of work into figuring out our collection needs for supporting new BA programs in business and media arts.  Also working a lot on the new website.  We're finally going to have our library site accessible via the internet instead of behind the firewall.  Welcome to 2009!  And I'm trying to create some processes that will streamline some of our work during the year, most notably an electronic reference transaction tracking form.  Oh, and it looks like I'll be teaching the first year experience class called the Art of Being Human.  Classes start 8/31 and I haven't even looked at the textbook for the class yet!  And just in case I get bored, my e-portfolio class for the MLIS begins 8/24.  Gonna be a very busy fall.

Couple of weeks ago, I got my sort of quarterly report of my accumulated sick leave and vacation time.  Crazy as it may seem, HR at work does not provide you with this info every month as part of your pay stub.  Instead they try to get it out quarterly and it comes as a rather confusing looking Excel spreadsheet.  Anyway, on this particular iteration, it showed me with 178 hrs of vacation.  My jaw dropped.  When did I rack up that much vacation time?  Why that's practically as good as German standards.  Seriously, my heart was racing with excitement.  Think of the possibilities....

We're allowed to accumulate a max of 180 hrs., so I told my boss -- hey, I'm gonna take a vacation day on Friday cuz I'm about to max my hours and I don't want to lose them.  Her response, Wow, really, um, ok.  Half hour later she says, I looked back at your vacation hours report from December and it was around 80 hrs, so I don't see how it jumped to nearly 180.  I didn't realize my supervisor also gets a copy of these quixotic spreadsheets.  I looked back, and sure enough she was right.  Then I started poring over all the old spreadsheets and discover a number of problems.  So, I take it to HR and explain the deal, realizing that I'm about to shoot myself in the foot.  The HR director said she'd have the woman responsible go back over them and compare against my timesheets.  Upshot: yesterday i got back my revised vacation balance and it's down to 56 hrs.  Ouch!

Got the job!  Waiting to hear has been kinda tense, so I'm quite relieved.  It's nice to know that my patience is paying off and that my contribution is being recognized.

Now need to negotiate terms.  Starting pay is on the low end, but will go up once I have the degree in hand.  Just how much is what we need to discuss.

More going on or has happened than I can possibly write about.  I just don't seem to find the time these days to keep the blog updated, much as I would like to.  But, I'll keep trying.

Let's see, Dr. B's visit was a lot of fun.  We went out to SaMo and what had started as a rainy day turned into glorious sunshine by the time we hit the beach and pier.  Little One had a blast on the rides.  We later went over to T&K place for a fabulous fondue feast that lasted well into the night.  Was nice to be able to crash at their place and not have to worry about getting back to get LO in bed as well as to enjoy some adult beverages (tried a BeTon for the first time -- Becherovia [a Czech schnaps] and Tonic; for the non-German speaking crowd, it's a play on words, as Beton in German means concrete).  On Sunday we then drove Dr. B. to the airport and said good-bye.  What can I say about that?  Being able to see each other regularly over the past two years has been really great and I will miss that opportunity to arrange such visits.  Even talking on the phone is much easier when you don't have to be concerned with a 9 hr. time difference.  I always feel like my closest friends lives so far away.  Anyway, while I will miss Dr. B and his family, I know that we will also still stay in touch and hopefully will at least be able to get together once a year.

I've started my summer class -- it's all about learning HTML and CSS , the code for writing websites.  Most people use software like Dreamweaver  to write websites, but we're learning to hand code.  Basically, the idea is that if you learn to hand code, you're in a better position to edit code that has been written using software.  Anyway, it's reasonably interesting to me, and I hope to use what i learn in helping to redesign our library website (which needs a serious overhaul) as well as to write a personal homepage.

Little One is in her final week at school.  Next Wednesday will be her last day.  Technically, Thurs. should be the last day, but we've already been told in no uncertain terms, they don't really want the kids to come on Thurs.  These kinds of skipping out of their responsibilities pisses me off sometimes, but not enough that I'm going to complain about it.  Anyway, for the summer, we've signed her up for a day camp MWF at a local park.  That should be fun.  On Tuesdays, Better Half will be home to look after her, and on Thursdays, the Schmaz will be the resident babysitter.  So, we're basically covered for the summer.  Yippeee.

Now that it's summer, I'm working a regular M-F day shift, no Sundays.  Like that a lot.  Hoping that I can get in shape enough to begin riding to work again.  Just haven't found the time to do any exercise, and you don't just start riding up that hill cold --- you've got to train or you're gonna be hurting.

On the job front, since being reinstated at f/t, I've also learned that the tech services librarian is leaving.  Most likely beginning of August.  So, now I'm thinking I'll apply for that job when it becomes available.  It requires cataloging and ordering in addition to reference and instruction.  There's a lot I could learn and do in the position -- we need a new online catalog and I'd be interested in working on that.  The other attraction, of course, is better pay/benes and better hours.  Meanwhile, i'm also on the search committee for a new Library Director.  Interesting experience to see what that is like, and worth a posting on its own.

Went to the Police/Elvis Costello gig at the Hollywood Bowl a few weeks ago.  T&K had an extra tix, so impulsively nabbed it.  I wasn't really thinking -- it's not the kind of show I usually go for these days, being in a large stadium and quite pricey.  In the event it was fun and okay, but definitely not stellar.  Frankly, I would have rather seen EC as the headliner and the Police as the opener.  I mean EC is actually still vital, still recording new material.  The Police set is all greatest hits, like a revue set.  Makes me feel old.  The LAT review was telling -- it was written by a mom who talked about what a family-friendly show it was.  "Family-friendly" is not how I like my rock and roll concerts.

Ok -- nuff for now.  Gotta go eat.

What's the right metaphor?  Yo-yo?  Rollercoaster?  I guess both work.  See, as I was heading in to work today the Dean of Academic Affairs (my boss's boss) called me in to her office.  Now it appears the money has been found in the budget to keep me on at f/t w/ benes after all.  She said she'd get it to me in writing by the end of the day.  I said, "Good, because I need that."  I asked her what had changed since the announcement three days ago that I was losing my f/t status.  She mentioned that the budget is tight, but that they really wanted to keep me on and appreciated my work, etc. etc.  Clearly, somebody had put some pressure on on my behalf.  I guess it helped to put it out the word that I would be looking for another job if I lose my benes.

And indeed, I have been working on an application for a similar position at the main USC library.  Of course, the evening supe at USC has a lot less attractive shift (4pm-midnight).  It would nominally come with more responsibility, yet possibly less actual professional library experience (i.e. providing reference and instruction services).  Spoke with Vicious Kitty about the position last night b4 the latest news.  I think I'll still apply and at least see what they have to offer.  Not least since I've also spent a lot of time in the last couple of days trying to figure out what to do, including poring over insurance options for hours, which is time I could ill afford to spend.

In any case, it's good news and I definitely feel relieved (but I'll feel even more relieved when I see it in writing).

Oh boy.

I just had a talk with my boss.  As of July 1, I no longer have a f/t position.  Which means I also have no benes.  Which means I don't really have a lot of incentive to stay.  this is crazy.  Meanwhile, we're trying to figure how to spend the summer -- what to do with Eileen, if and when we should have a vacation.  these logistics are hard enough to plan as it is without the extra stress of not knowing what your employment situation is going to be.  It feels very much like things are reeling out of control.  Somehow I gotta figure out how to job hunt, finish classes, work, be a parent & husband and not go crazy.  It's all a bit much.

I just cannot get myself to do anything today.  Been in a funk ever since I got to work.  Luckily, I'll be heading out the door in a few...

Did get the camel drawing done last night, so pin the tail on the camel game for Saturday is a go.  Not a half-bad drawing, if I do say so myself.  Also printed out all the kids names in hieroglyphs as a little goody-bag treat.  If you want one for yourself, go here.  Still have to burn a CD with "King Tut" and maybe a few other tunes for the musical chairs game.  And we now have loads of tp to do some serious mummy-wrapping.  Oh, and an Egyptian colleague here at work has provided me with some papyrus and other decorations.  So, it's coming together.

Maybe tomorrow will be more productive.

US and CA taxes are printing now as I type.  First time I've had a chance to blog in weeks.  Still not finished with the German tax fiasco -- it does not look pretty.  Indeed, they've already actually taken the money from my account, so  now it's a matter of trying to convince them to return some. 

Today the Chair of the Business and Economics Department asked me if I'd like to teach some classes for her next year.  Flattered you should ask.  Now somebody go tell the President that there are two faculty members requesting my services, but his policy of not allowing staff to make a f/t position out of p/t teaching and p/t staff work makes it impossible for me to accept these offers.  Ludicrous.

Planning for LO's bday party.  Theme is ancient Egypt.  Going to throw it at the same place my 40th was.  Decorate the room with pyramids and palm trees made out of cardboard, maybe do a treasure hunt through a pyramid, ordered a couple of craft projects, downloaded hieroglyphics fonts for the invites, looking still for related stickers for goodie bags, thinking about playing pin the tail on the camel, musical chairs to Steve Martin's "King Tut".  Anybody else got some ideas or know a good place to get supplies?  Michaels was a complete wash.

Just learned from my boss that it will not be possible to do a faculty/staff split of my time and keep the benes.  Funny how signals get sent out that everything's gonna be okay, only to be dashed a couple of weeks later.  Where does that leave me?  Not sure.  The likely options are:
1. Keep working f/t in the lib (assuming the position continues to be funded at f/t, which it may not. Upside: continuing experience and benes. Downside: long commute from G'dale.)
2. Work p/t in the lib and teach a class, but forgo benes (LO and I could go under BH's plan, but it's not employer-subsidized, so very costly. Upside: teaching is good resume builder. Downside: no benes and still got that commute).
3. Seek other lib job closer to G'dale area. (Upside: less of commute. Downside: unknown)
4. Stop working altogether and concentrate on getting the degree wrapped up by the end of the year (3 summer classes and 4 classes in the Fall -- tough, but doable.  Upside: puts me on job market about 9 mos earlier than planned. Downside: loss of income/benes, lack of social interaction).
This news sure threw me for a loop.

Vicious Kitty, who used to work here, faces a similar dilemma at her new job.  Turns out her job is a "contract" position which needs to be renewed annually.  When she was hired they told her that renewal was basically hers to lose.  Now the game's changing.  All contract positions are being reviewed to see if they should become TT or eliminated.  If they go TT, a new search begins, with no guarantee that the incumbent gets the job.  Ouch.