Posts Tagged ‘work’

Male manners (or lack thereof)

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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I work in an office with only one other female and I have found this really impacts my experience in the restroom.  We have three: men’s, women’s, and handicapped.  You would think this would be enough for the 20 or so people who are in the office space.  Yet, somehow, I still go to the women’s restroom to find the seat cover up and urine stains on the rim.  It really baffles me because the restroom is clearly labeled “women” and there are clearly women in the office to use it.  So what could possibly motivate a guy to use the supposed women’s restroom?

There are two others and with less than two dozen people sharing them, it’s pretty uncommon for both to be taken when a third needs to use one.  Even if that was the case, it’s just a matter of waiting a few seconds for one of them to clear out.  Despite that, I consistently go into the restroom to find the toilet seat up, which also happens to reveal even more of the stains left behind.  That is just repulsive and I’ve tried putting up Post-It signs to request these two things do not happen, but to no avail.

It’s gotten to the point where I am tempted to track everyone who goes to the restroom to see who dares violate my space.  I’m the one who has to sit on that!  I’ve also thought about getting the key to it and restricting use to just us two women.  I find this behavior offensive (but mostly unhygienic); unfortunately, my coworkers don’t all seem to share that sentiment.  Alas, the downside to being so outnumbered.

Commuting

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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I don’t think commuting and I will get along too well.  I’ve got about 3-4 hours to drive each day to get to and from work now that I’m back at home and I don’t know how long I can keep it up.  The past two days I’ve already felt like an oldie because both nights I had to retire “early” and cut the festivities short.  Granted, I was still getting to bed around 1, but those still in college and summer mode were still going strong at that time.  Meanwhile, I’ve been exhausted at night once it gets close to midnight.  At least my body is forcing me to sleep so that I’m not too tired for work.

Now that I’ll be spending even more time driving, I’m only going to be more tired.  I’m going to have to go to bed before midnight (gasp!) just to get enough rest to make it through the day.  Even then I get tired driving and will need to test out a variety of techniques I’ve been pondering.  Today I tried the first one – getting a Jamba Juice for my drive.  It worked pretty well in the beginning as I had something to sip on that also kept me quite cold, but once it was gone, I still had a good 45 minutes to go.  And that was getting it already 45 minutes into the drive!  Perhaps I’ll have to find one that’s an hour into the drive and stop by there.

Other options are to drive to a certain point, then find a nice spot to park the car for a quick snooze.  That also allows the traffic to clear up a bit and the sun to set more so it’s not glaring in my eyes or heating up my car and making me tired.  I can also see if I can find a tea that actually keeps me awake.  Or maybe I can do what I do when I study – drink so much water that I’m either drinking water or going to the bathroom the entire time.  Of course, that would mean I’d probably have to make at least one pit stop along the way and find a bathroom to use.  I’ve also contemplated resting before even leaving, so we’ll see if that makes it any better.

The good life

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I really enjoy the way my life is going right now.  At this moment, I’m saving the most money I ever will – I don’t need to pay rent (staying at Panda’s for free), don’t need to pay for my brand new car or this year’s insurance for it (present from parents), don’t need to pay for parking (Westwood streets aren’t crazy crowded over the summer so street parking gets me by), don’t need to pay for my phone bill (covered with the company plan), and now I don’t even need to pay for health insurance anymore (payment was lowered to be completely covered by the company)!  Now how great is that?  All I need to worry about is food and gas.

Plus, Panda is still here and hasn’t left to work far away so I get to see him.  I am independent and don’t have any kids or pets to think about and take care of.  It’s pretty great, this sort of freedom that allows me to save up money in my 401k and still have plenty to spend each month.  Now if I could just get an intern to help me alleviate some of my workload, I could be pretty stress-free too!

I’m not looking forward to next month, when things will change as Panda moves back home and so do I.  We’ll get to see each other less and my commute time will double and can nearly triple.  So while it’s still August, I will enjoy it as best I can.  Work has been making me tired though!  However, I do at least quite enjoy what I do and want to go in each day.  In fact, I haven’t taken a vacation day (and I’m the only one in this time period not to take time off).  Next month I’d like to attend the Opportunity Green conference, so maybe I’ll my first days off for that.  Until then, I’ll be making the best of the good life I’m living.  🙂

Monitor upgrade

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , ,
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two monitors side by side

Guess which one I traded for which?

Workaholic?

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , ,
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I enjoy working.  The month started off slowly for me, with my workload dwindling, and after a week and a half, I had just about taken care of all my emails from the past month, followed up on as many things as I could, and caught up on some random tasks.  I had my reports done, emails answered, and time left over to get distracted.  It felt weird.  I didn’t know what to do with myself.  I’ve never considered myself a workaholic, but when I’m working, I like having plenty to do, always more than can be finished that day.  I don’t like finishing everything and twiddling my thumbs.  So by the end of two weeks, I mentioned to a coworker that I had some free time on my hands and could help if he had something for me to do.

I can really get into the zone when I’m hard at work, zoning out people passing by and other distractions.  At times, it’s hard to tear myself away for lunch, but once I do manage to (if I do…), I can let go and enjoy my meal.  And when things are slowing towards the end of the day, I can tie off loose ends and save some of the work for the next morning.  I don’t generally need to stay late and have rarely stayed beyond half an hour more than usual.  I can leave work at work, but gosh, when I’m there, I do like to actually work.  Maybe because being productive makes my time feel worthwhile.  Maybe because it makes the time fly by.  Or maybe just because I really do enjoy the work I do!  It’s a great feeling and I’m really glad I came across a job that is such a steal.  I don’t mind getting buried work during the day.

It’s wonderful to have a job like this, that I can work hard at and feel good about, with no complaints.  I really can’t think of anything I dislike about the job.  I remember anticipating full-time work and the horrors of getting up every day at the same time, not getting a summer break or the various other vacation times, and a whole slew of other things that people hate about the daily grind.  But I’ve got a great deal – I don’t need to get up earlier than 8:30, I don’t have to shove down lunch in half an hour (unless I want to), and I have fun coworkers and supervisors.  It’s no wonder I like to go in to work (though I admit I still have trouble waking up in the morning) and be a good, productive employee.

So yay for the new opportunities that are filling up my schedule once again.  A slow day or even a slow week may be nice once in awhile, but I’d rather be busy getting things done.  I don’t think I’m a workaholic in the strictest sense, but in many ways – healthy ways – I can be.

Financial intelligence

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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My mom lectured me about smart financial moves today and though I was tired and didn’t really want to think about it, she makes a good point.   I can save a lot of money if I take advantage of tax breaks, save and invest wisely, and limit my spending.   At this point, I don’t really want to think about it and plan for it, but it really is the time to start as I get a steady paycheck.  Unfortunately (and despite one of my majors being Economics), I’m not really interested in the financial field and have little patience for all the complexities of it.   At the same time, I can save a lot of money by knowing how to handle my money smartly and not pay a financial advisor to figure that out for me.

It’s a bit of a dilemma because I just don’t have the interest, but the stakes are pretty high and the ultimate benefits do warrant a closer look.  As of now I’ve been letting my Roth IRA money sit there, whiling away, but what I need to do is invest it in a somewhat aggressive mutual fund or index or something.  There are many other things to do, such as figure what areas of tax avoidance I can take advantage of (note that that’s not the same as tax evasion, which is illegal).  I need to put in a lot of time and effort into this area, but I just don’t have the interest.  I wish I could just let someone else handle it, but why spend good money on something I can learn myself?

At least if I start early in my working life (like now), I’ll be setting myself up for a better future that will be able to ride out the periodic financial downs.  I just wish it wasn’t so complicated.

Sickness

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , ,
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It’s the time again, when people’s sinuses get the best of them and somehow spring brings with it no shortage of colds.  I got sick last week and coughed my way through many days before the temperature of the office was thankfully brought up to less than freezing.  Interestingly, the guy sitting next to me was out sick the second day I was ill, then when he returned the following day, the guy next to him was out!  Must have been passed on between us.  😛  One of the guys at a company we work with told me he got sick and was out yesterday too.  Yeesh, the bug is getting around.  Have you gotten it?

Now this week I’m not sick, but my nasal cavity is still not at its best.  This morning I lost my voice a bit and this week Panda has been borderline sick as well.  I joked that since I probably gave it to him, I’m not going to get it back from him – no tag-backs, right?  So I’m not afraid of getting sick again, but I do need my throat to cooperate before I’ll be back to normal again.  It sucks when you sound like you’ve just woken up throughout the entire work day.  I’ve been drinking warm water and wearing two jackets all week, but obviously that hasn’t worked as quickly or effectively as I had hoped.

So all you healthy people out there, beware!  Eat some extra fruit, drink some extra water, and stay warm.  Before we know it, this will all be over and summer will be in full swing.  I can’t wait!

Welcome to my office

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: ,
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I work at a really cool place. There aren’t many of us, so a lot of the furniture seems to get neglected, but hey, at least we’re ready for guests!

front desk in reception area

The desk that nobody sits in.

leather chair in reception area

The leather chair that hardly gets used.

gray sofa in reception area

I've only ever used this as a prop for my plants so they could get sunlight.

built-in coffee maker in kitchen

This coffeemaker isn't used nearly as much as it should be - instead, the guys find themselves going over to Starbucks multiple times a day.

staircase as seen through wall

I can't quite figure out what the walls are made of - sometimes it is opaque, sometimes it is translucent. Here you can see the stairs behind the wall that my desk faces.

black rolling chair

I love that the chairs are a bunch of bungees - it's great for my fiddling hands to play with!

Note that my neighbor used to be a dog (see his bed and toys?), but he got relocated when we got ourselves a new guy to go there.

flat screen tvs on walls

We've got a bunch of TVs scattered around so people can enjoy the music videos/sports competitions/movies that are played throughout the day.

my desk

And that's my desk! Got a phone, laptop, second screen, external keyboard and mouse, lamp, photo, and even a mini water cooler!

Other gem to note: the random machine at the end of the entryway, which gets used for only seconds at a time.  There’s also weights and a bench in another section (not pictured).

Heated debate: religion

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I came across a TED video of Sam Harris about a week ago, which then prompted me to get his book, The End of Faith, to see what his reasons are for not only not believing in religion, but saying that such an institution is actually destroying us.  I usually don’t come across such strong opinions against religion, so I was definitely intrigued.  I’ve gone from not really caring to thinking about believing to trying to believe and back.  I settled somewhere between agnostic and atheist and haven’t really explored it since.

At work, I mentioned the premise of the book to two coworkers and one of them happened to find this YouTube playlist on Reddit that very night.  He shared it with me and I spent the night listening to this discourse (don’t worry, it’s very much in English, the intro just happens to be in Spanish because it was held in Mexico – I was confused at first too!).  It’s interesting to see how everything panned out – this is obviously a very hot issue, and one that people find very personal.  Tempers inevitably flare when people with opposing views try to talk some sense into each other.  I was almost more interested in their interactions and what they chose to focus on to support their opinions than the actual points themselves.

Admittedly, everyone brought up good points that are worthy of some pondering.  I was also amused by the last guy, who was a bit of an outcast, not fitting in with either camp and actually the very type of person that both sides could probably agree to dislike.  He seemed to best fit and agnostic point of view, dipping his toes onto either side.  Neither here nor there, so he became the pariah, pointing out cons to both points of view.  I could sympathize with him, since I don’t like the idea of outright blasting the other side (no matter which side you are on).  I’ll just continue to read the book I have (and the follow-up, Letter to a Christian Nation) and see what I may learn in the process.  I’m sure there will be a lot to consider.

Technomary

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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When I was up in Ojai for a lovely weekend away, my boss from the internship with Opportunity Green called me “Technolo-Mary” during dinner, which struck something in me.  He had been referring to how I seem to know all the newest gadgets and services out there.  It made me realize that I really am a great resource for many new technologies that have come about in the past couple of years.  I liked that someone as techy as he (he got a degree in engineering and is awesome at all things related to building and maintaining websites) found my knowledge useful enough to consider me a valuable go-to person.

I do like to stay on top of things, whether it’s things like Google Voice, Dropbox, and reQall or more of things like new social media forums, mobile technologies, and many more.  I’ve always loved to learn more about technology, so anything new captures my attention and I like to spend time learning more about it.  If I like what I see, I’ll usually go on to become an adopter and even spread the word.  That’s what I’ve been doing with CauseWorld, which is a great app for your smartphone that allows you to choose where sponsors’ money is donated.

I really enjoy troubleshooting (for the most part) and solving problems through logic and trial and error.  Also, it’s rewarding to discover the best technical solutions for everyday issues, like streamlining processes.  Whether it’s organization, documentation, or retrieval, there’s probably a better way to do it than the one you’re doing now.  I’m all about efficiency and effectiveness, which is probably also why technology fascinates me so much – it solves a lot of our problems and saves us a lot of time and effort!

Perhaps I should start a help line called “Technomary” – not “techno Mary,” but “tech-nom-ary.”  A play on technology and Mary AND -ary as a suffix that means “having to do with.”  It’d be a fun name for a tech blog, if I were to ever write one.  It could be a cool place to get answers for your “Dear Abby” type tech questions like how to convert a scanned JPEG into a PDF or what type of free phone services there are.  Hmm, now there’s a thought…

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