Category: October 2017

We really did have fun at the grocery store the other day. We didn’t buy this, but John wanted to.

It’s lunch time, yay! My long lunch hour was supposed to be for jogging, but apparently today it’s for blogging.

I thought you’d find this funny. If you’re wondering why I haven’t provided you with my new work number yet, here’s why.

This list of new employee phone issues was emailed to IT a couple of weeks ago by our admin lead (and they still aren’t corrected yet). I’m removing names because this is a public blog, but “Employee 1” is me, other recent new employees are “Employee 2” etc.

• Employee 2’s name is reflected as [misspelling] upon caller ID;
• Employee 3’s name is reflected as Employee 2 upon caller ID;
• Employee’s 1’s phone will allow her to call out, but goes directly to the message ‘the extension is not answering’. Additionally, her name is reflected in all lower case letters upon caller ID
• Employee 4’s name is reflected as [misspelling], all in lower case letters upon caller ID. Additionally, there is a very outdated voicemail message on Employee 4’s phone that I cannot change because the password we were provided is not recognized.

That email went out a couple of weeks ago. Since then we’ve also discovered that all 4 of us have no voicemail, and my phone number is apparently forwarding straight to the front desk without ringing my desk (which is a good thing, and you’ll see why in a minute). Here’s what was sent by our administrative lead today.

Good morning,

Through a series of phone calls received this morning, from an exceptionally impatient gentleman; AQB Admin. staff were made aware that the number recently assigned to [Employee 1], actually already belongs to one [someone else] at the Petroleum Storage Bureau.

Upon Altura’s [phone consultant] visit to AQB. [Air Quality Bureau], to address the other pending phone problems, a new, viable number will need to be assigned to [Employee 1], please?

We have already contacted [internal IT] directly to notify him, as well, of this additional complication.

Anything your teams can do to assist us in getting these issues addressed will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

The good news in all this – I don’t have to fix it.

You know how when you step out of the shower in the morning and you check the time, and it’s 4 minutes before it’s time to leave for work and you’re not even dressed yet, and you’re like…”How did that happen?”

You decide to just throw on a pair of jeans and go. So you grab the pair on the top of the stack and they don’t fit. And you’re like…”How did that happen?”

You’re finally ready, so you go to get your keys out of your purse and they’re not there. And they’re not on the table next to your purse either. Now, how did that happen?!?

So finally you discover your keys (your house keys, your car keys, your everything keys) hanging from the front door, on the OUTSIDE, where ANYONE could have grabbed them, taken your car and entered your house. They’ve been there all night long. And you’re like…”FUCK!”

It’s interesting how they always advise people to “sleep on it” in order to get a new perspective. In my blog yesterday, I deliberately captured my first reactions yesterday to being asked to be the acting manager when Carina leaves in a month, because I suspected that my perspective would shift, and it has. Don’t worry, I’m still accepting the challenge 🙂

But for one thing, I’m no longer angry with Sandia. They have a set of priorities (their mission), and environmental compliance doesn’t rank highly in that mission. They are not obligated to me to make good use of my time if it isn’t in their best interest to prioritize that, when they have so many other priorities. Yes, my previous boss wasn’t that useful for my career, but he was probably doing the best he could. And the entire department was simply not a priority for the company.

I’m also not sure that I actually should have left earlier. I enjoyed the Sandia job fairly well until we moved to California. And then we needed the money! And it’s a good thing I didn’t get a different California job because it would have made it harder to move back to New Mexico.

In some ways my time at Sandia might have held my career back a little. But it was also a very interesting company to work for, and that experience gives me a perspective on industry that some of my colleagues here don’t have. I now regulate companies like Sandia. So it’s useful to have been on the other side of the table.

For example, some of my colleagues here think of the facilities that they regulate as one entity, with one motivation. They assume that all companies are just trying to get away with as much as possible. But it’s actually way more complicated than that. They don’t realize that the internal environmental specialists may be trying very hard to keep the company in compliance, but they may not have the support of the mission staff or the mission staff’s management. There really isn’t any such thing as “a company.” There are lots of people within companies, all with different roles, different goals, and different sets of perspectives and motivations.

I’m still somewhat surprised that my management chose me to be the acting manager. But I’m realizing that they really don’t have anyone else to do it! I have a lot of great colleagues here in other groups, but they are already very busy with the tasks of their own group. They don’t have bandwidth to be responsible for another group, unless that group is already fully staffed with experienced employees (that wouldn’t be us).

The groups are small, only about 4-6 people, so the group managers aren’t just doing management tasks; they are responsible for the same kinds of work as the rest of their group is doing. I would call it a “Team Lead” although that term is used differently in different companies too. Anyway, unless there’s a personnel issue, the management part shouldn’t take too much time. I think my biggest challenge isn’t the added management duties, it’s the fact that we’re going to be short staffed (3 of us instead of 4), and 2 of us are brand new employees. Leaving only one who knows what he’s doing! (He doesn’t want to be a manager, or I’m sure they would have asked him do it.)

I’m tired, thinking about it all. But I’m also definitely motivated to learn as much as I can as fast as I can.

I’m hesitant to even post this, because I don’t really believe it. And I don’t have any kind of official anything yet. I feel like the ink should at least be dried before I make announcements, and there’s not even any ink yet to dry. But I thought I’d go ahead and post while the shock of it is fresh.

Do you remember a week or two ago when I was in tears when I found out that my wonderful new boss, Carina, just accepted a new job at a different agency? I was so worried about who my next boss might be. First there’s going to be an acting manager – someone who is just filling in – and then eventually, some months from now, they will hold interviews for the permanent manager.

Well, it will still be awhile before we know who the permanent manager will eventually be, but apparently, meanwhile, I’m going to be the acting manager. Who me? Gulp! Like really? OMG. When Carina first asked me today if I would do it, I didn’t hardly even believe it. I’ve been there 3 weeks! I have no idea how to do my own job yet, much less hers. But apparently she’s already cleared it with her management and they’re appointing me.

Shock…fear…appreciation…I mean, I feel honored. And then, I felt really angry with Sandia. I wasted so many years busting my ass for that company, and volunteering for everything, and doing all the leadership training they offered, and taking initiative and being proactive and getting things started and making improvements, constantly hustling whatever projects I could hustle…and their appreciation level was zer-fucking-o.  And to think I came close to wasting the entire rest of my career there. I got nowhere for 7 f-ing years at Sandia, and then I spend 3 weeks with the state and they’re promoting me.

So let me tell you, if any of you are in a job right now where they are not valuing your contribution, and not actively supporting your attempts to learn and grow and become even more valuable to the company – get the hell out. Your time is worth more than whatever they are paying you. You only have one life to give. Don’t waste it on people who don’t appreciate it.

I think I’ll be taking on the manager duties about a month from now, right around the time I’ll be moving into the townhome. Stressful maybe? Yep. I guess I just learn as much as I can between now and then.

Here’s our grocery list. Not so exciting. Yep, gotta buy deodorant.

Uh-oh, John’s distracted in the Halloween section. Ugh, that looks awful! But he thought it looked yummy-licious!

And here’s the ceramic Day-of-the-Dead pumpkins I saw a couple of weeks ago. That whole beautiful display is gone and there are only about 4 left, stuck between the cereal and the charcoal. They are almost sold out!

OMG, now I’m the one distracted in the Halloween section. Look at these dolls!!!! I HAVE to buy one. But which one?!?

Hey, hon, how are we doing on that list?

Maybe we should find some food to buy. I know, kale! Kale covers a lot of sins. Kale is the modern-day version of self-flogging. Kale makes up for a lot. I’ll buy two big bunches of kale (since I seem to be buying two of everything else), and then the universe will be in balance again.

Kale is the best! Particularly when you roast it in so much salt and oil that it’s basically potato chips except you get to feel good about yourself, rather than ending up with potato chip guilt.

So did I actually buy all that Halloween stuff? Yes, I bought all that stuff! It made it into the cart, right? Didn’t you learn that as a kid? Once you’ve managed to get it into the cart, you’re pretty much golden because it’s embarrassing to jettison stuff at the checkout.

But before heading home, we stopped at The Range to pick up dessert. We decided on take-out because it’s the last weekend of balloon fiesta and the restaurants are still clogged with tourists.

John got a slice of chocolate coconut cream pie, and I got a slice of apple green chile pie. Yes, apple green chile. No, it’s not just a funny name for apple pie. There really is green chile in the pie. No, it’s not a gimmick, it’s delicious. I honestly prefer it over plain apple pie. New Mexicans genuinely love green chile and it’s not just something the Chamber of Commerce makes up to amuse the tourists. It’s currently my favorite pie, even better than lemon meringue or hand-picked wild Oregon blackberries. Well, only maybe on that second one. Not sure. That’s a close one.

I didn’t take a picture of the pies, but here’s a cow. In a phone booth. It’s at the Range. I don’t know why. I guess because it’s the range, right? This would definitely be for tourist amusement. The green chile is for real. This cow is just…weirdness for when you are waiting for your pie. No, they don’t sell cow pies. I could suggest that to them.

No, the cow isn’t for sale either. I know you’re disappointed, and I don’t blame you.

Here are my new adorables. I wish I’d bought the witch too!

And the ceramic pumpkins.

They look a little funny because we didn’t have any candles, so we put headlamps inside them for the photo. Because John and I are outdoor geeks and our headlamps were already laying around right there in the living room. So much for soft candle-lit date night, right? LOL.

It’s a hot white light coming out of those pumpkins! Date night New Mexican style.