General, Uncategorized

The Point of Ignorance

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In my experience, starting a new job is marked by a number of distinct benchmarks, by which you can chart your progress (this is the leading trait that distinguishes “starting a new job” from “occupying a fledgling democracy in the Middle East”).

I have reached the Point of Ignorance this week, and I find that encouraging. This is a time during which you feel fairly comfortable with the people, procedures, and surroundings, because your co-workers or supervisors have voiced their assurance/confidence in you, and you’ve personally noted successes that lead you to think they’re correct.

However, there is a Major Screw-Up looming on the horizon, which you will be guilty of perpetrating due to your ignorance of a little-known procedural point or little-used policy. The event will remind you that, despite your confidence, it will take time to master all the nuances of this place, but at the same time, you will have the evidence of those minor successes that leave you with the notion that you CAN, in fact, adapt.

So I’ve gotten a lot done already this morning. Time to carry on with that.

General, Uncategorized

Drowsiness?

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The last couple nights I’ve had trouble getting right to sleep really early, so that I can get ‘plenty of rest.’ On Sunday night, I didn’t go to sleep until shortly after midnight, and last night I sat awake in bed until about 12:30. Last night I was going to archive some old emails over to the server, but I wound up reading them instead. I’ve said it before, but I’m repeating because it’s true: I was funnier in 2003. I started to lose it in 2004, and by 05, I was the dense, festering lump of flesh you see before you today. Not sure what happened there.

But I digress.

Point was that in spite of not getting what one could call a desirable amount of sleep, I was up before the alarm both days, ready to get moving at about 5:40. Yesterday, I didn’t even hit a wall later in the day or whatever.

But, I did notice this morning that I was a little groggy when I got off the bus, and I think it’s because I was reading. I don’t know about you, but any time it’s late and I can’t fall asleep, I just open a book, and unless it’s remarkably compelling, I will be out in under 10 pages. I’m pretty sure I was dealing with the same effect here.

So, no more reading on the bus on the way into work. Unless it’s just the paper (i.e., Internet). That’s still OK. Newspapers are short, relatively speaking.

Also, listening to Streaming soundtracks this morning, and the main title from E.T. is waaaaaaay too long.

I really don’t like that movie.

General, Uncategorized

My Problem, or Yours?

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So pretty much right when I started working here, another one of the fin aid advisors is taking a new job in Madison (I thought about applying for that one, actually).

I was thinking about whether or not it would be nice to have another male come in to the fold and join our little ‘unit.’ I haven’t worked in a lot of places with other men. I don’t know what that says about me. The last one was WTMJ, and we all know how well that worked out (I don’t think it had anything to do with the gender make-up of the staff, though).

At UWO, my supervisor was a man, but he was kind of old enough to be my dad, and we didn’t have much in common. Plus, I don’t think it’s easy to be chummy with one’s boss.

Here, there are plenty of other men working in the department, but none directly in my ‘unit.’ The biggest thing that I differ from my immediate colleagues on is the length and depth to which situations and/or procedures should be examined/analyzed. I really appreciate having the least discussion necessary, and moving ahead with the solution or approach that makes the most sense. If it turns out that it doesn’t work, I look at it as a lesson for next time. I don’t feel like imagining every conceivable scenario in advance is always the best use of time.

While I would certainly appreciate another ‘male’ perspective on this and other topics, I also get a little apprehensive thinking about how I and the new man would be naturally expected to ‘get along,’ but that may not be the easiest thing for me. At times, I’ve been guilty of having a first impression of someone that is way off, and it gets awkward when I no longer want to associate later on, but enough time has elapsed that I’m ‘stuck.’ In relations with women, this is a lot easier to overcome, because it can simply be chalked up to “gender issues.” I dunno, this is probably just a personal anxiety issue. I have some problems.

Anyway, that’s what I’m working on today. I also need to try to figure out when/if I’m going to get some time off to move, and where I’m going to move to. I had some thoughts and conversations over the weekend that freaked me out about buying real estate again, but it still might be the best thing (as opposed to renting).

Oh, and this was interesting: I walked home from work to Jen & Joe’s on Friday. About 8 miles. It took me roughly 2-and-a-half hours.

General, Uncategorized

100% Paperless?

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I was getting some work pushed through this morning, and I realized that there are times that trying to go “all-digital” is more trouble than it’s worth. I was scouring through the network share for a couple minutes, looking for a form, when finally I realized, “I could have been done with this if I just wrote it down on a piece of paper.”

I’m all about not having tons of paper sitting around the office, and I hate file drawers, chasing around for information, etc. But there are some simple things that a damned memo pad is still the best and easiest thing.

I wish the forms and the procedures manual at work were better organized. It would make things a lot easier. I don’t think that falls into my job description, though.

I’m working on setting up a time to take a look at a couple of the condos I saw listings for earlier in the week. I sent an email the mortgage dude at the bank and he suggested that I look at some properties that would be a little more expensive as well. I just don’t know. It seems like the numbers he sent me are within the range that *I* know I could afford for housing. Like I said to Michelle, it just makes me want to talk to lots more people about this before I make any decisions. Buying a house is sort of a big deal, right?

OK, well my lunch is just about over and I didn’t actually get to eat. The union was mobbed with new freshmen and their parents. Gotta love orientation. Say it with me: I’ll orient you in the FACE.

General, Uncategorized

Shooting for a Positive Perspective

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I caught myself thinking again this morning about how I’m 28-plus and I’m still not doing the things that I thought I would or could by this time.

The positive spin that I found was: I’ll probably live more than 28 more years. Hell, I’ll probably live more than 30 more years. So, there is still the potential of “doing what I want to do” for the majority of my life.

This is especially true if I only count my adult life. Tons of that left to go.

Enjoy your Monday.

General, Uncategorized

That IS a Good Idea…

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My folks (mostly Mom) have been telling me that when I move this time, I should think about buying a home. They think I should do this despite the fact that I have no money for a down payment, and I’m struggling to find a place that I can afford to rent in Milwaukee.

At first, this didn’t seem very feasible. But, after filling out some pre-approval paperwork with my bank and looking at some listings for condos on the web that Mom sent to me, it might turn out to be a good idea. I’ve said for a while that if I can own a place for the same price that it’s costing me to rent, why not?

So, I’ll make some calls tomorrow and we’ll see what happens. There is potential for excitement here…

General, Uncategorized

Next Step

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I did mostly housekeeping sort of stuff up in Oshkosh this weekend. I had some stuff that I needed to pick up, some I needed to drop off, and just being at home was nice, of course.

I canceled my cable earlier in the week, so I had to drop the modem off at the Time Warner office. It’ll be nice to not pay that bill this month. I really wish the Interwebs were cheaper.

Starting next week, I’m going to get on the packing train. It’s hard for me to get ready to move when I still have no place to move to. What am I going to do if my lease runs out and I still have nowhere to go? I mean, like where will I even forward my mail? I am tiring of the whole situation, and I feel like I don’t have the time to make a good decision about how to proceed.

Right now, I’m at the Mundschau’s, cuz there was some stuff I needed to do online, and of course, that didn’t happen yesterday/this morning.

Best news of the weekend: Brewers finally win a series, ya-ay.

Back to it.

General, lists, Uncategorized

Present, If Not Accounted For

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Lemme just break down the high-level stuff for you this morning:

– Memorial Day: good. Drive was OK. Tough getting out of town on I-43, but it loosened up sooner than I thought it would. I got about 42 miles/gallon on the trip. Helped Dad with splitting/stacking wood on Saturday, then on Sunday, the splitter puked. Dad’s afraid he needs a new engine or something. That could suck. Sunday, I met Petters out at the T-Bird. It was my first time there since Knitt was drinking, but pretty much all the same people were there. I think I even saw one of Knitt’s uncles or cousins or whomever.

– Work: fine. It’s all the same crap that I was doing before, but with less hawking. I’m starting to get a sense of the office cliques and figuring out who-hates-who. I was recruited for one of the groups and shot down membership by effectively stating, “I don’t give a good goddamn about any of that shit. I work, I go home, I come back.”

– Apt search: sucks. I passed on a 2-bdrm on WI Ave after Michelle talked me back into my actual price range. I also have no chance of purchasing a home for the foreseeable future. Not that I was really desperately itching to do either, but that revelation also made me realize that I probably won’t be able to afford getting married or having a kid any time in my 30s.

– Brewers: on notice. Went to the game last night w/ Lorch for zero monies (he had vouchers for free tix from eating pizza). It was nice to see them finally get a win, but one cannot escape the fact that in any other division, this team would have squandered a substantial lead.

– Time: out for now.

firing from the hip since 2002