No More AADE!!!

Thank goodness my last workday was yesterday! I met with HR in the morning, so I knew I would not have to report to work today. So, I was happy! I finished up all my work, by 1pm, received the call from my new workplace regarding orientation for Monday…YES!!!! So, I have been estatic since that point!
I had my exit interview at 3:30pm and departed for good before 4pm!!!
I felt so good that I went power-walking after I got home!!! I am so happy to be away from AADE!

Last Full Workday with Current Employer!

THANK GOODNESS!  What a bunch of whacky folks! They are still many years away from running a business effectively!  I am so happy tomorrow is my last day! 
Cons:
High volume of work without allowing time to review, evaluate and enhance the final product!
          Annual meeting
          Board certification examination
          Accreditation self-studies

Nice workstations, but I hate cubicles!!!  No privacy!

Weak, ignorant, dumb administrators.

Too much commercial influence!

Inappropriate interference by executive leadership in formation of the certification exam! They really damaged the exam by:
     Adding RNs at the very last minute.  Very sneaky!
     Selecting cronies and buddies to serve as item writers.  Hand picked item writers were not scholars!     
     They would not submit questions until they received a reference disk!!!
     They attempted to do the same with content expert panel, but I was able to recruit scholars.
     They jacked up the cost of the exam as soon as they got full ownership, so certificants are livid!
     The test vendor is comprised of idiots!

I was hired to provide and approve educational programs; but they also dumped a brand new certification exam on me!  So many problems were encountered and I never had a chance to work on what I was interviewed and hired to do!

I'm glad today is my last full day!!!  I start as a full time faculty at a college on Monday!  YES!!!

No More Turkey Neck!

I am so very pleasantly surprised!  I am approaching 3 years out from GBS and this summer, I noticed my body has remolded and I no longer have a turkey neck!  Soon after surgery, all of my tops were mock turtle necks. I needed to hide the saggy skin under my chin.  But this summer, I am back to wearing low scooped tops as I no longer have a turkey neck!  Its amazing how resilient the body can be!
I still have bat wings, but its ok as I do not go sleeveless.
I still have flubby thighs, but I have always liked tight stretch capri leggins.
I still have saggy udders.... but I've always had saggy udders.
I am so happy not to have the turkey neck as now I can show off my very apparent and sexy collar bone!!!

I Hate My Job!!!

I absolutely HATE my job.  Fortunately, I went on a major job interview last week.  I was interviewed by a panel of 9 folks. I hope I get the new teaching job!!!

Out of Town for 1 Week

Its hard going out of town for one full week.  I had to really contemplate and plan a strategy. My approach is different this time.  My plan is what to do AFTER the conference, not DURING the conference.

I believe that I did "OK".  But, I refuse to go broke while being out of town, so I attended all of the breakfast and dinner symposia to save money.  My restrictive pouch is still working, so I no longer eat everything on my plates.  But,  I have been snacking on pretzels and granola bars during down time.  When I did go out to eat, it was salads and soup.  But, I know for a fact, I have gained some weight.

Here is my strategy:
#1- No weigh- in when I return home!
#2- My first weigh-in will be 7 days after I return home.
#3- Go grocery shopping as soon as I return home.
#4- Strict high protein diet for 7 days.

No need to punish myself.  I plan to continue my love for my scale.  I'll see soon if this is a workable strategy! 

Birthday Weekend 2011

I really looked forward to my Birthday weekend of 2011. This was a fantastic weekend!

Friday- 1/2 day at work, son spent the night and I had a doctor's appointment, all went well!

Saturday- I was up at 4am to prepare my birthday luncheon:  spaghetti, baked beans.  I also had barbeque baby back ribs, country ribs, bratwurst, burgers, chicken drumsticks and cake.  Beverages consisted of sodas, punch, filtered water, and martini's.
I attended a church planning meeting and took my new Nikon camera to snap photos for the website.
Then I headed home to entertain and host my Birthday luncheon.
Later, I took my son home and then went powershopping!!!!

Sunday- I went to church, then to the cementeries where my parents are laid to rest.
I went to visit my sister, then I totally relaxed at home.  I had a nice salad, glass of Merlot, Cannoli cake and watched TV.

I am off Monday, June 20, 2011... YES!!!!!!

The best thing is that I ate very little food and when I did eat, it was Subway salads!!!!

Workplace Review on June 16, 2011

I am absolutely disliking my workplace again.  I will give it 12 months, then I will QUIT!  This week was awful, here is why:
1. Meeting yesterday- staff upset and wrongly blaming me for an issue in place BEFORE I even started working there! Application going to vendor that includes membership fees.  Now company not getting membership fees!  I am pulled in the middle of this shit!!!!
2. I worked on 2 huge applications with over 100 sessions.  Little input from staff on usual procedure.  Now questions popping up.
3. Huge exam being built.  Review groups are tainted with buddies of owner.  No scholars.  Fucked up exam.
4. No opportunity to develop huge programs.  Rush as soon as I arrived.  Programs are indeed major!
5. I will start job search in Fall/Winter and get ready to leave in 8 more months!

Frozen Fingers in June!!!

On Saturday, I attended an outdoor grand graduation ceremony.  I arrived at 9:30am. Even though it was the month of June, its was cold, rainy, cloudy and a bit windy at times. The ceremony was very nice.  But by 10:30, I was so cold, I could not bend my fingers!  By the lunch break, my fingers were so cold and stiff, I had to eat my sandwich like a BEAR!  I never imagined this type of consequence from rapid weight loss.... loss of fat insulation from my fingers.  Not an issue in the winter months, but JUNE????  LOL!  Lesson learned... Carry gloves at all times to compensate!  Even though my fingers were frozen, I say NO THANKS to fat insulation!

I regained sensation and movement in my fingers about 1 hour after arriving home.  I left the graduation ceremony right after lunch.  The ceremony was not concluded until 4pm!!!!

Resigning This Week!!

I retired in January of this year.  I started working full-time one week after I retired.  I was very excited to be in this new workplace.  But, after almost 3 months, I am very unhappy and prepared my letter of resignation yesterday.
Here are the problems:

• I was hired to prepare and submit two specialized accreditation reports. Both reports are due in July, but I was sacked with so much work, I have not been able to even touch those crucial assignments.

• I have been the lead person for their certification program, but  I have been required to make statistical decisions.  I am not a psychometrician.

• I have had to fully re-vamp their approval program which has further removed me from working on the 2 urgent accreditation reports.

• I have been involved with certification customer service about 75% of the time.

• I am responsible for the webinars and the follow-up with speakers is horrible!!!  Too much chasing down of speakers.

• Huge annual meeting is coming up soon and I have to redesign educational content on about 150 educational sessions in about 2 months.

• New assignments are on deadlines, so there is no opportunity to evaluate the quality of the newly developed assignment.

• There is a type of symposium that is for customer relations with commercial entities.  I am involved where I have had to prepare the discussion guide.  This takes me out of the office to complete the literature search and collect articles.  This takes a long time and pulls me away from my crucial assignments.  Another one of these unneeded sessions is coming up in June, but I will be gone before then.

• An administrator messed up planning the symposium, so I had to spend time correcting a simple something a clerical person failed to see through.

• The approver unit, messed up before my arrival, had a major problem and someone got testy with me.  NO ONE GETS TESTY WITH ME!!!!

• The administrator decided against me that a computer based test would not give immediate pass/fail results.  This will be a big big problem in June!  I aint dealing with it!!!  The statistician could not explain why he wanted it that way.

Overall its too much work, too many deadlines.  This has been a very undesirable job.  NO ONE will be able to fill the position.  The position has had a very high turn-over anyway.

End of Work Week 3-26-2011

I have been at my new job for about 6 weeks now. Those were the fastest 6 weeks ever! It is an extremely busy work place with a high turn over rate. Most of the employees have been there for about one year and less than five years. Go figure.

I enjoy being busy. Its good exercise for the mind. But, the busy-ness has to be related to goals of accomplishment. We'll see how things go.

I now take the bus to work which is pretty nice with the CTA Transit Tracker.

I am busy at the computer system at work, so I am rather sedentary. But, I make a point of going out for a 30 minute walk every day at lunch, regardless of how cold it has been.

When I get home, I'll chat with my son and sister. Then, I'll relax and fall asleep after watching The Office... I love that show.

I went and had my taxes done, that was a very long day. Thank goodness my accountant uses a tax organizer. I spent one full weekend doing my taxes on that tool, so it was easy for my accountant to make corrections then send off my electronic stuff to IRS. It only took one hour even with an organizer! WHEW!

I have a total chill out Saturday today. I prepared for today all week. I did laundry yesterday morning at 3am! LOL! So, this morning its blogging and reflecting.

Reflections on Friendships

What is a "friendship"? Friendships are balanced relationships. The relationship has to consist of the communicator and the listener. The roles will be exchanged in order for a friendship to exist.

When a person reaches out to talk to someone, that person has to reciprocate by listening at some point. When I am contacted by someone who whines, complaints, wail, groan and generally bitch non-stop that is a very toxic person. But it gets worse. When the habitual complainer goes as far as to call by phone that is very intrusive. When folks call by phone, it interrupts my free time, my me time and my time for relaxation.

Some folks have positioned themselves to bitch and complain so much that they get to the point that they will not be a listener when its their time to listen.

When I check my caller ID and recognize the complainers number, I no longer accept the call. If you cannot receive my calls or return my email with a note of support, but think they can call me, well that time has come to an end.

If you only call me for me to listen to you complain, bitch and whine about your life and work life, FORGET ABOUT IT. I no longer receive those calls. Do not call my home phone and do not call my cell phone.

Remember, friendships complementary, when I listen to you, then you in turn must listen to me. If not, forget about it.

What is wrong with folks? This issue is more extensive than I imagined! Last night, I was relaxing after a long busy work week. Someone called me who I had not chatted with for months. That person bitched and complained for about 30 minutes non-stop. Listen up bitch, I will not receive another call from you. Your shit is over.

What ever happened to nice friendly chats about the good things in life?

Folks, you all better look within and check yourself. Some of you are looking bad, REAL PATHETIC!

I am on top of your tricks. I will not fall for the "bait". Forget about leaving simple messages on my voice mail. Your simplistic game is to try and bait me to call you so that you can start wailing about your pathetic life. It aint happening! Your game is over.

Blogging-> Good for Your Soul!

Got something on your mind? Do you have a problem or an issue? Well, don't call me, blog it instead.

Blogging is this process of writing whatever is on your mind into some type of website chronicle. Blogs can be private or public. Its up to the writer to decide how much they want to expose of their lives.

Blogging is a good form of therapy. Everyone has issues and challenges. They need to talk about it. But, I do not want to hear about it. This is where blogging comes into play.

When people call others constantly wailing, complaining, fussing, griping and just generally bitching, they look bad. No one wants to constantly hear about how another person cannot adjust to life. If that is the case, go see a psychiatrist and get some therapy. I am not a therapist. I am not a psychiatrist.

Once I recognize an established pattern complaining, I no longer will allow a person to contact me.

This is when blogging comes into play. Go blog about your life. Blogging allows a person to vent their personal frustrations in coping with their personal life or work life. You may luck up where someone will read it and post a helpful comment. It may hurt, but it will more than likely be truthful.

Blogging is not intrusive. When a person calls another and starts the pattern of wailing and complaining, it becomes obnoxious and repulsive. Telephone calls interferes with another person's free time and time for rest and relaxation. When a person is verbally complaining on a phone call, that person is not listening. Hence, it becomes a one-way repulsive phone call.

Last night while I was relaxing after a very busy work week, I got a call. I had never chatted with that person on the phone, so I was a bit surprised. For about 20 minutes non-stop, that person complained the entire time. Needless to say, I will never accept a call from that person. Thank goodness for caller ID! YES!!!!

However, folks need to release and vent.... but not to me. Go blog it.
Give it a try.

My Workplace: A Tale of Two Employers

In less than 2 months, with a change in workplace, my average work day has changed significantly!

O=Old workplace
N=New workplace

O- Drove to work daily, parking expensive, too many speed bumps and difficult parking situation.
N= Take public transportation.

O=Got paid for lunch break
N= No pay for lunch break

O=No office / shared office
N=Dedicated high tech and efficient work station

O=No coffee, hassles with coffee, unwelcoming morning atmosphere.
N= Large canisters, many options for variety of coffee.

O= No water, cafeteria workers attempting "shake downs" for cup of water.
N= Purified water systems in office locations.

O= No meetings with supervisor since 2003
N=Weekly update and planning meetings with supervisor.

O= No motivation, no recognition, no enlightenment.
N= Ongoing feedback, mini birthday gatherings once a month.

O=No privacy with paychecks. Every whore in hospital able to see paychecks.
N= Private disbursements done electronically.

O= Since 2001, time clock/swipe system. Unprofessional
N= Clock in daily, very professional

O=Lot of physical work, covered 3 separate buildings.
N= One office.

O= Physically active, but unnecessary.
N= Go out for 30-minute walk at lunch time.

O= Lots of co-workers, but 90% seeking someone to listen to their problems (Go find a shrink!!!!)
N= Focus on work, no games, no chatter no idle time.

O= No investment toward professional development.
N= Demands are high, so good amount of resources dedicated toward professional development of employees.

I am not saying the new workplace is a panacea, but in comparison, there are startling differences.

Dinner Meetings

Do not under-estimate the purpose of dinner meetings. Each month, I try to send out notices of dinner meetings to my professional nursing colleagues. These programs are controlled and not open to the public. The meetings usually impart important information about some type of medical intervention, be it a medication or a medical product.

Even though I take public transportation to work, I try to make it to the dinner meeting 30 minutes before they convene. The 30-minute early arrival is social time. A long time friend and colleague of mine got a chance to chat before the dinner program last Wednesday. It was a nice social time. No complaining, no wailing, no groaning or such. Very decent chat.

During the program, the focus is on the speaker's information. The focus is learning.

After the presentation, then there is an opportunity for networking and chat. But for me, after the business meeting, I am on my way home. It would have been a long day.

My blog-point is that dinner meetings serve 2 purposes, socializing and learning. Most of us are busy during the work week, so there is little time for chatter. Do even think about calling me on a weekend! My weekends are "me time" and church time.

Yes, I have been blogging all morning about conversations, communications and relationships. But, this week has been absolutely outrageous and to call it ridiculous would be an understatement.

I'm just sayin.....

READ MY BLOG. JANETS BLOGOSPHERE!! YEAH!!!!

I Will Never Be A Thin Person!

That's right.  I will never be a thin person.  Yes, I have reached a normal BMI.  Yes, I have lost over 120 pounds.  Yes, I am down to a size 8.  But, the day that I going around thinking that I am a thin person with a high metabolic rate, its over for my thinness. 

• I will always have to weigh myself.

• I will always have to avoid sweets as much as possible.

• I will always have to maintain portion control.

• I will always have to avoid soda TO KEEP FROM INFLATING MY POUCH!!!!!!

• I will always have to maintain a high protein low carbohydrate ratio in my food choices.

Physically, I may be a thin person, but mentally I am still fat with fat eating habits that I have to keep under control.

Facebook: No Updates About Las Vegas!

There are so many stalkers on Facebook.  I am not referring to strangers. Instead, family members and friends are stalkers.  I have made this observation over the past year.

I used to enjoy spending time posting updates on Facebook, but I noticed that as more and more family and friends learned and connected to Facebook, the patterns of stalking started.

Here’s an example:  I enjoy traveling to Las Vegas for rest and relaxation.  I am not a gambler or big time player, so I am very boring.  I do not do the the buffets, but I enjoy the ambiance of Las Vegas Boulevard.  Plus, I enjoy just relaxing in a nice comped hotel room or suite.

I used to post photos of the airports and sites in Las Vegas on Facebook…. up until last year when I had to stop that practice. Distant relatives would post, “Oooo can I go with you next time?”  “You didn’t tell me you were going to Las Vegas!  I wanted to go too.”

Once, I went to Vegas for no reason, but a co-worker who now lives there hounded me the entire time I was in Vegas.  She wanted to take me around.  But, I was staying in the beautiful Palazzo and wanted quiet time in that lovely suite.  I has hounded and harassed the entire time by this former co-worker.

I have a cousin who insist I visit his sister who recently moved to Las Vegas.  Well, that cousin is not hospitable.  She makes it known she is not interested in others visiting her.  Stop bugging me!!!
So, nowadays, I never mention Las Vegas on Facebook.  Folks are just too intrusive.

Attention Facebook stalkers:  

• You are never invited to join me in Las Vegas.  I have never invited you and never intend to invite you to join me.     

• When I am in Las Vegas, if I want to connect with you, I will contact you.  Otherwise, leave me alone!  No, I am not going to visit any relatives there.                                                      

• Why would I leave a nice hotel to visit a relative that I never visited when they lived in the same city with me?

Folks, mind your own business when you are on Facebook.  You rarely post updates, yet, you lurk on Facebook reading others updates, then have to gall to question other folks’ updates. Facebook has changed…. for the worse!

Don't Talk About It - Blog About It!

We all have issues and challenges in life.  Sometimes we need to verbalize and get problems off of our chest.  But, today, most folks do not want to constantly hear about other folks' complaints, whining, groaning and just outright bitching. 

Some folks simply do not get it!  They call on the telephone which is very intrusive and annoying.  You never hear from the whiner until they have something to bitch about.  They tend to be self centered and dominate conversations with their personal problems.  When I contact them for a chat, they do not respond.  So, I have effectively blocked those folks out of my life.  Last week, a person who is unsuccessful at work called me constantly.  She called when I was at work, while I was home resting, early in the morning and late at night.  Her goal is to saturate me with her problems.  But, I no longer accept her calls.  THANK GOODNESS FOR CALLER ID!!

Last night another former co-worker called me.  I had never chatted with her on the phone.  But, I went ahead and answered her call.  She bitched for 30 minutes non-stop.  She complained about everyone in her work area. She said nothing good about anyone.  Well, needless to say, I will never accept her calls again. 

Working folks need to go see a therapist, psychologist or even a psychiatrist to help them cope.  I am none of those, so I no longer allow those calls to me. 

What folks need to do is blog about their problems.  Blogging is not intrusive.  Others may even leave a constructive comment. The truth may hurt a bit, but give it a try.  Some folks cannot write, so they will not blog.  But, phone calls to me to listen to another person bitch, moan and whine is no longer an option.

LEARN HOW TO BLOG!!!!