Recycle, regift and reuse

I'm all about fiscal responsibility. Yeah, I know, I'm always talking about buying neat office supplies and stuff but seriously, I am. While cleaning out Boss's office, I've rescued (at least) 198 hanging file folders, in green, olive (matte and glossy), yellow, blue, gray and turquoise, that were slated to be tossed out. The folders are in perfectly good condition. Boss didn't want to have them moved (esp since he can just buy new ones up north).

What a complete waste of money. This is one of my big gripes about working in a public institution- nobody cares about throwing money around. Oh, sure, you can't buy obvious non-work stuff, like iPods or something, but for things that could be justified, it's like a shopping spree.

Another entry of workplace misspellings- "their" instead of "there", "sing" instead of "sign".

Folders rescued-
26 green
63 matte olive
25 glossy olive
24 yellow
38 blue
17 gray
5 turquoise
182 manila folders

Grrr- stupid dept people

Okay, just because Boss has officially left and stuff doesn't mean it's a fire sale. The dept people want to clear out and touch up his office. And they believe in just tossing everything, even perfectly good folders and binders. Have you heard of recycling and reusing?

Well, then we have the 3 cackling witches (AA being one of them) who just waltz in and take file folders from MY file cabinet (okay, technically Boss's file cabinet) without asking. Um, hello?

Spelling woes

A while ago, I read an article about how people in the workplace don't know how to write correctly and properly. I'm not a grammar nut but at least I try to use correct spelling and grammar. It's annoying to have to decipher sentences just because people don't know how to proof read.

IT help

Me- Hi, I have a Mac laptop and I'm trying to connect wirelessly but the VPN isn't working.
Admin-IT-Support-Lady- Hmmm, well, we don't support Macs and we aren't involved with the wireless. You might want to call the Department IT Support people. They do take care of the wireless and I know they have 1 Mac computer that they could use to help you troubleshoot. Let me get you the number.
Me- Okay.
AISL- They might charge you, though, and you'll have to submit a request form. Unless it's something that they could just help you with over the phone.
Me- Okay.
AISL- Their number is 12345. You said you have a Mac?
Me- Yeah.
AISL- And the dept bought it for you?
Me- Yeah.
AISL- Hmmm, I wonder why. We don't support Macs because no one in the dept uses Macs.

Don't you just love it when IT people make you feel stupid? Is it ingrained in the curriculum or something? Yes, I know most people in our dept use PCs. I'm already slightly regretting getting a Mac, you don't have to make it worse, okay?

I ended up calling the university's IT support, where the nice student worker talked me through uninstalling and reinstalling the software. And it worked. And he wasn't rude or condescending.

One interesting thing, though- he asked for my login name and when I said "b-r-i-a-r-o-s-e, like Briar Rose", he paused for a second and then asked if there was just one "r". I mention this because back in May, when I was trying to install my wireless card onto my HP laptop (which was stolen in August?), I went down to the univ IT help desk and a student named Steve spent a long time helping me. And when he asked for my login name, I said "Briarose" and he asked where it was from because it sounded familiar. I replied sheepishly "it's Sleeping Beauty's name" and he responded "oh, right. Princess Aurora, right?" Probably just a coinky-dink. What is the probability that it was Steve who helped me again?

Madness

*Sigh* What an ordeal. This was the plan-

1. Pick up refreshments from coffeehouse
   
2. Pick up key to conference room from 4F-Staffer
   
3. Unlock room and set up refreshments.
   
4. -- S was to pick up & set up teleconference phone.

This is how it went-

I wander around 4F office suite looking for room W. All the cubicles are labeled W. I called 4F-Staffer's phone number which turns out to be incorrect. The student worker gives me the correct number. I call the correct number and ask for the room number. 4F-Staffer has me wait until she finishes her personal phone call. Then we find out that the conference room is already unlocked.

I run back upstairs to the lab to get a cart to transport the refreshments. There's a cart with stuff on it and EW takes his sweet ol' time emptying cart. Then I hurry to the coffeehouse- the cart makes tons of noise as you pull it. I wait for someone to find the order. A guy tells me that they could deliver the order in about 10 minutes- meaning the order wasn't ready. I tell him the room # and give him directions but it's obvious that although nice, he has no clue.

On my way back to my cubicle, Boss calls me (forwarded to my cellphone)- the visitors are there, where is EW? I go back to the lab to drop off the cart and relay the msg to EW. I get back to my cubicle and decide to call BWSec to see if S has picked up the phone. I dial the wrong number and as soon as I hang up, my phone rings. S is outside BWSec's office and she is nowhere to be found. I rush downstairs to ask another staffer for the phone.

Hopefully, by now, the coffee and goodies have been delivered, the phone has been set up and the people are all present.

Oh, what a day...

Today has been quite a day so far. First of all, since rehearsal ran late yesterday (didn't get home until after 7pm, although I didn't have to be there in the morning), I went to sleep late and woke up kind of late this morning. Then the 405 freeway was congested so I missed my usual bus and took the next one. Then I had to hike uphill quickly to get to the departmental conference and help with registration.

Only about 1/2 of the people on our list showed up. It was pretty quiet and boring so I ended up eating two bagels. And a handful of red grapes. Lunch was okay- a roll, salad (greens, red potatoes, 1/2 boiled egg) and grilled salmon. Dessert was a small key lime tart w/ whipped cream on top. It was pretty good except that the tart crust is a bit difficult to cut. And some crumbs got stuck in my throat and I coughed and coughed until a couple of tears came down my face. No one noticed, though.

It's been a while...

I know, I haven't been around. Well, here I am. You may be seated.

I think I've finally found what I want to do when I "grow up"- I'd like to blog for a living. Not "write", because that would take some talent and ability, but "blog". Of course, I'd have to somehow make money to pay bills and stuff, but in an ideal world, that would be my dream job.

Yesterday, AA asked me to draft a letter (I really like how I do all the work in regards to Boss's relocation and she gets all the credit)- one thing I don't like about being an assistant is when I have to write for someone else. If the letter is coming from me, fine, I'll fudge my way through. But if it's "from" someone else (like a boss or colleague), I only have the bare minimum of info to include and most of the time, I don't even really understand what it is I'm trying to convey in the letter.

Anyway, I ran into her in the hallway later and she exclaimed how well my letter reads. And how a lot of people don't know how to write anymore. Yeah, like herself? She still gets "your" and "you're" mixed up. And she often leaves out commas. Which is a bit ironic because she also tried to tell me about a "funny little book" she's reading about a bear who goes into a restaurant and shoots people after it eats [yes, she's talking about that book- I haven't read it yet but I had an urge to tell her that it wasn't just any bear, it was a panda bear and that, correct me if I'm wrong, the book is not really about the bear, it's about the missing comma and the grammar.]

Back in high school, I wasn't very good at writing essays in English and history class. The reason wasn't really the fact that I didn't have a good enough understanding of the English language or of grammar (I'm a stickler for grammar and spelling), but I just didn't know the material well enough. Say I had to write a timed essay on World War I. Well, if I didn't take the time to study the dates and facts, how am I supposed to write a good essay? Or if I didn't really "get" the symbolism in Great Expectations, the only thing I can do is summarize the plot. It makes for a bad essay, but hey, I couldn't just turn in a blank sheet of paper, could I?

So, yeah, it's like that. When Boss says to draft a letter to the sponsoring agency to request xyz, but of course, you can't just write a one-sentence letter. You have to add some filler and hope that people won't notice that the body of the letter takes up maybe two inches and the closing and signature block are in the middle of the page, rather than at the bottom.

Thank you so much, AA

She sent an email to me and Boss about some outstanding reports and in the email, she writes "I know CC is on vacation this week". Um, one slight problem- I didn't tell Boss I was going to be out of the office. Not on purporse, but I forgot to fill out my timesheet accordingly and I didn't bother to email him since he's out of the country anyway. So now, it looks like I was trying to be sneaky and deceitful. Which I wasn't, since I have all that vacation and sick leave piled anyway.

Still, how messed up is that?

Been there, done that.

Voicemail message from AA:

Hi, CC. I spoke to Boss today [yesterday, Thursday] and we were talking about purchasing the new laptops and he said "get IBM, I love IBMs". You and I can get together Friday to talk about that, esp since you need to replace yours. And I guess we'll have to submit paperwork explaining your laptop, where it is [stolen]."

Been there, done that. I bought a laptop on Monday (wasn't an IBM) and I've already submitted the paperwork. I don't need to be prompted. I may be an idiot sometimes but not all the time.

Besides, who would wait a week and a half before alerting the officials that the laptop was stolen? Time is of the essence.

Wait, what just happened?

I don't believe this- my house gets robbed, my laptop gets stolen, and AA gets a new laptop? I ended up having lunch with Boss and AA today, by a quirky set of circumstances. So let's detail:

I emailed Boss about the burglary and he was sympathetic. And told me to buy a new one.

I went downstairs to get a signature and then ended up in AA's office. She wanted to talk to me and Boss about his relocation. It was only supposed to be a 5-minute conversation, but he asked if we wanted to go to lunch. As we were walking, Boss asked me if I had told AA about the burgulary. I hadn't, but I filled her in. She was sympathetic too. And then she said "yeah, CC, go ahead and buy a new laptop." And then she says "while you're at it, can I get a new laptop too? Mine is old (about 3 years)." And he agrees. Can you believe this?

Riled up by this twist of events, I ask Boss if I can buy a new printer because my current laser black and white doesn't feed paper through correctly and sometimes won't work at all. He agrees. So that was nice of him...

Yeah, that'll really happen

It's a good thing I quickly switched over to my mail program when I heard the footsteps approaching. Sometimes I'm almost not fast enough and get caught surfing the 'net. Not by my boss or anyone who matters but it's still a bit embarrasing.

"You cut your hair!" AA exclaimed. I just smiled politely and nodded. I don't think she needed to know the whole story behind my hair cut. Which, by the way, I think I need to trim my hair again- my hair seems to grow very quickly after it's been cut. Bleh.

Anyway, she wanted to show me some furniture in one of the professors' lab- it's what she's going to get for my office. It's wood-like modular furniture, which is better than that old metal stuff they got going on downstairs. Then she mentioned that she ran into S and he told her that he was going up to that univ. on Monday to look at the facilities. "The two of us (me and her) should go too!" AA proclaimed. I just nodded (politely). "I can get AAdaughter to pick us up from the airport! I'm going to talk to Boss about it and see if we can get a trip out of it!"

Yeah, like he's going to shell out about $175 each for us to go visit a facility that we're not going to be working in or have any conceivable reason to visit. Right.

Explanation, please

AA- Hi, this is AA. You're still planning to come down to [work for] the dept, right?
Me- *slowly* yeah...?
AA- Okay, good, I just wanted to check.

I could hear someone in the background, a guy's voice. Maybe the chair or Therberg (60s/m, admin), who were up on our floor, taking a look at the empty offices and the cubicle situation.

Made me curious though, why would she ask that out of the blue? Aside from the fact that COW's boss doesn't seem to be clicking with ASP (admin support person) too well. He walked into the suite this morning and said over the cubicle- "Hi, how are you guys? I survived my trip to NYC". When he didn't hear a response, he walked into the cubicle where ASP was at her computer (COW had stepped out). "Hi," he says. She responds softly "hi." He then asks "Did you hear me before?" She tells him yes, she did but she has a sore throat (so she didn't want to respond over the cube walls or something). Yeah, that's exactly how you should respond when someone is talking to you...

Admin Aide Exam

Gawd, this was a tough exam! 85 questions, 90 minutes. The first 50 questions had to do with reports and studies. Like what is the most important thing in a report- accuracy, completeness, or clarity? And then there were reading comp questions and some questions about budgets, namely what is the purpose of a budget? Finally, there were arithmetic questions and what I can't understand is what kind of nut would sit there and calculate payroll and vacation hours with paper and pencil? Isn't that what calculators are for? I even wrote that on the exam comments form- who calculates salary without a calculator?

I didn't have time to go back and check my answers for the rest of the test, not that I would have anyway. Just went over the arithmetic problems again and left. Who comes up with these tests? *shakes head*

Anyway, I didn't go to work afterwards (I'd only get 2 hours of work in before leaving for the day) so my mom and I went to the library (2, actually) and stopped by Target (bought an Xhilaration racer tank top) and Suzie's Deals (bought a black skirt). It is hot today, especially inland (South L.A. County, around Norwalk).

I doubt I did very well on the exam. I'm not a big fan of multiple-choice tests, I feel like I can at least fudge my way out of a short-answer, essay-type of exam...

Before and after

Take a look at this picture:

That's what the cubicle looked like when AA was working here. I should take a picture of it now- it is so sparse. And no post-it notes anywhere. No wonder everyone seems pleasantly surprised to see my work area.

OMG, you're here!

Wow, me at two social functions in one week. That's pretty rare.

Yesterday was the staff picnic and you all know how that went. Today, one of the researchers took us all out for lunch (he's leaving the group). We went to Napa Valley Grille which is kind of pricey. Note to self- if you don't want get your hands all greasy and un-ladylike, do not get the cheeseburger. I was contemplating on getting a salad or one of the fish dishes, but I decided to stick with the tried and true.

The food was good, although I only ate half of the burger (it was too big!) and some of the fries. And for dessert, I got the strawberry sorbet (eight dollars for three scoops!). And no wine for me, please. Water will be fine.

We walked there just before noon so it wasn't too hot. I chatted with the guy leaving and then talked to one of the other guys (2 years older than me) and he was asking me stuff about my ballet.

Then we got to the restaurant where we were seated in a separate room. I was behind S and the guy paying but then as we were going to sit down, S went to the other side of the table. I was a little nonplussed by that (what, I'm not good company? Oh well...) but I got over it and spent much of the first half chatting with the guy who was asking me about my ballet earlier.

He had to get back to the lab, though, but luckily the rest of the guys arrived and Wynne sat next to me (to the left). He was quiet, though, which is shocking for him and when I asked him about it, he nodded his head slightly towards Boss who was sitting directly across from him. I know, I felt the same way, although I'm always quiet.

Everyone (okay, just 4 people) made such a big deal over the fact that I was there. Okay, I know I don't go to a lot of these farewell shindigs, but it was kind of embarrassing. They know that it's because I live kind of far away so I don't go to the dinner events but lunch stuff I will go sometimes (i.e. if someone else is paying ^_^). Wynne offered to give me a ride home next time (he lives in the O.C.).

One of the funniest moments was when Boss left the room. Jason was trying to get Wynne's attention, but Wynne didn't hear him. So M says "hey, pang zi", which means "fatso" in Mandarin Chinese and everyone at the table starts laughing. I guess they've been calling him that for a while and I assume the Chinese-speakers explained to the few non-Chinese speakers what pang zi meant. Anyway, while we were laughing, S points at me and says "even you know what it means?!" Well, yeah, I can speak Chinese, you know, but I just laughed and nodded.

Everyone else had scarfed down their meals (esp. Wynne) but M and I were the last to get our food even though we ordered before half of the group arrived. After Wynne had finished his fish dish (which he complained was too skimpy), he was eyeing my french fries so I offered him some. He told me to go ahead and eat and he'd just take the fries after I was done. Well, if you want something, take it when it's offered. When the servers came around to pick up the empty plates and dishes, I asked them to wrap up my food for me. So wynne didn't get any fries... oh well. Tough.

As we walked back to campus (after 2pm, the whole lunch took more than 2 hours), I chatted with Jason who was asking me about my job prospects and stuff. We passed by a car with a license plate that said "I ♥ ____" (the ____ is my last name). I noticed it but didn't say anything- one of the guys who was walking behind us called out "hey, CC, look at the license plate!"

So anyway, it was a pretty nice day, although the sun was a bit hot while we were walking back. It was kind of sad listening to them talk about moving up north (they're getting a new lab and even offices for the students). Even though I gripe about them all the time, I think I will miss them when they're gone- I've known most of them for 2 to 3 years (S and Wynne, I've known since I was a freshman in college, almost 7 yrs ago)... but everything must come to an end, right?

Here are some pics of the food (bbq salmon and halibut)-

I know, kind of skimpy...

Uh, duh, even 4 yr olds know the answer

I was on the phone, listening to voicemail when a fellow staffer (40s/f) walks into my cubicle. With one ear listening to the phone, I ask "did you need something?" FS is forever asking to borrow my keycard to get into the office suite across the hall. Seeing that her cubicle is in that suite and she needs to swipe the card every time she enters, it's a mystery why she doesn't just bring her own card. But I digress...

She tells me that there's a homeless guy running around on our floor, half-dressed, a crazy. I'm half-listening to the phone, half-listening to her. She says that she can't go back to her office and her phone (because of the guy). I half-gesture towards ASP (COW's boss's other assistant) and say "ask ASP if you can use her phone to call." FS gives me a puzzled look. "To call who? I don't even know who to call." I try not to roll my eyes as I say "UCPD. University police department?" She replies "oh, okay" and leaves.

If she didn't want to call the police department, there were a couple of guys from maintenance fixing the elevator on our floor. She could have told them and maybe they would have called the building's superintendent. Or she could have called the super herself.

Do I have to do all the thinking for this dept/university? Sheesh.

Wireless bills got you down?

Boss's wireless bill gets paid by his unrestricted funds (each professor gets some money from the university who gets it from the state gov't). Currently, his contract is with Sprint, for $45 a month (500 minutes, unlimited nights/weekends, free long distance/roaming). The optional PCS Vision plan (for access to internet/email on the phone) is $10/month.

Well, Boss decides that he doesn't like Sprint anymore or maybe he just doesn't like his phone/pda. He wants to switch to Verizon. The phone/pda costs $400. The monthly plan (same specs as above) is $48 a month. For data, though, it's an additional $35. Whoa, nelly! That's $80 a month for wireless access!

And guess who's paying for this? Taxpayers. And it's not like you could even keep track of which phone calls are business and which are personal and pay accordingly (well, you could, but a professor is not going to do this).

Not to mention the $100 early termination fee for cancelling the Sprint contract. Then again, why does he care? It's not his money.

I find it really hard to work for people like him. He's not a crazy spender like some other professors are, but he's not exactly thrifty either. Once he bought a Toshiba laptop (using grant money since it is partly for research) and then when it finally arrived, he decided he didn't like it anymore. Let one of his students use it and bought himself an IBM.

It's one thing if you're the owner of a company and you want to buy each employee an iPod. It's an entirely different thing if you work in academia and get funded by public dollars. I mean, the purchases he makes are business-related... just not entirely for business... can I apply to be a conscientious objector?

I'm on a bit of a rant here so I'll just continue- he went on a business trip overseas a couple of weeks ago. The univ. has a special contract with American Airlines for this particular route plus you don't have to pay a penalty to change your itinerary. Boss says no, he wants to fly United, just because he accrues mileage. AA- $800. United- $1500. Yes, flying UA is not necessarily "wrong" but it's wasteful. Taxpayers dollars...

Just do your job

It's sad when someone who has only worked at the university full time for 3 years (me) has to teach someone who has been at the univ. for 20 years how to do something.

A student (Gwynn) has a 12-month fellowship. The transmittal form which authorizes the payment is per fiscal year (for us, that starts in July). So you have to submit a new form to cover anything in the next fiscal year.

So, Ms 20yr-experience, seeing that you have had 20 years of experience, it really shouldn't be my job to tell you about this. Even if you did just join our department recently- this is a campus-wide policy/procedure.

And as for your coworker who was handling things while the transition from the old staffer to you was going on- it's pretty sad because I emailed her two weeks ago asking about this, hoping that she would get the hint and double-check that the form was submitted promptly. But she didn't... and I couldn't flat-out ask her if she's doing her job correctly.

Say no once in a while

While utterly down in the dumps on Monday, I decided that I was tired of being taken advantage of and that I would not agree to everything anymore. Everyone expects me to go along with everything, it's annoying.

Anyway, I decided that when AA tells me that she and the visiting researcher (who is leaving tomorrow morning) are going out for coffee (with the intention that I come along), I would say something like "oh, I'm waiting for a phone call, sorry" or something like that. I don't drink coffee, I don't drink tea or soda, but most of all, I don't do coffee. Conversation, that is.

So around 11am today:

AA- Hi, this is AA!
Me- Hi.
AA- Do you know if Visiting Researcher is still here? I stopped by his office and his stuff is all gone.
Me- Uh, I don't know but I haven't seen him today.
AA- Oh. Well, I'll call S and see if he knows. Because remember, to go out for coffee?
Me- Oh... right. (trying to sound uninterested).
AA- Okay, I'll let you know.

Luckily, I think Visiting Researcher was not coming on campus today so I didn't have to go. So much for speaking up... *sigh*

So what do you do?

I just love it when people ask me what I do and I'm like "uh, well, I do administrative stuff like drafting letters and memos and also financial stuff like reconciling ledgers and preparing budgets for proposal grants". What is a "proposal grant" anyway? It should be a "grant proposal" or a "proposal for a research grant". Oh well... I guess I don't really know what I do here. I can list every single item but if you want me to summarize... yikes!

A freight company near LAX called (they saw my resume on Monster.com) and was interested in me for an administrative position. We talked briefly about my work experience (see above paragraph) and she asked me what my ultimate career goal was (I said "uh, I don't know"). Then she asked if I could stop by for an interview today (I'm wearing sneakers with a skirt! I don't think so.) but I told her that I wouldn't be available to work until after October. It says so clearly on my resume, but for some reason people don't seem to see that. She (being polite) responsded "oh, no, October?! We want you now!" But whatever- she said that if I have time for an interview, I should stop by, and she'll contact me again in October...

Well?

COW's boss stopped by my cubicle this morning at noon and said that they were looking to hire a financial manager for a project. He asked if I heard anything about the position and I told him that COW had mentioned it briefly. Then he commented that my professor wants to relocate as soon as possible and that the dept was also offering me a position. So he asked me to let him know when I decide.

Then COW IM'd me and asked if I made a decision yet. I said no and asked why she kept asking. She said it's because the former director of the project, who left the univ., sent out an email saying that they should start looking for someone. I told COW that she should take the position and hire someone else to do administrative stuff, but she said that wouldn't work because there are too many projects to manage financially.

I finally told her that if she wasn't going to take the position herself, they should look for someone else (not me). It's unlikely that I'll take that position and her constant questioning is really bugging me. So she said "ok" and that was that.

Just when I thought it was safe

BWSec(retary) stopped by and chatted. She asked what my plans were, which I told her that I didn't know, and then she basically said that she thinks the COW job would be better (more of a challenge, people take advantage of you working for the dept, etc). Okay...

After she left, COW came over and said "you didn't answer my question." "What question?" I asked, thinking that she just said it and I didn't hear. "The one about what would it take you to come work for us." Oh, that question. Asking me is not going to get you an answer so just stop.

Incentive needed

COW- So what do we have to do to get you to work for us?
Me- How about stop asking me inane questions? Or leaving me alone? That would be a start.

Of course I didn't answer as such. I just shrugged.

Torture

Work was an absolute torture today. Not in the stuff I had to do but the annoying coworkers! First, the staffer that will be working with COW's group (I forgot what pseudonym I used for her earlier) is going to be sitting in our cubicle (COW's half)- starting tomorrow. So COW was cleaning out the stuff so she'd have somewhere to sit and COW was asking me every 5 minutes about stuff like "what's the host (computer) name" and stuff like that.

And X and Nancy (two dept secretaries) were chatting about non-work stuff but instead of talking face to face, they were talking over their cubicle walls. And laughing. I tried turning up the volume on my computer (with the 'net radio playing) but nothing drowns them out. Not to mention that X tends to cuss every couple of sentences. He needs to stop that.

... well, if I do decide to take the dept (AA) job, which I probably will because I'm too lazy to look for another job, at least I'll be in an office with a door that closes. Although they'll probably expect me to leave it open for most (if not all) of the time.

Check marquee before boarding

Something that I mentioned only briefly yesterday- getting home was a pain. I hopped onto the MTA 754 at Wilshire/Vermont- there wasn't a lot of people on board, but I figured everything was normal since it was summer (i.e. kids aren't in school) and another 754 was just ahead and people must have piled into that bus.

However, at Vermont/Manchester, the bus driver announced that this would be the last stop and we'd have to get off and catch the next 754 which would go all the way down to 120th. Arg! I felt like Lisa on that episode of the Simpsons where she takes the bus to the museum only to end up near a military base. Just because she got on the 22 instead of the 22-a. (Season 9, Lost Our Lisa). I waited at the bus stop for ~10 minutes, hoping another 754 would stop but there were none in sight. So I got on the 204 (which goes along the same route, but more stops). Not to mention I had to pay again (most everyone else had day passes or monthly passes). Grrr. And then of course, a 754 (two actually) pass by, when we're about 5 minutes away from the last stop. Double grrr.

Intern interview

1:35pm- Nearly going crazy from the anticipation, I leave work 10 minutes ahead of plan.
2:00pm- Board MTA 720
2:40pm- Get off MTA 720 at Wilshire/Normandie and head east on Wilshire Blvd.
2:44pm- Twist right ankle 4 steps away from the HR building.
2:45pm- Arrived at HR building (1 hr before my appt).
3:31pm- After sitting outside and then milling around on Wilshire, I walk into the HR bldg, 1st floor. They direct me to the 10th floor.
3:33pm- Check in w/ receptionist.
3:43pm- One of the staffers takes me to interview room.
4:00pm- Interview ends. Exit building.
4:? pm- Arrive at Wilshire/Vermont and board MTA. 754
4:35pm- Get off MTA 754 at Vermont/Manchester.
4:44pm- Board MTA 204 (no MTA 754s in sight).
4:52pm- Get off MTA 754 at 120th and get in Dad's car.
5:03pm- Arrive home. Change clothes for ballet.
5:09pm- Left for ballet.

Well, I survived. Not sure how I did, though. They asked some tough questions, like describe a time when you had an assignment without input from anyone else... that didn't turn out as well as you planned. Well, geez, that means I would have failed and I don't think I've ever outright failed at anything before. So I gave some poppy-cock answer about designing a website and then having to redesign it after I decided I didn't like it anymore. It's a stupid example that doesn't even fit the question, but whatever.

After some answers I gave, the guy replied "good!". Made me feel a little better, but he was probably just being nice. Instead of having one or two people interview everyone, they had (I think) 4 sets of 2 interviewers each. So 4 interviews occuring concurrently. I think they were all one guy and one girl sets. And because it wasn't one person conducting all the interviews, they asked situational, standardized questions instead of just "tell me about yourself" or "what are your weaknesses?"

I made a couple (okay, more than a couple) of misspeaks, like I said I used MS Publisher to create files... I mean, flyers. And then one response I gave (a question about a time when I had to compile and analyze data) didn't really fit the question. I can't think fast on my feet. And then the guy was like "did you have to analyze the data or no?" and I had no choice but to answer no.

Of course, after the interview, while walking to the bus stop, I thought of a perfect example of me compiling and analyzing data (hello, monthly account status reports?!). Phooey!

I'm not sure if I want this position though. I know, my opinion switches almost daily. While sitting there, waiting for my interview, I watched the staffers and I envied their confidence and the way they just knew what they were doing. Like how I am at work. But if I leave and have to start anew somewhere, I'll be a fish out of water. And that makes me think that the AA position wouldn't be so bad. Until AA bugs the heck out of me, that is.

The bottom line is- I'm not sure if I want the job, but I want to "win" so I would always want to do well in an interview. Am I making sense? Otherwise, I'd feel like a loser for doing poorly. It's kind of like when I've auditioned for things in ballet- most of the time, I don't really want the "prize" but I want to do well too.

We'll see...

The anticipation is killing me...

I'll be leaving for my interview (the internship) soon, in about 15 minutes. And it will take me over an hour to get to the place...

Tune in later for a recap.

Converting the office

As briefly mentioned before (in a couple of posts), if I were to take the AA position, I would get my own office. No windows or natural light, but an office nonetheless. That tiny room is in between the other accounting lady (40s/f, "Erica") and one of the head admin people of our dept (60s/m, "Therberg") and currently houses the student workers that help AA and Erica (the payroll SWs sit in a cubicle near the payroll people, 3 doors down).

Hmmm, I'm going to have to make a cast list of the people on the 5th floor, with whom I will be seeing a lot of, if I do take the position.

Anyway, AA mentioned how she talked to the dept bigwig (as she wrote in the email) and he was surprised because he assumed I would continue to sit where I do know (on the 6th floor, near COW). Either that or he thought I could take one of the spots in a big cubicle area outside AA and Erica's offices.

But AA said no, she has to have her own office. Since I'll have to sit down with the professors once a month and go over the accounts with them and everything. And because perception is everything and if the professors see that you have your own office, then WOW, you must be a top-notch VIP! Even though you are just an accounting person and make less in one year than I (as a professor) make in two months. She thinks it gives it (me?) more credibility.

Um, AA, I hate to break this to you but I'm 24 years old, I have only a BA degree, I don't really know that much about accounting except Assets - Liabilities = Equity (but then again, we don't really do "accounting"), and these professors are 35+ in age, with PhDs, making $10K a month, living in expensive houses in Malibu and Pacific Palisades.

I'll need a lot more than a stupid windowless office to gain credibility.

AA position update

I was supposed to call AA yesterday morning to discuss the job duties. I forgot- well, actually, I thought she was going to call me (rather than vice versa) and I didn't want to bother.

So she came up this morning. Maybe I'm less cranky today about her and here because she seemed nicer. Maybe she's nicer when she's not afraid of me upstaging her. Or her upstaging me. Whatever.

But I did find out a couple of things- 1) she's suggesting to Boss that he use some funds here to pay for relocation costs to up north. Uh, shouldn't the university up there be paying? You want our univ. to pay for him to leave? Isn't that bizarre? and 2) I'd have to meet with professors individually once a month (or every two months) to go over their accounts with them. I think AA's under the impression that I do that now with Boss (like she used to do). Um, no, I just email him the spreadsheet and explain any questions he may have. . . before he even has to ask them. I tend to do this a lot- think of possible questions and then come up with solutions.

I like email communication better than verbal. When I tried to go over the accounts w/ Boss in person (the first few months), I'd spend all my time explaining Account A and forget about Accounts B through G. And not realize it until I was back at my desk. So emailing is superior (IMHO) because you can go over everything and you have a record of what was said or not said. Well, maybe for some, having a paper trail isn't all that (*coughEnron*).

Hey, that's taxpayers' money you're wasting!

Now that Boss has found out that he can't take his non-research money with him to the other university, it's starting to be a spending free-for-all. Book the United Airlines tickets, even though they cost $2000 compared to the American Airlines $600 flight. Just because he's a frequent flier with UA and likes to rack up those miles. And since he can't take the money with him anyway...

It's annoying. All the money, whether it be local funds (i.e. from the county and state), or the research funds (most of which are grants from the federal agencies), those are all taxpayers' money. You're wasting our money! To buy students lunch because they don't know how to plan ahead. To pay for a airplane ticket 300% more than is necessary. Wasteful spending. Grrr.

Memo to Boss

TO: Boss
FROM: CC
RE: Use of the word "liu [sic]" in earlier email

Just so you know, the word "lieu", which you misspelled by the way, means "in place of". Not "in reference to". So for your sentence (In liu [sic] of AA's email, please charge to XYZ account), you could have used one of the following phrases-

• per
• in reference to
• in light of

I'm sure I forgot other possible (better) phrases, but these are just to get you started.

Now that I am interested...

Got my test scores from the temp position exam (from Tuesday) back. Score- 79. Ouch. That's pretty low.

It's a temp position though, so I don't really care.

On a different note, the more I think about it, the more appealing the intern position seems. It's a chance to get a foot in the door and move up the corporate ladder, although since it's the government, it's not really a corporation. But you get the drift.

However, now that I am actually interested in the position, a couple of things will happen (probably all at the same time)-

• I'll fail miserably at the interview, get laughed right out of the office and not be hired.
  
• The job location will be somewhere far away, in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
  
• The job hours will be horrendous, like from 6am to 10pm, 5 days a week (yes, I know that's more than 40 hours).
  
• Due to budget cuts, the program will be cancelled, two days in... after I've declined other offers (hah!).

And so on and so forth. That's just a sampling of some of the things that can and will go wrong. Murphy's Law- and anything that has the word "law" in it has got to be true.

Email tales

Email from AA to me

Hi, CC. Give me a call when it is convenient to talk.

When I met with Bigwig this morning he said that C-Boss said he would
"back off" from pursuing you. I said (gently) that
was great, but ultimately, the choice/decision was yours. I also
mentioned that we would need the current student office
made into a single office. He looked surprised at first then
agreed. We decide it should be done by December.

My conversation with Boss this morning about you was that he
is willing to make a part of your time available for a transition period
until the end of the year (about). The advantages in doing this is
1) the office conversion gets started and that you can
help work both sides of the transition and make sure Boss is being
taken care of. Boss wasn't sure what the work load was like
and left it to use to agree on some sort of percentage.

So, now that I have you on the same page as I am - let's
get together.

Notice the typos and the whacked-out paragraph alignment. I guess she doesn't believe in word wrap because she types in hard returns at the end of each line

What I emailed her

Hi, AA. I tried calling but got the voicemail...

I am not sure how we should split up my time between my current position and working with the department- it's a bit early to gauge how much work it'll take to transfer/move everything (contracts/grants, lab equipment, etc).

We can discuss this a little later. Maybe we'll get everything squared away for the big move by the end of the summer and then I could devote more time to the dept in the fall.

By the way, what would my job duties be? I know I'd be helping you and the other accounting person but I don't think I ever bothered asking.

What I would have liked to email

I tried calling but got the voicemail (yes!) and didn't leave a message or try calling back later. The whole point was not to have to talk to you over the phone because I have a really hard time speaking up for myself and it's a little easier by email.

I don't have a clue as to how we should split up my time, except that I know that I don't want to. I'm not being a brat about this, I just don't know how much work I will have to do up here.

But if we must talk about this, let's do it later (next to never is just perfect for me). Maybe we'll get everything squared away for the big move by the end of the summer and then I could spare some time to the dept in the fall. Or everything could stall and it will take a momumental effort to get things back on track. You never know.

What the heck would I be doing for the dept anyways? You make it sound like it's some big deal or something.

Take a chill pill. Please.

Bleep bleep bleep. ! !

AA called- she had coffee with Boss and also met with the dept bigwig. So they're pushing ahead on this transition thing. Uh, anyone mention that we still have 6 months? Hello?! Anyone home? Why the urgency? I'll (still) be a mere assistant, not some bigwig. Even the President of the United States gets less of a transition period, for crying out loud.

She wants to meet after lunch so we can "discuss" things. I'd rather go to the dentist (which I will be doing on Saturday anyway, but that's beyond the point). "If you can devote, say, 25% time during the following months, that would be great!"

How am I supposed to estimate how I can split up my time? The workload here ebbs and flows. You have days where you are literally sitting around until something happens and other days where you can't even stop for lunch. How about 0% until Jan 2005? Sounds like a low-financing car deal.

Gawd, someone help me. Maybe there can be a hazmat scare and we get to go home early. Maybe the walls can just swallow her up? Or swallow me up, if that would be less of an inconvenience?

I wonder if I should bother to let them know that I am job searching elsewhere? Nah, let them sit on their laurels for now and then BAM! surprise them later (as if I can actually get hired somewhere else!).

I'm a little t'd off. Boss and the dept bigwig have been discussing my transition to the position with AA, either next year or doing part time in the fall. Now, I had told AA that I was leaning towards that position (rather than COW's position), but this makes me irritated. They are so convinced that I will definitely be staying at the university and more convinced that I would take the position with AA. Okay, the probability of that is high, but it's not 100%. Nothing is 100%.

In fact, I am considering looking for a position with a cross-town university, a rival school of the current univ. I'm at. It's a shorter commute (by bus), campus is fairly nice looking (okay, the neighborhood is less than desirable, though). And if I find something suitable (and actually get hired), there's no reason I have to stay at my current univ.

County exam- temp position

• Left home 6:47am, arrived at bus stop at 6:50am
  
• Boarded Gardena Bus 2 at 7:01am, arrived at station at 7:13am
  
• Boarded MTA 754 at 7:15am, arrived at Wilshire/Vermont at 7:48am
  
• Walked to test location (arrived at 7:54am)
  
  
• Exam Part 1- 10 minutes, 30 questions (checking errors)
  
• Part 2/3- 1hr 55 minutes allottted (75 grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, filing; 15 reading comp)
  
• started Part 2/3 at 9:03, ended at 9:49
  
  
• Walked from test location (9:51am) to Wilshire/Vermont (9:58am)
  
• Boarded MTA 720 at 9:58am, arrived at Wilshire/Westwood at 10:30am
  
• Walked to office, arrived at 10:47am.

The exam wasn't really hard, except that I probably should have brushed up on my spelling. With the dominance of computers these days and everything. If you ever have to take a county exam, go to the library and check out the sample test books. Some of the exam questions are exactly, word-for-word, from those samples.

There was a grand total of 11 people at the exam. 2 Asian females (me and an older lady), 1 Hispanic lady, 1 white guy, and the rest were black women. All were probably in their 40s or older, except the Hispanic lady and the white guy who might have been in their mid 30s. Obviously, I was the youngest...

Agencies need not respond

I posted my resume on monster.com and lo and behold, got a call this afternoon. From an agency. I have such a hard time turning people down that I end up agreeing to everything. It's a travesty.

Anyway, Mary from this agency in Culver City had seen my resume and wanted to set up an interview so she could test my computer skills, etc. And she asked if I could email her my resume since the one on monster "wasn't very good". O-k-a-y. So we agreed on 3pm tomorrow afternoon (I don't know what I was thinking). She wanted to set me up with some investment firms in downtown L.A.

By the time I got home, I realized what a bad idea this was. I'm taking an exam for a county position tomorrow morning and won't get to work until maybe 12:30pm. To get to the agency by 3pm, I'd have to leave at around 2pm which means I'd be at work for a whole 1.5 hours. Dumb idea.

So I called back and left a message on her voicemail. Basically that I wanted to reschedule maybe later tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday, I didn't know if I could find a copy of my latest resume at home, and oh, by the way? I won't be available for work until October at the earliest. And then I turned off my cell phone so she would have to leave a msg.

After ballet, I checked my voicemail- she left a msg that basically said if October is the earliest possible start date, now is way too early to be looking. So call a couple months down the line.

Perfect, perfect, perfect. I was about to call her and tell her that I wasn't interested in signing with an agency. I'm leaning towards government (i.e. county, state) careers and they typically don't use headhunters.

This is going to sound crazy...

... but I kind of wish Boss was leaving earlier than the end of the year. I don't like this state of limbo, with me not knowing what I'm going to do. I haven't been sending out resumes and submitting applications en masse because I'd feel a bit bad if I did find a job and jumped ship before Boss leaves. Even though he did pretty much say that if I find something better, I should take it rather than wait around.

Then again, I haven't really seen any openings for anything suitable. Or that I could seriously get.

Gawd, I need to find a good job elsewhere fast.

So much for "leaning towards the dept", as I was on Wednesday. Now I feel like taking the COW position just out of spite.

For sake of simplicity, let's pretend that Boss and the lab wanted to paint their ceiling neon green. We hadn't (or at least I haven't) had to process ceiling painting before and I didn't really know who to ask for help. So, figuring that AA knows about stuff, I emailed her. She called back and we discussed the situation. Then she asked me to ask Jason (one of the students) why they wanted to paint their ceiling.

So I emailed Jason and he responded. I forwarded the email to AA, just as an FYI. Big no-no right there. I should have paraphrased, summarized, anything but forward the email. AA's like a mole sometimes.

AA responds, but she copies Boss on the email. Now, it's not that I didn't want Boss to know that I had to ask AA for assistance (he probably would have told me to ask her) or anything like that. But if I am in an email dialogue with you, why do you need to bring in another person and make me sound totally incompetent? And why can't you cut Jason's email out in the reply?

Well, Boss responds to AA and me, and copies Jason! What is wrong with these people?! Stop copying emails to people who, although are involved, shouldn't be copied! And Jason emails me with a "how in the world did my (Jason's) email get to Boss?!" Luckily, Jason wasn't doing any complaining (jokingly or otherwise) in the email- could you imagine if he had?

Although I would have either deleted any complaints or something before forwarding Jason's email to AA, if there were any. We used to do a fair amount of complaining to each other about stuff, so he has fodder on me too. But gawd, now Jason will never trust me again.

So anyways, here's another example- you decide what to make of it:

AA- . . . so you'll need the IP address. I can give it to you.
Me- Or we could just print it out from the printer.
AA- *beat* Or I could just give it to you.
Me- *resigned* okay.
AA- *shuffles papers around* It's around here somewhere.

It took her a couple of minutes to find the paper. Why does she have to be so pigheaded? When I told Iruka about this, she said that AA doesn't want to be upstaged by me.

I have to make a decision now?!

It's still only June and it seems like everyone wants to know what I plan on doing. Asking me everyday (COW) is not going to make me decide faster.

Neither of them (COW or her boss) think ASP (admin support person, who is currently working on the program) can handle the financial aspects. So C-Boss asked "what about CC?" And COW told him that I was still deciding, but I didn't want to work for the dept.

I don't think I ever said that. I most likely said "I don't [really] want to work for AA". It's a personality thing, but it's not really much of an issue since she loves me to pieces.

When COW tells me all this stuff about the program and her boss and ASP and everything, I just nod and keep silent. I'm kind of like Tim Duncan in those Amex commercials- no expression.

Anyway, AA called earlier. At first, she sounded really formal, as if someone else was in the office with her. She said that C-Boss called her this morning and they talked about me- and how I didn't want to work for the dept. Which, as I mentioned above, I never actually said.

AA also got more information about the program and what it entailed. And then she said that COW had said I wouldn't be deciding for another couple of months and that she (AA) just wanted to get a sense of which way I was leaning towards. And paused.

What else could I do? I had to give her an answer, or at least a hint, right? So I told her (lowered my voice, since COW was sitting at her desk, talking on the phone), that I was "leaning towards the dept".

My response was two-fold. First of all, it's the truth. As long as I don't find another job (i.e. closer to home), I've already decided that the dept position would be better. C-Boss is too much of a loose cannon. And their projects are always really complicated. Secondly, it's the more diplomatic answer. C-Boss hasn't even talked to me directly about the position (which is kind of good, because I don't know how I'd respond), so why should I even consider it? Everything I've gotten about that spot has come from COW, AA or other people.

After I told AA what my inclinations were, she sounded so relieved. She went on to say that I still have time to decide. I hope AA keeps these comments to herself (which she said she would). Although it's obvious that nothing stays secret for long around here.

Scoured the online listings for jobs again. Nothing new.

My mom wants me to apply for an L.A. County senior secretary position. Never mind that you are supposed to have at least 1 year experience as an L.A. County senior secretary. Well, whatever. If they do let me take the written test, the score can be applied to other administrative positions. So it won't be a complete wash. Although, if I was the person in charge of the applications, I'd think that the applicant can't read and follow directions. Oh well.

Little Miss Know-it-all

People seem to think I'm omniscient (that means all-knowing or knowing everything, in case you didn't know) or something. COW asks me questions about the freeways and traffic (hey, I don't drive, I shouldn't have to remember this stuff!), Iruka asks me stuff about grammar and diction (I'm a stickler for correct English usage), my parents ask me for help with computers (everything from Word to Excel to Acrobat), one of the secretaries needs me to help her with our purchasing software... I'm even clearing out unpaid invoices for orders that don't even belong to our group (or our dept for that matter). Vendors don't bother contacting Accounts Payable or the person who placed the order.

I don't really mind, because I've always been Little Miss Know-it-all and any time I can show off what I know, the more the merrier. But still, it makes me wonder what people would do without me. Be more self-sufficient, probably. I pride myself on being self-sufficient, so I don't really understand people who constantly have to ask for help.

I guess maybe I just have a low threshold for embarrassment. Very thin-skinned. So I try to avoid putting myself in situations where I could be embarrassed.

Little Miss Do-Gooder

I'm such a little do-gooder at times. You know how you can get forms (pdf files) on the internet? Well, some of them you can type and print, but others you have to print and either use a typewriter or write by hand. Unless you have Adobe Acrobat, that is. You can add fields to the form and type. And print. And save.

So I've been doing this to all kinds of forms that I download from the web. Request for transcripts? No problem, let me the necessary fields and type. Job applications? Easy as pie. It's not so much difficult to do- it's just a little time consuming.

I even considered sending the updated form back to the people who issued them so that they can distribute the new and improved form to people. Gosh, I have problems.

See, Boss, this is why I give you a spreadsheet every month detailing the financial status of the accounts, including how much funding we have received to date and when the next increment will come in. But you still need to ask me if the allocation today is correct because it seems low? It was exactly the amount listed on the spreadsheet. I thought the spreadsheet was self-explanatory...

Confession

I have a confession to make- there are times at work when I have absolutely nothing to do. Nothing! Not that I want to be busy as a bee (believe me, I don't) but sitting there for hours on end, staring at the gray cubicle walls gets a little boring. Even the internet fails to provide some interest.

I probably shouldn't be admitting this, but since I'm sitting here at home, after dinner, I just have to get this off my mind. While AA was in my position, she had stacks of papers everywhere and piles upon piles of "action items". COW, while she comes in late and leaves late, seems to be busy all the time (well, when she's not chatting on the phone).

I really don't get it. It can't be because I'm lazy and let paperwork pile up- I'm quite good at pairing up the orders with the packing slips and filing them away. COW has a stack of orders and packing slips about 3 inches high that need to be paired up. She was amazed by my efficiency. I've organized the orders in the old accounts. Tossed out multiple copies of unfunded proposals (AA never threw anything away). Streamlined the filing system. Created a couple of websites. AA never did anything with websites (she's not that familiar with the internet) and she was swamped with work. Or maybe she was just pretending?

I technically work less than 40 hours a week (I work 7 hours three days a week and 8 hours the other 2 days- without a lunch break), but in actuality? I usually have time to surf the web, chat with COW (well, she goes on and on and I wonder when she'll go back to her desk), go back to re-filing something or other and not miss a beat. And you have people like AA who worked 8 hours a day (minus 1 hour lunch) and still had to put in some time on the weekends.

It makes me feel like a sham at times.

*Cringe*

Today must be a bad boss-employee relationship day or something. I've heard two semi-heated conversations between a boss and an employee (2 bosses and 2 employees, actually). The first one, a professor was asking his secretary to make copies. She was in the process of making copies for another professor and she wanted him to wait. So there was a little grumbling between them.

Then comes COW and her boss. Something to do with expenses and another professor using one of their accounts. C-Boss would ask a question, COW would start to explain something and C-Boss would tell her to stop because her answer wasn't directly in response to what he was asking. This happened several times and he told her that she says things out of context and it makes it more confusing. The least they could do is close the door so nobody else would have to listen.

There was one time when COW's predecessor and C-Boss were practically shouting at each other. Yeah, I really want to work with COW and her boss... If I took the job w/ AA, I'd have to interact (a little) with the dept chair (who can be gregarious). But at least I'd have AA as a buffer and she and I never got into heated discussions.

I hate it when people argue. My parents bicker from time to time (not much when I was a kid but lately...) and anytime I hear two people arguing, it reminds me of them. By all accounts, my mom's parents spent their whole lives sniping at each other. Even when it's like AD and Teach "exchanging ideas" about the lighting for a ballet. I never get into arguments like that. Sure, my sis and I fight sometimes, but it's not like that at all.

Ho hum.

AA stopped by this morning to tell me that COW's boss wants me to work for him/them. Well, actually, it's COW that wants me to work with her, not her boss. But whatever. AA asked that I email her or let her know when I make a decision. Well, gee, I just heard about the position with COW yesterday, and considering how incredibly indecisive I am, you think I made a choice already? Hah!

Then the chair's secretary [BWSec (BigWig's Secretary)] stopped by about something else. And when she was about to leave, she said "I don't know if you already know, but COW's boss called the chair's office yesterday and said that he wants you to work for him." I told her that yes, I heard, and she said the people downstairs (who work w/ AA) were in a bit of a panic, saying "but AA already talked to CC about working down here!" BWSec told them "did anyone ask CC what she wanted?"

That is a very good question. Because I have no idea what I want. I don't want to work with AA, I don't want to work with COW, I kind of want to leave this place, to be honest. Start anew. Which is sort of stupid considering jobs aren't flying off the shelves these days and here I have two offers. *Sigh*

Job w/ AA
+ an office, + same environment, + equivalent salary, - semi-rigid work hours(w/ flex for ballet), - unclear of job duties, - AA and people downstairs

Job w/ COW
+ same environment, + flexible schedule, + keep cubicle, + equivalent salary, - COW's boss is moody, - would be managing big program (more stress)

Job elsewhere
+/- new environment, - lower salary(?), - unfamiliarity, - rigid 8-hr work day(?), + fresh start, + shorter commute(?)

Drama again

Friday night, after I got back from ballet class, COW (Cowoker) called, slightly unsettled. Her boss (a professor) is taking over a major program at the university. He sent COW an email saying that the admin support person (ASP) of the program would continue working on the program and also helping COW w/ administrative duties. COW was upset that he hadn't discussed this with her and she felt a bit pushed out of her position.

Fast forward to this morning- ASP came and met with COW. According to COW, ASP is highly sensitive and cries easily. She's afraid of being yelled at for making a mistake. Also, she is still in her probationary period and is not very familiar with our procedures.

So COW talked to her boss and told him that she would rather have me take that position (since my boss is likely leaving). Her boss said that the dept chair wants me to take the position w/ AA. And even though I have a higher position (by 3 levels), ASP makes more than I do. Because I'm at the bottom of the range. Yup.

Here's the thing, though- I really don't want to work for/with COW and her boss. He's a bit moody and everyone says he's a meanie. I temp'd for COW a couple of years ago when she was out and it was fine but he does have a bit of a combative nature. And when you're talking to him, you just feel like talking back. Which isn't a good thing.

So anyway, everyone keeps trying to find jobs for me, but they're not ideal positions. Can't someone get me something better? Please?

So much to talk about...

This is going to be one long ol' rambling, so bear with me:

First of all, the university that I work at needs to do a better job of keeping their professors. Everyone seems to be heading off to a certain university up north. That's not a good sign.

On the bus, on the way to the county exam, the lady in the row behind was talking on her cell phone, going over diet plans. It's a 3-day diet that allows you to lose 10 pounds, after which you return to your normal eating (in moderation), and repeat. You can lose up to 40 pounds with this diet. Sample menu: breakfast- hard-boiled egg, 1 piece of dry (not we) toast, 1 cup of coffee or tea; lunch- cottage cheese and 5 saltine crackers; dinner- 1 can of tuna, 1 cup of cauliflower, 1 slice of cheese (1 ounce), 1 cup of vanilla ice cream. The lady was getting a little impatient with whoever she was talking to.

Anyway, on to the exam- while standing in line, I started feeling sorry for everyone. Not so much for the younger people, who will likely find other jobs, or for the young lady that I dubbed the "Stealth Applicant" (she was Hispanic but light-skinned, tall, skinny, probably had the perfect personality), but for the older folks. I don't know why they would want an intern position, though...

There were 120 people at the exam (the room was arranged in rows, with a middle aisle- 10 people on each side of the aisle, 6 rows back). The applicants ranged from young (I was probably one of the youngest ones) to older (maybe 50s?) and included people of all different ethnicities. Not too many Caucasians, though. One lady was in a wheelchair, one lady was pregnant. One guy forgot his admittance letter but they checked his name off the list and let him in anyway (which they are not supposed to do).

The head proctor read us the directions (printed on the 1st page of the exam)- including that we were allowed to write on the test booklet. Two people (one lady, one guy) raised their hands and asked if we could write on the test booklet. What did she just say?! Another guy asked something about "negative scores", which the HP didn't understand, but I did- he wanted to know if we lost points for answering incorrectly. Then one lady raised her hand and asked what the HP meant by "fill in the bubbles" (it was a scantron form). *Sigh*

We were given 2.5 hours to complete the 75-question test. The breakdown: English usage- 20 questions, Arithmetic- 15 questions (worth 2 points each), Data interpretation (charts/graphs)- 20 questions, Reading comp- 15 questions = 90 points.

The exam questions themselves weren't difficult. Trying to understand what the questions were asking... that was the tough part. Who came up with the wording? They need some major help. The diction and word sequence were all wrong. And more complicated than necessary.

One gripe- the buttons on the calculator I was given got stuck. So I'd be typing in a number (i.e. 5240) and I'd punch in all the numbers but end up with 520. And if you're adding up a column of numbers, it's not fun. I wish they had let us bring in our own calculators. One person might have finished before me, but otherwise, everyone was plugging away. The exam took me 77 minutes (started at 1:57pm, ended at 3:14pm). A little over one minute per question.

Today's listings

Administrative Assistant I @ Community College (the one on my list)
Starting salary- $2,952 (to $3,099 after 6 months)

This would be perfect, except for a couple of things: 1) Boss hasn't said definitively whether or not he is leaving. 2) I don't have a car. 3) I don't speak Spanish. Arg, it's always one thing or another, isn't it? Seems like a lot of suitable jobs require Spanish. I can speak Mandarin Chinese, doesn't that count for something?

Administrative Assistant @ local Newspaper/Finance department
Starting salary- ?

This job listing was posted a while ago (mid May) so I don't know if it's even available still. And see problem #1 above.

Computer Operator @ local Newspaper
Starting salary- ? (but probably something good)

Hey, I can operate computers. Oh, wait, I have to know about programming and stuff? And different systems, like Sun and VAX and Tandem? And work weekends and evenings? Well, shoot.

We'll let ya know

Got another letter from L.A. County Office of Education- just letting me know that my application (one of the ones I submitted on May 18th) was received and accepted and they will let me know when the next exam will be scheduled.

Don't ask me why they didn't just send out all three letters at the same time...

Just another day...

Friday afternoon before Memorial Day. It's like a ghost town in here. And of the few people that are around, I doubt many are actually doing work.

I think it would be fine to leave early. The only problem is I carpool with my dad and he won't get off until 4. So even if I left here early, I'd have to wait there for him. I guess waiting around here is better, even though it's freezing (Hel-lo people!).

Searched for job listings earlier. Same old stuff. Guess I'm not really into working in big business, even though that's where the money is. I didn't realize salaries were quite a bit better here at this state-run university than other publicly-owned institutions. As an administrative assistant (which I was previously, for about a year), my annual salary was over $30K. Looking at job listings, admin assistants usually go around $25K. That's a sizeable difference. And considering I currently make over $35K a year (a couple of positions higher than an admin assistant), maybe staying around isn't that bad of an idea. But having to work with AA again... *sigh*

Pay attention, CC

Gawd, I am just so unbelievably intelligent! (I'm being very sarcastic).

After seeing articles about business casual dress in the workplace yesterday, I decided to forgo my typical casual wear and dress a little nicer today. So I'm wearing a lovely pink striped long-sleeved button-down shirt that's a little Rocco-esque (the chef on NBC's reality show, The Restaurant), clearanced to $7 at Sears, green khaki pants, clearanced to $9 at Target, and black velour clogs (Target? KMart? I forget).

I decided to update Boss's calendar, since some meetings have been rescheduled and he didn't bother to correct the calendar (which he usually does himself). And then it hit me. The meeting tomorrow was changed to today. I ordered the sandwiches for tomorrow. Meaning there would be no food for the meeting and there would be food tomorrow but no meeting. Great.

Luckily, the people at Togo's were kind enough to agree to deliver the sandwiches today. Apparently, I'm not as detailed-oriented as I thought I was. *double sigh*

Conversation with AA

Got two letters from L.A. County Office of Education this afternoon. Just that two of my application have been accepted and that I'll be notified when they schedule an exam. Not sure about the 3rd application- maybe I've been rejected. Or maybe they've already scheduled an exam so I'll be getting info on that. Or maybe it got lost in cyberspace.

I had been trying to avoid AA because I didn't want to talk to her about the situation. But alas, she stopped by my cubicle this morning so I didn't have a choice.

AA- Boss told me about [transferring]. It broke my heart.
(Boss and AA are good friends.)
Me- *nods*
AA- Boss said that he wanted you to move to NoCal too, but you said no.
Me- *nods*
AA- Did Boss tell you about possibly working for me/dept?
Me- Yes.
AA- I would be thrilled to have you working for me again! I was writing the job description for an admin analyst, but I didn't want people like Anne and Betty to apply, [since they don't know what they're doing]. And I talked to OtherCoworker's other boss and he says that they could probably use her 100% so you'd be taking back the Program position. And you'd still have the flexibility to do your ballet.

Anne and Betty are admin assistants. OtherCoworker works 50% for Boss for the Program and another 50% for a different subdivision.

AA- So, did you even CONSIDER moving to NoCal?
Me- Not really.
AA- Well, it's a really nice place. And they have public transportation. Not that I want you to go! I'm glad you don't want to go!

She didn't give me a chance to tell her that I am also looking into other positions not in the university. Something a little closer to home or where I don't have to commute one hour a day each way. I guess I could have managed to insert that into the conversation, but she rambles. And I have bad timing, remember? I always find myself agreeing to something I don't really agree with. *sigh*

Admin Intern position examined

Okay, who in the right mind schedules an exam for a Friday afternoon? Seriously? And in Downtown L.A.? The exam lasts for 3 hours (total testing time is around 2.5). I guess it could be worse- it could be at 4pm on a Friday, instead of 1:30pm. Or it could be the day before a long weekend.

Anyway, the letter suggested using the online study guide (at the county website) so I took some of the practice tests. Math was 100%. Data interpretation was slightly below. Reading comp, well, I guess it would be beneficial for me to actually take the time to read the paragraphs before trying to answer the questions, but I was so impatient by that time that I just read the questions and looked for the answers. Tests bore me. When I was in high school and college, I used to race through tests (not on purpose, but just because that's how I take tests). Not as much for essay tests, but definintely multiple choice and math.

While I was at the county website, I saw a more definitive job description for the internship. It's a paid, 2-year deal. No benefits (health, dental, paid leave) but they do provide a monthly compensation (i.e. money) that you can use to purchase benefits. Or a part thereof. Something like that.

I'm not wild about the position. I will go to the written test, and if I pass, I'll go to the interview. But think about it- after 2 years, I'd have to look for another job. Not my idea of a fun time. Well, at least you can be honest when they ask you what you want to be doing 5 years from now, instead of pretending like you'd still be working there.

Applications submitted- 4

I submitted applications online for 4 jobs today- one for L.A. County (Admin Intern) and three(?) for L.A. County Office of Education (secretarial, admin stuff). It would have helped, if I had typed out my resume first (w/ all my duties and responsibilities) so I could just cut and paste. As it was, I forgot to include the analyst part of my job responsibilities on the applications. Oops.

Let's start from the very beginning...

If you haven't been following my regular blog, here's a brief summary:

I currently work at an university as an administrative assistant/fund analyst. (The analyst part of it sounds more glamorous than it is). The professor I work for (aka Boss) is planning on transferring to another university, one up in Northern California. Or is it considered Central CA? Well, whatever. This will likely happen as early as next January.

Boss asked me to relocate to NoCal, so I could continue to work for him, but that's not going to happen. Therefore, I have 7 months to find a new job. One that has flexibility, benefits, good salary, relaxed atmosphere... well, basically everything.

An added twist- I will be offered a position at my current university (same title), working for the department, rather than a specific professor. My supervisor would be AA, who was originally my supervisor when she was in my spot and I was just a student worker. When she got promoted, so did I. I am not so excited about that prospect. I owe a lot to AA (since she basically did get me to where I am career-wise) but I'm not keen on working for her again. She's a bit absent-minded and disorganized. And working for a department is different- I'd have to follow their organizational system, rather than be allowed to develop one on my own.

So that's the deal with everything so far. The title of this blog is Needs Work, as in literally, I need work. And, since I am not perfect (like all humans), I think we all need some work, don't you think?