Quarterly Review
QUARTERLY REVIEW
Q4 - October to December 2007
God, what an incredibly busy time these last three months have been. This Review is more the ‘journal’ part of the old LJ here, so if you’re not interested in the personal, feel free to pass on this entry and there’ll be more later about working and writing.
Covering up to three areas for the corporation, trying to move my own area forward as has come to be expected, wanting to improve my own skills as a writer in both areas of the day job and personally, coming up with ideas for both situations and being unable to execute none of them and finally being ‘forced’ into taking vacations or losing the earned benefits.
Mrs. Ajasont and I took a really nice trip and spent a nice time in Colorado over Thanksgiving and upon my return I was able to resume my ‘normal’ daytime duties as much as possible before having to leave on ‘vacation’ again. I got very little writing done during this time, but had a great revelation as to how to proceed in 2008 (much as I did last year but failed to follow through on) and I’m excited, but I need to temper it a little. I need to zoom in on the Big Picture and focus on getting the details right.
My brother returned for my Dad’s birthday and the Christmas holiday and I’ve been relaxing a lot more this winter than I have in several years. I’ve been able to use some learned behaviors and tools to get myself in the Right Space over the last couple of weeks, but I’ve got to do some more work in that area as I’ve put on a few more pounds in this quarter than I anticipated doing. I’ve got a lot of row to hoe, as it were, and it’s difficult to look back even ninety days without wanting to look farther ahead.
Still, it’s been a great year, and I’ve accomplished a lot. Just not exactly what I wanted to get done, nor exactly how I wanted to get it done (remember I wanted to do more comix this year? Didn’t happen.) or even on my own schedule, which is irritating to a great degree. Anyway, here’s my latest attempt to put some sort of organization to the last three months.
The Day Job:
In October I was trying to run my own business along with helping to sustain and even improve another food court on campus while the powers that be were searching for a replacement for that other unit. I’d been newly minted (at least in my paycheck) as a General Manager for my unit along with a third unit that is actually spread all across campus but there’d been no discussion about the exact duties (that’s coming in the next month).
I was made the chair of one of the long-standing and possibly most important departmental committee in August and began implementation of a long-term plan for training future managers. That plan has taken several turns in the last three months and I am taking a more direct hand in its creation rather than trusting the committee members to work fairly independently. What it amounts to is just establishing what I want to see more exactly and giving them the lines to color in for the development of all aspects of the program. Plans for January training sessions for the general population of the department have come along nicely, but have required more attention than I’ve been able to give up until now.
The pressures came to a head in November when the new manager was named and couldn’t assume his duties for nearly a month. Treading water was tiresome but necessary and I wouldn’t have been able to do that unless I had some great helpers in my home unit; helpers that I’d trained and trusted and (to some extent at least) inspired. The difference between a leader and a manager is one of vision. The leader has the vision to point the way and inspire his crew to go along with him, and the manager has the wherewithal to then take that crew in that direction in such a way that the crew then grows beyond anything they imagined. Both my assistant manager and my front of the house manager (her official title is supervisor, another distinction, to be sure, but one that only indicates her level of responsibility not her skills) are ready to manage their own units. They’ll both be among the first to run through the training program I’m shepherding through committee now and deserving of it. They’re my bench that will allow me to move up the ladder in the corporation. I couldn’t be prouder of them and think there’d be nothing cooler than having a bunch of managers on campus that I trained and did things the way they need to be done. That will only benefit our customers (we’re supposed to call them ‘guests’ but I like ‘clients’, too) and the staff that I leave behind if (I suppose I should say ‘when’) I move up the chain. I won’t predict that it’s likely, but I see a way it could happen if the stars align.
December was probably the most uneven month I’ve ever had. I returned to my home unit in the first week, but still had some obligations at the other food court that had to be met. Some follow through on processes that needed some attention still, and fall out from employees leaving for whatever reason kept me distracted from the things that needed my attention with my own staff. I was there two weeks, but then had to take vacation that I was going lose if I didn’t take it. So I’ve spent part of my vacation doing work I would’ve done in the office if I’d been there, and that’s okay, but I want to avoid this next year. The toughest part of this quarter? That was having several employees run afoul of the Human Resources rules that left me no choice but to let them go. I dislike that part of my job more than any other, but it’s necessary. I really do agonize over each decision to dismiss someone, especially since I give my folks every chance to succeed. Regardless, the rules are in place for a reason and if I don’t honor them, how can I expect my staff to not honor them as well?
Enough about the day job. Time to look at
Independent Work:
Not much got accomplished in October other than some fragments that didn’t really start to take shape until November. I realized that even though the radio play Knight’s Tour wasn’t overly ambitious, it was not the right time, personally, for me to pursue it. I did begin to revisit some of the microfictions I’d written previously (now Warren’s calling them fastfictions, which I suspect will be copyrighted) and started to think about what I was going to do with them. There was a great conversation in November with Jens Altmann about character sheets, and I settled on what I’ll be doing with the microfictions. Now comes the work of finishing off the first three installments before I announce anything further on it, but I feel really good about it. One of the benefits of having gone through the multi-tasking hell of the last three months was discovering I could do more than I was, as long as I stayed organized. Antony Johnston’s article on Getting Writing Done really made an impression and I took steps to get things organized both at home and at work, but again got sidetracked by distractions and haven’t gotten back. However, with an office move at work and feeling like I can accomplish so much more in the time I have, I’m confident that I can get back to the organizing things that I know have to be done.
In November, Mrs. Ajasont’s and I’s vacation in Colorado led to me writing what I thought was only a short short story that I immediately saw upon our return to Kansas would dovetail nicely with another story that I’d started. The other story was intended to be longer, and I’d thought from the beginning of both of them that it would interesting to have the characters meet, but maybe it was the conversation with Jens and my subsequent whacks at character sheets that caused me to start another writing project that will (I promise! Really!!) see light here in 2008. I’m playing with video concepts in November that will never be seen, but should lead to the things you will see.
December has been a little more productive than last year, and lots of writing, at least comparatively, has been accomplished. Some of it for work (most of it, in fact) and some of it for personal enrichment and desire, I think all of it will appear somewhere in the world this next year. Being inspired by Schamberger’s works, Jens’ encouragement and Warren Ellis’ Bad Signals, I’m focusing more tightly and seeing inspiration in things like Nick Bantock’s work, Francois Truffaut’s conversations with Alfred Hitchcock and learning how to read critically. I’ve always been enthusiastic, lots of times overly so, but this feels different than before, again as it has in the past. It’s up to me to actually finish something. We’ll see if it happens, and I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Finally, we’re going to take a look for the quarter at some
Personal Items of interest:
I hurt my knee terribly on November 17th; something popped audibly and I was hobbled for nearly a week. I was unable to walk, and was afraid to exercise on the Total Gym. The vacation to Colorado was challenging as it happened the very next week and long hours in the car driving wasn’t the best medicine, but the hot springs for an hour and a half really seemed to do the trick. Upon our return, I was able to walk my two and a half miles although a trifle slower than I’d been used to, and when it was too cold to walk, I could resume my routine on the machine. However, exercise has been limited by any number of things, including having to go to work early. The influence of the stress of the day job was incredible and trying, possibly the most difficult and challenging period of my life so far, but I think I’m coming out of it a little smarter and definitely changed for the better.
My weight isn’t what I had hoped it to be, and while it’s more than it was going into October it’s still less than it was last year. Next year will be better still, and I’m a full two jeans sizes smaller than I was when I started taking exercise seriously two years ago.
I’ve read an incredible amount of fiction this year as noted on my readiing list tag over there, as I intended to at the beginning of the year. I love my wife more than ever, and she takes the best care of me than I could ever ask for. Her daughter and I are closer than ever, and the best part of our relationship is me getting all squidgy when she calls me ‘Dad’. My son read two Jules Verne novels (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth) for school (novels he picked, btw) book reports and came home with two A+ grades. I couldn’t be prouder of my two kids, and it’s just a great, great year overall, if not as productive artistically as I wanted. I guess that’s just wishful thinking on my part, and one I want to work on in the coming year, but in the Grand Scheme, not one that I should be all that nuts about.
So there it is. If you’ve read this far, you’re superhuman and I’m glad you did. I hope you found it interesting. I expect that I’ll look back over these 2,000+ words in a few years and recall an excruciating period of change and growth with a smile.
Q4 - October to December 2007
God, what an incredibly busy time these last three months have been. This Review is more the ‘journal’ part of the old LJ here, so if you’re not interested in the personal, feel free to pass on this entry and there’ll be more later about working and writing.
Covering up to three areas for the corporation, trying to move my own area forward as has come to be expected, wanting to improve my own skills as a writer in both areas of the day job and personally, coming up with ideas for both situations and being unable to execute none of them and finally being ‘forced’ into taking vacations or losing the earned benefits.
Mrs. Ajasont and I took a really nice trip and spent a nice time in Colorado over Thanksgiving and upon my return I was able to resume my ‘normal’ daytime duties as much as possible before having to leave on ‘vacation’ again. I got very little writing done during this time, but had a great revelation as to how to proceed in 2008 (much as I did last year but failed to follow through on) and I’m excited, but I need to temper it a little. I need to zoom in on the Big Picture and focus on getting the details right.
My brother returned for my Dad’s birthday and the Christmas holiday and I’ve been relaxing a lot more this winter than I have in several years. I’ve been able to use some learned behaviors and tools to get myself in the Right Space over the last couple of weeks, but I’ve got to do some more work in that area as I’ve put on a few more pounds in this quarter than I anticipated doing. I’ve got a lot of row to hoe, as it were, and it’s difficult to look back even ninety days without wanting to look farther ahead.
Still, it’s been a great year, and I’ve accomplished a lot. Just not exactly what I wanted to get done, nor exactly how I wanted to get it done (remember I wanted to do more comix this year? Didn’t happen.) or even on my own schedule, which is irritating to a great degree. Anyway, here’s my latest attempt to put some sort of organization to the last three months.
The Day Job:
In October I was trying to run my own business along with helping to sustain and even improve another food court on campus while the powers that be were searching for a replacement for that other unit. I’d been newly minted (at least in my paycheck) as a General Manager for my unit along with a third unit that is actually spread all across campus but there’d been no discussion about the exact duties (that’s coming in the next month).
I was made the chair of one of the long-standing and possibly most important departmental committee in August and began implementation of a long-term plan for training future managers. That plan has taken several turns in the last three months and I am taking a more direct hand in its creation rather than trusting the committee members to work fairly independently. What it amounts to is just establishing what I want to see more exactly and giving them the lines to color in for the development of all aspects of the program. Plans for January training sessions for the general population of the department have come along nicely, but have required more attention than I’ve been able to give up until now.
The pressures came to a head in November when the new manager was named and couldn’t assume his duties for nearly a month. Treading water was tiresome but necessary and I wouldn’t have been able to do that unless I had some great helpers in my home unit; helpers that I’d trained and trusted and (to some extent at least) inspired. The difference between a leader and a manager is one of vision. The leader has the vision to point the way and inspire his crew to go along with him, and the manager has the wherewithal to then take that crew in that direction in such a way that the crew then grows beyond anything they imagined. Both my assistant manager and my front of the house manager (her official title is supervisor, another distinction, to be sure, but one that only indicates her level of responsibility not her skills) are ready to manage their own units. They’ll both be among the first to run through the training program I’m shepherding through committee now and deserving of it. They’re my bench that will allow me to move up the ladder in the corporation. I couldn’t be prouder of them and think there’d be nothing cooler than having a bunch of managers on campus that I trained and did things the way they need to be done. That will only benefit our customers (we’re supposed to call them ‘guests’ but I like ‘clients’, too) and the staff that I leave behind if (I suppose I should say ‘when’) I move up the chain. I won’t predict that it’s likely, but I see a way it could happen if the stars align.
December was probably the most uneven month I’ve ever had. I returned to my home unit in the first week, but still had some obligations at the other food court that had to be met. Some follow through on processes that needed some attention still, and fall out from employees leaving for whatever reason kept me distracted from the things that needed my attention with my own staff. I was there two weeks, but then had to take vacation that I was going lose if I didn’t take it. So I’ve spent part of my vacation doing work I would’ve done in the office if I’d been there, and that’s okay, but I want to avoid this next year. The toughest part of this quarter? That was having several employees run afoul of the Human Resources rules that left me no choice but to let them go. I dislike that part of my job more than any other, but it’s necessary. I really do agonize over each decision to dismiss someone, especially since I give my folks every chance to succeed. Regardless, the rules are in place for a reason and if I don’t honor them, how can I expect my staff to not honor them as well?
Enough about the day job. Time to look at
Independent Work:
Not much got accomplished in October other than some fragments that didn’t really start to take shape until November. I realized that even though the radio play Knight’s Tour wasn’t overly ambitious, it was not the right time, personally, for me to pursue it. I did begin to revisit some of the microfictions I’d written previously (now Warren’s calling them fastfictions, which I suspect will be copyrighted) and started to think about what I was going to do with them. There was a great conversation in November with Jens Altmann about character sheets, and I settled on what I’ll be doing with the microfictions. Now comes the work of finishing off the first three installments before I announce anything further on it, but I feel really good about it. One of the benefits of having gone through the multi-tasking hell of the last three months was discovering I could do more than I was, as long as I stayed organized. Antony Johnston’s article on Getting Writing Done really made an impression and I took steps to get things organized both at home and at work, but again got sidetracked by distractions and haven’t gotten back. However, with an office move at work and feeling like I can accomplish so much more in the time I have, I’m confident that I can get back to the organizing things that I know have to be done.
In November, Mrs. Ajasont’s and I’s vacation in Colorado led to me writing what I thought was only a short short story that I immediately saw upon our return to Kansas would dovetail nicely with another story that I’d started. The other story was intended to be longer, and I’d thought from the beginning of both of them that it would interesting to have the characters meet, but maybe it was the conversation with Jens and my subsequent whacks at character sheets that caused me to start another writing project that will (I promise! Really!!) see light here in 2008. I’m playing with video concepts in November that will never be seen, but should lead to the things you will see.
December has been a little more productive than last year, and lots of writing, at least comparatively, has been accomplished. Some of it for work (most of it, in fact) and some of it for personal enrichment and desire, I think all of it will appear somewhere in the world this next year. Being inspired by Schamberger’s works, Jens’ encouragement and Warren Ellis’ Bad Signals, I’m focusing more tightly and seeing inspiration in things like Nick Bantock’s work, Francois Truffaut’s conversations with Alfred Hitchcock and learning how to read critically. I’ve always been enthusiastic, lots of times overly so, but this feels different than before, again as it has in the past. It’s up to me to actually finish something. We’ll see if it happens, and I’ve got my fingers crossed.
Finally, we’re going to take a look for the quarter at some
Personal Items of interest:
I hurt my knee terribly on November 17th; something popped audibly and I was hobbled for nearly a week. I was unable to walk, and was afraid to exercise on the Total Gym. The vacation to Colorado was challenging as it happened the very next week and long hours in the car driving wasn’t the best medicine, but the hot springs for an hour and a half really seemed to do the trick. Upon our return, I was able to walk my two and a half miles although a trifle slower than I’d been used to, and when it was too cold to walk, I could resume my routine on the machine. However, exercise has been limited by any number of things, including having to go to work early. The influence of the stress of the day job was incredible and trying, possibly the most difficult and challenging period of my life so far, but I think I’m coming out of it a little smarter and definitely changed for the better.
My weight isn’t what I had hoped it to be, and while it’s more than it was going into October it’s still less than it was last year. Next year will be better still, and I’m a full two jeans sizes smaller than I was when I started taking exercise seriously two years ago.
I’ve read an incredible amount of fiction this year as noted on my readiing list tag over there, as I intended to at the beginning of the year. I love my wife more than ever, and she takes the best care of me than I could ever ask for. Her daughter and I are closer than ever, and the best part of our relationship is me getting all squidgy when she calls me ‘Dad’. My son read two Jules Verne novels (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth) for school (novels he picked, btw) book reports and came home with two A+ grades. I couldn’t be prouder of my two kids, and it’s just a great, great year overall, if not as productive artistically as I wanted. I guess that’s just wishful thinking on my part, and one I want to work on in the coming year, but in the Grand Scheme, not one that I should be all that nuts about.
So there it is. If you’ve read this far, you’re superhuman and I’m glad you did. I hope you found it interesting. I expect that I’ll look back over these 2,000+ words in a few years and recall an excruciating period of change and growth with a smile.