They Listened to Me?
I was home ill as of Thursday afternoon. It didn't feel like flu, for which I am grateful, but I stayed home on Friday and telecommuted. Most of the time, I seem to gripe about various inconsistencies and processes that don't make a lot of sense to me. In spite of my aggravation, I have gotten the sense that the Powers-What-Am do occasionally take note of what I tell them.
Friday, I ended up in a conference call during which I was more or less interviewed in order to get an idea of what we really need to have in place to support one of the weak process areas that I keep complaining about. I freely admit that I am not an expert in that area, but I am as close as they are going to get to having one at the moment. It helps that I recognize the gaps and that we urgently need training/mentoring/whatever to make life better for us all (except maybe those of us who actually execute the process will have more tedium inserted into our jobs). It made me feel a tiny bit better that someone believes I have something to offer beyond filling out reams of paperwork and helping Ånstromanage developers.
Organize This!
I complained to ealdthryth that her new passion for organizing (thanks to some self-help book she found and demanded that I read, too) was a little too much like the over-emphasis on process I deal with during the course of my day job. She started slinging around management jargon (they self-help book is targeted at "busy executives"). In spite of my knee-jerk annoyance at this, I am trying to participate in the process in the hopes that (if nothing else) a load of useless paper will leave the house. Also, if ealdthryth can stay focused (Oh! Look! Shiny!) on repeating the process (and I adopt the habit), we might stand a chance.
A huge part of the problem is that the problem looks huge. Yes, I realize it is nearly a tautology, but it is literally true. There is so much stuff to get through that it is intimidating to think about. I'm trying really hard not to get overwhelmed by doing the organizing while trying to do several projects at the same time.
In the meantime, I've got the living room into a stable state that I can live with for an extended time--even if all the stuff to be organized has been staged there. More than half the books have migrated out of the sitting room (formerly known as the library) into the living room (to be renamed later). The books are slightly more organized, but they were done in clusters rather than alphabetical.
As a side effect of this organizational process and list-making that ealdthryth is doing, we got a few small overdue tasks done this weekend. I replaced a toilet seat, we did the grocery shopping, picked out samples of flooring (and carpet for some reason), scoped out some area rugs, checked out small entertainment consoles, and got the hardware for the final curtain (HAH! I crack me up.) I'm sure we managed more than that, but I'm in a hurry now.
Since we were running errands on Saturday, a long-overdue task to find a new glass chimney for a lamp got taken care of, and ealdthryth exhibited some good shopping fu. We've talked about replacing our Pfaltzgraft stoneware. Over the years, pieces have gotten chipped and outright broken. ealdthryth claims she is "tired" of it. We also have a cabinet full of dishes that we have only used in full a couple of times putting on "Medieval Dinners" for our church's annual fundraiser. I find it highly unlikely we will go to that trouble again. It might not be a bad idea to eliminate two whole collections of dishes. One will be replaced by a smaller set and the other will go away entirely.
Mmmm. Sorry, I was just contemplating the possibility of a less crowded kitchen....
How Can You Sleep Like That Fu
Ignatius picked what appears to be a uncomfy spot to sleep yesterday afternoon. The excitement of the furniture being rearranged and mysterious boxes shifting around in the house wore him out, so he sacked out near the window with his head on the base of the cat tower. I guess since the base is covered with carpet it is plenty cushy for him. He didn't even budge until food was poured into the bowls in the kitchen....
Sleepy boy!
Friday, I ended up in a conference call during which I was more or less interviewed in order to get an idea of what we really need to have in place to support one of the weak process areas that I keep complaining about. I freely admit that I am not an expert in that area, but I am as close as they are going to get to having one at the moment. It helps that I recognize the gaps and that we urgently need training/mentoring/whatever to make life better for us all (except maybe those of us who actually execute the process will have more tedium inserted into our jobs). It made me feel a tiny bit better that someone believes I have something to offer beyond filling out reams of paperwork and helping Ånstromanage developers.
Organize This!
I complained to ealdthryth that her new passion for organizing (thanks to some self-help book she found and demanded that I read, too) was a little too much like the over-emphasis on process I deal with during the course of my day job. She started slinging around management jargon (they self-help book is targeted at "busy executives"). In spite of my knee-jerk annoyance at this, I am trying to participate in the process in the hopes that (if nothing else) a load of useless paper will leave the house. Also, if ealdthryth can stay focused (Oh! Look! Shiny!) on repeating the process (and I adopt the habit), we might stand a chance.
A huge part of the problem is that the problem looks huge. Yes, I realize it is nearly a tautology, but it is literally true. There is so much stuff to get through that it is intimidating to think about. I'm trying really hard not to get overwhelmed by doing the organizing while trying to do several projects at the same time.
In the meantime, I've got the living room into a stable state that I can live with for an extended time--even if all the stuff to be organized has been staged there. More than half the books have migrated out of the sitting room (formerly known as the library) into the living room (to be renamed later). The books are slightly more organized, but they were done in clusters rather than alphabetical.
As a side effect of this organizational process and list-making that ealdthryth is doing, we got a few small overdue tasks done this weekend. I replaced a toilet seat, we did the grocery shopping, picked out samples of flooring (and carpet for some reason), scoped out some area rugs, checked out small entertainment consoles, and got the hardware for the final curtain (HAH! I crack me up.) I'm sure we managed more than that, but I'm in a hurry now.
Since we were running errands on Saturday, a long-overdue task to find a new glass chimney for a lamp got taken care of, and ealdthryth exhibited some good shopping fu. We've talked about replacing our Pfaltzgraft stoneware. Over the years, pieces have gotten chipped and outright broken. ealdthryth claims she is "tired" of it. We also have a cabinet full of dishes that we have only used in full a couple of times putting on "Medieval Dinners" for our church's annual fundraiser. I find it highly unlikely we will go to that trouble again. It might not be a bad idea to eliminate two whole collections of dishes. One will be replaced by a smaller set and the other will go away entirely.
Mmmm. Sorry, I was just contemplating the possibility of a less crowded kitchen....
How Can You Sleep Like That Fu
Ignatius picked what appears to be a uncomfy spot to sleep yesterday afternoon. The excitement of the furniture being rearranged and mysterious boxes shifting around in the house wore him out, so he sacked out near the window with his head on the base of the cat tower. I guess since the base is covered with carpet it is plenty cushy for him. He didn't even budge until food was poured into the bowls in the kitchen....
Sleepy boy!