Lake is frozen over, trees are white with snow, and all around are reminders of you
There is so much to update on The Ashley, I hardly know where to begin!
* I had a whole holiday post (or series thereof) planned and started, and then never had time to finish! It wasn't anything earthshattering, mostly just "I <3 the holidays because..." type of things. Although Clay did point out that I really seem to love Christmastime, and I think it's because it's the only holiday that has certain sounds, smells, and tastes that all combine to make it a really sensory time of year.
* I got some lovely things for Christmas, most of which were very domestic goddessy. Some place settings and other table accoutrements in my holiday dish pattern ("Winterberry"), and some London-themed ornaments, as I couldn't be in London for Christmas, they brought a bit of London to me! A cooky book reissue of the one my mother's had since the 1960's, and treated myself to a bunch of cute new panties in post-Christmas sales. Betty Boop on the booty, AW YEAH.
* My 28th birthday on Saturday was AWESOME. It was also a very very multi-cultural weekend: Italian food (and comedy club attendance) on the Thursday before - a surprise from Clay! Mexican food with Gretchen on Friday night. My parents and I spend Saturday at The Crumpet Shop (British), up to Volunteer Park (exotic plants at the Conservatory, and Asian Art at the musuem), which then made me hungry for sushi. So I dragged them to Liberty down the street from the Asian Art Museum, where we caught the last 45 minutes real-time/last 10 minutes of game-time of the stunning Seahawks game. I don't even LIKE football, and I thought that was totes awesome to see Marshawn Lynch's TD. Anyways, then my parents and I went back to West Seattle for a bit, and had tea and Christmas cookies with my landlord and his fiancee, Claire. For dinner, I took them back downtown to Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant near Re-bar/SBK, and which was fantastically delicious. Polished off the night with a Phoenix cake from Bakery Nouveau, and then passed out. Sunday involved a trip to Banya5, the Russian spa, with Clay and our swing-dancer Anna (which they LOVED), followed amazing Greek food, after which Anna offered drinks at her place of ouzo (since we'd had Greek food) and absinthe.
So, let's recap that, shall we?
Food: Italian, Mexican, British, Japanese, Ethiopian, Greek and insanity-inducing French liquor.
Experiences: American football, Asian art, tropical/exotic plants, Russian spa
SO AWESOME. I was/am full of love for the world :)
* I got some pretty things for my birthday too, most notably an Orchid plant from my parents, and some lovely tea mugs from Gretchen that have Chinese women on them - a writer, an archer, a dancer and something we're not sure of, but guessing a veterinarian (the girl is holding a tiny cage, maybe for a cricket?). My favorite is the dancer. My parents also brought me a couple of lovely face masques from New Orleans (they were there for the Sugar Bowl), and one of them will be perfect with my burgundy Renaissance Faire dress.
* I'm doing the Project365 thing, wherein I take a picture (or more!) a day. I'm hoping to post a week/few days at a time, as I'm not sure how to post to LJ from my phone, but maybe I'll figure it out - I'm smart. I started the year as of my birthday, so I've got a flower, a scarf, a mug, a bouquet, a phone and an email thus far!
* Clay and I are doing marvelously. He really deserves his own post, but I just want to mush and gush about us. And what I think is so great is that even though I say that, I'm not putting him, or us, on a pedestal. We have some problems, as do all couples, but it's the way we are dealing with them (mostly by TALKING ABOUT IT - omg, communication is so sexy!) that is what makes me say we are doing so great. His nickname is Cuddles McSnugglebug, or just Snugglebug for short :)
* And the BEST THING EVER OMG! The official word has gone out that Stupidvisor is moving on! He's got 2 weeks left, and boy howdy, I can't hardly wait to throw a Farewell! Party. The Guest of Honor may or may not be invited. It might descend into a rabid drunkfest wherein we all toast to the door not hitting his ass gently on the way out. I've suspected this was coming - there was a Service Coordinator job posting, and he's been in a LOT of meetings lately, both onsite (with various department managers, and HR), and offsite as well. He did acknowledge that he doesn't know where he's going yet, so he may or may not continue here at McK. SO SAD IF HE DOES NOT.
And what I think is really great, is that he fucked himself over, big time. Several things give me reason to say this:
1) The job posted is for "Service Coordinator," which is what I am, and everyone else on the team. HIS job title was "Customer Service Supervisor." Which means, they are not hiring for a supervisory position, just a regular-joe-blow dispatcher.
2) I think he is costing McK too much money in his supervisory capacity, since that warrants a higher pay, and he is not delivering enough to make it worth it. He's caused a lot of tension both within our team and the department (and probably other departments for all I know), and I doubt it was worth the cost to have that tension.
3) McK made a BIG mistake in hiring him into a "Lead Service Coordinator" position above everyone else who had seniority over him, and then being promoted within 8 months. He did not earn my respect AT ALL, and certainly not just because HR gave him a fancy job title. He knew fuck-all about the industry, our procedures, and people management. So I didn't give trust right off the bat, and I didn't see anything to earn it as time progessed. I think the other dispatchers felt the same way. So I think it's smart that they are hiring someone back into the same level as everyone else.
4) The fact that he's trying to stay here, and meeting with so many department managers and yet still doesn't have a job lined up tell me that he has a pretty bad rep here. I strongly suspect too many people have heard bad things about his style and don't want to work with him.
* I had a whole holiday post (or series thereof) planned and started, and then never had time to finish! It wasn't anything earthshattering, mostly just "I <3 the holidays because..." type of things. Although Clay did point out that I really seem to love Christmastime, and I think it's because it's the only holiday that has certain sounds, smells, and tastes that all combine to make it a really sensory time of year.
* I got some lovely things for Christmas, most of which were very domestic goddessy. Some place settings and other table accoutrements in my holiday dish pattern ("Winterberry"), and some London-themed ornaments, as I couldn't be in London for Christmas, they brought a bit of London to me! A cooky book reissue of the one my mother's had since the 1960's, and treated myself to a bunch of cute new panties in post-Christmas sales. Betty Boop on the booty, AW YEAH.
* My 28th birthday on Saturday was AWESOME. It was also a very very multi-cultural weekend: Italian food (and comedy club attendance) on the Thursday before - a surprise from Clay! Mexican food with Gretchen on Friday night. My parents and I spend Saturday at The Crumpet Shop (British), up to Volunteer Park (exotic plants at the Conservatory, and Asian Art at the musuem), which then made me hungry for sushi. So I dragged them to Liberty down the street from the Asian Art Museum, where we caught the last 45 minutes real-time/last 10 minutes of game-time of the stunning Seahawks game. I don't even LIKE football, and I thought that was totes awesome to see Marshawn Lynch's TD. Anyways, then my parents and I went back to West Seattle for a bit, and had tea and Christmas cookies with my landlord and his fiancee, Claire. For dinner, I took them back downtown to Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant near Re-bar/SBK, and which was fantastically delicious. Polished off the night with a Phoenix cake from Bakery Nouveau, and then passed out. Sunday involved a trip to Banya5, the Russian spa, with Clay and our swing-dancer Anna (which they LOVED), followed amazing Greek food, after which Anna offered drinks at her place of ouzo (since we'd had Greek food) and absinthe.
So, let's recap that, shall we?
Food: Italian, Mexican, British, Japanese, Ethiopian, Greek and insanity-inducing French liquor.
Experiences: American football, Asian art, tropical/exotic plants, Russian spa
SO AWESOME. I was/am full of love for the world :)
* I got some pretty things for my birthday too, most notably an Orchid plant from my parents, and some lovely tea mugs from Gretchen that have Chinese women on them - a writer, an archer, a dancer and something we're not sure of, but guessing a veterinarian (the girl is holding a tiny cage, maybe for a cricket?). My favorite is the dancer. My parents also brought me a couple of lovely face masques from New Orleans (they were there for the Sugar Bowl), and one of them will be perfect with my burgundy Renaissance Faire dress.
* I'm doing the Project365 thing, wherein I take a picture (or more!) a day. I'm hoping to post a week/few days at a time, as I'm not sure how to post to LJ from my phone, but maybe I'll figure it out - I'm smart. I started the year as of my birthday, so I've got a flower, a scarf, a mug, a bouquet, a phone and an email thus far!
* Clay and I are doing marvelously. He really deserves his own post, but I just want to mush and gush about us. And what I think is so great is that even though I say that, I'm not putting him, or us, on a pedestal. We have some problems, as do all couples, but it's the way we are dealing with them (mostly by TALKING ABOUT IT - omg, communication is so sexy!) that is what makes me say we are doing so great. His nickname is Cuddles McSnugglebug, or just Snugglebug for short :)
* And the BEST THING EVER OMG! The official word has gone out that Stupidvisor is moving on! He's got 2 weeks left, and boy howdy, I can't hardly wait to throw a Farewell! Party. The Guest of Honor may or may not be invited. It might descend into a rabid drunkfest wherein we all toast to the door not hitting his ass gently on the way out. I've suspected this was coming - there was a Service Coordinator job posting, and he's been in a LOT of meetings lately, both onsite (with various department managers, and HR), and offsite as well. He did acknowledge that he doesn't know where he's going yet, so he may or may not continue here at McK. SO SAD IF HE DOES NOT.
And what I think is really great, is that he fucked himself over, big time. Several things give me reason to say this:
1) The job posted is for "Service Coordinator," which is what I am, and everyone else on the team. HIS job title was "Customer Service Supervisor." Which means, they are not hiring for a supervisory position, just a regular-joe-blow dispatcher.
2) I think he is costing McK too much money in his supervisory capacity, since that warrants a higher pay, and he is not delivering enough to make it worth it. He's caused a lot of tension both within our team and the department (and probably other departments for all I know), and I doubt it was worth the cost to have that tension.
3) McK made a BIG mistake in hiring him into a "Lead Service Coordinator" position above everyone else who had seniority over him, and then being promoted within 8 months. He did not earn my respect AT ALL, and certainly not just because HR gave him a fancy job title. He knew fuck-all about the industry, our procedures, and people management. So I didn't give trust right off the bat, and I didn't see anything to earn it as time progessed. I think the other dispatchers felt the same way. So I think it's smart that they are hiring someone back into the same level as everyone else.
4) The fact that he's trying to stay here, and meeting with so many department managers and yet still doesn't have a job lined up tell me that he has a pretty bad rep here. I strongly suspect too many people have heard bad things about his style and don't want to work with him.