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Right, so it's been a while... What can I say? I've been pretty busy. Rather than chronicle the events of the nearly two months since I last updated, I think I'll tap the highlights. After summer quarter classes ended, I took full advantage of having a month of free mornings by staying up late and sleeping in. Despite working every weekend in September except for one, I got to spend a good amount of time with my family and my friends - I even spent the weekend I wasn't working with Kelly on her family's boat at Lake Erie!
Fall quarter began this past Wednesday, and I'm not displeased with my class choices. My Hebrew 101 professor is this adorable little Jewish woman with such a high energy level! My Hebrew Literature professor is this little Jewish man who does a little dance around the classroom when he really gets into his lecture. They both amuse me. I think it will be a decent quarter. Besides that, there is a bonus to having Jewish professors - my Lit professor has given us an additional two Thursdays off from class to observe Jewish holidays!
On a very positive note, I had a really nice discussion with my boss, Mindy, the other day. She talked to me a bit about the direction the lab will be taking over the next couple of years, and hinted at the role she wanted me to take in it. There were two things that she mentioned that will be happening now, or soon, rather than in a couple of years.
- Mindy wants something like two techs per shift to learn our new blood cell differential machine and then teach the rest of the techs on the shift to use it. She asked if I'd be interested in doing that, and of course, I said yes. Her comments after that suggested that my involvement in this would give her an idea of my ability to handle projects of this sort in the future. She also told me that she had a list of eight people who were leaving or retiring in the next three years, and that opportunities for more responsibility would be available to those who proved themselves capable of handling it.
- Mindy called me early Thursday morning to ask if I'd be interested in representing the entire clinical laboratory system in the brand-new University Hospital Making a Difference Service Council Initiative. Judy Gilliam, the associate executive director of the Medical Center, is heading it up in an effort to provide better customer service and overcome the barriers preventing it. She apologized for calling so early, but she said she had just had breakfast with Kevin, the director of the clinical labs, and when they discussed it, they had both thought I would be good for this position, and she was excited to tell me because she knew I'd want to do it. She was so certain that she'd submitted my name before she even called me! When she told me that, I laughed and told her that she knew me pretty well. I'll go to one meeting a month, paid overtime, and maybe actually make a difference, however small. This is so exciting!
Anyway, things are pretty good for me right now. I don't feel overwhelmed, I feel appreciated at work, and I love that my textbook for my Hebrew literature class is another Bible. Corey asked how many I was going to have to buy before I finally got out of school, and I laughed. I told him that I might end up with more Bibles than my Daddy has - and those of you who know or have listened to me talk about my Dad, you know that he has quite a few! Even though my classes take a literary approach to the Bible rather than a religious approach, I like that I get to read passages as "homework" and I like the in-class discussions.
I would say that I am content with my life. It is what it is, but it's mine. I've made it for myself. And I like it.
Barukh ata.