Turning over a new leaf
I thought about doing NaNoWriMo. Not for a novel, because my only ideas for novels are still incredibly nebulous. Rather, I wanted to work on that non-fiction book I've been wanting to write. But unfortunately, the amount of research I'd have to do would preclude me from being able to write 50,000 words. Then hymnia came up with a great idea-- write 50,000 words in November. Anywhere. Great idea.
So some of those words will be here on my LJ. Others will be on my other blog (which I haven't mentioned here yet, but will). Even more will be on that nonfiction book (I can at least write about books I'm familiar with). Heck, I might even finish and/or write some of the fanfic I've had plot bunnies for. But hopefully, the effort will get me back into the habit of writing again. Because I really do miss it.
And in the meantime, I owe some major updates.
Guys, I can't tell you how wonderful my job is. The work itself is interesting, not least because I have so many different things I'm in charge of. My job title is Program Specialist, which is code for a high-level administrative assistant. I support 4 positions within the Special Education department at the state office of education (I figure there's no point hiding it, since, as a public employee, everything from my position to my salary is public information; besides, my name is posted on the USOE website anyway :P). The people I support are the Education Specialists in charge of Data (gathering, analyzing, and disseminating student information, from demographics to test scores), Finance (pretty much all aspects of funding, from allocating money to districts and charter schools to making sure they spend it legally, or at all), Assessment (involving both creating assessments and accommodations for students with disabilities), and Monitoring (making sure everyone is following the law and providing the best special education services possible). I am awash in a sea of acronyms (LEAs, FAPE in the LRE, OSEP, MOE, CEIS, etc., etc.) and government rules and regulations; I spend an awful lot of time with data and spreadsheets and numbers for an English major; I've become the defacto editor for my department; and I'm learning the nuances of administrating a custom-built website. After four months, I feel like I'm finally finding my feet. Mostly.
But the best part is that they like me. Hardly a week goes by when I don't get some kind of a compliment on my work or my intelligence or my skills. Just yesterday a guy who isn't even in our department was singing my praises to one of my bosses (who passed it on to me), then another boss said that taking notes is a waste of my skills and I'm too good to be working here. None of them seem to expect that I'll be there long-term because I'll be moving on to bigger and better things. I just can't tell you how nice it is to be appreciated.
And they bought me an iPad! I didn't even have to ask for it-- the IT gal in our department requested it for me, because part of my job description is to "provide high-level technical support" and so many people I work with use iPads. So she ordered me a white 64GB WiFi only one. And then told me once it got approved. (Even my boss only got a 32 GB!) I got it on Halloween, and between the pumpkin cooking contest (I entered pumpkin cupcakes and got an honorable mention) and costume contest (I wore my Jane Austen dress) and playing around with it, I admit I didn't get a whole lot done. It's fun so far, although I haven't really decided how much day-to-day use it will get. But it's nice to know I'm valuable enough to them for them to invest in an iPad for me. :)
More to come. :)
So some of those words will be here on my LJ. Others will be on my other blog (which I haven't mentioned here yet, but will). Even more will be on that nonfiction book (I can at least write about books I'm familiar with). Heck, I might even finish and/or write some of the fanfic I've had plot bunnies for. But hopefully, the effort will get me back into the habit of writing again. Because I really do miss it.
And in the meantime, I owe some major updates.
Guys, I can't tell you how wonderful my job is. The work itself is interesting, not least because I have so many different things I'm in charge of. My job title is Program Specialist, which is code for a high-level administrative assistant. I support 4 positions within the Special Education department at the state office of education (I figure there's no point hiding it, since, as a public employee, everything from my position to my salary is public information; besides, my name is posted on the USOE website anyway :P). The people I support are the Education Specialists in charge of Data (gathering, analyzing, and disseminating student information, from demographics to test scores), Finance (pretty much all aspects of funding, from allocating money to districts and charter schools to making sure they spend it legally, or at all), Assessment (involving both creating assessments and accommodations for students with disabilities), and Monitoring (making sure everyone is following the law and providing the best special education services possible). I am awash in a sea of acronyms (LEAs, FAPE in the LRE, OSEP, MOE, CEIS, etc., etc.) and government rules and regulations; I spend an awful lot of time with data and spreadsheets and numbers for an English major; I've become the defacto editor for my department; and I'm learning the nuances of administrating a custom-built website. After four months, I feel like I'm finally finding my feet. Mostly.
But the best part is that they like me. Hardly a week goes by when I don't get some kind of a compliment on my work or my intelligence or my skills. Just yesterday a guy who isn't even in our department was singing my praises to one of my bosses (who passed it on to me), then another boss said that taking notes is a waste of my skills and I'm too good to be working here. None of them seem to expect that I'll be there long-term because I'll be moving on to bigger and better things. I just can't tell you how nice it is to be appreciated.
And they bought me an iPad! I didn't even have to ask for it-- the IT gal in our department requested it for me, because part of my job description is to "provide high-level technical support" and so many people I work with use iPads. So she ordered me a white 64GB WiFi only one. And then told me once it got approved. (Even my boss only got a 32 GB!) I got it on Halloween, and between the pumpkin cooking contest (I entered pumpkin cupcakes and got an honorable mention) and costume contest (I wore my Jane Austen dress) and playing around with it, I admit I didn't get a whole lot done. It's fun so far, although I haven't really decided how much day-to-day use it will get. But it's nice to know I'm valuable enough to them for them to invest in an iPad for me. :)
More to come. :)