the power of blowing bubbles

I know I just posted yesterday, but I posted about work and how I'm grateful to have a job... but now I need to post the other half because today was a very frustrating day, and it's not been the first frustrating day at work lately....

There have been many times where I've wanted to just walk out of work and quit on the spot. Today was one of those times. We have been SWAMPED with work lately and are not staffed well enough to do our workload in the best time (and most accurately) as possible. I am overjoyed that we have lots of orders to be processing because obviously, that is what is good for the company. I just wish that they would let me hire someone else so that we can get our work done and stay caught up with everything. I hate the feeling of drowning and asking my team to work overtime if possible because I know that I don't want to be working overtime either.

As we've been rolling out new products and testing new things, it has made my job very frustrating because sometimes things aren't quite ready and I get to deal with the aftermath. Sometimes changes happen in our database that make my job more complicated or cause more work so I'm not able to spend the time with my team doing our extra work because I have extra work of my own to do.

I get so frustrated when we set policies and they aren't followed, and then we take no action to correct the problems. One of my many frustrations today, in short, is concerning a new policy that was set for the preview sales managers. Some didn't follow it. So they were fined. But then one guy, who isn't even their manager, after one sales guy complained to him about the fine, AGREED with him that the fine should be reversed. If we don't fine these guys, they'll never learn and they'll keep doing whatever the heck they wanna do, regardless of any kind of policies they are given. There have never been so many swear words floating around my mind as there were this afternoon. It frustrates me SO BADLY that people are given mercy for their laziness and inability to do their job correctly. So with one guy off the hook from his fine, that means that we have to let ALL the others off the hook because that's not fair to them. WHAT THE FREAK. I am sick of babysitting grown men to have them do their job correctly and then when it is clear to them how they should do their job, there is no consequence for doing things wrong. They are kindergarten teenagers who think they know how to do everything (that's the teenager part), but then bawl like a baby when there is a consequence for their bad behavior (that's the kindergarten side). It is frustrating to work with those kinds of people. Oh. so. frustrating.

Here's how I remedied the situation.... First, I had a good little chat with one of the sales managers giving me the most grief right now and we came to a good resolution, and he has promised me that he will communicate with me more so that I can help him do his job correctly. But he is clear on our policies now and will do it right, or he will be punished and he knows that.

Then I went into our AP group's office and they gave me chocolate to eat and bubbles to blow. It was amazing. I never knew that blowing bubbles could calm anyone down so well. I mean, I guess it makes sense because you are blowing out evil, angry air, but it was magic. I felt better after blowing bubbles. I think I need to get a large amount of bubbles at my desk while we fix the issues that are going on. I get angry a lot often. I'm sure a large part of it has to do with my personal life and the emotional/hormonal roller coaster I've been on lately, but it's just so frustrating to do my job sometimes.

I have set a goal to have a positive attitude and I am trying to work on it. I know that I won't always be perfect and that there will be bad days (like today) and good days (hopefully much more to come!). I want to be happy at work and I know that I can be because I have been. The frustrations won't always last. The issues will get resolved through (lots and lots of) communication. It's just frustrating sometimes and some days I just need to vent. Because my job isn't perfect and some days are just bad days.

And while days are bad days, I will blow bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles.

Because I work

A little while ago, I was with some friends and we were talking about work. One of them commented on how they didn't know what they would do with their time if they didn't work. I laughed and quickly said that I knew TONS of things I would do with my days if I didn't work. So that week, I made a list of all the things I'd do, wrote up a schedule of my days, and felt like I could be so productive with my time without working.

So many things get put off around the house because when I get home from work, even though it's in a cubicle, I am so exhausted and just want to veg. So the bathroom, laundry, cleaning, organizing, decorating, exercising, etc. get put off for a "someday" when I have the energy.

Making up the list made me a little frustrated with my life. There are so many more things I want to do with my time that I just can't fit into a day. But then I decided that I'd be much happier if I started thinking about all the things I CAN do because I have a job. My list of things I CAN do doesn't include a lot of housework, but there are many every day things I need that I get because I work. My meager salary is much appreciated as it supplies most everything we buy at this time in our life. Not that people without a job don't have these things, but I don't know if we could really afford these things as well if I didn't have a job at this time. Things I can do or have because I work are included (but not limited to) in the following list:

Food, Gas for our cars, cell phone, buy presents (for ourselves and others), a car, eat out for date nights, plan and go on fun vacations, dream of buying a home and save for it, have health insurance, matching 401k, buy new clothes not from DI, buy nice furniture, etc.

The list could of course go on for quite some time. Those are just a couple of the things I could think of off the top of my head.

And I know that I won't always have to have a job, so for the time I do work out of my home, I will be grateful for my job and for the time I can work. And later, I can enjoy my "work free" days while the hubs brings home the bacon.

About Your Medication....

Clomiphene (KLOE-mi-feen) aka CLOMID

Common Uses: This medicine is a fertility agent used to stimulate ovuation in women who want to become pregnant. It may also be used to treat other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Possible Side Effects: that may go away during treatment (only may?!), include hot flashes, nausea, vomiting, breast tenderness, dizziness, lightheadedness, headache, or mood changes. Check with your doctor as soon as possible if you experience stomach or pelvic pain, bloating, or blurred vision.

Um... Doesn't this all just sound so fun? And exactly like being pregnant?! Maybe it's good practice. Mood changes is in bold as pretty sure that's been my most prevalent side effect. So if you've had contact with me this past week and I've been... angry, crazy, annoyed, or anything, don't worry, it's just the medication speaking. We'll see how it goes :) Wish us luck!

Been Busy...

So we thought last year was basically lame as mentioned in the previous post. But we are living this year and we've been busy!

The year started off with a great birthday getaway! Dustin booked us a night at the Armstrong Mansion in Salt Lake City. We started the night off at The Melting Pot for, as usual, the best fondue ever. It was a nice getaway to spend time with just the two of us. I needed that. Oh so much. The next day we went to the Lehi Trafalga for some laser tag and mini golf. Then some sushi and grill at Tepanyaki. The next day was my actual birthday where I got sung to in Primary and we had a great family dinner, followed by cheesecake and key lime pie. It was a great birthday and I am happy to put 24 in the past as I welcome 25 with arms wide open! I've always liked odd numbers better so I'm feeling good about this year :)

I started February out by spending a week in Boston working with one of our sales teams. It was good to see what goes on out there as I'm the manager in charge of processing all their paperwork. The days were long (typically 9 AM to 9 PM), and I didn't get to do any site seeing. I had a melt down the third day, but quickly resolved those issues with the team. It was a good week, but I was very happy to go home to my husband!

Other trips we are looking forward to this year are:

ARIZONA in April for Dustin. He is going to racquetball nationals with the UVU racquetball team!

CANCUN for 6 days, 5 nights in May after Dustin's graduation!

Portland at least once this summer to scope out housing options and jobs!

And last but not least, the BIG MOVE to Portland for Dustin to start grad school this fall!

We're very excited to this year and there are good things in store for us. :) We're keeping super busy as Dustin is finishing up his last undergrad semester and I am very busy keeping things under control at work.

Despite the busy-ness, I'm working on setting and completing goals each week, one which includes blogging so there should be more posts coming soon! I think I say that all the time, but I mean it this time guys. Hahahaha. If not on this blog, then I'll at least be posting more recipes on my recipe blog. Happy Readings!