New Job again

So, a couple weeks ago I started a new job. Same bank..different department. A department I thought would be more in keeping with my training and experience. It may still be that...but it certainly is not that yet. Today was my 8th day in the department and it was the first day I didn't have to squash an overpowering urge to run back up to the fourth floor and take my old (boring) job back and be grateful.

The new department is much more restrictive. Our cell phones are not allowed to be on our desks. They have to be in a pocket, purse, or car. There shall be no texting while at work. Unless we are on lunch or break. It used to be you could attach your 15 minute break to your half hour lunch, thereby giving yourself enough time to go to the store or run an errand. But now we have a new web clock time system, and the system doesn't allow for that. In my new departments defense, I would have had that problem even if I hadn't changed jobs. And the new department didn't want us to take a 15 minute break at all. They figured, since we were allowed to get up and use the restroom whenever we had the need, that should qualify for our 15 minute break and we shouldn't have to have a seperate one. (They have since determined that in our particular state, we are actually required to have one half hour lunch (unpaid) and TWO 15 minute breaks. (paid.) HA HA.

I applied for this position (with some trepidation and for about the 5th time) knowing that the change was going to be huge, especially when I'd worked in a flexible, easygoing department for a LONG time. I refrained from applying a few times, worried about the flexibility. They chose not to hire me a few times, for essentially the same reason. Well, that and they were concerned that I would lack writing skills. But I couldn't very well put a blog link in my resume. The good thing about this department is it has a path for promotion. I don't want to be a senior manager. But a little more pay wouldn't hurt. This time around, the hiring manager and I came to a sort of agreement. Currently the department is on mandatory 8 hours of OT a week. We agreed that I would work whatever OT I could, and if it didn't come out to quite 8 hours that would be ok. The arrangement was that we could work our eight hours by adding to our regular shift over the week, or work Saturdays. So my second day in the department the email that Saturday the 26th would be mandatory 8 hours of OT was not a happy omen. Supposedly it's only the one Saturday, and we'll be back to doing our OT whenever. Note to Senior Management: I will NOT work 8 hours every Saturday indefinitely. Just so you know. Do you know how much it costs me in gas to drive there and back every day? People (not me) have been working 8 hours a week of OT for NINE months. Let them do it on their own terms, and they might not all quit. Just a thought from one of your lowly peons.

Okay, OT rant over. Now for my alternate work schedule. The hiring manager and I also came to an agreement that I would be able to request an alternate work schedule of 7:30-4. On paper this is for daycare reasons. In reality, it's so I have a shot of getting home in time to feed my own daughter supper. The approval for my alternate work schedule hasn't come from wherever it had to go yet, so I've been working 8-4:30. The first day I worked those hours, I sat and idled in the parking garage for 12 minutes before gaining the freedom of a traffic filled street. Multiply 12 minutes by 5. I have much better ways to use that hour a week. Since until yesterday we weren't allowed to take a 15 minute break, I started taking my lunch at 3pm. That way I can eat for 15 minutes, hike out to the parking garage (a 5-7 minute walk), free my car from the parking garage, and park on the street in a one hour parking slot. The one hour street parking is a three minute walk from my desk. I get home much earlier. Hopefully the alternate work schedule approval comes through soon. (I'm saying when, not if. It had better be when.)

So yesterday Jupiter was awake when I went in to take my shower. When I came out she'd gone back to sleep. I knew she was tired, so I let her sleep. Bad plan. She was mad when I woke her up that I hadn't given her oatmeal before we left. And I couldn't MAKE her oatmeal before we left, because I HAVE to be AT MY DESK by 8am. If I want to leave at 4:30, that is. She was mad mad mad. She expressed her displeasure by slapping me before we even got out of the house. She was somewhat settled down when I dropped her off. Slightly less than an hour later, I got pulled over for going 36 in a 25. I was honestly making an effort to slow down (the speed limit drops from 45 to 25 right before I got clocked) and the officer was very kind and didn't write me up for the speeding ticket. Or for my expired registration. (Seriously, my town office opens at 7am and closes at 4pm. I leave town at 7:10 and get home at 5:15. No problem. I'll send a messenger pigeon.)

So anyway, today was better. I have hopes the sailing will get smoother. The adjustment is throwing me for a loop. Jupiter has had a therapeutic riding intensive session this week in the afternoons so she's been tired when I finally get home. Monday and Tuesday she wanted to go to the playground but we didn't make it. (Tuesday she kicked my sister's dog in the foot. I saw her do it, and knew she was lying when she claimed she was trying to get the dog to move away from the door. She was mad at me and kicked the dog. When I told her that she didn't deny it.). Wednesday we made it to the playground. We made it because while I was at lunch I called and asked Mimi if she would possibly bring Jupiter to the playground and I would meet them there. Lower the odds for misbehavior sabotoging a playground visit that way. Today she just displayed some minor disrespect when we got home. I sent her to take a five minute break while I cooked her supper and she was fine the rest of the night.

Sunday I'm hoping to go pick strawberries.

On the upside, my August vacation got reapproved. I will savor every second. Last Sunday it was raining when we got up. So we went to Tar*et. When we came out of the store, it was sunny. So we went to the ocean, since we were pretty close. We were going to pick strawberries on our way home, but the only organic strawberry field in our county was so busy that they had closed by the time we got there. This weekend we're going first thing Sunday morning. But anyway, I did a lot of savoring on Sunday. I think this job will teach me a lot about savoring. Maybe that's what it's all about.

Sorry for the long long rambly post.

Note to self: coin rolling

Next time I roll coin from Jupiter's piggy bank, I will do it AFTER she goes to sleep.

I wasn't even planning to roll her coin (former bank teller talking.) tonight. She ate chicken drumsticks for supper (also known as she ate something that was NOT Chefboyardee ravioli or chicken noodle soup). After the chicken she ate a little ice cream for dessert. Then she wanted something else to eat. But not a yogurt smoothie. She said she wanted oatmeal.

It never works when she asks for oatmeal at night. She had a look which told me that this was some kind of something she was trying to finagle. But I made the oatmeal anyway.

Which of course she told me she didn't want as soon as I made it.

So I told her, since she deliberately made the choice to waste food, she could buy the next box of oatmeal. Then I got her piggy bank so she could take the three dollars out for the new box of oatmeal.

She didn't care very much until the $3 turned out to be tooth fairy money. She wouldn't have cared a bit if we'd extracted $3 in quarters from the bank, but the tooth fairy money she didn't want to part with.

She decided to eat the oatmeal.

Since her bank was almost full, I dug through the drawer where I keep them and found some coin wrappers.

I'm not completely mean. I rolled two rolls of quarters and let her keep the rest of them. She got to keep the $5's, the $1 bill, and the dollar coins. I told her she could have $5 in whatever form she chose (a $5 bill, five $1 coins, or 20 quarters) to buy a Littlest Pet Shop. She negotiated for a quarter for the gumball machine. I even said yes to that.

But since I wouldn't let her have ALL the money to go to the store and buy Littlest Pet Shops, she was mad.

Its time to cut her fingernails.

I sent her to get ready for bed and rolled some more coin and did some deep breathing. When I went in the bathroom I asked if she had something to say and she apologized. She even gave me a hug. Then we brushed her teeth and climbed into bed to read The Secrets of Droon.

Tomorrow we'll go to the bank after school and put her rolled coin in her savings account. It's not near as much fun as buying Littlest Pet Shops. But now she has a chance to replace all those pennies with something different. And they have lollipops at the bank.

Soccer Practice