Thursday, December 20, 2007

That Went Well

Today I brought a snack of gingerbread and apples into Conor's classroom. (Gotta be healthy--no more cupcakes!) One little boy, an African-American student, asked me if it was hard to make. I replied, "Oh, I slaved away at it!"

I'll be winning the Room Parent award any day now.

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Dooced?

At the risk of revealing too much about my soon-to-be former client, I have to share this. The following is the basic text of a recent email to all employees:

Game ON!
Time for the 2007 Annual Salary and Performance Review Process.

Suit up and get your game plan ready now - this email officially kicks off the Annual Performance and Salary Review process. Blah blah blah

Now, am I being ridiculous, or do others think that pay raises aren't a game?

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Thursday, December 06, 2007

Do You Tell?

I sit by the manager on this project, and today she's having a conversation about the fate of all of us consultants on my project. Including me. (I can tell when she's talking about me because she starts to whisper.) So I know that my time on this project is nearly up, as is everyone elses. Except one guy.

Do I tell anyone?

You never know how people will react--what if they march right over to her and say, "She says you're letting me go."

What if one person is close to buying a house? My first software job was at a teeny-tiny company with some cash flow problems. I got the job because a friend of mine worked there, and she told me that a great interview question was to ask if they'd ever missed a payroll. The answer was yes, and the guy interviewing me just laughed. Anyway, so this company ran into some other cash flow problems and had to lay off the last guy hired. I don't know why, but we all knew he was getting fired. Except him--and he and his wife went out and put in a bid on a house. He didn't get the house, he did get fired, and that week the rest of us ran to the bank our paychecks were drawn on to cash them.

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Monday, December 03, 2007

Part of the Job?

Our childcare choice this time around is a nanny, and she's great. Amazing, really. I told her that her job is just childcare--no housework. But she said she'd be happy to do the kids' laundry, so Lucy and Conor have folded pajamas for the first time. Ever. My theory on pajamas is that if the pieces are reasonably co-located (e.g., clumped together) and the drawer is big enough, why bother? But now they're all nicely folded! They look so nice I hate to use them.

The other day she had time and folded our sheets and towels. I fold our towels, but the sheets are on a JIT schedule--they stay in the hamper until it's time to change them, then they're put on the bed fresh from the dryer. (Or a couple of days later, whatever.) Sometimes I believe we could subsist on a single set--and we do, until I get tire enough of one set to fold them and put them away.

But it's weird to have someone else fold my sheets. Occasionally, very occasionally, someone has. During chemo I'm sure the only thing I folded was me into the fetal position, and since I spent so much time in bed (and I like clean sheets!), I'm sure my mom or Kevin did. But for some reason I feel folding my sheets is a very personal thing. Maybe because it's a very grown-up thing to do, to take care of your bedding. I remember guys in college who didn't even use sheets--just slept on bare mattresses. Ugh.

I remember the first time I bought my own sheets. My mom was surprised--maybe it triggered a realization that I was growing up, or maybe it was that I'd charged them to the 'emergency' credit card. Sheets--an emergency? Well, when you're spending almost every night at your boyfriend's apartment, and your bed is frequently used by an out-of-town friend and her late night booty call, new sheets *can* be an emergency.

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