Job Hunt: Infinity

There's something to be said about being "hourly". I'm not responsible for checking my email while away from work. I get an hour lunch, where I don't have anything to do except for eat lunch. I have a finite list of responsibilities, and if I attempt to go outside of that list I can be written up and dismissed. I am an at-will employee, meaning I can leave whenever I want, without a reason why. I work at an institution with very defined policies and practices which require people to be civil and protect me from harassment and discrimination. I always thought that being hourly meant being in a low-end job. But in all reality I have a pretty cushy job that allows me to have responsibility but also a work-life balance. I can't be ordered to do something outside of the set parameters, for example I cannot paint while on the clock. I can't (or shouldn't) drive my car to do university business. And the institution where I work has an entire process for bein...

My husband and I are watching Star Trek: The Next Generation . There is a two-part episode where Captain Picard is transformed into a Borg; this episode is apparently the best two-part episode in the history of television (pretty much a direct quote from my husband). Part of this episode (or an episode around that one, we're watching them in succession on Netflix so I get confused) includes a young woman who aspires to be Picard's next Number One, she goes over Riker's head and attempts all sorts of feats to prove her worthiness. Riker continually tries to remind her that she has a lot of learning to do. This episode really reminded me of some of the complaints about the "Millennial" generation. I've heard many negative things about this up-and-coming generation, including that they feel privileged and that each of them thinks they are unique and special. People think that Millennials don't take responsibility for their actions and don't take time to ...

I was going to post a really cool link about a craft retreat on facebook. However, I became highly annoyed, almost to the point of yelling at someone, and so I decided to write a blog post during my lunch. I’ve worked in some pretty interesting jobs. I’ve work at a pet store, florist, dining facility, administrative offices, non-profit offices, and academic offices. I’ve had all sorts of different supervisors/bosses. Some are mentoring, education-oriented, and fantastic to work with, other are harsh, rude, inappropriate, uneducated, and all around terrible to work with or for. Office environments have included hostile, friendly, casual, semi-formal, and all sorts of things in between. So, for all of those things above, it means I’ve also worked with a large, diverse group of people. I worked at one school, I previously called it Gold College, where I was absolutely miserable. My boss was terrible, the workplace was hostile, I didn’t trust human resources, and the ladder to climb re...

I grew up in a small town. There is an incredibly small Main St., with the only two lights in town on either end, some shops, restaurants, and pizza places. The school district is very good (in my uneducated about primary/secondary opinion), we had college-level courses, instructors with Master's Degrees, and an administration I respect. I remember when housing tracks were fields, when across the road from my parents house was a swamp, and when lots of parents volunteered to work with Booster Clubs, committees, and school activities. There were drugs, cigarettes, sex, and all sorts of scandals (one of my locker neighbors in Middle School mysteriously disappeared after rumors of pregnancy). I now live in a small city, which is located in a very rural county. There are a few places I can buy groceries, including a local supermarket, Target, Walmart, Aldi, and now a small grocery store. Walmart is generally poorly organized, poorly staffed, and highly annoying. Target is much better,...

I've been attempting to write this post for several weeks. I've learned a lot so far in my new job, I have also come across a lot of problems, concerns, and issues (for me personally and for the office/program I work in). The main one that stuck out in December was language. We don't normally pay a lot of attention to the language we use, until we're in a new environment. I guess it's like getting dressed for work. At the restaurant I had to wear specific pants and specific shirts, wore a similar underwear everyday, black socks, and restaurant shoes. When I interviewed, I put on nice clothes and nice pants, just like I used professional language in the interview. Before I started my new position I asked what dress code was like and while I still dressed up, jeans are generally acceptable. The language in my department is the opposite of my professional training. The people paying for an education? "Students", or in my department: "kids". I hate...

When I was in graduate school we talked a lot about silos and divisions. It never really hit home until I started working in academic administration (as opposed to student services and that end). The department in which I'm working used to be two departments, and a few years ago they merged. This has affected my life in a few ways, first (and most definitely foremost) of which is how my office and files are organized. Faculty's folders, which hold information such as evaluations, are not organized alphabetically, they are first sorted by previous program and then alphabetically. Contact lists are also sorted like this, which can make finding someone I haven't met yet extremely difficult. We also have two department leaders, one from each former department, who each had their own assistants. This lead to have three assistants in one office, each doing a specific job and working in a specific silo. Silos have also caused other problems, such as redundancy. Each of the t...

Lots of goods and bads the past couple of weeks, along with beginnings and endings, which could be good or (and) bad. I received a rejection letter from my dream job. No interview, nothin'. Well, I can now share that I found a job! I am now a Sr. Staff Assistant at a local institution, working in a 100+ year old program with a fantastic reputation! I started at a really slow time in the academic year, so there isn't a whole lot I can do (yet) I meet my co-worker, who has been out on medical leave, for the first time this week I no longer work in the restaurant business! (but I had to say goodbye to some good people) In my first week of work I managed to get a cold, have Outlook screw up times for an appointment, have my ID number messed up, and get a flat tire I had a terrible stomach bug this weekend, and when I finally felt better we went to the grocery store and then got pooped on by a murder of crows I think I'll continue the blog, but change the idea. I'm...