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It has been an interesting couple of weeks August 2, 2009

Posted by Staci in : Diet/Fitness, General Ramblings, Vacations, Work Stuff , add a comment   

It has been a couple of weeks since I posted so once again I am doing a rather long update.

I did take the test for the promotion. I wasn’t really nervous about taking it, but I wasn’t totally confident either. It was a 3 hour long test and it was a challenge, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I walked out of the test area feeling pretty good about it.

The week of July 19th I had off work for my annual summer trip to the resort with my nephew. It was a good trip. I however was driven crazy by a Spongebob marathon. I swear I hate that show. I spent a lot of time in the bedroom on my laptop or reading a book to avoid having to watch it. We did go swimming every day though and I took him indoor rock climbing. Over all it was a good trip with a great surprise during it. On Wednesday of that week my boss called me on my cell to confirm that he had my correct phone numbers. I didn’t think much of it at first. Then on Thursday morning I get a call from the hiring leader for the promotion I applied for. She offered me the job. I was so thrilled I was practically dancing around the hotel room. The promotion means a bit more money which is nice, but it also means I am now at a leadership level. I won’t be managing any people, but I will be working in the Financial Crimes Unit of the fraud department which has a lot more responsibly and involves alot more investigation and reporting.

I started my training for the FCRU department this past Monday. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I am doing pretty good. I have had a lot of positive feedback in regards to my performance so far and based on some comments that the instructors made to my new manager I have been doing some impressive work considering I don’t yet have access to all the tools that will be available to me shortly. I really think I am going to like this job and that it will be something that keeps me interested for a long time.

Also on Monday I found out that one of my online “imaginary” running friends died of a heart attack. Joe “Voodoo” was only 39. I had never met him in person, but I had interacted with him online frequently. He was a really nice guy who always seemed to have a good word for everyone. He will be missed.

My half-marathon is next week. My training recently has been spotty due to my ankle injury. I don’t have the mile base I wanted for this. My longest walk so far has been 8 miles. I was susposed to do 10 yesterday, that that has been moved to later today. That will give me a little bit better of an idea as to how the actual half will go. I refuse to drop out or quit though. I am going to VTFU and get it done.

Well that is all I have for now.

More time has past… May 25, 2009

Posted by Staci in : Diet/Fitness, General Ramblings, Vacations, Work Stuff , add a comment   

and once again I collected a ton of things to write here, but never had the chance to post. So another bulk update.

House Stuff –
We did find a nice house when we went out. Actually a great house that just needs some cosmetic work. I made an offer, it was accepted, and we closed on the house on May 6th. The painting has begun and once that is finished new carpet will go down. The other minor things it needs are a light fixture in one of the bathrooms, ceiling fans though out to help with the electric bill, and new toilets. I have before pictures, and tomorrow if all goes well I will take some in progress pictures.

Diet stuff -
Well I have yet to shed any of the extra pounds I have been carrying, but it has been difficult to do. I have a girls weekend with my friends involving a few of my friends, a trip to Vegas, and this holiday weekend. I will be back on track on Tuesday with my diet though.

Fitness stuff –
I am still not running, but I am walking. My friend Ruth and I are still training for the Half Marathon in Rachel NV that will take place in August. We are going to walk it and we figure it will take a little over 4 hours to complete. We missed a few walks due to vacations and stuff, but are back on track now and have plans for a nice nine mile walk on Wednesday.

Work stuff -
They did another round of layoffs. Thankfully this time my department was not impacted but the stress level is still really high. With the expansion into India our staff has been reduced to less then half of what it was 2 years ago. So far my job is still save, and my annual performance review was great so I am trying to stay positive.

Girls weekend -
Was a blast as usual. Lots of fun times talking, laughing, and of course drinking.

Vegas trip –
Very fun. My sister and I went for 4 days to play in a Bingo event. We have not gone on a vacation that was just the two of us before so it was a new experience. We didn’t win any money, but we had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to doing it again next May.

Memorial Day weekend –
Well I am home alone all weekend. My mother took my nephew to the resort for the weekend, so it is just me and Sonic. It is nice having the house to myself and being able to watch whatever I want on tv. I have a bottle of wine that I am debating opening so I can toast to the fallen soldiers who gave their lives to defend my freedom.

Shopping –
I haven’t done much of it because everything makes me look fat. However a friend of mine has an online shop where she sells hand-crafted jewelry. The website is http://moonsea.etsy.com She has some very nice stuff.

Well that is all I have for the moment.

Putting myself out there again. September 15, 2008

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So tomorrow well technically later on today I have another interview. This is also for a temporary coaching position at my work. They need 15 people so I hope my chances are pretty good. I know I can do the job. Hell for more then a year I have been doing the job with the title of “Subject Matter Expert” with great success. I just interview poorly. I know this. I get nervous. My hands shake. I forgot my own name. I focus so much on not fidgeting that I appear stiff and unapproachable. My company interviews in what is called the STAR story format. The questions all start out with “tell me a time when……” They can’t make it simple and ask questions about my qualifications, my job skills, or anything else. I hate that. I have a hard enough time selling myself as it is and to have to remember details about specific stories when I am having trouble remembering my name is beyond not fun.

Well I just need to remember to Be Positive. Be Confident. Be Myself. Easier said then done but I am going to try.

Work Stuff August 15, 2008

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Tv : The Substitue 3.

So a few weeks ago I applied for 2 coaching jobs at work. On that would be a position here in Arizona, and one that would take me to India. I know I am qualified to do either job considering I am acting as a coach already in my current role of “Subject Matter Expert” but I interviewed horribly. I was nervous and totally forgot what I should be saying to tell the right STAR stories and nail down the job. So I didn’t get either one. Now the people who did get the two jobs are qualified ( I still think I was the best one though) so I am not angry or upset that I didn’t get the job. I figure that I didn’t get it for a reason and that something better will come along.

Only 2 weeks since my last update June 1, 2008

Posted by Staci in : General Ramblings, Work Stuff , add a comment   

Ok so my plan of at least once a week was a bit delayed.

Memorial day weekend was pretty good. I went to a local Geocaching event. It was my first time attending one and I was a bit nervous but the people were really nice and welcoming. I had a nice lunch, “discovered” some interesting geocoins and maybe made a new friend or two.

Work is going ok for me. I still like working in fraud, and last week they gave me the task of quality checking some of the trainees work. I had done it in the past when I was coaching and they training department was a bit behind so they asked me to do it again.

I had a good 2 weeks on the diet. I stayed on plan with the eating, but my running was not up to par. I missed a few runs due to work/schedule issues, but still all and all a good week. I weigh in again tomorrow so we shall see if I managed to drop any of the pounds.

My mom lost her job again so until she finds another one our funds will be tight. No more extra purchases for me. I might have to cancel the Weight Watchers monthly fee and just go it alone using software on my palm pilot until we have the funds to rejoin. My payment is not due until the middle of June so I have some time to decide.

A surprise August 1, 2007

Posted by Staci in : Emotions, General Ramblings, Work Stuff , add a comment   
Mood : touched

So there is a guy in the department I work in who did a really nice thing for me. He is a co-worker who started training with me for the fraud department back in April. He is a nice enough guy and I have done some favors for him such as carpooling when he could not drive due to injury. He comes to me every now and then with questions on accounts because he knows I have background with the system. Well tonight he wrote an page long letter to my boss telling him how wonderful I am to take time out of my day to help him out. He said tons of nice things about me. I was so touched. I felt a little guilty because sometimes I feel like maybe I am being short with him, but I guess he doesn’t seem to feel that I am. After some of my past issues at work and people making a few complaints that I was unfriendly, not helpful, and condescending this is such a change.

Released July 23, 2007

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Mood : jubilant

So I have been in what my company calls “on the job” training for my fraud position since the last week of May. Normally that lasts anywhere from 5 to 17 weeks depending on how fast you meet quality goals. Well we were a big group so they fell behind in checking our work for accuracy. I found out today (Monday) that I met exceeded expectations and based on my first 4 weeks of work being checked am considered released. I achieved 99.85% accuracy for those weeks. My one error was a very small one that has no impact on our customers. Based on that I was released after just those 4 weeks of work being checked. I have to keep it secerty from the people in my training group until Friday when the formal announcement will be made but offically I can listen to my ipod, work overtime, take vacation, and flex my schedule as needed. I am so thrilled to have done that. My coach said the he expected me to to be first released but he figured on the 5 weeks for me, and I exceeded even his expectations.

A rant! May 16, 2007

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So I went from part time 36 hours a week back to full time 40 hours a week for the new position I am in. Now my understanding is that I would now be getting a larger pay check since I am an hourly employee and I worked more hours. Well they messed up. I got the same amout of money for 72 hours over a 2 week period ad I did for 80 hours over a 2 week period. Payroll says it is the fault of my leader, my leader says it is the fault of payroll. Do you get where I am going with this? No one will just take ownership and just fix the problem.

Also my id’s for accessing they system are all messed up. I have half the tools that I need to do my job.

while in training we are not susposed to use our lotus notes. No emailing allowed. But last night my leader comes in to the training center and says that he needs me to email him screen shots of the system errors I am getting with my ids. So I log in to my email and do what he asks. My instructur heard him tell me to do this, yet gets annoyed that I am emailing instead of sitting and doing nothing. I can’t really work due to the id issues. The today I get a voice mail from payroll telling me that the need me to email them some info on the mistake. So I tell my instructor this and log in to my email. Payroll and I send a few things back and forth until they pass the buck to my leader. So I forward their info to him. My instructur sees me sending emails and in front of my peers talks to me like I am a child. “I told you before no emailing allowed!!” Her opinion is I should wait 2 more weeks until I am out of the training class before I address any of these problems. How does that make any sense? I can’t get out of the training class until my id’s work, and the longer I wait to get the payroll stuff figured out, the worse it is going to get. *sigh* some days I really don’t understand why logical thought escapes normal people like my instructor.

Last Day April 19, 2007

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Mood : excited

Well today is my last day in the department I currently work in. I start my new job in the fraud department next week.

I came in today and my team had a lunch and a cake waiting for me. The cake was Disney Princesses theme. They also decorated my desk with streamers and signs wishing me well in my new endevor.

New Job March 16, 2007

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So I will finally be off the phones.  I got a position in the Fraud department at my company.  I will be working cases that the phone department sends though.  No calls ever again.  *happy dance* I start on April 24th.  5 weeks of training which should be cake.  It will be second shift, so I get an extra 10% in pay.  I love the hours.  4pm to 1230am.  Outstanding hours for a night owl such as myself.