Turmoil at Work

I must be making up for days I haven't posted this month because I sure have plenty to say. Bear with me at any rate.

Recently events have transpired at my work that have made me somewhat nervous. You must understand that the environment I came from previously has made me somewhat gun-shy. There we were told nothing about why various people left, no effort was made to fill positions, rather the extra load was pushed on to someone who was already overloaded. It is difficult, but I do try to look at things from the outside point of view or at least make sure I've got the big picture before reacting.

Yesterday I came into work only to find that two very important people had left, of which one of them was a founding member of the company. Naturally I went straight to the source for the full story - I will not beat around the bush with excuses etc when I need to know if the well-being of the company I work for is at stake. The outcome was favorable for both sides - the company and the former employees. I was willing to accept the answer I received until yesterday evening. Just as we were winding things down for the day, CEO came over to our office and he and the VP of IT had an out and out fight. There was yelling and finger pointing and curse words everywhere. The fact his door was closed did next to nothing to keep things out of public ears. The outcome - our VP of IT quit (or so we were told), he couldn't deal with the changes that had transpired.

Today the CFO and CEO addressed our group to tell us why and how they planned to fill the gap. I appreciate the efforts and their honesty but I still have to wonder if others will soon be following his footsteps and leaving as well. Everyone left in our group has a very important role and I feel they all do it well. If one left, I hate to think of how long and hard it would be to find someone to fill those shoes. I have a feeling that I have pegged a few people for who will be leaving if there will be any leaving going on. Listed in no particular order:

Eric, a team member who I have heard mention some gripes about the place in the past.

Erik, my boss, but only if he doesn't step up to take the position that Ty had. I seriously hope this doesn't happen.

Joe, who has been there for years, and has it made with his work at home situation. Of course that's changing now that Ty has left and they are asking him to come in more frequently to keep things running smoothly. I can't imagine he is thrilled about that so hopefully they are offering some sort of compensation to keep him on.

Cassie, a web developer, I see as a mild flight risk, but knowing she doesn't like to be BS'd or walked all over I could see it happening. Especially if Joe is put in charge as she doesn't seem to like him much but rather grins and bears it when she has to.

As mentioned before I do hope I am wrong and especially hope that not all of them run off to greener pastures as that takes care of almost 1/3 of the team. We will see what the weeks to come brings us. Hope for the best.

Gripes

Within the last 6 months or so, all of the people I was used to spending time with have suddenly become inordinately busy, or otherwise obsessed with their lives. Over the years, I have become one of the only couples without children, putting a serious dent in my social life.

I'm not one to complain generally, but sometimes you just need a night out with the girls to cut loose. Something I haven't had in ages it seems. Spud is seemingly afraid to leave her child with her husband for fear he can't handle it, and all I can think about is how badly I want to tell her that if she doesn't do it he'll never learn and he'll never have a reason to try! I feel a bit selfish for that, but she is one of my closest friends, and now she lives incredibly close by. I have tried many times over to talk her into going out for the night - even something cheap as they are on a tight budget, but usually the answer is no.

Linda well...let's face it, she's a flake. Yes, she got me the concert tickets and I appreciate that, but the last time I actually set up an event with her and she followed through was so long ago I can't remember. There's always a new excuse. I like Linda, I really do, our personalities complement each other so well, but it's hard to get around the fact that she tends to blow people off on a frequent basis.

Rogue, well, I rarely see her anymore. Either it's family time with her and the hubby and kids or she's working. Seems like there's never social time. I feel like I hardly know her any longer.

It's hard for me to admit, but I need new friends. Ones without neverending family commitments and that have the ability to break away to go do something fun.

When I get bored and feel the desire to go out but can't I have been trying to bury myself in work or in quilting or something along those lines to keep my mind off it lest I let it drag me down. Thing is, I have a tough time meeting people and those I know and like at work either live in Denver or I have an issue with taking a work relationship and turning it into anything else outside work. My reason for that is if things go sour in the friendship suddenly it becomes difficult if not impossible to work together..doesn't it? Maybe I'm wrong. People wonder where to go find their soulmate, well I wonder where to go meet new friends. Suggestions?

I have changed quite a bit since college, but I really find I am missing my old college buds lately too. What I wouldn't give just to be able to have one of them come stay here for a long weekend or something. Alas, they too are victims of the same trap - family commitments or work. Doesn't anyone have fun anymore?

Snowbound

I was told earlier this summer by our new neighbors that when it snowed out here we would get the brunt of the storm. At the time I didn't give that a second thought, simply taking the words with a grain of salt and putting them out of my mind. Recently though, mother nature has decided to show me that my neighbor knew what she was talking about.

Last Thursday we had a big storm here. It blew in over night and dropped (according to the weather guy) 18 inches. Strong winds blew said snow everywhere causing some heavy drifting. Just getting the dogs into the back yard was a huge chore as drifts had developed against both gates. It took quite the effort on my part just to make a path into the yard. To give you a better idea, it is 5 days since the storm ended and we still have significant snowdrifts in the yard that have not yet melted. Wow.

Once the 40MPH winds stopped, a world of white revealed itself. 4.5 foot drifts in places, and just forget trying to go anywhere. Our neighbor at the end of the block was properly equipped with a John Deere tractor/backhoe kind of thing and he was coaxed into digging us out. Not that it helped much seeing as there was still a huge drift in the road that he couldn't manage with his tractor either.

After speaking with Lois, our other neighbor, I learned that the city has downgraded us to a Class C subdivision meaning we are the very last to be plowed if we get plowed at all. I got the number from her and had Beosig call them and beg to have them come by anyway. By 3:30 Saturday afternoon they were here working on the road.

Talk about your serious case of cabin fever! I was very happy about this as I had recently come by some tickets to a James Blunt concert that a former coworker won and then couldn't go to. How happy was I to be the recipient of said tickets! I haven't been to a concert since 2001 (or maybe 2000) when I went to the Eagle's concert.

I managed to talk Spud, a good friend into leaving her child and husband behind for the evening and going with me. The concert was great, and lived up to my expectations. However, in leaving I discovered I had suffered some hearing loss. Two days later Beosig was consistently telling me he had called my name and I heard nothing. I still wonder if he was messing with my head. Still, what a great ending to a very long two (almost three) days.

Behold the Power

I came from a job where I had ultimate trust. After 8 years, why not? It was earned and well deserved. I never did anything to make them think twice about having given me that trust. I had access to anything I wanted.

Fast forward to November last year, when I started the job I am now at. In at the ground level, having to prove that I am worthy of trust with an all-access account. I am no longer used to that - having to ask others to do the things I do not have permissions or rights to do is a bothersome thing, and as much of what I do requires that extra power I feel like a pest. Well no more!

Yesterday I finally was granted the POWER to do whatever I need to do. We had some issues testing it - the OS we use is flaky that way. Until today I did not know and was unable to use the full extent of my POWER. What a relief to have that back and not have to run to the boss every couple hours to ask to have various things run, scheduled or released. It took almost a year, but I have it at long last.

I must admit it is kind of scary in a way, because if I'm not paying attention I can cause some serious damage, but I am willing to accept the repercussions that come with that POWER. I take extra steps to ensure I don't leave my computer unlocked or other careless things to prevent abuse. Not that I think my coworkers are not trustable, but should the wrong person get in there...I shudder to think at the possibilities.

I guess this solidifies things - they must be planning to keep me around for a while. I'm all for that. Unlike my husband I do not enjoy moving around every few months to a new job. Yes, good experience, but I'll pass on the stress that goes with learning the new territory.