tingel

I learned today that I'm working for a company that actually helps out when people in need ask for it.

I was already impressed that the company's foundation gave 250K EUR for the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines and additionally promised to double their employees' donations.

But today we received a letter from a family (not the family of one of our employees, just strangers) who are in dire financial needs because they have two severely disabled children. I felt really sorry for them, it was a terrible story. But I honestly believed that was it. With my former employer that would have been the end. Maybe someone would have sent an answer, but only if they were having a good day.

My new employer on the other hand has someone whose job (among others) it is to check out such letters and, if they are true, to send money to the families. They actually have standard sums for people who had triplets because it's so common that they get requests!

Current Mood: impressed

He, had a busy day today, but now, I'm done and I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

Cleaned the kitchen window

Washed off the kitchen shades in the shower

Did the dishes

Vacuumed

Did three loads of laundry

Cleaned up my desk

Bagged the old clothing I'm gonna give away

:proud: Right now, my mom could come in a surprise visit and I wouldn't be embarrassed. (She never says anything. Just raises her eyebrow. Oh, the eyebrow of doom!)

Current Mood: accomplished

Seeing that I'm (relatively) new in my current job and that HR is always a bit removed from "real life" (ivory tower etc), this week I'm playing intern at one of the stores. The store is HUGE, seven floors of sales area.
Today I worked in the sales area, for the rest of the week it'll be different areas each day (from intake, to visual merchandising and admin). I think it's a great idea because, really, the above is true. HR has a completely different perspective and for an outsider it's especially difficult to judge what is important, what is even possible and when you step on everyone's toes.

Anyway, I was warmly welcomed today. And they showed me a lot, took me everywhere, showed me "backstage" etc. It was extremely interesting and time flew by. But honestly? Really really honestly? I'm so glad I decided on an office job. My feet are KILLING me! And as soon as I stepped outside I poured a whole liter of water into me and I think the water evaporated the second it touched my tongue. X-p

Current Mood: drained

Discovered a new site: www.postcrossing.com that is, a co-worker told me about it.
After registering and saving your home address you can request an address (which is from some random user from anywhere in the world). Once you sent that person a postcard and they confirmed that they got it, your address will be given to another random user from somewhere around the globe and they'll send a postcard to you. At the beginning you can request up to 5 addresses simultaneously.
I've requested two addresses and 1 card went to Russia and the other one will go to the US.
I'm very excited about this! Getting postcards and going postcard hunting to find something beautiful for others! It's a bit like Christmas!

Current Mood: cheerful

Today the time limitation on my work contract was lifted - accidentally... That's a new one! :grin:

My teamleader just intended for me to get a letter that I successfully passed my 6 month probation period. Instead the office management handed me a notice that my time limited contract was not in fact limited anymore. The contract was limited for reasons of probation/evaluation. Hence the mix-up. I offered to return the notice. But my teamleader said it's done.

So now: Job secure!
:dances, still somewhat dazzedly:

Since the weather is nice for a change, I thought I'd leave work a bit early today, take the bus into the city and enjoy a coffee somewhere.

When I got to the café my wallet was missing. I'm pretty sure I lost it when I switched seats on the bus (I still had it when I got on the bus and took out my ticket)
So I hopped into the service station of the public transportation provider which happened to be just around the corner and was still open. And I persuaded the guy behind the counter to give me a free replacement ticket (which he wasn't really allowed to do without photo identification - and guess where my ID was? Yeah, lost with the wallet. But the guy was nice and helpful and I secured my way home for today and my way to work for tomorrow).

I was still pretty optimistic. Someone will find my wallet and hand it in and I'll get everything back, maybe except for the cash which wasn't terribly lot and which I consider a finder's fee anyway. That's what I thought on my way home. Not happy but not really angry, either.

Still I called my bank to temporarily disable all my cards. Turns out the debit card was already disabled. The (nice & helpful) guy from the bank said he couldn't see why it was disabled, but his guess was someone had entered the wrong PIN three times. ... .... *there goes my mood*
So I had the cards permanently disabled and ordered new ones.
And I guess my chances that someone'll hand in the wallet just went down the drain. So here I am, without cash, without my bank cards, without any ID and my drivers licence and health insurance cards are gone too (as well as several customer cards).

So after all that I called my parents to whine about it all. Dad answered, listened to a few words, interrupted and said he couldn't talk to me because he had to put on shoes as he was leaving for a bike tour. And btw, our dog had severe surgery today. Bye. Mom will call me back when she's back from work.... ... Well, thanks so much, Dad!!!

Mom called later. Our dog is doing fine under the circumstances. (That's her in my avi). Her uterus had been inflamed and had to be removed. Mom went to the vet with her today because she was worried about how she behaved and they just kept her there and operated immediately. All went well. And dog is still kinda sedated. But still, I had it when something is wrong with her. And to think I had a normal day (up to a certain point) and there was all this drama going on and nobody told me!!!! .... ....

Oh, and then Mom told me that she fell with her bike and almost hit her head on the black top. Okay, nothing happened really. But just imagining what could have happened is scary enough.

So I'm all down now. This day sucks. I'm going to call my sister and find out what happened to her and the kids today.

Current Mood: bitchy

Let it be known that today is March 11th and it's snowing!
Not heavily, but certainly steadily.

Current Mood: hungry

Just bought a ticket for the opera (Salome - Strauss). If I like it/the experience, there're a few other performances that sound interesting.

Current Mood: content

After more than a year of not posting I'm finally back.
A lot happened (which would explain the not-posting)

summary:

started classes for BA Human Resources Management > no free Saturdays for about a year
I got bullied at work > was sick
Got back > had to change work team (bully was not punished as far as I can tell)
got told that new position was only temporary due to personnel cuts
lots of exams
worked in a really messy software interface project for about nine months till it was about to be finished > got my notice (with a nice settlement - someone had a guilty conscience)
two days after receiving my notice I got a new job!!! (Friday before Christmas)
last Friday: started on new job

(job will be a challenge, but all conditions point to it being a great job, traditional very successful enterprise with full employee-benefits (and I mean full), really interesting duties (lots of Excel, interface testing etc. right up my alley. They just do everything on a much larger scale than I'm used to))

Family is doing fine. My nephew is a little hellion full of energy and has a serious love/hate relationship with his little sister (the only one allowed to hit her is him! dammit!) He's huge for his age which can cause problems since he acts his age and people expect him to act like a kid 1-2 years older.

Niece had a rough start. A few days after being born she and her Mommy had to return to hospital for a week because niece got an infection in her digestive tract during birth that needed to be treated with antibiotics. She's been sick / to the doc / in hospital quite a lot since.

Still niece is also doing well. She knows what she wants though she's not as confident as big brother, prefers to cling more to her Mommy (and seeing what happens when Mommy is not around, i.e. big brother, not so surprising there)

I've discovered the Teen Wolf & Avengers fandoms and have been devouring fanfic as fast as I can read. (which is actually normal)

Current Mood: cheerful

Little sis has gone into labor! My niece will arrive today or tomorrow!
And sis is cool as whatever about it. She's at home waiting for the contractions to get stronger before going to hospital. She even took the time time to proofread a paper I was preparing for a test next week... :amazed:
Hope the little one will come today. As sis said, being born on 31 October is great. For the rest of her life everyone's gonna be in party mood on her birthday and will have the next day off so they really can party! :)
I'm so happy! My sis is happy, her hubby is happy, my mom is happy, everyone is happy and excited. This kid will be greeted by smiles!

Current Mood: happy

My uncle died Sunday night and my family is devastated.
My uncle was very active, doing renovations in his house, doing sports. He never suspected that he had a heart disease. 2 months ago, out of the blue, he had a severe cardiac infarct with three incidents of cardiac arrest in the following weeks. At last it looked as if he was doing better. Everyone was optimistic and then suddenly, another crisis and this time the doctors couldn't bring him back.
My uncle was a nice guy, a really nice guy, warm, family-oriented, out-going and funny. He was 62 years old.

Also I'm worried about my sister. She's 5-6 months pregnant and the last ultra-sound wasn't okay. Some problems with the little one's kidney. It could be that the little one was lying in a way that made observing his/her kidney difficult. Hence another ultra-sound today. My sister promised to inform me immediately with the results. Which she didn't do. I can't reach her right now and my dad just told me that she had talked to my mom and that there apparently wasn't any definite result yet. I find that very disturbing. EDIT: okay, little one is just fine!

Current Mood: distressed

After a long day of dusting, hoovering, and cleaning the high-point was when I was standing in the hallway and there was a draft and the door to my flat fell shut... with the keys in the lock on the other side of the door, of course. Cursing ensued.
Fortunately, my landlady and her friend were just leaving and I could ask them for help. First the friend tried to open the door with a card. Didn't work. Damn, it always looks so easy on TV!
I'm pretty sure I've deposited an emergency key with my landlady (she lives just downstairs). But she couldn't find the key, so no luck there! Then they gave me their phone and I called my dad. He's a real handiman and I hoped he would be able to open the door. He was sure he would have to break the lock to do that. Double damn. So at last I called a lock and key service and prepared to bleed (financially). Actually their estimate was pretty humane, but still. To pay € 100 for just a moment of inattention... ouch!
With the lock and key service on their way my landlady gave the lock a last try. This time with a steak knife. And wonder of wonders, the door opened!!! She is my new hero!!! I called the lock and key service again and cancelled the job. And they just agreed, no cancelling fee or whatever.
So in the end after a tiring day and a bit of a adrenaline rush I expect to sleep like the dead tonight.

Current Mood: relieved

*deep breath* I'm better now. But this day and yesterday were just horrible.

I have a few days off. And yesterday I was sitting and reading when I decided to get a glass of water and then I stood *in* water. The bathroom and hall had flooded. The washing machine was emptying its contents to the floor. And I hadn't noticed until too late. Panic ensued. Then I scrambled to shut off the machine and mop up all the mess. The water stood about 5 cm in the bathroom! It took some time, I was drenched, my nerves shredded. When I was done, my landlady rang at my door because there was water running down her walls (she lives in the flat downstairs). She was pissed off. What had happened? Normally I take showers. This one time I draw a bath I forgot to hook the tube from the washer back into the tub. Clearly my fault. So I called my insurance company. Called my parents. And stared at my PC for the rest of the evening.

Today I noticed that the laminate on my floor was rising at the seams. I called my parents, called my insurance company. Felt like crying. The insurance company said to leave it till Monday so that an expert could evaluate the damage before I could do any repairs. I feared that the water in my floor would sink through and also get into the downstairs flat. My dad spoke with them and they finally agreed that we could tear out the laminate to prevent further damage as long as we took pictures of everything. My dad came over (their car is broken right now, so he had to take the train) and helped me tear out the wet laminate. Half the hall and part of my study.

Then my landlady showed up again and asked how I was and apologized for being cross last night! I can't believe it. That woman is an angel! I was so relieved! I probably would have tried to avoid her for weeks. I even looked up adds for flats last night because I was convinced she'd give me notice. That worry gone and also the assurances from my dad that the new laminate would cost about a € 100 and he would install it himself, that felt like a stone gone from crushing me. Thank you! And my dad was so sweet, really patient! What a difference! Just two years ago I couldn't even be in the same room with him without getting aggressive. When he does repairs he usually gets really short-tempered which riles me up further. Nothing of that! He just showed up. Consoled me and then we got to work without any problems... (Two years of therapy. They really paid off!)

So now I'm not so stressed anymore. Just exhausted and a bit headachy. But hey, I can live with that!

Current Mood: exhausted

We actually have a White Christmas this year! Last time we did, I was just a small kid. I can hardly remember it. It looks reaally nice. And I could really enjoy it, if we didn't have to drive more than 300 km today to get to my sister. I'll pack some sandwiches and make some coffee to take along, because this could turn out to be one long drive. They actually said on the radio to stay at home if you don't have business outside.... On Christmas? :shakes head:

Anyway
Have a nice and safe Christmas!

Current Mood: cold

I had a private talk with one of my supervisors (I have two).
He told me about my yearly evaluation. He and the other supervisor are just thrilled with me and gave me a very good one. Which bossman (department manager) cancelled because it was too good. Evaluation results are connected to pay rises and apparently he's got a budget. The annoying thing: since this is all his brainchild he will see this through (even if he has to manipulate the evaluations), but every other department manager will get the rises he wants for his team even if they are not completely in sync with the results. After years in this company I know how this works. Well, since I was already expecting something like this, I wasn't really disappointed. It just confirms my opinion of bossman...

Another thing my supervisor warned me about: apparently several others in the team had complained that I was being too loud / noisy whatever. I do tend to speak in a loud voice. It's unconscious. When I notice it, I lower my voice. What really stings, is that noone, not a one of my oh so nice and funny coworkers said anything to my face. That one I'm really disappointed about. Yes, it would have been an uncomfortable talk. But I would have felt immensely better about it than learning about it this way. Still, I'm glad he told me. I can try to change my behaviour and I know not to trust as much as I did before and liked to do.

Current Mood: disappointed

Although there are some things in the office that I don't like (my view of everything is rather more pessimistic after the experiences of the last two days) work can be really fun right now. I have a new office-mate (is that a word?) and she can be really funny! XD And we always find time to chat about TV series, food, co-workers, food, vacations, food etc (there's a theme going on here). Also after just a few weeks together we have different roles established: she's the nice and understanding one and I'm the one with the bit of a mean streak which she makes fun of(!) :grumbles:

Something else entirely: my nephew is starting to walk! A the moment he still clings to things to keep his balance. But he pulls himself up to his feet all by himself and then off he goes. My sis has her hands full keeping track of him. And he's only just 10 months old! :proud: I'll visit at the beginning of November and am already looking forward to it! I've seen the latest pictures and he's soooo cute! ^__^

Current Mood: amused

So, I'm feeling a bit more alive today which is actually good because it was my first day back to work. Since it was my birthday during my vacation (what a coincidence :P) I brought along some cakes for our team and we all gathered for a few minutes, shared the cake and I got a gift - an Amazon voucher. Everyone at work knows I'm reading every free minute I get and everyone's seen my ereader (the Sony) at least once. So they thought the gift voucher would be a good idea. Normally I use the ereader for fanfic, not for official ebooks. But that's okay. It's a great gift!
And since boss-man is physically incapable of not taking center stage he found a new of being "cool"... by bragging about not liking to read.
<sarcasm>Dude, you impress me more every day!</sarcasm>

Current Mood: lazy

I finally had my vacation in Turkey. The long anticipated one. (see a few entries back on this journal) It was PERFECT! Beautiful resort, great weather, delicious food, awesome people... and then I caught a severe cold on the flight back and now I feel reif für die Notschlachtung (transl.: ready for emergency slaughter), coughing, sniffling, sneezing, shaking with cold :sobs:

Current Mood: sick

My sister's officially three months pregnant and everyone let's out a sigh of relief. Not that we were worried really. We're all very optimistic, but you know, sometimes things do go wrong in the early weeks. But my sister is doing well, she's happy and relaxed and looking forward to January...
I'm so excited! :happy dance: I think it'll be fun being an aunt. It's a great "job". Hey, I can spoil the little one rotten and then just return him/her to the exasperated parents :evil grin:

Current Mood: happy

Thursday was a holiday and yesterday I took a day off so this is a long weekend for me! Yay.... or not so much.
Because right on time I got a nasty headcold. I was so exhausted/dizzy yesterday that I actually lay down for a bit in the afternoon (I never do that usually) and promptly slept till 7 pm. Consequently I couldn't fall asleep / woke up regularly tonight. Wonderful. Now I feel even worse. And the cough hurts!

Time to cheer up! My sister is still pregnant. :big grin: It's kinda funny even. She started to get morning sickness and my mom went all "Yay, she's vomiting!" rofl
I think my sister might get second thoughts. She's a very independent woman. And now suddenly everyone treats her as if she's fragile. "No, you can't lift this" "No, you can't go shopping alone" "I'll do the garden work for you." I'm curious to see when she'll finally crack and yell she's pregnant, not sick. It's bound to happen ^_^

More cheering things: I got my copy of the Demon's Lexicon!!!!!!!! I'm still debating if I should start reading now or when I feel better. It might distract me, but on the other hand I'm in a crappy mood and can't really concentrate so well. I might waste the experience. But it's sitting there and looking gorgeous. I want to read it! Aaargh

Current Mood: sick

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tingel

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December 2013

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Page generated Oct. 21st, 2017 03:49 pm

Entries tagged with life

O.O

mission accomplished

ouch

fun site

Um, oops?

This day sucks

this weather

opera

what happened during the last 14 months

Eeeeeh

down

I'm still here and chaos is still around me

this year ends with a BANG

Happy Holidays!

not so much office humour

:grins:

And it's back to the treadmill...

bitte, Notschlachtung!

It's official!

Trying to cheer myself