Certifiable!
15 Sep 2008 1 Comment
Last week I was in a class for three days doing some serious studying so I could pass my ITIL Foundations Certification.
When I first started with this company back in December that was one of the first things I heard about. “The ITIL Way” was new to me back then. So I took the course early on and I had two things working against me then. I was brand, spanking, new to this HUGE company and I was horribly sick for my first two months here. This was when I first tried to learn ITIL. so I’m sure you can guess how that all went. Evidently, I wasn’t the first to take the course and not pass. I was devastated none-the-less.
Work has been extremely busy since then and I was finally able to sign up to take the course again… Last week. I definitely understand all the concepts of “The ITIL Way” but taking tests is not my fortay plus this exam comes from the UK and their word choices aren’t exactly like ours.
The first day of classes was a bit frustrating and nerve wracking but the instructor assured us it would all come together by the second day. Both nights I studied and worked on memorization but the second night Minnie Red had gotten herself into a heap of trouble. I had already taken the TV from her room because I really don’t see the purpose plus its a distraction. Last Wednesday I took her computer and her cell phone. The purpose for the phone is when she visits her Dad and I had been warning her that she could lose it if she doesn’t shape up.
Losing the cell phone left her wailing like a banshee. I maintained my cool for a while but my breaking point hit especially because she was keeping me from studying. My redhead temper came out… Oye! Unfortunately, it didn’t scare her because in the apartment I won’t yell like I might in the car and believe me I can yell.
Minnie Red is just being a typical teenager and I’m not going to continue with some of the silliness she is bringing. Mom is taking her down a notch or at least trying because she is one STUBBORN girl.
So come Thursday morning I was tired and hadn’t done my practice test. I figured I was doomed to fail. I got to the classroom and promptly took the practice exam cold. Passed! Not by a lot but it was passing. class started for the day and by noon we took a second exam… Passed! Still not by a lot but slightly better than the first exam. By one thirty the proctor arrive to administer the exam and by two we were working it out. I didn’t take the full hour for the 40 question exam and nervously turned it in.
I couldn’t help but worry what would happen if I didn’t pass this time. I hadn’t heard of anyone going back for a third time.
Today the email came with my results:
PASSED!
Thank goodness!
I can’t tell you what a relief that is and I did better than I had done on either of the practice exams. So I am now ITIL Certified but I like to just say I’m Certifiable.
To be honest… its been a crap week
04 Jul 2008 3 Comments
Last weekend was spent at the convent visiting Aunt Dot. Now don’t get me wrong or call me some bad person because I HATE being at the convent. I fully understand that it makes Aunt Dot happy and even though I81 is a beautiful… The other drivers are not. I would rather be at the beach either sleeping or drinking.
I took Aunt Dot all sorts of things that put a smile on her face and Minnie Red and I stayed by her side from the time we arrived until we left. We attended two masses with her and names have been placed in The Book, of people the nuns pray for, as requested and for my own good. We almost saw a few nun fights, which made the trip well worth it. Nothing like seeing some really old religious chicks threatening to punch or shoot each other, especially when they can barely walk or not walk at all for that matter.
By the time I got to work Monday morning my body was hurting due to the uncomfortable sleeping conditions at the convent, not-to-mention the lack of hot water. Plus I must have been griting my teeth because my jaw was killing me.
The best thing about Monday was going over to a Mrs. M’s house to stuff envelopes for a bridal shower we were working on. Mr. and Mrs. M have a frozen margarita machine so the plan was he would fix the drinks while we stuffed the envelopes. The envelopes were done withing 20 minutes but I didn’t leave until almost 2 hours and several margaritas later. My jaw was finally feeling better.
Tuesday, was the happy hour and I got to see some people I haven’t seen in a while. It was a small group but everyone seemed to have a good time and I was pleased with the happy hour prices.
Wednesday, was when the poop hit the fan at work. It’s a lot of blah blah blah and some panic and in the end a shit load of work for my team. This also means working this weekend… Crap! So after work I took Minnie Red to see Hancock because there’s no sense in stressing, right? I then worked that night in hopes it would help me finish early on Thursday so I could head to the beach as early as possible to avoid traffic.
Thursday, I worked from home and nothing got completed as planned. I dropped a load of money on four new tires and they tried to get me to spend another load on more work. They are, of course, mechanics and I am, of course, a woman so you know how that goes. At work there were all sorts of oddities that needed trouble shooting and I tried to pack in between them. I just couldn’t seem to get away from work and so the poop that exploded on Wednesday was still hanging in limbo. I was finally able to pull away around three and feared the drive would be bad but I hoped for the best.
It took two hours just to get to Annapolis and the three hour drive took four and a half, but I was just happy to be there. I arrived just as Brotha-Man and SIL were putting the King to bed so I kissed him goodnight and took a pull on the kegerator. Ahh time to wash the week away even though I knew I would be working while here at the beach.
I was asleep by 10 but I had forgotten about the alarm on my cell phone. That was it and I was awake and it was 5am. I couldn’t help but think about all the work I had to do. Granted the data that needed cleaning had been cut back to only 40,000 but last time it was cut close because it took two weeks to clean 5,000. So I was thinking about all this work and there’s a big party in Bethany on Saturday and I wasn’t going to miss it. Our VP said no one was to work on the 4th but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. So now it’s 5:30am and I’m out of bed, before the King even. I’m trying to be very quiet so I set myself up out on the balcony and I start this gawd awful tedious task.
I missed the King’s first walk on the boards, I missed beach time, and I missed nap time. By the time the crabs arrived I had worked straight through and the data was cleaned and is now ready to be organized before sending to the programmers to be imported. The crabs were hot and the beer was cold so I didn’t even bother to change out of my pjs, that I had been working in all day. At least I was in a tank because I looked as if I had been sitting on the beach and I have the sunburn to prove it.
The crabs were delicious! So was the beer for that matter… and still is. By the time I called it quits with the crabs I took a nice shower and played with the King. He was put in his jammies and Auntie Red rocked him to sleep.
It may have been a crap week and a tough day of work but that little boy falling asleep in my arms washes all the crap away and makes me a happy Auntie.
Happy 4th of July!
Hair of the Dawg
02 May 2008 1 Comment
Last night we had a Happy Hour for a co-worker who is leaving us. He is moving to Tokyo, where his wife is from, to take care of his Mother-In-Law. The HH was a success and many showed up.
This morning everyone is in since it’s his last day and we are all flocking around each other cubes discussing the previous evening events.
But before we get to that Mouse tells she woke up at 5am to find her husband in the bathroom dialing on the house phone. She can’t figure out who he would be calling at 5am and I immediately think she’s going to tell us he was sleep-walking.
She knocks on the door and asks him if he is ok and he responds very grumbly. She walks in and sees that he is looking very tired yet concerned. He tells her he is dialing his cell phone because he believes he flushed it down the toilet. That when they heard the muffled ringing of his cell phone, which seems to be stuck in the pipe. Just then the alarm on his phone goes off and they can hear it resonating through the pipes and Mouse become concerned the alarm will wake the neighbors downstairs.
Mouse goes and gets the plunger and attempts to suck the phone back out. All the while she is laughing hysterically. Her hubby is getting frustrated and tells her to stop because the plunging will push the phone deeper. I don’t think her laughing was helping the situation but she couldn’t help it.
Mouse left the plunging and called “Equipment Replacement” about the situation and to get her hubby a new phone. They told her to make sure to turn the phone off because it could spark. She said, “I can’t turn the phone off because it is stuck in the toilet!“
So as Mouse finishes this hilarious story more co-workers flocked to my cube. We were talking about the previous evening events. We got to meet Salmon’s girlfriend at the HH but she wasn’t feeling well. I said, “She just needed a little bit-o-the hair of the dawg“.
That’s when Mrs. Instigator said, “What? Oh no! She was bit by a dog?!?!?! Is she ok?”
I could hear my boss laughing from the other cube and I lost it. Tears were rolling down my face and I turned several shades of red. I couldn’t even catch my breath to explain that hair of the dog refers to having more alcohol to relieve the hangover from the previous night’s alcohol consumption.
This is starting out to be a fantastic day.
The big catch up ( I know… Unoriginal title)
09 Feb 2008 5 Comments
I guess I haven’t written much lately which is evident when people start contacting me to see if I’m ok.
Mid December I came down with a cold and the next day I started a new job. I was terrified about leaving my old, small, company and starting with The Borg. That first week of the new job I was also finishing up my Illustrator class and still had a lot to do to complete my final project. That final project was tough and took weeks to complete due to the details.
Our first project was easy and was all about just learning the Illustrator tools. The second project pushed us into drawing a writing tool. This one was tough but I learned a lot. The third project was much easier and we had to design the front and back of a CD case. I hated what I did but I met all the objectives. Then it was time for the final project and for this one we had to draw a transportation vehicle. It was hard to find a photo of what I wanted to draw but in the end I took a photo of a friend’s 69 Cougar.
The tough part about drawing this car is the reflections that include trees and buildings. My drawing needs clean lines. Plus you’ll notice the inside of the car is unfinished. I talked to my Professor to make sure but I would have to use some of my own artistic licensing to pull it together.
Just getting started was probably the toughest part. That last week I had started the new job, was sick and worked till after 1am every night but when I sat down to work on the car I have to admit I enjoyed it. Mini Red would be sleeping and the TV was on for background noise and there were no distractions… Just me and the Cougar. In the end I was pretty happy with the result.
Hopefully, it’s difficult to see all the little details it takes to pull this together. To give you an idea of the details I took the front tire, which took me most of a Saturday, and broke it down in the picture below.
I was so happy to turn this in. I tried to take it easy the next day at work and was feeling like the cold was going away. I got through the day and even met up with a friend that evening. The next day was Saturday and the goal was to finish up the Christmas shopping I had put on hold. Christmas was only a few days away and I needed to finish so I could wrap on Sunday because Monday I had to work and Christmas was Tuesday. But on Saturday I was feeling worse and it all went down hill from there. It took all day and I was everywhere but I did finish. This was the Saturday that I also ran into issues with FN.
By Monday I finished up working then more wrapping and had to lie down for just an hour before we had to head off to the big family Christmas Eve party. Thank goodness for Mini Red because she loaded the car so I could finish up and get ready. We were late but I dropped Mini Red off and headed over to The Folks to unload the car before I could get to the party. It was a long night and I didn’t get much sleep since I can never seem to sleep anywhere but in my own bed.
Christmas Day was crazy. 7:30am Mass, opening gifts, off to my Aunt and Uncle’s for brunch and dropped Mini Red at her Dad’s. I hadn’t stopped for weeks I was sick and just couldn’t do one more thing. When I got home I sat on the fat ass couch and fell asleep mid flip of the TV stations. I finally got some sleep and I was thrilled Christmas was over. Hopefully, I could feel better soon.
But the cold continued into this horrendous cough. I wasn’t sure what to do since I hadn’t gotten my insurance cards yet. Mom mentioned the Minute Clinic and they were able to give me a prescription. It helped a little but I was told I would probably still cough for a few more weeks. The cough finally started subsiding by the end of January just in time for Mini Red’s 13th birthday.
Mini Red’s big gift from me was to see Cirque Dreams at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. I took Mom too and she ended up buying us dinner at Maggie Moore’s. We had such a great time except Mini Red had been sick all weekend. I’d never seen her like that and all she did was sleep. She was feeling better in time for the show but couldn’t stop her nose from running. At one point she just stuffed tissues up her nose during the show.
Unfortunately, I came down with something else the next day which brought the cough back and worse than ever. At least I had my insurance cards now so I went in to see a doc. I was put on this inhaler and it’s helping but still having to use it. Hopefully, one more week will do it.
Lastly, I’ve decided not to take a class this semester. I need to finish getting better and make sure I’m doing well on this new job. Plus I’m hoping to have a little more of a social life. From what I hear this was the semester to take off. A friend that did decide to take the class HATES it.
So now you are caught up and I will try to post a bit more.
The final day has come
14 Dec 2007 2 Comments
in work
I can’t believe this day has come. This is my last day with The Company.
I’ve been here for over eight years and I feel as if I’m leaving home. I have not had to make or buy lunch all week and you’d think that would be great but the looming circumstances for these people are hanging over their heads. Red is leaving them.
The New Dude is taking over my duties and we have all been joking that he needs a red wig and balloons to stuff in his shirt. The clients are disappointed and had some very kind words for me. I told one of my clients about the blog and here is what he had to say:
Just checked out your blog…
If I could write a post it would go something like this. ..
” Well “Latin Girl” is leaving her job, never met or saw her but she is one funny lady, she will be missed. Asked if I could keep in touch with her after she left the job and she sent me a link to her blog. Took a quick look , the voice and humor were all her but I admit I was quite surprised that the picture she had posted was really her, this girl has it all! Sent her a compliment, all the while worried I would become food for fodder on her site, alas no response…those damn chest droolers…when will they learn that sometimes a compliment is just a compliment!”
Couldn’t resist! 
I promptly replied that I would be posting it so he was forewarned.
I have faith in the new job I am going to but the people here is what keeps The Company going. I will miss them terribly. After work many of us are getting together for my going away happy hour and I am pleasantly surprised by the people I hear that are coming including some clients and old friends I’ve met through this job. I’m hoping Mosh will take some pics so I can post them for you.
My final project for Illustrator class is due next Thursday so posting will still be limited as I am in crunch time. The project is coming along and I hope to be able to post that for you as well.
Sis’s boyfriend, Chase, gave Mini Red and I our Holiday gift early. We now have decoration for the car… Soon the car will be Rudolph with a red nose and antlers. No worries a photo is forthcoming.
Lastly, Chase is still whining over this pseudo name I have given him. In a conversation over IM this morning he expressed this and suggested a new name. I believe he was joking about this name but I’m not. Chase will hence forth be known as “Viper“. Please make a mental note of it.
So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, good night
09 Dec 2007 14 Comments
in work
Wow this has all happened so fast.
I have been with The Company for almost 9 years and last week I gave my notice. I still can’t believe this is all happening.
The knowledge I have of the software I work with has become in high demand. This is why my resume has been requested more and more lately. In my opinion my resume is nothing fancy and just states the facts. I didn’t even send it out when The Company was having trouble and people were being let go. Well, my resume was requested again and I thought, “Why not. I’m happy where I am but let’s see what happens”. I was then quickly contacted for an interview but things fell quiet over Thanksgiving. “No biggie”, I thought since I am happy where I am.
They contacted me soon after Thanksgiving and I went for and interview. I wasn’t real nervous and didn’t expect much since I am happy where I am. I went because I just wanted to see and I hadn’t been on an interview in about 7 years.
The interview was amazing and these people were awesome not-to-mention the benefits are off the hook. The day after the interview I heard nothing but again “no biggie” because yes I was happy where I was. I wouldn’t expect to hear anything the next day anyhow. Isn’t it like a first date where you never hear from the dude the next day because he might seem too eager?
But I heard on the second day and word was they were very excited about me and an offer came my way by the third day. I started shaking and called my Dad. He said, “Is it a no brainer or do you have to think about it?”
I said, “It’s a no brainer but I’m feel like I did when I left my ex-husband, it was a no brainer but still tough.”
I was nauseous at the thought of telling my boss. She is an awesome lady and working for her has been the best time in my tenure with The Company. I treaded softly as I went in her office, I closed the door and just told her. She stared at me blankly and said, “I hate you! I’m gonna kill you and don’t think you’re getting a party.”
She was joking of course and I knew she wouldn’t be happy about me leaving.
Every time someone leaves it has been difficult and I would get this pang of pain in my chest. Not to toot my own horn, but I know others will feel this pain as I leave. I have been a staple there for so long and from what I hear it’s noticed when I’m on a client site an out of the office. No matter what I try to always have a kind word for everyone, a funny story or even a funny impersonation of a co-worker.
If you are a co-worker and reading this now you know I have, most likely, done an impersonation of YOU! All of you! I’m not mean about it but everyone has a little thing they do. My coworkers even pointed out my slight lisp.
I can’t express this turmoil I’m feeling within. On the one hand I started a new career with The Company while I was going through my divorce and my life completely changed. I have only had three jobs since 1989 and this one is by far my longest tenure. On the other hand I feel I have now grown in my career and my single adulthood and now I move on to something much much bigger.
I will miss this job, The Company, the clients, Old Town Alexandria and most importantly my co-workers but it’s time for me to spread my wings and fly the coop.
Wish me luck and say a prayer for me (if that’s your thing).
Oh and here’s a conversation that went down between a co-worker at The Company and a co-worker at The New Company:
The Company: You are a thief!
The New Company: Thief? Why?
The Company: you know why you are a thief 
You stole my woman.
The New Company: Haha LOL. Sorry, your woman wanted me I only offered.
The Company: lol. No you enticed her you showed her grandeur, money and awesome benefits.
Pucker Factor
16 Nov 2007 1 Comment
in work
A few weeks ago my company had its annual meeting of all the Project Managers and Executives.
Word quickly traveled down the grapevine that my blog was mentioned in the meeting. I was surprised to say the least and believe my pucker factor was at the nth degree. My co-workers read this blog and I have been informed that some of the execs read too after a certain someone decided to throw me under the bus. Something about my cool factor elevating their own? Hahahaha. Someone thinks I’m cool.
All is cool with that though because I have nothing to hide.
I was a bit surprised when this PM said when they have their weekly meetings in her office they pull up my blog to catch up on the goings on of our office. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I’ve only mentioned work a few times and it’s not very informative. I’m not worried about my content but I am worried what might have been thought by the others.
I considered closing the blog down at that point but obviously I didn’t. That all blew over or rather I calmed down about it.
I was reminded of it today when I was cleaning an organizing my work emails and came across this cartoon that was sent to me.
