Plot Twist - July Chaos

Happy Canada Day!

So.  Three distinct areas of exciting stuff going on.  A good way to deal with this is to be well rested and eat healthy things.  I can't remember the last time I slept past 6am (those who know me will understand.... lol) and that's definitely not inspired by something as reasonable as "going to bed early".   And healthy...   Well - clearly I need the sugar boost to keep me going with the lack of sleep.  BUT.   Fun things.   Here we go, grab some popcorn and settle in - this is what's on the list for this month.    And keep in mind said lack of sleep - I do not guarantee coherence!

*Plan is definitely add a new puppy pic here later today - once we meet them*

Today is Canada Day; we are spending it by going to visit our New Puppy!!!!   Yes, you read that correctly, we're getting a puppy, will come home likely the last wknd of July.  Said puppy is a border collie (may the odds be ever in our favour!) that I hope will some day grow to be a star at agility (since I've never done agility beyond intro-to level, this is doubtful, but through no fault of said puppy!).  We think puppy's name will be Luxor, but we don't know yet which puppy will be ours as they're assigned by the breeder after they do personality testing.   I found the breeder because I met a dog while hiking up in Lions Head that I just adored and his owner told me about her.  The website is - questionable lol. Dog people and horse people are pretty generally in the same category there.  But what little info was there was good, and communicating with her was solid.   We went out to visit parent dogs and were happy with that so here we are...

Tomorrow, July 2, will be my last day of work at RBC.  The reasons I'm leaving my current role are nuanced, the reason I'm leaving RBC after 11.5 years is simple: return to office.  It takes me 2h-2h15min to commute in in the am, and between 2-3h to commute home in a lovely combo of train + stop&go traffic.   Neither C and I enjoy living in the city so would rather not move (not to mention he works out here!), and, well - work life balance is actually important (see above New Puppy! notification ;)).  They've allowed me to come in once/week for now, but only because there's not enough space in the office yet.  Once there's more space, the expectation is 4-5 days in office and, well, I'd rather not spend my life that way.   So I'm on a new adventure - almost exactly the same role, but for a health tech company.  Will be working w Imaging tech so very excited to learn that business cause, literally, life changing.  Role is fully remote with occasional "fly everyone together" type relationship building - I believe most of my team is in Vancouver.   Some huge green flags here that make me really think I've made the right decision, including that when my boss sent me some pre-read material (at my request), the org chart had already been updated to include me.  It's a little thing, but the little things matter.   

Not even kidding.

So tomorrow is my last day commuting to the office - at least for this chapter.  Then Friday we leave for our vacation to London and then Egypt!!!   Neither of us have been to either, so that'll be exciting.  London is so that C can have his 40th Bday wish of visiting the Black Prince -- or at least what little remains of him; it's also a convenient extended layover to address jet lag before Egypt.   Egypt is cause, well, Egypt!   lol Egypt in July is going to be a degree of hot I don't think C and I can even really fathom right now, but plus side, that brought ticket prices down as it's their offseason.   The same is not true in London ;) 

So when we get back from vacation it unwinds - get home, start new job, bring home puppy.   The only downside is I won't get to go to cottage week this year which is about my favourite week of the year, but not really reasonable 3 days after starting a new job and I'd like a weekend to get to know said puppy before having to manage him/her while working full time.  

So yeah - that's the current chaos.   All good chaos.  And given the heat wave, we're even getting in acclimatization for Egypt temps ;).  Three significant things in one month.  Anybody surprised by that?  Anybody? ;-P

The new normal?

So...  I was back in the office this week.   Was that ever a surreal experience.   I was there for three days; my boss was having an offsite, that included his whole team (which means people flying in from UK, US, and Vancouver), and since so many were coming to Toronto, a few other teams came in as well.   He arranged the schedule so while there were workshops, there was also lots of networking time.

Not sure this post will have any coherence, but my random thoughts over the last few days.

• Getting up more than 2h before the first meeting *just* to get to the meeting on time...  Less fun ;-P. No dog walk, no exercise, just to get there.   And that's when staying in Oakville.
• While there aren't nearly as many people commuting, they've shortened the trains and made them less frequent, so end result is still over-crowding.
• However, since the platforms haven't moved, the doors still open in the same spots they always did. And turns out the same trains are still on the same tracks.  End result, I knew where to stand to ensure I pretty much always had a seat.  Win.
• On the flip side, the GO parking lot is empty.   I'm loving the non-reserved "reserved" spots.  And the fact that with half the lot closed, I could still get an ideal spot mid-rush-hour.
• Remembering what to bring in my train bag.  lol headphones, water bottle, etc
• The train was busiest on Thursday by a LOT.  The couple people I know who've started going back into the office have mentioned that, but I hadn't really expected it.   I'm slightly confused as to why (I prob would've guessed Tues or Wed) but evidently Thurs is the day.
• I haven't worn adult shoes in years.   Let's be honest - I rarely wear *shoes*, much less grown-up ones.  My feet.  My poor feet.   Before I even got to the office, I had to find a pharmacy to buy band-aids, just to make it through the first day.   Also, that was more of a challenge then it should've been since most of the PATH (for non-TO people, it's actually very cool) is out of business :(.  Random stranger gave me directions - thankfully accurate as I was hobbling by that point, so exploring was less fun.
• Day two I wore flats instead; I noticed the vast majority of the women did the same.  To be fair, I can count the women on one hand -- it's still a very male-dominated area -- but we were all shorter on day 2 ;)
• In the "before times" if you were in a hybrid meeting, the people who were remote would always be causing delays and struggling with technology.  Here it was the people in the room, every time.   Couldn't connect computers, had no idea how to make the speaker work.  Ironically as the least technical person in the room, this was something I had no issue with since my last world was also hybrid, I'm well used to the tech.  But *this* office had been 100% in-office before the world shut down (like think actual desktops) so it's all new to them.  Moderately amusing as it is, in fact, a tech team.  The remote people needed a lot of patience this week ;)
• Where I failed in tech was the elevators.   More often than not I'd push the button to call the elevator and forget to check the screen for which one to get in.   This is the reverse of what used to happen when I was super-used to that, but then I'd go into a building without it and just stand in an old-school elevator wondering why it didn't move 😂 
• When you've only met people online, even though we always have cameras on, you have no real idea of size: either height or weight.  There were people *way* taller, skinnier, or heavier than in my mental image.   Apparently they thought I'd be taller 😂 
• Pre-commuting me: packs tank top blouse.   Current me: remembers I didn't have a reasonable jacket to wear and put off going to Winners too long, just accepts I'm going to freeze.   Put on tank top and underneath is a neatly folded office-appropriate sweater.  Thank you past me!
• The quick downward slide amused me.   Day one: set alarm an hour early, transition into an adult, have breakfast before leaving, etc.  Day two: set alarm 45 mins early and 30 mins early.   Wake up at first alarm, get up at second alarm, eat breakfast, and go.   Day three: set alarm 30 mins early.  Get up at 15 mins.  Out the door with time to spare.  Not a ton of it, but some!
• It was really great to catch up with some colleagues from previous teams that I haven't seen since before the world shut down.

As to actual work?  Nothing got done.  It was a great week of networking, actually super helpful as far as building relationships, having casual conversations, and generally getting to know people as humans rather than work-only squares on a screen.  But now it feels like I've been on vacation for a week; it's all the catching up of the work that didn't happen in all the rest.

Completely random anniversaries

 So many things going on this week.

It's my one-year anniversary at work.   Other than GRS, it's the only role that I can recall having that I haven't been looking for "what's next" by the one-year mark.  So that's awesome.  More of a challenge than I'd expected, but that's also exactly what's made it interesting :).   Great combo of awesome people, interesting work with enough leeway to make a difference, strong leadership, and flexibility to work remotely.  Solid win.

Then more recently, it's the five-month anniversary of my piano learning adventures.  I am also still really enjoying this one.  I keep expecting the novelty to wear off, but so far so good :).  I will admit I've become very lax about the lesson book and the "technique mastery" portions of things and am very much focusing on learning songs.  I do at least try to strategically pick songs that build skills on each other.   The songs I'm learning are still super-short but noticeably longer than the ones I started with.   The five-month video is here.  Be kind - I'm still a beginner!

That makes it about my four-month anniversary of you-tube 😂.  They switched their settings/rules at one point that super annoyed me because I would've structured differently if I'd known and there's nothing I can do about it now, but sobeit.  Definitely not the end of the world.   I have finally - I think - figured out the "right" sound setup.   Video could definitely still use some help, but it at least works.  Since I can count on one hand the number of people who view it, and I figure half of those are related to me, I'm not going to stress too much about the videography yet ;-P.  Maybe that can be the year-2 challenge.

And not an anniversary, but switching hobbies - I recently purchased a new pattern that was quick fun and easy.  I was super excited about an easy win.  Except that in the pattern it suggested a different type of fabric because of multiple half-stitches.   Now, tbh, I don't mind half stitches.  But I did think it'd be interesting to try a new fabric.  And how hard could it be right?

About that.  *sigh*. It is significantly harder.  What was my 'quick and easy' is the opposite of that now.  BUT - I get to learn something new, and it's a very pretty fabric (Lugana?  Idk - it's mostly cotton ;).   I do think once I learn it, working on this kind of fabric will likely LOOK way better.   I also have a GIANT project to start that I still haven't even started cause I'm slightly overwhelmed by it.  There will be no recording of that one 😂. But some day, a few years from now, there might be a completion post.

So this is two evening's worth of work.
With usual fabric, all the letters would be done by now ;)

Grade 4 Science

So this evening I tried a "shower steamer" for the first time -- which, from what I can tell is really just a tiny bath bomb, made for the shower.  And honestly, was not super impressed.   But what DID amuse me is that when I was done said shower and it was still going, I decided that instead of leaving it there, I'd melt it -- the package had lots of warnings about not putting under direct water cause it'd fizzle up.  

So I'm thinking - well that could be fun (remember, this is the woman who has bubble baths at least a few times / week ;)) - so I hold it under the shower stream...  And no dramatic fizziness (I was hoping like shaking can of pop drama) but then for whatever reason, probably cause I'm still 12 at heart.  Actually I think I was more mature at 12 than I am now *g* But anyways I decided to see what happens if you trap the fizziness, and squished it between my hands.  

Well it felt kinda like pop rocks - no big deal.  Except...  And here's the fun part I never realized...  Apparently shower steamers (and my guess is also bath bombs, except I've never felt the need to try and melt one of those) are actually endothermic???  My palms, under the hot running water of the shower, but surrounding this little fizzy, were getting cold!   It was the coolest thing (sorry, not sorry).  

Anyways - I realize this is essentially the equivalent of the volcano from the Grade 4 science fair, but it amused me so I figured I'd share ;)  What can I say, it's been a LONG few weeks.

I hope this kid got extra credit for the dino!

In other news, my change management paper is due this week.  Hence the procrastination blog post.  The paper's no problem but I'm super disappointed in the course, especially as I was *really* looking forward to it :(   Ah well.

Work has been...  crazy.  12h+ days most days and some weekend.  Meetings all day and then work all evening -- and even that is tricky cause my Vancouver people don't clock out till 8pm our time, so even "uninterrupted" work time often has, well, interruptions.   Would like to say, this is not a complaint, just a level setting of why everything else in my life is how it is atm.  😂  I'd far rather be busy than bored.   And most of what I was doing in the evening was content creation.  There's still a TON of that to do (honestly - it'd be faster to write another book!), but I finished the last of the time-sensitive content on Friday.  So I'm hoping that means I can dial back to almost normal-people hours starting next week (also - term paper due Wed 😂 so, you know, Mon and Tues night kinda have to be school rather than work); will be a long while before it's actually under control, but the fires should be down to a controlled simmer by next Friday.  Either that's accurate, and I'll have a lovely long weekend, or I've jinxed myself and I'll have fodder for a blog post ;-P

I've cancelled my VR cycling for end of May, partially cause I wasn't using it a lot lately and partially  cause the weather is finally suitable for outside cycling.  Which, may not be as exciting, but I feel is prob a good mental health thing.  It's also more fun.   I would like to get one more decent ride in between now and then though -- although that's prob dependent on how the above two paragraphs go *g*.  I'm keeping Supernatural for now though - it's good for that short "just get off the couch" level of exercise.

First sunburn of the year today -- writing my paper in the backyard.  Like being in high school again!  lol - it'll be faded to tan by tomorrow except my feet...  My poor lobster feet.  Someday I will learn.  Or maybe not ;)

Okay back to the paper.  Night!

Double Digit Day

lol my boss today mentioned that it was my "double digit day" (10th day on the job) and it made me laugh.   So now I have a couple "triple digit" goals ;)

So right - the last two weeks have been INSANE.   Primarily because it was not ideal timing to take on a new job the week before both term papers were due *sigh*  But here we are...

Right - so the work aspect; I had the advantage that a long transition meant I had time to meet my team and a bunch of stakeholders before ever beginning (to put in perspective - I had 90 pages of notes) but even though I had some idea of the workload awaiting me, I didn't *really* know.  

When I used to have the opportunity to teach riders to gallop for the first time, I'd tell them they're going to think they're galloping, be pretty sure of it actually, and then they're going to *know* they're galloping.  This...  This was kinda the work version of that.  Albeit somehow not nearly as much of an adrenaline rush lol.

So yeah, there's a lot more than I'd expected...  I mean - the words "blank slate" had been thrown around, but while I theoretically got it, some baseline assumptions I'd made were proven dramatically false.  On the plus side -- I'm a builder.  I *love* creating things and so I'm super excited about this whole concept.  The only slight stressor is how much of it we need yesterday.  It really is playing catchup and slightly insane.

And then on Day 8, I got to present my plans to my boss' Town Hall.   To steal a line from Rebecca: "Here's the deep end, start swimming."   And you know, other than that writing a speech for a few hundred people wasn't really what I wanted to do to kick off week two, that part - sure.  Don't ask too much depth, but I can give you the theory.   The challenge came with teh Q&A.   😂   It was to cover the *whole* Townhall, so honestly I'd entirely dismissed it.  I mean who *really* cares about what the PMO is doing in the grand scheme of things...   Uh a bunch of people apparently.   "I'll let Lauren answer that", "Lauren would you like to take this one?"  "Oh look, this one has Lauren's name in it - I'll read it out and then let her answer" *sigh*.   To be honest, none of the questions were unreasonable, and I got through it, and the feedback I got back was pretty good.  But OMG.

But in two weeks -- the team has come together and created a vision statement that they're all aligned to, I've prioritized which order we need going to put fires out (the ones people are enjoying roasting marshmallows over can wait a bit ;-P), I've met a ton more people, and I'm slowly learning how things work at GAM (which is very much it's on little world).  It feels like my old job was a lifetime ago, and yet at least a few times a day somebody will say something that will make me realize how very new I still am.

But I am super excited about it.  Like to the point that I keep getting up in the middle of the night and making notes of things I've thought of and things to do...  Fortunately next term I only have one class and it's change management, so lots of time for the extra hours work's going to require for  a few weeks.

The next adventure begins

So tomorrow I start the new job.  The only time I've been this excited about a new role was when I started GRS.  lol and tbh, I suspect it's a little for the same reason -- not anywhere near the whole 'thing I've dreamed of doing all my life' of course, but essentially, I'm getting to build something.  While GRS was solely a figment of my imagination, this one comes with at least an expectation of where it should end up.  But what we do and how we do it to pull that off....   Pretty much a blank slate.

I'm also inheriting a team of 10 -- all of whom appear to be exceptionally good at their jobs, and none of whom currently consider themselves a team *sigh*.   So yeah - coming up with a common vision, goals, value statement, etc is pretty high on the priority list.   And then the internal marketing to sell whatever it is we decide we do for a living ;-P

I've met with a LOT of people over the last few weeks...  Team members, extended team members, stakeholders, random people somebody said I should talk to...  lol and through it all a picture is emerging. Everybody (even those who've left the org) speak highly of the culture.  So that's an exciting bonus.  Also, everybody seems pleased with the people they work with.  Another win.  Not that there aren't a TON of opportunities ("tell me what you'd like to see happen" or "tell me what you wish was different" or "tell me how my team can add value" lol lead to some very detailed feedback of what could be different ;-P), but... All of those things are structural.  They're process issues or technology issues.  And while they're certainly not super-easy to fix (let's be honest, if they were, they wouldn't be problems), they're definitely easier to fix than low-moral, general dissatisfaction type challenges.  So yeah - it's going to be a very busy few months and I'm really looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, I'm so *not* into my MBA courses this term *sigh*.   I have Corporate Governance and Business Consulting.  I expected to have zero interest in Corp Gov, but am actually really enjoying it???  lol who knew?  And learning a ton of moderately relevant info.  If nothing else, I use RBC for my analysis so the stuff I'm digging into is all at least connected to work.   And Business Consulting I was really looking forward to.  I was expecting to be about consulting - frameworks, expectations, types of engagements, etc.  Instead - while there was 1 module about that, all the rest is about creating a business.   Which I have zero interest in doing.  For one thing, I've done it before -- I know intimately what's involved.  And for two, I actively have zero interest in being a consultant at this point in my life.  So this is proving to be a TON of work that's adding no value and no learning.

I kinda wish I did have a company just so I could use the logo again!

The only fun part is that for my fictional company I got to reuse the GRS logo.  So I was pleased about that :)   Also, once again, my powerpoint presentation skills significantly upped my grade.  😂  I know I can write, but I never realized that after three years in a role where I did nothing but powerpoints, how far my presentation skills have come.  But that's two in a row now, so I'll go with it.  I no longer dread presentation assignments.

Honestly I've done so much work on this ridiculous fictional company I almost wish I *did* want to be a consultant just so I could use it!  Also, I miss the GRS logo.  It's awesome :)

I am, however, actively avoiding writing the two papers I *need* to be doing right this very minute.  So I guess that's enough of this.

Movin' on up :)

So super exciting (to me) news that, on International Women's Day, is now public and I can share....   2021 is officially NOT just an extension of 2020.   lol as of mid-April, I will have a new role at RBC as the Head of the GAM PMO in North America.  Woohooo!!!

So for those not in the acronym loop (the bank LOVES their letters) -- GAM = Global Asset Management, a part of the bank I know exactly nothing about.  lol so I'm excited to get to learn a completely new business.  I have vague ideas that the personal side it has to do with mutual funds and there's a significant commercial side that does... ?   Well I'll find out :) 

PMO is a Project Management Office -- this part I do know inside and out and backwards and forwards but it'll be my first time leading one.  Also this is a technology team which should add an entertaining aspect to things.  Maybe I'll finally use some of that CS degree???  lol unlikely. 

New business, new team, new stakeholders, and significantly increased responsibilities.  Going to be an entertaining year.

Stupid should hurt

Okay so as you may be aware, I'm currently working on my MBA.  And this term I decided to do a full-time student course load.  While still working full time.  But I'm a reasonably good student and ridiculously good at sticking to a schedule, so I worked out the study plan and decided I could do it.  All good.   Remember that ;-P

Now while I'm actually getting a ton out of the courses, the school's admin is a disaster.  There are SO many problems and it's super-frustrating.  One of these nightmares is acknowledgement of capabilities.  One of the courses is project management.  The curriculum listed is within my ability to teach, and all stuff I can do in my sleep.   So I applied for an exemption.  They said I'd need to submit my resume and proof of meeting the learning objectives.  Okay cool.   So I send my resume, proof of various courses I've taken, documented how I address all the learning objectives in my day job, sent some sample artefacts w made up data, AND got two sponsors, my current manager and my past manager to all write letters of recommendation specifically addressing the items listed in the "learning outcomes".   Thanks to my awesome people, they were detailed and targeted.  Should be good to go right?

Nope - I get back an email saying that what I sent "demonstrates that she is an experienced and knowledgeable project manager. However, more supporting documents are needed".   So I kept reading to find what they wanted -- well apparently I needed to "provide a list of PM techniques and concepts that you have applied in your work. Also briefly reflect on your experience and explain how utilising these concepts helped you to effectively managing projects as a program/project manager. To support your claims, please submit additional supporting documents which can clearly demonstrate your understanding of the following topics:

- Project definition

- Project scheduling and estimation

- Risk management

- Strategies for successful implementation of a project"

I'm not even kidding.   WTF?   So I have to basically write a fluff paper (which, if I wanted to write a paper, I'd just do the course), and submit artefacts, that I can't submit because they're all confidential and owned by RBC.  And in the school's own policy it says never to use work items without explicit approval.   So yeah - I was super annoyed.  They basically say they know I can do what they're supposed to be teaching, but too bad.  Oh - and on top of that 'we're updating the curriculum so you'll have to resubmit to meet the new objectives'.  I was not amused.

Except -- somebody else let me know if you have your PMP, it's an automatic exemption.  Hmmm okay.  So I verified that and got it in writing - it's a true story.  Right, so I've actively avoided doing the PMP because I really strongly feel it's a test of memorization more than competency.  BUT, it is the most recognized certification in North America (it exists elsewhere too, but other ones outrank it across the pond).  So my options are - do the MBA course, roughly twice the cost of doing the PMP, bitterly resent every minute of it, and not get anything extra out of it.  Or do the PMP, have extra letters after my name, and get out of doing the MBA course.   Right - kinda a no brainer.

Okay so I look into what it takes to do the PMP.  Need to document formal education and 3 years of PM exp, and need 35h of formal training.  Okay no problem.   PM course for MBA is in April, so have to be done PMP by then.  Say by Feb ideally to give ridiculous admin time for back and forth.

Right - except the PMP exam is being revised; the new exam starts being issued Jan 2.   And the new material to learn for the new exam?  Yeah - it's being released in March.   Awesome.  Right, so I don't want to do that.   Sooooo need to get my PMP before Dec.  It was the last week of Nov at this point.

Okay sure.  Look up exam options first of all - is it even possible?  Well COVID win - exam is now done online and very flexible scheduling.   Sweet.  Then course options, found one that runs four days from Dec 7-10.  Huh.  Okay.  So reach out to my boss, "I haven't had any training in 3 years, could I go on this course that's specifically targeted to my job and enables me to get the certification you want me to have?"  While they weren't able to fund said course, they were able to support me going during work time.  So win there too.  And they would pay for the exam if I passed.  Sweet.

Alright so scheduling...   Google says one should study for 3 months for this exam.  I'm sure five weeks will be fine.   And it probably would've been...    Except...  Well, I don't really want to stress over this over Xmas, so let's do it before.  Okay so 4-ish weeks...    So I order a couple textbooks off of Amazon (after a quick research to pick the best ones) and add to my study schedule of how to get this done in with all my course work.   Final assessments are due Dec 10, and the course starts on the 7th.  So I figured out what I'd have to do to have the textbooks read and be prepped for the course and good to go.

bwahahaha right.  Remember that whole FT student thing?  I drastically underestimated what that would take.  The term papers destroyed me.  I put SO much time and effort into getting them done, that there was about one chapter of PMP prep.   *sigh*    Less good, but such is life.  Rejig the calendar to get all my studying in and target exam Dec 21.   Are you tracking with the dates?  We've gone from 3 months to about 3 weeks...

And then the course was the absolute biggest waste of time I've ever been subjected to.   On the plus side, one of the textbooks I bought was *amazing* - like to the point that I looked up the series to see if they taught any other subjects I might want to learn (I'm moderately considering physics.  I always enjoyed physics till it required calculus *sigh*).  Sadly though most of their subjects are programming related, which I have zero interest in.   If anyone else is, look up the "Head First" series.  It's ridiculous and simplified, and -- actually worked.  So win.  The second textbook was far more traditional, but it balanced out that one and between them I was forcing knowledge into my little brain.   Every moment that wasn't otherwise booked was being used to study and do practice tests.   

And I was a little panicked at first as I wasn't scoring all that well on the practice tests.  A pass is somewhere around 65 and they say you should be doing about 80 on the tests before you do the exam.  At the start I was barely making the 65 but by the end I was pretty consistently over 80, so that helps.

So okay, finished the course, went to book the exam and...  It turns out the whole world wants to get the exam in before Jan 1.   Frig.  My only reasonable time of day option was on Thurs the 17th.  Right -- This was Tuesday and I still had 5 chapters left in both textbooks (out of 10).  Much less time for overall review.  Sure.  Why not.

Well my brain is broken.  But about 2 weeks of studying, 1310 pages (of which I read Every. Single. One. -- I've never been so glad I read quickly), several hours of online videos, 17 formulas memorized, and 1200 practice questions later...  I passed the exam.

I am *the* most relieved person right now.  Also, my brain is done.  It's a good thing work isn't super busy this week ;-P.  I won't get my term papers back till next week, but I'm hoping they'll be reasonable.  Oh and new class work is released tomorrow.  I'm going to ignore it till at least Mon lol.  I feel that's fair.

Also - those 17 formulas I memorized?   I didn't get to use a single one.  I was counting on those as gimmies.   Sheesh.   

And tomorrow I have a Spanish lesson cause I definitely haven't even pretended to study that for the last two weeks (unless working out w Spanish music playing counts?)

But this weekend, there will be no brain power used.

Who's on first?

So I chatting on IM with a colleague, we’ll call him Steve, and went away to do some stuff. 

Re-IM’d an hour or so later with a follow-up question and got the response:

“Hello Steve, Do you have a minute?”

 

*sigh*   I’ve been called out on not starting conversations with 'Hello' before, but Steve and I get along really well, so I was somewhat surprised by this from him.  (I'm working on it -- I have a mental list of people to always say hi and/or waste time...   Uh I mean 'relationship build' about the weather before I can get to the point – but he’s not on it).

 

So I said something about, ‘okay point taken.  To be fair, I was continuing a previous conversation…’

 

So then the conversation was very confused for a minute.  Until I get: “oh my gosh - thought I was messaging Steve T”.   Lol so his “Hello Steve” (being far more polite than I, as you may have guessed from “gosh”) was actually directed at another Steve, not a rebuke for my lack of texting manners *g*

 

Amused me more than it should’ve ;)   But hey, it’s a spreadsheet day, I’ll take amusement where I can get it!

Also, Google just informed me that Spreadsheet Day is actually a thing?!?!  Apparently it's Oct 17.  A shame that's on a weekend this year; I most definitely will not be celebrating it.

Working from... a random bench outside Service Ontario?

So I ventured to TO last week, primarily to get my work laptop - which was successful.  However, in order to set it up to connect to the network remotely, I need to be connected to the network.  Hmmmm - anybody else see a problem with this situation? 

So now I’m sitting on a bench outside the local RBC - I could’ve theoretically gone in but A) the weather’s nice, B) I’d prob need a mask, C) there was a long line I didn’t see the need to wait in, nor was I inclined to cut in front of all those people, and D) why would I?  There’s literally zero advantage to going inside.  

Plus side - my computer connected right away.  Down side, it went “oh my god you haven’t done updates in months!” And then promptly shut back down.  It’s on its third reboot as I type this.

So my strategically located bench is next door to a Service Ontario.  I’ve been watching the whole time as the Service Ontario lady greets people.  It appears her *entire* job is to tell them they have to come back at 8:45 the next morning to get a ticket that will tell them what time their appointment is and that all of today’s appointments are already taken (it’s about 10:30 as I’m writing this).  People are being amazingly respectful of this, even by Canadian standards, but I can’t help but feel this process could be automated.  Have the process clearly outlined on the website (ideally w the ability to get a ticket there)...   A sign on the door for people who don’t check the website.  And person could be serving actual people to get more through... Alternately, she could have tickets for tomorrow so at least these people could secure a time for the next day.  But no.  

Okay so just went through the entire process documented on the website to set up my computer.  Completely unnecessary as I had all that info (RSA token etc already on my phone).  HUGE pita and no instructions on how to use said access - which was the whole point.  Fail.  I basically did some random poking around, located an old VPN sign on and that seems to work?  Lol okay - really wish they’d just skipped right to that step.  So now going away from the RBC network (this bench was really not meant to be sat on for hours at a time) and see if it works for real....

.....

Update - home and connected!  Win!  That whole kerfuffle (I definitely had to look up how to spell that!) could’ve been shortened to a 5 min activity.  Sadly the RBC network access prob was needed so the bench would still have been involved, but my day would’ve been much more productive overall.   Ah well - a good day to darken my tan :)

People are happier when they're apart?

So interesting side effect to social distancing and lock down -- people seem to be friendlier?   Lol out walking the dogs -- people wave from the porch or front yard every few houses.   That's just not a thing usually, with the sole exception of the occasional other dog walker.  Couples walking together, families with kids, everybody always smiling and waving safely from the other side of the road ;)

I've also been impressed that the last few days, everybody I passed was observing social distancing rules; lots of people stopping to chat with each other (a safe distance away), or situations where someone is on the front porch chatting with someone in the driveway (a couple cases with both in lawn chairs - settled in for a long chat).

I pulled Sasha and Tucker up into somebody's driveway to allow a woman pushing a stroller with *three* children in it to pass on the sidewalk and she was so appreciative.  Uh of the two of us, I think it's significantly easier for me to get out of the way.  Sheesh.

Sasha's loving this but Tucker's exhausted.  lol he's super-excited to go for walks, but has about a 20 minute time limit.   Sasha, otoh, would rather play all day.   When we go for walks she knows all the decision points along the route that decide whether we're going home or continuing the walk and she consistently tries super hard to herd me in the "keep going" direction ;)

I've also learned that the walks we go on are a lot longer than I think they are ;).  Lol now that I'm working from home, I'll often take her before work or at lunch -- but then I have to be back for a specific time.  Turns out that I mentally estimate about half the time it actually takes for a walk (eg - I expect the route to be 15 mins, takes half an hour).   Oops.

I'm still working full time (and grateful for it!) so I don't have the tons of free time lots of people do.  A shame on the one hand, cause my list of things I'd love to get done is fairly long, but good otoh because - employed.   LOVING working from home, although mildly amused that I'm actually working longer hours than when I was in the office -- mostly trying to keep my team functional, engaged, and pointed the same direction when they have little to no experience working from home.

I never realized before that running a remote meeting is an actual skillset.  lol until these last few weeks when I've painfully sat through meeting after meeting with people who lack that skillset.  Also the things I've been coaching people on that I never thought I'd have to say ("mute" is your friend! and if you share your full screen instead of just one app, make completely sure your IMs are blocked ;).  Lol ah well, mildly entertaining.

I don't feel stressed, but I suspect I subconsciously am...   Little things let me know -- I've had all kinds of sleep, but still had a coma-level nap this afternoon for several hours.   In my free time I can't focus enough to read or study, which are my usual go-tos, instead am baking or cross-stitching (which I've randomly become addicted to?!?!).   Read an interesting article about why people stress-bake or craft (which apparently I'm doing both of) -- having to do with the emotional high of creating something, without the need for actual creative skills ;).  Works for me.  Only thing with the baking is, it's followed by the eating.  Oops!

Current WIP - who knew eh?

A sport I will not be taking up ;)

So a couple weeks ago we had a team event at work that I'm finally writing about ;)

The first thing was to *get* to the event, in our team-for-the-day.   Our team had two incredibly competitive people (to put this in perspective: I am *not* one of them...) so of course we had to get there first.  Note, this was not a race, but that apparently is irrelevant *g*

The weather was horrid so we took the PATH.  One of our teammates was doing the tour guide thing on the way, which was surprisingly entertaining.  Also -- we found a keyboard staircase?!?!  SO much fun.  I managed to convince a couple people to pause and play with me ;).  Then we raced to catch up to the competitive ones *g*

Eventually we got to the event. First.  By a long time.   But the event was ping-pong, so at least we could amuse ourselves while we were there.  Two of our team started playing and were *good*.  Lol so random - I somehow wasn't expecting that.   The only other woman on my team asked if I would practice with her.  We were HORRIBLY bad.  Lol I haven't laughed that hard in ages.  For one thing, ping pong balls are remarkably light...   We had them in the ceiling, off the back wall (3 tables away), in the bar -- and bystanders were definitely not safe anywhere near us.   We'd be gentle a time or two but then it would go slightly the wrong direction and we'd attempt to salvage it -- with too much strength.   We also bent ALL the rules -- if the ball went back to the other person is all that mattered.  It could bounce off the floor, the ceiling, another person...  Catch it in one hand and throw it.  All good.  So. Much. Fun.

I suspect ping-pong doesn't generally involve quite so much exercise ;)

But other people showed up and we'd been at it for a while so we handed over our paddles for a bit.   A while later I was watching two women I work with quite a bit playing -- and one in particular was *really* good.  Well apparently she was on her school team?!?!  Lol who knew.  Apparently ping pong (I'm sorry "Table Tennis") is a big thing in India.  And most of the teammates who grew up there had moderate to good skills.  And at least awareness of the rules ;)

So after watching for a bit a fourth person joins us and suggests pairs.  Sure, why not.  Well.  Apparently there are even *more* rules when there are pairs.  Lol -- and while I got the ones about serving, I could not get my head around 'hit the ball once, step back let other person hit the ball, step up and hit the ball again'.   This did not go well.  And my poor, exceptionally competent partner was getting very frustrated.  I think she gave up about when I hit the ball that had bounced off the floor back into play. So she decided this would be a good time to get another drink ;).  One player on the other side also wanted a break (this I claim is not my fault!) and I ended up playing with a very good player on the other side, but one who was highly amused by my take on the rules.   We definitely invented a new game -- I would hit it wildly, it would bounce off the floor somewhere, and he would hit it back so it would land exactly where it was supposed to on the table ;).  Lol -- he was playing real tennis (and getting the workout that goes with it!) and I was playing table tennis.  It was awesome, and highly entertaining.

The expression on her face pretty much sums it up ;). Also, this picture was the perfect top to the day

When it came time to officially play I lost every game.  Alas, I do not see a potential ping pong career in my future.  But the pre-game practice was more entertaining than anything I've done in a while.

Also -- this week, when one teammate threatened we should form a softball team, I reminded them of my pingpong skills and respectfully suggested that handing me a bat or ball would probably not be good for anybody's health ;).  Win.

If time flies when you’re having fun, what does it mean when it goes backwards?

So my days are always back to back meetings. It’s very rare I have dedicated work time, since mostly my job is herding cats and solving other people’s problems and I need to talk to them to do that. Other than an introvert’s exhaustion at the end of each day, this I’m totally used to and completely fine with.

So explain to me why today, when my 11:30 meeting ended 10 mins early I thought, sincerely and completely, “oh good, I have 10 minutes to prep before my 3:00”. Ummmm wtf? I genuinely thought it was day-end. And totally stunned and confused that it’s actually only lunch time. Lol. On the plus side - I have all kinds of time to prep for said meeting (I really only need about 15 min and I can steal that between now and then) but the time reality gap is a little bit hard to take. Yikes!

Ah well - I got to live two days today ;)

A different work day

So today instead of going to work, I had the opportunity to volunteer with my team at the CP24 Chum Christmas Wish.   This is the same charity we used to collect toys for when I had GRS, and it was definitely a fun deviation from my usual day.

I was volunteering in the warehouse.  There were rows of boxes that were all labeled by age and gender (boys 3-5, girls 14-18, etc), with a few other misc areas (stuffed toys, board games, sport equipment, stocking stuffers, and summer).   While I definitely have some issues with the separating of toys by gender (does this STEM kit belong in boys or girls?  hmmmm) I do understand why they're doing it, as esp with the younger kids there is distinct branding targeting one or the other.

So the first job was to put philosophical moral objections aside and sort the presents.   So a truck had recently been unloaded and we got to take the toys and find them the appropriate bucket.  I found this far more entertaining than you might imagine because of the sheer variety of things.

Then we went "shopping" -- in that we (in pairs) would be given a group to collect toys for (eg,  8 boys, age 7) and go pick one thing for each of those 8 boys.  Since we know nothing about the recipients other than gender and age, it's impossible to make an informed decision.  At first it was really easy - find something that's Just. Plain. Cool. and pick that.   They had some things to keep in mind -- like most of the recipients won't have cell phones or computers, so if you come across something that requires one of those, it went in a different area.   And if you picked a board game, pick something else that can be enjoyed individually because not everybody has someone to play games with.  It definitely helps draw attention to all the things so many of us take for granted.

Michalina and I did one amazing bag for a group of I think about 14yo boys that had just all the good stuff (including a ball hockey stick and ball).   But as we got more into it, it became increasingly challenging because the boxes became sorely depleted :(.   I had one go for 14yo girls, and they have a rule for no makeup under the age of 16.  By then the 9-13 box was empty and the 14-18 box was all makeup.  It was a real challenge that Nicole and I put a whole lot of effort into solving.   Some of our team have done this multiple years, and there were a lot comments about how depleted the supply was comparatively :(.  So that was sad to see.  Conversely, some of the gifts were amazing.  There were some great things in there of really good quality and creativity.

So yeah, overall it was a great experience and I'd certainly do it again.

It's a dog's life :)

So our dogs have their own bowls, and are pretty good about sticking to their own spot.  They get the same food, so not critical if not, but Sasha gets more of it.

This morning Tucker wanted more outside time than normal so I let Sash in -- who went straight to her breakfast -- and then I went about getting ready for work. When I returned a min or two later, Sash was still at her bowl as I let Tucker in. All good right?  Except somehow all of Tucker’s food had disappeared ;).  Lol too smart.  Not like she finished hers and then went looking.  No, hers would still be there later.   I guess she recognizes a good opportunity when it arises.  Since I didn’t actually catch her at it I just laughed and gave T some more breakfast ;)

Went to a symposium yesterday that was reasonably interesting. The keynote speaker, David Marquet, was a former commander of a nuclear submarine (captain? Are those words interchangeable in the navy - prob not ;).  Random eh? But essentially he got switched last second to a ship that he didn’t know and discovered fairly quickly that navy command and control style leadership might end with getting them all killed, so he had to figure something else out.  Really good speaker.  Website is fairly meh - if I’d seen it first, I’m not sure whether I’d have gone.  But in person worth listening to.

For the win :)

So my Triec mentee landed a job today, and I think I'm as excited for him as I was when I got my last job :).  And it happened with a few weeks left in the three month contract, so super excited about that.  I was officially the mentor in this situation but I still learned so much throughout the experience.  Really great, and one I expect I'll do again.  But YEAH :).  Lol so happy for him.

Today was worth the commute ;)

And as far as my job goes, while I was super excited about the job I started in Feb, we had an internal shuffle *sigh* so now I'm on a new team and not entirely certain what I'll be doing.  Frustrating and stressful, BUT at least I landed with a cool team.  It's a very new team and the first team building event was today -- axe throwing.  I'm not even kidding.  Definitely my kind of event ;).  Lol and even though I was definitely *not* talented at it, I won the tournament.  Lol disproportionately proud of that.  So we'll see how the role actually evolves...

The next chapter begins...

Okay not actually, but it made me laugh :)

I, of course, did not sleep last night.   Why would my brain give me a shot at starting a new job rested?    Sheesh.   Regardless, I got through Day 1 ;)    Yup, that’s right, my new job started today and it’s a bit of a surreal experience.   Same company.  Same building even (for the moment).  And I think it’s those similarities that make the differences stand out.

First off all, walking in – I need to take a different elevator bank.  Absolutely no big deal (in fact it’s actually a shorter trip since there are much fewer potential stops before my floor) but I still feel slightly wrong going there, and definitely disoriented coming out.

Once on the floor – same size, same building, similar layout.  But not quite the same.  Neither locker nor desk were even close to where I expected them to be.  Win on the locker location though – very happy about that.   And desks are flexible as per my last role, so I can move around after this week if I want.  They have a coat rack by the lockers which is a nice plus J   Lol the little things.

And walking around – going to get breakfast in the morning, the hot water tap is on the other side of the kitchen.  Such a minor thing, but made me think about a mindless task early in the am.   And knowing almost nobody – I’m not particularly social by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm used to saying hi to most people I pass throughout the day, knowing the people who usually sit near me, etc etc.  I’ve been there for more than three years now – there’s a basic familiarity there.   Whereas here, I’m not even at “hi in the halls” stage of knowing anybody.

Or almost.  The people on my team seem awesome; one made a point to come say hi this am.   Another I met with later in the am and we chatted for a bit.  And new boss seems a good fit – I’m excited to be on his team and it looks like there'll be interesting work.   So that's kinda the point.  My project team is scattered all over, but I met them in an all-day session last week, so that at least covered ice-breaking ;)    Sadly though, since none are in the building, it didn’t help alleviate the stranger in a known land feeling.

Same company, same building, different culture.  More formal both in dress and policy L    No work from home and hours seem to be of the 9-5 variety.   Really struggling with both these things, esp given that my aforementioned project team is scattered so I won’t be seeing them face-to-face anyways – which to me is the only advantage to coming in the office.   Ah well, fingers crossed that gets updated in the near future – until then, I’ll be watching my fitness and health slide down L   Ugh.   No stairs.  Literally sit at a desk for 8h, and spend 3h commuting with a few thousand other people.   Not the best recipe for wellness I’m afraid.   Also, they’re doing construction on the floor below so the noise combined with lack of sleep led to a substantial headache by midafternoon *sigh*

But the job itself is definitely a step up in interest and difficulty level.  Starting a little soft, at well under 100%, with a well-established program, which is less challenging than I might like, but at least it’s a super-interesting area.   Chatting with new boss I'm pretty convinced the potential for both interesting AND challenging is fairly substantial here, so I’m looking forward to that J

And all the people so far have been awesome.   Which is huge.   The rest – that’s just details ;)

Now on to day two...

New Year, New Job ;)

So now that it's been officially announced at work, I can announce it here too -- I have a new job!  Woohoo!  lol starts on the 29th.  The super fancy title of Senior Manager, Transformation -- which is a lateral move for me, but I'm still pretty excited about it as it should definitely be more interesting and enable some career growth.

It's a comparatively tiny department, unfortunately much more formal in both dress and in complete lack of work from home.  *sigh*.  To be honest, I'm dreading having to go back to commuting every day.  Really hope it's worth it ;). But I really like the people I've met so far, and the job has the potential to be really cool.  So yeah, pretty excited.

Also, unrelated, I've started volunteering with Triac -- which arranges professional mentoring for newcomers to Canada.   These are people who were professionals in their own country who are either unemployed or underemployed, having trouble finding employment in their field in Canada.  Things like cultural expectations, unspoken rules of job shopping, interview skills, etc.  I met my mentee a few hours before my job announcement came out on Friday :).  It was an interesting day.

I'll miss moments like this when I can't work from home anymore :(

#YouMatter

I don't often (read: never) blog about work now that work isn't riding related, but work this week involved an entertaining variation from my daily normal that I feel is fair to share :)  On Wed and Thurs I participated in #create4community -- an RBC event to support UnitedWay.   When I signed up for this, I honestly had no idea what I was getting into.  My manager forwarded an ask for participants and there wasn't much more info than that.

The challenge:  Create an innovative idea that will engage 1 million individuals across the GTA to join United Way's Uprising of Care to fight local poverty in one of the following ways:

• Build pathways out of poverty: support a smart network of agencies across our region meeting diversity of needs.
• Close the gap between our neighbourhoods: build social and economic inclusion in every part of our region.
• Create opportunities for youth: ensure every young person has access to education and skills they need for economic success.

Sure.  Why not ;)

So my team of five, which included two people I knew in a "hallway conversation" manner and two people who were new to me, met a couple times before the event to discuss basic ideas, but the reality is that we, or at least I, had no idea what we were in for.

Our team: Saabia, Maija, Priya, Me, and Merna

The first hint came with the meeting invite -- which spanned from 8am Wed to 6pm Thurs.  Ummmm - I teach Wed night?   Is going home still a thing?   Lol but I gamely cleared at least my 9-5 calendar (well all except 1 meeting that was non negotiable at this point -- fortunately the hotel where this was being held was only a couple blocks from my office).

So shortly before 8 I arrived to be treated to a super yummy (and large!) breakfast.  Promising start.  The introduction was interesting and it became clear this used to be a strictly IT event.  Referred to as a hackathon, our team had a distinct lack of programmers on it.  Meh - minor detail ;).  We were encouraged to pick one or more of the above bullets and go.

We decided to focus on bullet one and worked to design an ap that would enable volunteers to connect easily to volunteer opportunities that suited their skills, interests, and location.  It was millennial-centric with swiping, badging, and sharing :).  We spent the first day designing this.  What problem were we trying to solve?  How would it work?  How does it look?  What are the key features?  What would keep users engaged?

What was amazing was how quickly our team -- who had never worked together before -- was able to come together as a team.  We worked collaboratively where it made sense: to design the general concept and create a template for multiple screens, and divided and conquered where that was logical -- such as mocking up screens.   We quickly recognized Saabia had all the design strength in our team, so while all could work on wireframes based on the template, she was the one who made them look good :)

There were also lots of volunteers from both RBC and United Way wandering around to assist.   Amongst those was a tech volunteer who suggested to us an ap that would enable us to mock-up our ap using screenshots with hot spots.  Win!  We could prototype our ap on an actual phone and click through to show how it would work.  Unbelievably cool -- it's amazing how real that makes it seem.

So we had the vast majority of our ap designed by the end of day one (fueled by an incredible amount of food might I add), and day two was dedicated to putting together our presentation.  The deck was a challenge -- we all are very used to writing business cases and executive presentations.   We don't have quite as much experience at sales pitches.   We managed it though -- coming up with a sales presentation (read: almost no text!) and relegated all the other actual information slides to an appendix deck.  Then did some work on the presentation -- we'd have 7 minutes to sell it.   We actually ran through this a couple times, given the timeline and all we wanted to share.

After lunch (and I have to admit I was amused when our exec sponsor came by offering cookies and fruit to those of us at the back of the line while we were waiting) was the judging.   Each team would present to three panels of judges.  There were 8 rounds -- so every team got breaks in-between presentations. After the 7 minutes (and yes - there was a large timer on the screen) the judges had 5 minutes for Q&A.   The judges were all very positive, asked good questions, and gave encouraging feedback.   By this point we were all fairly emotionally invested in this -- I haven't prepped that much for a presentation since my thesis.   And even that didn't have a time limit ;)

This was followed by a break while the judges did their thing.  They picked one team from each category to proceed to the final round of judging; sadly our submission was not chosen :(.  I was more disappointed by that than I would've thought -- going in I don't think I truly believed we'd create something to be proud of.  But we did, so it would've been nice to win :)

Overall though it was an excellent experience.  A true feeling of belonging to a team, getting to use skills that don't play into daily life, and the instant gratification of seeing a project appear in front of your eyes -- all made for a really positive event.  Not to mention helping a worthwhile cause :)

Gold star to me :)

They literally gave me a gold star ;)

I am neither kidding nor exaggerating -- somebody actually gave me a physical gold star!   That might, in fact, be a first :)   

So at the performance awards at work tonight  -- you know, the event I originally wasn't going to be able to attend due to the jury duty selection -- I won a gold performance award!   And was simultaneously: 
A - super excited 
B - stunned 
C - super excited 
D - slightly overwhelmed 
E - super excited 
Followed about 15 mins later with disappointed I hadn't been quite impressive enough to make it on the cruise (one step higher than gold) ;-P.  What can I say, a bit of a perfectionist :). But even so, still grinning ear to ear so we're going with super excited ;). Haven't been here two years yet, but that's going to be hard to top! 

Also super exciting when people I work with win as well in the "I know them!" variety :). Was pretty thrilled by the number of people I work with regularly who won. Okay so I realize that may read oddly, but keep in mind the size of the organization -- I only know a comparative handful of people and I feel a disproportionate number of them got awards, so thinking I work with some pretty excellent people. To put in perspective, there were about 1500 people there tonight (and I have no idea how many absent).  Of the five of us who report to my boss, two received awards. Similarly, of the eight people on one of my project teams, three received awards. There are not that many awards (maybe 90 over 4 levels?).  So yeah - pretty excited. As I may have mentioned ;)

Now the tricky part is going to be falling asleep after combined sugar high and excited high in a reasonable timeframe to enable my stupidly-early start tomorrow.  Right.