Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Appreciation

I had a really good week at work.

First off there was the Christmas party last Tuesday.  We had our annual company meeting where the President and the VP recognized those that had worked for the company for over 5 years - including myself.  I received a really nice card enclosed with a $100 gift certificate to Future Shop.

Then we did our white elephant gift exchange.  I was #1 - so I picked first - but in our rules, at the end of the game, the person with #1 gets to go back and exchange their gift (if they want) for anything anyone else received (even if it was stolen 3 times and became "dead").  I chose a night out at the movies (2 tickets, 2 drinks and a large popcorn).  I am thinking that I am actually going to give it to my brother's girlfriend for Christmas.

My desk is fairly clean and organized right now.  I worked hard last week on dealing with all the paperwork that had been piling up.  I also got the US & International copies of Alberta Venture and Alberta Oil mailed out - and it's always great when I get those sent earlier in the month.

Yesterday the President called me into her office at the end of the day and gave my a card with a nice little monetary present.  I have never received a Christmas bonus before, and it felt really good to be appreciated for all the work I have done over the past year.

It's been a bit crazy with my co-worker Jen being off work for most of 2014.  It has helped that we outsourced the fulfillment of the subscriptions to a company in Halifax, which took place in September.

Being recognized by my company has made me realize that I was not appreciated by my ex husband. All the little things I would do for him each day, just because I loved him, and he would very rarely reciprocate.  It didn't start out that way in our relationship, but I can look back and see that I was always more willing to compromise and do things to make his life easier.  It feels great now to put myself first.

On top of the reward, I was also told that before Christmas the President wants to do a job review.  I had one at three months, but nothing since then.  It will also include a look at my salary.  When I agreed to take this new position in Edmonton, the letter of employment mentioned that there was a possibility of a raise at six months.  The past year has been tough for the company, mostly because we are on our fourth controller since October of 2013.  We also have had three different editors for Alberta Oil along with two event coordinators.  Now that we have good people in place, we hope that 2015 will be a much better year.  A year that would include increases in salary.

So I had fun with my co-workers and I have been recognized for my efforts.  That definitely means it was a good week at work in my books.








Thursday, December 4, 2014

The Best Laid Plans . . .

When I talked about my goals for the year I was 37 I had included the following:

"3.  I will continue to work on my online course.  I want to finish the course work by May/June so that I can complete my 4 week practicum and get my diploma.

4.  Once my course is done I will take the next big step and find a new job as a legal administrator."


Looks like my plans have been a bit derailed.  I signed up for the course in January of 2013.  Then I went to Edmonton for a week to work out of the office here and spend some time apart from my ex husband.  When I got back he spent two weeks crashing with a friend.  After that we decided to separate.

When I spoke to my aunt/the CEO of our company about leaving Venture when I moved back to Edmonton, she came up with another solution.  So I changed positions to the one I now have in the circulation department.  When I agreed to the job, I signed a contract and agreed to give them two years (from April 2013 to April 2015).

It has been almost two years and my program instructor told me that I either had to finish the course by December 31 (not happening), or they could transfer the courses I have taken and give me an Administrative Professional Diploma.

I wish I could go back and hold off on signing up for the course.  Or at least wait until I got to Edmonton, maybe even taking the program through a different institution.

It's all just a bit frustrating.  I know I should have communicated with Robertson College more clearly that I was moving and going to commit the next two years to my current career.  Thus making it extremely difficult to complete the program, as I could not take time off to do the 4 week practicum.

I also know that I should have been more dedicated to my studies.  If all I had left to complete was the practicum, and maybe one test, then I am sure there might have been some more flexibility.

I am not sure what to do from here.  I really like my job and there is potential for a raise in 2015, but my hope was to find a job where I could make even more money.  Then I would have the finances to have a child on my own.

Everything is a bit confusing right now.  I guess I will just take it one step at a time and hope that it all works out.