Rockies vs. Mariners

Before the season started mom wanted to go to the May 18th game with the Detroit Tigers for blanket hoodie night.   I am glad we held out as long as we did because of Grammie's stroke she suffered the Wednesday before.  We didn't end up going because we were in the hospital most of that week.

A few weeks ago, mom found one for a Friday ladies night out and asked if I wanted to go.  I said sure.  We got a free tank top and drinks with our ticket.  We planned our day accordingly.

I went to work the full day while mom had her half day and met me at L&I so we could leave from there and we could see I-5 from my parking lot.  I placed my parking pass in her vehicle just in case since we took the Escape to Seattle.

We got on the freeway at Tumwater Blvd and the traffic was terrible!  I am so glad I don't have to drive the freeway everyday like some commuters.  I would be mad all the time and would be trying to find ways around it.  It didn't clear up until we were after the military base and near south Tacoma.  I was utterly surprised there was not traffic in the most notorious places there usually is traffic.

There was zero traffic from Tacoma to Seattle.  I was in shock.  Luckily I always plan for crappy traffic when we drive north.

We parked in the same lot we did for the Seahawks game last December but because they were Mariner games (not as popular) we only paid $5 instead of the $20.  I made sure all of my "stealables" were hidden underneath stuff in the back or under my seat.  We grabbed the stuff we would need and decided to walk a different way to the stadium because I wanted to get the new Ken Griffey Jr. statue virtual.

The Kid...My Oh My!!  (GC7B7XQ) was one of the simple virtuals; you basically take a picture with the statue and attach it to your online log.  We waited until it was our turn to take a picture.  I didn't really want random people or kids in my picture.

We walked over to the security booth, got in with ease (because we didn't need a whole lot of stuff in the summertime) and handed the lady our tickets to scan.  They wouldn't scan for some reason...almost like it didn't recognize the bar code.  She told us we needed to go to customer service and that she would escort us so she could explain to the teller what happened and so we wouldn't get lost.

We thanked the lady for explaining the situation and she went back to go take tickets.  The customer service lady basically told us that the tickets had a problem.  I immediately thought mom bought like counterfeit tickets or something.  The lady said no.  This problem happens often when someone is trying to print the tickets multiple times.  The bar code changes to prevent many people from printing the same ticket (to counterfeit them.)  This is why mom should not be in charge of printing out tickets.

The lady printed us out ones that actually worked and handed them to us.  We thanked her and got back in line.  Our tickets were scanned and this time they worked!  We headed up the stairs and into the stadium.  We had to dodge around everyone in the corridor.  My favorite is when people stop in front of you or cut you off and then walk slow in front of you.  Move out of the way if you can't handle the flow of traffic.

We headed to section 103 where we got our tank tops and drink vouchers.  We waited in line about a half hour.  We got our tank tops and coupons and wandered around the stadium.  Mom was given a $50 gift card so she was checking out visor because hers got ruined in Ecuador this last time by bleach.  She used her gift card to purchase a new one.

We used the restrooms before wandering around to the King's corner to grab drinks with our coupons, mom got a water and I got a Pepsi.  It was nice that we didn't have to pay.  Earlier I had seen a post on Facebook about my friend Annette (Peach&Pete) working the 100 on the 3rd base side.  I told mom we were going to walk by to see if we could find her.  I saw her helping someone trying to find their seats so I waited a couple seconds to say hi.  She was happy to see us and we chatted with her for a few minutes.  It was almost time to go find our seats.

I asked mom if we wanted to get our food first and then sit down because Ivar's was along the way.  She said sure and we stood in line to grab our 3 piece fish and chips from Ivar's.  I get to have this maybe twice a year and it is delicious.  We took our food and drinks to our seats on the foul side of the right foul pole.  We had perfect timing too, we got to our seats before the first pitch.  To date, we had never sat here before.

We ate our food and noticed we were sitting with a lot of Rockies fans.  The beginning of the game did not go in our favor and the landslide continued through the end of the game.  We could not recover however we did score a run to make it look less bad.

We got up in the 6th inning and went to the team store about the end of the 7th inning.  I couldn't miss the 7th inning stretch and take me out to the ball game.  I got a few things and then we went back to the game to see if anything improved and it hadn't.

Since we were down 7-1 in the 9th inning mom decided it was time to go and head back to the Escape.  We usually don't leave any game early but we were both tired and wanted to just go home.

When we got back to the Escape we turned on the radio to see how we did.  We got the last play and we did end up losing 7-1.  Bummer.  We drove back to L&I and I dropped mom off with her vehicle.  I went home, took a quick shower and headed to bed.

Next Adventure:  Seattle Reign vs.  Houston Dash

4th of July

It has now been six years since we celebrated my favorite holiday at my grandparents house.  That was one of the reasons why it was my favorite holiday.  I enjoyed the feeling I got when the weather was warm, we were able to go swimming, eat BBQ hamburgers, tell funny stories, laugh, and most importantly just being around your family.  I loved being around my grandparent and I was lucky to grow up with my grandparents.

Every time this holiday came up I missed that routine.  I knew they were getting older and easy things that they used to do became harder.  We stopped going there because they just weren't up for all the things you had to do to prepare for company to come over.  Last year I had a gathering and invited people over because Erika was in town.  Everyone came and we had a great time.  We just couldn't do fireworks because I live in a HOA community in town and I really didn't want the cops called on me.  If we lived somewhere else I would have hosted a full 4th of July.

This year we were all worried about Grammie because she was still being monitored at Mojo's from her stroke she suffered in May.  I went in just about once every three days to visit with her and I was still hopeful she was getting better.  I was not ready for her to go and the true reality of that terrified me to my core.

I had the day off from work and should have taken the next day off as well but I didn't because I was brand new and it would make me look bad as a new employee.  Ben also had  the day off and we invited  his mom and sister out to Clear Lake and they said they would come out this year to enjoy the festivities.  Doug and Jenn didn't want to drive down and Erika was too busy and wanted to stay home.

We didn't buy any fireworks this year because I just wasn't feeling it.  Fireworks were getting more and more expensive.  Ben didn't have any extra money so we just used the ones we had from the previous years.  I kept them in a bin in the garage.  When Erika came up from Nevada last year she and Travis bought a bunch of them and left them here so we did have those ones to blow up.

It felt great to sleep in that day just because of all the changes I've endured over the past week or two.  I didn't have to be anywhere and it was nice.  I was really hoping the weather would be better so we can go swimming at the lake as well.  The last time we got to do that was 2015 when the weather was in the 80's.  Not this year...again.  It was in the low 70's and overcast.  I made sure to bring warm clothes with me.

I did a couple of chores before we headed into Rainier to pick up grandma.  We were lame and didn't bring any food with us this year.  We helped grandma put her stuff in the Escape and I made sure to bring everyone's camp chairs.  The back of the Escape was getting full and I hoped mom didn't have a buttload of things.  When we got to mom and dad's house, mom told us that dad was going to meet us there later, we packed up her stuff, which was a lot and made our way towards Clear Lake.

When we got there we noticed how lame people parked in the designated parking area.  Everyone needs to learn that when you get there first, you park the furthest away and fill it in as you go.  We had to drive through one of their flower beds because no one left any room to park and there was a huge area still open away from the driveway.

We took the stuff out of the back that we needed and got our mom's new cart out and packed everything into it to make the walk down a little easier.  We got out our chairs, extra bags and coolers and headed down the driveway to the waterfront of the house.  We said our hellos and set up our chairs and the little pop up table mom also got.  We had gotten there a little earlier than last year so the food wasn't even done yet...which was a good thing.

After we got settled in, we helped bring out the food and set it on the table.  We had a bunch of sides, lots of desserts, condiments, buns and Paul fired up the grill with burgers and hot dogs.  We would be eating here shortly.  I sat down and talked to Bob and Bev for a bit while the food was cooking.  We talked about the TriCities Geocoin Challenge (since we didn't cache this together) and some of the other upcoming trips this summer. I visited with some of the people inside and found out one of my cousins was going to WSU this fall.

When the food was done I made sure I was one of the first people in line.  I was hungry and I wanted to sit and eat.  I grabbed a burger, some beans, chips and a couple other sides and sat down with my half a mountain and lake view.  As I ate, I chatted with Trish, grandma, Amy, Ben and mom for a bit.  After we were done eating we all ventured off and started chatting with other people and some of us took a boat ride around the lake.  Ben and I shot hoops in the back for a bit.

As the evening wore on, I returned to the Escape to get some of my fireworks out and some long pants because it was getting chilly.  Ben and I and the rest of the kids spend at least an hour or so blowing up ground blooms and fire crackers, shooting off bees and bottle rockets and whatever else people had in their possession.

A little while longer, people started shooting off the bigger fireworks and of course, the people next to us were putting on a huge show.  PJ got the red flare and now it was just a matter of time before the barge floated to the middle of the lake.  Everyone got settled down and found a chair next to the lake.  We could see the silhouette of the barge making its way to the middle.

We saw the first firework go up and blow up with very pretty colors.  I took a few pictures with mom's camera just to see which ones came out.  I really loved this time of year.  For some reason fireworks were very magical to me.  It reminded me of when I was little and I was afraid of the sounds and to feel safe I would wear ear muffs and sit on Grammie's lap.  Man I miss those times.

And just like that it was over and everyone was packing up their belongings, children and food.  We got all of ours packed up back in the cart but next door had an arsenal of fireworks going and they were pretty close to us.  It looked like we were in a war zone.  I got a picture before we left the lake front to head back to the Escape.

Yes, we made sure we still had grandma.

We thanked Paul and Peggy for a really nice time and we would see them again sometime soon.  We got all of our stuff packed up and followed the line of cars out to the main road.  I dropped off mom first and then grandma.  Ben and I got home just before midnight.  I took a quick shower because I still had to go to work the next day.

Next Adventure:  Rockies vs. Mariners

Leaving L&I Just to Come Back to L&I: A Journey

I needed to find something so I didn’t have to return to the mailroom and get stuck there.  During the last month I was in Retro, I worked really hard with my co-workers on my growth and development, so I could avoid just that.  We did cover letter and resume editing, worked on my application questions, updated my state application and did mock interviews.  Interviews were I think my downfall for why I didn’t move on and get past jobs I applied for.  Or it was because I wasn’t actually qualified for the job but tried anyway?

The month of May was torture.  My job with Retro ended on May 4^th and I was to return to the mailroom on May 7^th, hopefully for a short amount of time.  That was my permanent job classification and my supervisor said it was okay to return.  Sometimes you can’t return to your exact job you came from but they will find you something to go back to with your classification.   It was really sad packing up my stuff and saying goodbye to the work and the people of that unit.  I really bonded with a few of them and I will miss seeing them every day.  I believe this was the first time I actually had a “best friend” at work.

I went back down to the mailroom with my stuff and I truly felt like I had failed.  In reality, I had just run out of time because of the timing of when the jobs I applied for closed.  I was so desperate not to go back to the mailroom I actually applied for any job even outside of L&I.  I knew by doing that I was flirting with something I really didn’t want to do, leave L&I.  Based on the past experiences I did not think I would get any of the jobs I applied for.  The five that I heard back from and wanted to interview me were:

WSDOT – Secretary Senior
Ecology – Forms and Records Analyst 1
L&I – OA3 in Human Resources
L&I – Program Assistant
DSHS – Secretary Senior

The interviews were also in that order.  I really wanted the program assistant position because it kept me at L&I and it was a promotion.

I went into WSDOT and Ecology with a very open mind.  I could nail them or I could do very poorly either way I didn’t know these people.  The silver lining was if I didn’t get any of them it was good practice at interviewing and I still had a job in the mailroom.

The first one was scheduled for May 8^th at the WSDOT building on Capitol Campus in the afternoon.  I was not that familiar with that area except for the DES building where my dad worked.  I knew where to park but unfortunately wherever you parked down there you had to pay.  I literally paid $4.00 for this interview.  I didn’t know where the WSDOT building was so I had to look at the map. 

I walked to the front, checked in with the receptionist and she directed me to the room on the 2^nd floor.  I was super nervous and very intimidated for some reason.  I was told to go into the room and sit and wait until it was my turn.  They were in the room with the closed door interviewing someone else.  I sat there feeling like I didn’t have a chance and that they would pick someone internally who knows WSDOT already.  I made a decision that when it was my turn just to be myself and answer their questions.

When it was my turn I sat down on a wooden chair and was interviewed by three ladies named Sally, Lynn and Eileen.  Sally was intimidating just because she was so direct and I really couldn’t read her and Lynn and Eileen were very mild mannered so it was easier to speak to them when giving answers.  The questions weren’t hard and geared more towards my personal life than work life.  I think they were trying to find someone with a personality they could work with rather than the task because anyone can learn a task and not everyone has a good personality to work with.  They ended with, “if we were to offer you the job would you take it?”  I had to think about that really hard and really fast so I could give an answer.  At that point I said yes because I really was desperate to move on from an OA3 position.  Anything that would promote me and give me more money.

I asked them a few questions and the interview lasted less than an hour.  I handed them my “take home” assessment that they asked me to do prior to the interview.  It was basically a paragraph that I had to edit to the best of my ability.  The chair I sat in must have been lacquered pretty well because after I was done my pants peeled off of it pretty loud.  I hoped that they weren’t paying attention when I got up.  I thanked them for their time and they said they would get back to me by the end of the week.  This week was just starting and was going to be long.

My second interview was scheduled for May 10^th at the Ecology building in Lacey also in the afternoon.  I knew where this building was because of geocaching.  I wandered around the woods near their campus back in the late winter of 2011.  I followed the parking instructions and got a phone call just before I headed into the building to check in.  I let it go to voicemail because I was not prepared to talk to whomever it was.  I recognized the phone number so I knew where it was coming from.   Just before I got out I listened to the voicemail.  It was the job I was waiting to hear about an interview from.  Unfortunately, it was two weeks from now.  I had a huge dilemma.  What if I get one of the ones I am interviewing for now?  Do I take them?  Do I leave L&I?  Do I say no?  Do I wait for the one I want and hope they offer it to me?  I decided to leave my problem in the Escape and walked into the Ecology building.  I talked with the receptionist and she checked me in and I waited to be escorted to the room the interview was in.   I was there really early so I had to wait a while.  In the meantime, I texted Trina and told her that I had another interview to put on the calendar and told her the dates.  She said oh wow!  I am an interview machine.  I sure felt like it the past few days.  I made a joke with myself that I would be the one conducting my own effective interviewing class someday.  Like that would ever happen though I hate talking in front of people. 

A lady walked up to me and asked if I was Val and to follow her.  She told me a little bit about the Ecology building as we walked to the farthest end of the building.  She said if you were to walk from one end to the other I would be about a quarter of a mile.  Dang.

We got to the room and I introduced myself to everyone and sat down.  They handed me the questions and I read them and hoped I had an answer for all of them.  I did thankfully.  I took the same approach as I did with the other interview this week.  Be myself.  It’s easy, authentic and smooth.  I know myself better than I think I do.  They took turns asking the questions and I did my best to answer them.  A lot of them were task related which made me question what kind of person they were looking for.  The lady in charge of the interview, LeAnne, was also a direct person but not as brash as Sally was at WSDOT.   You could tell she thrived off of specific information so I tried to cater my answers to be specific and not broad (and to try really hard not to ramble.)  Some of the questions they asked follow up questions on and I did my best on those as well.  About half way through some people knocked on the door and asked if we were supposed to have this room and LeAnne said yeah, we booked it weeks ago for interviews.  It turns out LeAnne and her interview panel were in the wrong room so we had to switch rooms in the middle of my interview.  I found this hilarious and it didn’t bother me at all.  I wondered later on if this a little bit of why they offered me the job, because they were in the wrong and had to interrupt my interview.  Probably not but it was fun to speculate.  We finished up the interview, I asked them questions and they also asked me if they offered me the job would I accept.  Of course I told them yes.  I didn’t want to be an OA3 anymore. 

I thanked them for their time and followed LeAnne to her cubicle to get ready for the assessment part of the interview.  I basically counted fake money, put them in categories and added them up on a 10-key calculator.  I haven’t used a 10-key calculator in at least a decade but probably longer than that.  She told me there were instructions and that I had everything I needed at this desk.  I would have 20 minutes to complete everything and would be stopping by to let me know how much time I had left.  She handed me the envelope and I began.  I followed that instruction sheet word for word I did not want to make any mistakes because I have high standards for myself.

I got them categorized how they needed to be, written down with the amounts and how many of each and then started to add them up.  I had a hard time with the 10-key calculator just because I was really out of practice.  I had to start over several times just because I was pressing the wrong keys.  I finally got it to do what I wanted and got the total but I had forgotten to print out the final total with the additions.  It was on the calculator but it wasn’t on my final tally.  I already failed this assessment because it was supposed to be on one slip and not two.  I had to do two slips.  I got them on the document and stapled the slips onto it and initialed both slips.  Maybe they like seeing initiative or I know what to do in a bind?  I put the money back into the envelop and she stopped by and asked if I was done.  I said yes and handed her back the materials.  She escorted me back to the front and gave my guest badge back to the receptionist and escaped.

I called that number back as soon as I got into my vehicle.  I could not pass this job opportunity up.  It was Patty, the admin from OMD, she wished to schedule me for an interview and gave me the dates again.  Why were they so far away from today’s date?  I just went with it and scheduled a time for the Tuesday after Memorial Day.  So that meant I was really going to have a hard choice because I bet WSDOT and Ecology would get back to me before I even had my interview for OMD.  I really hoped that this all worked out.  Fingers crossed.

I got a phone call earlier in the week from OHR for an OA3 position for the front desk area.  I only applied for this position to stay at L&I because I really didn’t want to be an OA3.  That interview was scheduled for Friday.  This week just kept getting better and better.  May was trying to murder me.

Thursday night Tim texted me basically telling me that DOT is going to offer me the job and that I should take it.  I was so conflicted I didn’t even want to think about it.  Friday morning Sally called me and offered me the job like Tim said she would.  I asked her if I could have the weekend to decide and she said yes.

Friday was a blur. I just wanted to get all of these interviews done so I could have some rest, relaxation and some peace of mind.  I didn’t want to think about this anymore.  I just wanted a job that was permanent, full time,I didn’t have to really dress up for and the supervisor was easy going.  I knew there was a perfect one out there even if I had to take one I really didn’t want to do for a while.  That afternoon I went up to OHR and checked in for my interview.  I followed them to the director’s office, sat down and introduced myself.  I already knew one of the interviewers but didn’t know the other two (they must have hired them after I left OHR in 2016) and I think it will give me an edge over the competition since I have worked in this department in the past.

This interview was very different from the others I have done recently.  This one was comprehensive based.  They would ask you a question and instead of just answering it point blank you had to actually answer a scenario that involved a task or skill, a relationship with a person (co-worker, boss, customer), explain your scenario and then tell them what you learned from it or if you could have done it differently, would you and explain yourself.  It was interesting and I believe I did a good job because I had a ton of personal experiences with all of those things and I could explain myself competently.  They seemed to be interested in what I had to say and asked me some follow up questions.  When we were done I asked them a few questions myself and they finished by saying that they will conduct second interviews and that they will be getting a hold of people starting next Monday. 

Monday was super busy.  With trying to do my job in the mailroom to deciding which job I wanted to do from all the interviews I did last week, I was stressed out and my body knew it.  I needed either a longer weekend or an actual vacation from everything.  After our mail runs and just before my break, Sally called me asking if I wanted the job.  I had to take it.  I had to move on from this position.  I was so torn though.  I didn’t want to leave L&I.  I sucked it up and told her yes.  I hated myself afterwards but kept my smile going for everyone else around me.  They were all proud of me.  I was only proud of me for going through the gauntlet of all these interviews and making it out alive but it was the wrong job and I knew it after I said yes.  The countdown begins.  I milked every ounce I had left at L&I because I knew it was drastically going to change.  That afternoon OHR called me to offer me a second interview.  I could have gone through with it just for practice but that wasn’t fair to the other candidates since I just accepted a job.  I politely turned down the second interview and asked if I could have some feedback from the first one.  They told me absolutely and scheduled me to meet with Heather next week sometime.

Tuesday I didn’t feel too great and had to go home around 9.  That afternoon LeAnne called me offering me that job which I never thought in a million years she would offer it to me.  I had to politely turn it down because I accepted another job and asked for some feedback on why they picked me.  She really didn’t have any good reasons but I thought my 10-key calculator mishap must have not mattered.  I thanked them for interviewing me and I appreciated the time they spent on looking for someone to join their team.  They now had to go with their plan B. 

The next week was more relaxed since I didn’t have any interviews to do or turn down.  Now I had to wait for the job I actually wanted after Memorial Day.  I was really hoping that went well and they picked me.  I figured with the track record of my previous interviews I should get that job right?

The OMD interview was also scheduled for the afternoon.  That day I did my work and after lunch changed into my interview outfit and briefly went over the information for this position so it was fresh in my mind.  I was super nervous.  I was more nervous for this one than I was for the others.  I tried not to put that much pressure on myself but it was really hard not to.  I wanted this job.  I wanted to stay at L&I.  Either way though I had a job.  I had income. 

I walked downstairs and waited in the Rotunda like they had asked me to.  One of the women came out and escorted me to the interview room which was downstairs the south wing.  They were very chill ladies and I really liked that since I was putting so much pressure on myself to do well.  I introduced myself to everyone and they asked me to sign a piece of paper so they could do a background check and they had me read the position description before we started in on the questions.  They all took turns asking me questions and again, I did my best to answer them being myself since that has seemed to work the last few times.  I felt like it was going well and that I would make a great impression on them so they would consider me for the position and I wouldn’t have to go to DOT for too long.  I also decided to not tell them about my current situation but I did tell them about my unique situation I found myself in with Retro and the Mailroom.  I knew I was going to have to go to DOT before they made their decision since I was starting at DOT in three days.  I asked them a few questions about the position and approximately, when they thought they would decide.  They were hoping by the end of the week to early next week.  Ugh.  I knew I was going to have a dilemma if they picked me.

That Friday was very sad for me.  I had to turn in my badge and parking pass to the State Patrol in the Rotunda. I was going to miss the people and the work I did here.  It was hard to leave.  I was sad.  I hope a job opened up so I could apply and come back.

I started my new position as a secretary senior in the Local Programs Division at DOT on June 1st.  The first few days were hard and I don't mean the tasks.

On June 6^th I got a phone call from OMD calling to tell me that it was VERY close and they went with the other candidate.  Two things were going through my head at that exact moment:  the hope for returning back to L&I was gone andI was very disappointed but I didn’t have to have that hard conversation with my supervisor about leaving DOT after I was just hired.  I was stuck at DOT for a while and the transition was starting to get to me.  I was alone with my thoughts most of the day while I was trying to learn my new tasks.  I did a lot of thinking after that phone call.  I wondered who they picked instead of me and why.   I asked Dana if I could get some feedback from my interview and she told me she would help me figure that out.

All hope was lost so I tried to make the best of my situation.  I got creative on some of the tasks that I had to do every day with some of the stuff I learned in the mailroom and in Retro.  I made the processes easier when it came to preparing the letters and getting them ready to mail.  The filing, on the other hand, was going to be a beast to make easier since they didn’t have an imaging department/program.  I would have to think about this one for a bit.

As I was getting more familiar with my surroundings, the people and the tasks, I was getting more bored as the days went on.  I knew this job was not challenging enough for me. I've already mastered like 80% of it in less than a month.  Is this really how my time was going to be spent here?  I had a few moments where my performance ruffled some of Sally’s feathers.  I wasn’t sure if it was really a mistake or she interpreted it wrong and used me for her frustration.  I wasn’t sure so I just let it go.  She seemed to just let me learn by myself on my own time.  There really wasn’t a lot of guidance and/or training so I had to just wing it some days.  On the days she was gone I got my normal breaks, the days she was there it seemed like I didn’t get any breaks or there were rules to them.  It was weird.

I got one more phone call early June that I let go to voicemail because I didn’t recognize the phone number.  Later on, during one of my breaks, I listened to it.  It was from DSHS and they wanted to interview me for a secretary senior position I applied for in April.  I thought about calling them back but then got distracted.  A few days later I called the person back and left a voicemail declining the interview.  There was no way I was going to work for DSHS.  I never heard back from her.

As I was getting used to my new job I had another phone call change the course of my month.  Monday morning (June18^th) just before my long 3 ½ day weekend, I get this phone call from L&I out of the blue.  I did not expect this to happen but it did.  The person they picked for the program assistant job fell through, either they didn’t work out or they chose something else, but UR needed a person so they offered it to me.  In my head I was screaming with joy and also screaming with “now I have to have that awkward conversation with my supervisor I am leaving after they just hired me…I want to die” and I was now stuck between and rock and a hard place.  What do I do now?  I asked them if I could come in and review the job again during my lunch and they said yes. 

A few minutes later Dana emailed me telling me that they might call me.  I emailed her back too late already have a huge dilemma.  She told me that it was going to be fine and that it will all work out.  Yeah, she didn’t have to have that conversation with my supervisor!  I called Liz for her advice and I called Linda for her advice.  They both basically told me to do it but in reality they really meant, do what makes you happy.

At lunch time I drove over to L&I and got the information I needed.  It was so nice to be back I actually smiled the entire time.  I saw Laura briefly and Liz met up with me after I talked to the UR ladies.  It sounded like a job I could handle and I was going to say yes to them.  Bam Pow!

The rest of the day I was nervous.  How was I going to break the news to my supervisor?  How was she going to react?  I have never been great at work related confrontation just because there is so much more on the line than in your personal life.  I decided to do it after lunch.  I didn’t want to do it but I wanted to do it to get it over with.  It was literally ruining my day and it’s only Monday.  However, I had half of Thursday and all of Friday off so it was a short week.  I felt sick to my stomach that I made the decision to leave and now I had to go talk about it to the place that I am leaving. Ugh.

I went into her office on Tuesday, just before doing the mail, and verbatim I said, I don’t feel well.  She goes, oh?  I told her that L&I called offering me a promotion and that I was going to take it.  I thought she was going to be upset and maybe say something snarky but the complete opposite happened.  She added, okay, well…thanks for letting me know so we can get the process started.  I had already talked to my HRC about what I needed to do and she said talk to your supervisor and then write an email to my supervisor resigning my position and cc her on it.  I told her I would have that done before the end of the day.  My last day at DOT was going to be the next Friday, June 29^th and I would be starting my new position at L&I on July 2^nd.  After I was done, I was so relieved that it turned out to be quick and painless, however, the rest of the week I felt like she was ignoring me and barely talked to me.  She had to have been a little mad about it.

Before I left for my mini vacation to the Tri-Cities she told me that they were going to hire the lady who they turned down for me and that I was going to spend most of my last week training her.  I wish I could have had someone train me for the job but I had no control over that.  We can wish in one hand and crap in the other right?  I had to think of this opportunity to make myself look good while I trained the new person.  I mean, they must have felt highly of me and trusted me to train someone even though I’ve only been with the program less than a month.  That or they really didn’t want to take the time to train her?  I will never know.

It was actually nice to come back from the Tri-Cities knowing I had an easy week ahead of me.  I met Michelle and we got to know each other as the week went on.  I started off with the letters, then moved onto the mail, filing, closing and opening projects and so on.  I showed her how to do everything and then progressively let her do them.  We both learned how to do archive boxes since that was something I had not done yet.  I told her that our supervisor would have to show her the scheduling and purchasing tasks since that is not something we got into yet.  I could not wait until Friday.  When that day finally came I smiled uncontrollably.  I was so happy to leave DOT and go back to L&I.  I took the last little bit of my belongings and headed out to the parking garage one last time.  I don’t have to come back here or pay for parking again!

It was annoying that I had to leave L&I to get a better job at L&I.  It was draining and I am glad it is finally over…this was the unknown thing that I talked with Tim about several times while I was in Retro.  I had no idea where I was going to end up and if I was going to be happy doing it.  The hardest part was losing my connections I gained here at L&I.  I always saw people doing stuff with each other or making friends or whatever else was going on but because I bounced around all over the place, it was hard to connect with people.  I believe Liz is that person I was supposed to meet and become friends with.  We connected in such a way at work that I don’t think we would have if our path’s crossed in a different situation.  I missed that connection while I was at DOT and I am glad I have it back. (Even though it didn't last very long.)

This is just one more story to add to my resume.  Like I mentioned before so glad that this is over and I can focus on a job and be great at it.  I am now back at L&I.  I am the Program Assistant in the Office of the Medical Director within the Utilization Review team.

My first day was pretty standard for a new person.  New badge, new parking pass, paperwork new desk, learning my job and getting to know my new co-workers and supervisor.  I am getting paid more and it isn't that stressful of a job.  I can wear whatever I want, set my own schedule and my boss lets me take my days off as long as it doesn't conflict with someone else.  So far so good.

Next Adventure:  4th of July