Wow! Thanks, Google!

What a nice surprise!

On my birthday morning I fire up the laptop and go to Google and... they're throwing a party for me today, with cake and cupcakes and everything.

I know, I know, it's for something else, but still. It's my birthday and I'll decide what that is and for me, it's a spread in honor of My Day. And everyone else who happens to share this day as their day. Like one of my co-workers.

Aside from that cheerful little wake-up, I expect today will be pretty much like every other day. The challenge I was set at work two weeks ago is gradually being pushed back into control. I have another stack of papers on my desk to deal with, but that's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I started on it yesterday afternoon and got all the way through it once, sorting this from that from the other, so now I know where things stand. From there, I've already asked a pertinent question about one group. I have to ask for more information on another, but the majority of what's there can just be dealt with. A few hours, at most, and it will be done. Then I can send the report off and that bit of the world will be happy.

Then there's another group that has to be handled. And that will take more time and energy but that's perfectly okay by me. God knows why, but I enjoy it.

I think it's because it's problem solving. I see it as a puzzle, of sorts. Which I enjoy. Before I got started on this, this morning, I spent a little time playing Farm Heroes and then I played Mahjong. You can see where my priorities lie from that, right?

The best thing about those puzzles is that they're fairly easy. Not too hard, but sometimes difficult enough to be satisfying. Like now.

At work we have a backlog. A really bad, serious, messy backlog because someone didn't do what they were supposed to be doing and were either too lazy or too insecure and unsure of themselves to ask questions. So they shoved things aside. A lot of things got shoved aside, probably with an "I'll deal with that later" promise to self. Unfortunately, 'later' never showed up at the door, so the things just sat around on the shelf getting more and more stale by the day.

Then they left and... voila! Their problem became someone else's problem. Hearing about the problem, and having dealt with a similar problem before, I spoke up and offered to help out. Which is what I've been doing.

Because it is a scramble to get the cars back on the track before the world implodes around us, it's a challenge, and it's fun. I've spoken to those with whom I need to speak, to buy a little bit more time. I made promises which I'll keep. Today's report being one of them, although I'll also be asking a question which requires more work from them, but that's okay.

Then there's the knot where three entities all collide.

Company A does this. Company B does that, which supplements Company A's 'this'. Both look to us, Company C for another thing. The problem is, sometimes Company A asks for another thing, but mostly they don't because Company B is going to ask us for another thing. Sometimes they both ask us for that another thing, and then we have a knot. Both of them want the same thing from us, but if Company A gets there first, we give it to them, first. Then Company B comes and says, "we want it" and we have to say, "No, we already gave it to Company A. You'll have to ask them for it." And Company B gets sulky and whines and... It's not pretty.

So I asked a question yesterday, a 'how can we keep this from happening' question and sent it off to Company A. I don't think it will matter because there are other, outside factors that affect this, too. It's like a solar system with all the moving parts. This does that, that does this, and all are affected by other things. But, we'll see.

If Company A can modify it's process just a little bit, a one degree nudge and probably no more, all will be well with this particular solar system. If they can't, then we'll be where we are and we'll have the conflicting needs, wants and desires. And that's life.

And I get to deal with more of the same today - which I enjoy because it is simple yet satisfying. It's not a burden I typically carry home with me. It's not a weighty problem that keeps me up at night. It's not something that will get into the shower with me. It's just sitting on my desk, resting quietly and waiting for my arrival.

Which is why I like it. I've had the weighty problems, the midnight thoughts and worries, the "how on Earth am I going to accomplish that in that amount of time?" and I'm done with that. So this is good - challenge enough to keep my interest, varied enough to make me happy. Yep. Thinking about it in those terms, it's definitely not rocket science, but it's pretty darned good, ya know?

Now - I'm off to get to work and start whipping that pile of stuff into shape. Hope your day is lovely, too!

Best~
Philippa

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Wrinkles and Twists and Adventures in Living...

If you’re alive I’m sure you’re like me in that you find somewhere in each new day a brand new adventure. It seems that there’s always something. The truck you get behind that makes you late or the cat puking on the floor just as you’re ready to walk out the door. Misplacing your car keys or something else that trips you up. Maybe it’s after you get to work. You have your day planned out, you know what’s on your list and then … wham! Straight out of left field comes a curveball and you have to flail at it.

Yesterday’s adventure was receiving a call at 11:05 am and being ‘asked’ to turn a project on which I have been working for over a year completely on its head. Just turn it 180° so that instead of driving toward a finite End Date, we have an open ended project.

Internal thought process:  Let's see... eight hundred tasks, one master chart, into which are linked eight subsidiary charts further connected by fifteen child charts...  

Oh, and by the way, can you have it done by nine o’clock tomorrow morning for our Director’s meeting?

What’s a good answer to that one? ‘I’ll get started but can’t promise it’ll be complete…’ That’s what I came up with. And, by focusing on it and coming in a little early it was about 98% done. A few tweaks, minor changes, nothing catastrophic and I will have finished.  Whew! In the meantime, it’s good enough to trot out and put up on the screen for the directors to see and pick at.

Today’s adventure was having the chance to sit in a room of execs – directors and above – and explaining ‘my’ gem to the CEO – a very smart, meticulous and inquisitive man.  He’s exactly the kind of person I like working with because you don’t have to explain things more than once – he gets it first time ‘round. Of course, there are times when he drills deeper than I’m prepared for, but that’s okay, too. It makes me think, to pay closer attention for the next time.

In the end, it was a good morning all around for me. The turning-over task is 98% done. I just have to finish the minor tweaks, which means I don’t have time or need to fret about what isn’t done. The meeting went well with some drilling and I think I tipped the ‘Respect-O-Meter’ to the green side.  It’s all good.

Of course all of this threw my timing off for everything else. My posting this, for instance, but in my part of the world, time is flexible. That’s a valuable lesson I learned early on, when I worked in the international department of a bank. My schedule was tipped on its head for two years when I worked nights – one o’clock in the morning until nine-thirty. That taught me that being caught by morning, noon, evening and night isn’t necessary. I have the power, to an extent, to bend time to my needs – like this morning.

Over the years I’ve also learned not to sweat the small stuff. I don’t always recognize the small stuff the first time it sniffs around, but I usually manage to figure it out. Sometimes before I sweat, sometimes after, but I do usually figure it out. Big stuff, though, yeah, that I can sweat. I can definitely sweat the big stuff right along with the best of ‘em. It takes practice but no one lives a life without practice in that, so I’m there, ready to sweat if and when needed.

One thing that I have trouble with though is learning not to challenge others. If someone tosses something in front of me with which I disagree, I have a heck of a time turning my back on it and just walking away. I don’t know if it’s a character flaw or not, but it does sometimes create unnecessary friction and trouble. It’s just a life lesson still to be learned and I am working on it. The one thing I do know is that we all have things to learn and improve on – it’s part of being alive, so I’ll keep working on it, hoping to achieve perfection (or as close to it as I can come) before my number is called.

So, I’m going to get started on the little tweaks to my project, then start in on the character flaw (there’s an open-ended discussion that’s becoming a circular argument on another website).

Have a lovely day!

Best~

Philippa

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