an update.

A few interesting things have happened at this point. I'm taking a week off to experience the birth of Max--my first baby. The baby is actually a little late and I'm disappointed. But I'll describe my disappointment elsewhere as I don't want to dwell on it.

Everyone is still in place at work. I've moved cubes though. I moved to Don Tynan's old cube as he's now retired. He has a distinct laugh and I actually miss hearing it. I guess I'll also miss hearing biju's loud international conversations in the office next to mine. It's cool, Biju is applications engineer for customer services and I hear him talking to people in India, Brazil, Europe and the US. My favorite conversation to listen in on was one where he was talking to someone about staying longer in Rio de Janeiro to go clubbing in some of Brazil's clubs. They're fun conversations to listen in on.

Donna has shown me interesting ways to pray. I know that she's telling me something that's special to her because her voice loses some of its volume and looks right at you. She's involved in reconnecting with an old friend who she thought was MIA in Viet Nam. It turns out that he's not and now needs to talk to him. I'm anxious to hear the results of this endeavor.

I showed Blake how to Google hack music sites. I think it's funny to show him this stuff because the expression on his resembles someone who just figured out the keys to the universe--it's funny and I know that he appreciates it. Besides, they're called Google hacks but it's really not hacking as all this stuff is well documented by Google.

Brent has shown a mellow and calm side that I have never noticed before. Evidently something in his life has changed but he appears to be a very quiet, reserved and private person with pictures of his family in office. He appears to be a man who's focus in life is family as he's authorized a week of for me to make sure that my baby makes it into the world safely.

All in all, I'm in a really great place. I'm a little late with one project--two actually. But I'm so busy with the regular job that I just don't have time to work on extra-curricular projects. Maybe I'll do a little bit of it this week while I'm on maternity vacation and see how it goes. They also announced our bonuses and they're scheduled to be nice this year--13% if all goes well and the way business is going there's no reason why that should change.

Almost review time...

Wow, a year is coming up in June--a year that I've been an official Solar Turbines Employee. I still have a lot that I have to do and realizing that the work is never finished. That's a good thing obviously because my mind is completely preoccupied with the fact that Amy is six months pregnant with our first baby.

When I'm at work, I'm physically there--not mentally. No, mentally I'm playing with the baby that isn't here yet while thinking about all the things that still have to be done at home and in the yard to get ready for the baby.

I do get the feeling that my team mates are getting a little frustrated with me because I may not be working on the extra-curricular projects that I'd started a mere year ago. But I can't, I mentally just cannot. I have kids on my mind, I'm glad I'm not working as an air traffic controller, can you imagine? I have Shayne on my mind as well and the girls, Jojo and Sammy.

I'll try to focus on my work more and hopefully my team-mates will understand the phase that I'm going through right now.

learning more and more...

While Amy's been gone to Hawaii on business I've been focusing on my job and our garden. It's coming along smartly and I now know how to plant sod. But, my job. So far, it's going really well, I'm happy for the most part. It's not the perfect job but at this point, I'm realizing that there is no perfect job--just little victories here and there. I have a better grasp of supplier data now that I've had a chance to work with it. My co-workers probably get the feeling that I didn't want to deal it--and that's fine--complaining about it would have been just whining and I don't want to do that.

In fact, when our little team was supposed to be learning about supplier data, I was sequestered in meetings most of the day dealing with an XML idea that never came to fruition while my other co-worker was learning more and more about supplier data. Every time I returned to it was like starting all over again. Needless to say, it was a pain in the ass. I achieved what I could.

But I'm doing better with it now. There are more efficiency tools that I should be working on to improve our process. Also, I'm not placed in the best location to get the information that I should be getting to do my work. My two other co-workers yell at each other and sometimes inadvertedly leave me out of decisions they make.

So when I ask questions I usually get, "yea! that's how we've doing it... we told you". See? I agree that they probably did, but they talk about it all the time and really learn things. Because I'm out of the loop, I don't remember it.

My normal way of working is to identify what things we can eliminate and still do our job effectively. Sometimes it seems that my co-workers are looking for more things to document. They may make our work more accurate, but also take much longer.

I'm just rambling at this point. Until later.

Six Sigma, here I come...

The buzz about the company is all about getting Six Sigma trained and certified so as to be a more effective employee. Admittedly, it's good training--really good training. It's an interesting way to train employees to think more alike and bring the company to its goals in unison, the way it should be.

But the part about Six Sigma that I enjoy the most is the statistical aspect. And it's ashame that I'm so bad at math because Six Sigma presents an extremely efficient way to statistically minimize manufacturing errors.

I'm finished with my training, now I have to take the test.

Status...

Today was a funny day at work. One of the writers asked the editor a very basic grammar question. I don't remember what the question was but it caused the editor to walk away from the writer's cube appearing somewhat perplexed. The editor returned to his cube and the writer asked him if something was wrong. The editor replied with;

"turn in your Strunk & White Elements of Style, turn in your badge, go home and take your crayons with you..."

The sorrounding cubes exploded in laughter. We understood that the editor was joking but his quip was motivated by having to answer a question that no writer should ask (I don't remember what it was...). I suppose that it is akin to a mechanic asking an engineer if tightening a nut is righty-tighty or lefty-loosey.

The writer Googled his answer and stayed quite the rest of the day.

It's been a year now...

I was hired by Volt Services on January 8, 2006 and sent to Solar Turbines as my first temporary assignment. Solar Turbines hired me on as a permanent employee in June of 2006. So far, it's been a fun job filled with many challenges and small victories. My job so far is as a Technical Information Specialist but I've also taken the responsibilities as my department's Safety Coordinator.

As the safety representative, I offer training and regular safety inspections. I also occasionaly walk around and ensure that everyone has a smile on their faces and that their bones aren't protruding from poor seating postures or excessive mousing clicking. Yes, these are the hazzards of the 21st century but we endure.

I have many goals this year as a Solar Turbines employee. I have to complete my Green belt training in the next few weeks and finish our present programming projects. I'd also like to plan my career toward technical drawing again but I'm not sure what that will require. I'll focus on two good solid years in Technical Documentation and see where the winds of fate take me then.

Also, I have a baby on the way. I'm not sure how this will alter my plans. It may motivate me to excel in my present position or motivate me to find something else--I realy don't know. It's really too soon to tell as Amy's only a few months pregnant and she herself is unsure of what the future holds.

I know this, I know that I'm scared... not of the experience of the child but of the state of the world and the unknown. I have many fears now--many and I need to focus on the positive for the sake of the baby.

More later...