Day 11 of My Connecticut Adventure

Things aren’t terribly exciting… so I may not be posting every day to update you on breakfast, lunch, dinner, training, etc…

We had another action packed day of training (I haven’t been disclosing what we’ve been doing in training, because it is proprietary info and I don’t want to lose my job for disclosing).

Day 12 of My Connecticut Adventure.

Another busy day of training. I’m on overload right now… tomorrow is going to be a packed jam day plus our Week 2 assessment.

Next week I got to my store for some more hands on training. That will be AWESOME! I won’t be cleared to sell YET… so, all of you faithful followers will have to wait until Mid-August to come see me!

The individuals in my training class are making it really easy to keep my personal and work life separate. I was in the elevator with one of them. He did not even say hello, hey… hell, he didn’t even grunt. I got more out of a total stranger. As the husband keeps reminding me, I probably won’t see most of these people much after training. There are three people who are at least polite, I will give them that … but life goes on.

To be honest, it keeps me out of trouble. If I was friendly with them, I’d probably be out dancing coyote ugly style. HA HA

This weekend is the Live Free or Die Tattoo Expo, in the Exciting Manchester, NH. I’m sure I will have interesting things to share about that!!!

Until next time!

Days 9 & 10 of My Connecticut Adventure

Day 9 of My Connecticut Adventure

I’m a few days behind on my blog posts, because my weekend was awesome (and I didn’t even have to wear the AWESOME panties to make it so).

Monday, a day back to training…. I’m feeling really good about my decision. I’m learning so much, and just putting up with the fact that my fellow students are choosing not to socialize with me. I’m actually pretty ok with it, because it keeps me out of trouble. Since I can no longer drink anyone under the table, I won’t be tempted to try it any way.

I was still eating left over’s from this weekend… I’m sure the company is going to be happy to see I don’t use my whole meal allotment.

Day 10 of my Connecticut Adventure.

So, I’ll get caught up and put two days in here, I guess.

Training itself is going really well.

My fridge in my room is freezing my food L

In my lunch today I found a fruit fly. L

I didn’t want to put it out there… but I’m annoyed today. The people in my class aren’t so nice. Day one I introduced myself to a couple of them, and they couldn’t have been less interested in who I was or what I had to say… Here we are at the second week of training… EVERYONE (there are a whole 9 of us) goes out to dinner together. I haven’t been invited or asked… tonight took the cake though… I went to pick up my dinner in the lounge. Three of them were having dinner at the bar. The only one who spoke to me was the one other woman in the class… the other two guys completely ignored me. Now me, I would have suggested that the individual sit with us…. I don’t know what it is. I don’t think I’ve come across as holier than thou…maybe I have… frankly, my first impression of them wasn’t great… and they haven’t given me anything to make me think anything better of them.

For those who know me, know that I’m pretty darn social. I party with anyone… as long as you keep your hands to yourself (and then if I know you well enough & know you are being silly I will pretty much accept that too).

This COULD be the universe’s way of telling me that I need to maintain a professional personality when I am around people I work with. I haven’t always been the best one for this. Some of my best partying friends were also co-workers… and I have been known to let my freak flag fly. Oh well… I guess this is where I make the choice to separate personal and professional life completely and utterly… I’m so grateful for the wonderful people I’ve met through my previous jobs, those who take me for who I am. Many of them let their freak flags fly high with mine!

On the upside my dinner (which I ate alone) was really good.

I’m going to curl up with a good book (my aunty gave me a bag full).

My weekend rocked!

I’m a few days behind on my blog posts, because my weekend was awesome (and I didn’t even have to wear the AWESOME panties to make it so).

I visited with my Aunty. I love visiting with her because there is no agenda, not stress… no 1,001 activities that we MUST pack into a day. It is nice and relaxing… as a weekend (or any day off) should be.

I got in a little later than I wanted because of traffic issues, but I made it there in one piece, so that is the important thing. We sat, had a drink & caught up on everything… including that she has decided to take early retirement. I’m excited for her! She’ll have time to do what she wants without having to worry about having to go back to work, or deal with cranky pants! (I think this celebration requires more than just a weekend, but we can plan for that).

Saturday morning we went to the beach and just hung out. I actually slept in until 10! That is not normal for me, but it was great.  I’m not so good at the just sitting… but I did pretty well. We did lunch at the Landing. That was quite yummy. We went to a Sandcastle Competition (more like Sands sculpture exhibit), and that was awesome. We might have gotten misplaced on the way back.

We had a nice evening when we got back, had some cocktails & chatted some more.

Sunday I didn’t sleep in much (I woke up at 6:45). By the time my aunty got up, I had read most of my book & drank four or more cups of coffee.  We went to Salem and just puttered around. That was fun. There wasn’t really much more than window shopping… but that was ok with me.

 We had lunch at a little sports bar. That was yummy too (I wish I could find places that were as yummy in CT).

I headed out about 4:45. I got into the hotel about 8:15. I kept getting detoured. Plus I would take a left when I should have taken a right, so yeah, some of it was me…. But I really hate trying to drive though Boston. It sucks… big time!

Day 6 of My Connecticut Adventure

Note to self, do not have the continental breakfast on a Friday. I took a sip of apple juice, it was fermented. The eggs were rubbery… and alas, nothing was ready a half an hour after it was supposed to be.

It was a long day, but very productive. I learned a lot, and I really learned the areas that I need to work on. Oh, and I scored a 90% on my assessment. Woo hoo to me.

After class, I headed to visit my Aunty in Massechusets. I was not impressed by the lack of movement on the highway. Come to find out there was a delay at one of my exits. I was rerouted. Then there was another delay at another exit I had to get off. It put me, about an hour behind where I wanted to be. I hope that my return trip will be a-ok.

 It is going to be a great weekend of catching up (since I think it may have been 2 years since I’ve seen her)… no updates this weekend, until maybe Monday, since she is one of the few people in the world who does not have internet, a cell phone, or even a computer (frankly, I say good for her).

Sorry for the shortness of this one… but it is what it is.

Until Next time

Day 5 of My Connecticut Adventure

I guess we don’t need to go over what I had for breakfast today. Ha ha..

I woke up at 5am, but decided to stay in bed a bit longer. The only problem with that is that the walls are paper thin in this hotel. They really are I can hear the conversation in the room on the other side of me as though they were in my room. Not cool. L I can’t leave just the fan running all night because then it gets too darn humid in my room, so I guess I’ll just stop complaining, because there isn’t anything I can do about it… moving on.

I have decided that the best way to start a day is to watch Sesame Street music videos. Yesterday’s video was Cookie Monster singing Share it Maybe:

Today’s video is REM singing with the monsters Furry Happy Monsters.

How can anyone have a bad day after watching Sesame Street music videos? You really can’t. It is almost impossible… even though I had some strange issues yesterday, I didn’t have a bad day. When I started to get frustrated, I just thought about the video I watched in the morning, and it seemed all was right… and who can’t help but smile when you have a catchy tune sung by cookie monster in your head?

Training was great today! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE role playing. I am NOT being sarcastic, I really actually do like role playing. It is a great way to practice what will really happen in real life scenarios. I may have a habit of making things difficult for my role playing partners, but customers are never easy all the time, are they? I know I’m not always an easy customer either.

Oh, and we got our phones today!!!! Mine is AWESOME, but to be honest, I think any phone would be awesome. I’m so excited to start putting the devices from my company into the hands of my customers!!!

Tomorrow is the last day of training of this week. After training, I’m heading to visit my Aunty in MA. I haven’t seen her in a while. It will be nice to catch up and rest for a moment, since it has been go, go, go all week. Knowing me, it will still be go, go go while I’m visiting with her.

Until Next time!

Day 4 of My Connecticut Adventure

My breakfast today was the same as yesterday. I do wish that the concierge would be a little more on the ball. He hadn’t put the eggs out … was running low on oatmeal, and I went even later today!

So today I learned a valuable lesson, listen to Google Maps (unless it tells you to take a U turn)… even if you have driven somewhere twice, you still don’t know it. I was almost late for class today. I went South instead of North. I was so used to my Garmin messing up that I just assumed that I must be right and my Google maps must be wrong. Considering that Google=Big Brother I should have known better. Well I wasn’t late, so all is right with the world there. (Glad I left extra early because I was going to get gas).

I was sitting in class and suddenly my bra strap snapped.  I was not happy about this… and thank goodness break time was imminent. I spent almost my whole damn break trying to find a way to fix it so my boobs wouldn’t look lopsided. I had a make it work moment and was glad that a) I had a breast reduction a few years ago b) Yankee ingenuity c) there was only an hour and a half left of class.

I learned another valuable lesson… Credit Unions are not always better than Banks (technically I all ready knew that after the bank I just finished working for).  We paid off a credit card with the Credit Union with a loan from another bank. It was part of cash out from an equity loan. I specifically told the teller I worked with NOT to close out the card. She told me that she was only paying it to zero. I went to use the card yesterday to get gas. It did not work. I found out today that it is because it is their policy that when a credit card or any open ended loan is paid off with loan proceeds that they close the account. That was never told to me in the 45 minutes I spent at that Credit Union. Yes, folks, 45 MINUTES TO COMPLETE FOUR TRANSACTIONS!

Since the card is in my wonderful husband’s name, who had suggested that I use the card for expenses not covered under the company meal plan while in training, called the credit union and got the above answer. He was told that the loan officer from the other bank would need to contact them to reopen the card. So…. My husband had to contact the loan officer from the bank. She took COMPLETE ownership. She actually told him that she thought that she had checked the box on the paperwork not to close the card, but she must have missed it. She asked what she needed to do to fix it. REALLY??!??? I was shocked. She just earned brownie points with me. In addition to the fact that she was honest, upfront, and didn’t hide or fail to disclose anything with our loan. I AM CONFIDENT that she was not the one who messed this one up, but impressed that she owned the mistake, didn’t place blame on someone else, and she fixed the problem.

I worked out again after work, BUT the A/C was still broken. I got dizzy & a head ache after running just a mile, so I decided it might be a good idea to call it quits for the moment. I HAVE been walking on my breaks too, and eating better than usual… it CAN be done even if you are eating out three meals a day.

I decided to plug the address for the nearest Target into my phone and take a little trip. Getting there was fine, coming back it wanted me to make U turns. I just pretty much went back the direction I came and it recalculated enough to give me the correct exit numbers.

Tonight? I think I’m going to call it an early night (I said this last night, but I ended up chatting with my bestie & cousin). Tonight the internet is running super slow and I guess I ran a red light thinking it had turned green, so I must be sleepy.

Until tomorrow!

Day 3 of My Connecticut Adventure

So, I still woke up with a massive headache this morning. I didn’t think I was going to make it. I talked to the hubby right after I took Tylenol this morning. He suggested I take another shower, and that I would feel better. I went to breakfast later today. I had the same thing I had yesterday. I decided to listen to the hubby and took another shower. I had four cups of double brewed coffee (the coffee in the hotel room is so bad to get it even close to dark enough I have to double brew it). By the time that it was time to leave my head ache was gone.

Training was great today. I don’t know if it was because of the lack of head ache or the 4 cups of hot coffee, plus the large iced, but it really was great. I was really impressed by the “guest” speaker that came in. It is great to see someone who has worked for a company for so long still have so much passion about his or her job and the company!

I made a promise to myself that I would work out while I was here. Yesterday I didn’t, because frankly I couldn’t. I went to sleep about 7:45pm. I came straight back to the hotel after training, changed into my workout clothes and worked out. I realize how out of shape I am. I did a mile on the tread mill, 20 sit ups, 20 push-ups then repeated. I all ready feel the pushups in my shoulders. The fitness room may not be state of the art, but it gets the job done. I don’t need a ton of equipment to make it work!

I went exploring and didn’t find anything for dinner that way, so I chose to eat at the hotel restaurant. I had a salad and a white pizza with feta & figs. I honestly can say I haven’t had figs before. I have decided that it is yummy.

Now, I think I’ll veg out before I call it a night, maybe even go down to the hot tub… but I’m good with hanging out in my room reading a book.

Until Next time!

Day 2 of My Connecticut Adventure

It is early in the morning of day two. I woke up early. I seem to wake up earlier when I take a Tylenol PM. Not sure why. You would assume that it would be the exact opposite. I went to have breakfast, because breakfast is ready at 6am. I waited about 10 minutes. The concierge was just putting breakfast out. I waited a few min, got a surprisingly healthy breakfast (usually complementary breakfasts are crap). Since I’m sure you are all interested in what my breakfast consisted of, I will tell you. I had a slice of pineapple, a slice of honeydew melon, a slice of cantaloupe, a hardboiled egg, oatmeal, and an apple for later. I have made coffee.  It is so weak it might just as well be hot water. L Guess I will have to stop for coffee on my way to training.

I will be wiggin’ it today. Lately I really have not cared if my hair looks fabulous or not (I KNOW it is a shocker) but my best friend and hairdresser was sick before I left. The brat was going to do my hair even though her DR wanted her to go in for an emergency CT scan. I thought not. She is my best friend first, and I have wigs. I would rather have her be doing my hair for years to come than just one time.

I got to my training with no issues this morning. Again, Google Maps didn’t put me on the wrong course. I don’t have great cell reception here, so it DID take a while to load Google Maps. But, it won’t be long before I can ditch the old cell carrier and port my numbers to the new one I work for J

The morning training was a get to know each other session. They are always good. I’ve decided to turn a new leaf in my life & no longer cringe when people comment about my name. This girl has been married for 13 years this August… SO I will embrace all the comments, and my name is my name, and yes, it happens to be similar to an actress.

I tracked down a sushi place that got great reviews on trip advisor. My Google Maps didn’t steer me in the wrong direction, but I did have to find a place to turn around, because I hate crossing over traffic. It was worth it. I will write a review soon. I’m not sure what I will try there tomorrow…Today I ordered one of my stand bys of California Roll, and I also ordered a Pink Lady Roll. The Pink Lady I had never had. It is spicy crabmeat, avocado, and crunch with salmon on top.  I do not have a fridge in my hotel room. I have made a make shift cooler by filling the sink with ice… so I had to eat my sushi early so it didn’t go bad. I think I’ll be eating a lot of sushi while I’m here just the same…. Maybe only ordering one roll instead of two.

After a long day of training, I have a migraine. I believe it is because of lack of sleep (and quite probably because I need to see a chiropractor & a massage therapist). We covered a lot today, and even more to come.  I think I’m going to call it an early night tonight. I was going to work out tonight, but I don’t think running or lifting is a good idea considering my head ache.

I will update more tomorrow.

Day 1 of My Connecticut Adventure

I left the house earlier than I had planned today. Mostly because I was so antsy that I might start housework or mowing the lawn before a 6 ½ hour drive.

I’m glad that I left early, because I ended up having to make a few stops. 1) For snacks. 2) For potty breaks 3) for a new charger.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and Google maps on my phone worked AWESOME! I actually didn’t get lost or misdirected ONCE!!! I guess sometimes big brother isn’t so bad. A lot of road work is going on right now, and if I hadn’t been driving all the vibrations would have been a fun ride. Not so much when you are driving an SUV and trying to combat wind as well as grooved pavement.

The only irritation with drivers was when I tried to pull out after getting gas on the Mass Pike. Some ass hat stopped in the middle of the exit. When I tried to go out around him, the guy who was trying to go out around me got pissy and honked at me.

While Google maps is AWESOME, it did kill my battery. I went to plug it in, and the charger I brought with me WOULD NOT WORK! I went to the front desk to see if they might have one; the girl was not overly helpful. I ended up going to the W-Mart just down the street from my hotel. Well, it was a ghetto W-Mart. Not that W-Mart is upscale in any way shape or form, but this was the worst!!! I hate W-Mart anyway, but holy hell!! This location was not even a super W-Mart! They were under construction to become a Supercenter, but even with that being said, I’ve never seen a W-Mart with such bare shelves. I tried to get an adapter to make my car charger a wall charger as well. The man tried to tell me that they don’t make such a thing. I know they do, because I used to sell them when I worked for the cell company. Then he tried to sell me an iphone charger. I showed him my phone even. GRRR… eventually I walked out with a cable to hook up to my computer to charge it. I will be returning it as soon as I can. My phone has been on the charger for three hours and it is barely at 50% charge.

While I was leaving W-Mart some guy yelled out his car that he wanted a piece of that (as in me). He also proceeded to tell me he loved me…and then the car swung around. I thought for sure I was going to be followed. I got into my car, locked all the doors and made it back to the hotel without incident.

I finally ironed and put away all of my clothes. I decided to go exploring. I found the pool, the fitness room and the laundry. I don’t exactly know where the entrance is to the fitness room. I will have to find that tomorrow night. I also realized that I did not bring any type of detergent for my clothes. I’m hoping that I won’t have to go back to the ghetto W-Mart for detergent.

I took the first bubble bath I had in years with my Hello Kitty Bubble Bath that I got from my former co-worker.

I popped a Tylenol PM, so I think it is time for bed….

Stay tuned for more of my Adventures in Connecticut!

I didn't imagine that today would be so bittersweet..

I don’t really remember feeling anything but joy when leaving a job. Happy to get the hell out and start something new…. Today is a bittersweet day for me.

I’m super excited to be starting a new chapter of my life with a different company. I’m sad about the people that I will be leaving behind.

I was with my previous employer for 7 ½ years. I really dedicated my life to the cell company I worked for. I came in on days off, I got phone calls while on vacation, while out of town on emergencies, I opened new markets, and I managed the store with out the pay or the title. I really did give it my all. When I left that company I didn’t even get a card. The only people who acknowledged my leaving were people who had left the company before I had. Some of them moved on to bigger and better things, others just moved on.

I have been with the bank for a little over a year. I have to admit, I was scared when I started working in Electronic Banking Support. One of the individuals scared the hell out of me; I would go home after dealing with her attitude and really wonder if I made the correct decision leaving the cell company. I wasn’t making even close to as much money, but I was able to see my family more, which was the important part. This woman really made me want to quit and look for a new job, because she was nothing but negative. I stuck it out. Things got better. Mostly, because she quit.

I worked with a number of other departments and really enjoyed being busy and learning new things. I was fortunate enough to work with individuals who had patience with me and were really nice. They understood the frustrations I was having with the individual who quit. They gave me a sounding board and tips for dealing with a big ego.

I would actually consider some of these individuals friends.

I became friendly with the other individual in the department and found out that we had more in common than I realized. She and I became friends once the negative cloud left. We got new person in our department, whose attitude radiated positivity. We had a great thing going.

Things took a turn for the not so great when the individual who had been with the bank for about five years “got done”. We were really walking on egg shells.

The other individual in my department really became a great support to deal with mother issues, and other things that were going on.

An opportunity came up for a training position, and I applied. I received a letter of recommendation from one of the individuals I worked with from another department. I was really excited at the possibility of being able to use more of my brain. Some days, the job that I have makes feel like a trained monkey could do it.  I unfortunately did not get the position, but was really touched that some one I worked with would recommend me for the positions.

The manager was having a difficult time finding some one to replace the person who had “gotten done”. She actually considered hiring back the individual who had made my department hellish. I had in the past been very open and frank regarding this individual. I really felt like I was being disrespected by the thought of hiring this individual back, considering the conversations we had regarding the individual.

As you know, bills suck, and I really don’t make enough money at the bank to have much spending money after paying bills. I don’t live to work and work alone. I haven’t been on a real vacation since before I left the cell phone company. I really had a lot to think about.  I missed working with people face to face, the challenges associated with working in the cellular industry, and yes, the money.

The manger hired a new individual who has experience with customer service and computers. I think things will turn out ok.

So, as all of my readers know, I got the job with a different mobile phone carrier, and leave for training on Sunday.

Tuesday, I had lunch with my co-worker, and former co worker. It was nice to chill out and have lunch with them.

One of the individuals I work with made me a card. Everyone signed it. I was touched that after a little over a year, the people I had worked with valued me enough to take the time to bother signing a card.

Today, being my last day, they finally made the announcement that I was leaving. I have received phone calls from people telling me that I will be missed. The individual I worked with on account reconciliations actually bought me a going away present of Hello Kitty stuff! I might have felt a little misty. AND one of the people I’ve worked with actually came in even though she was on vacation to say goodbye to me.

Now, those of you who really know me know that I’m not too keen on people in my space, especially hugging… well, today; I’ve gotten and given hugs… Ok, AND while I’m typing this I’m getting a little bit of a knot in my throat. So, I guess it is time to wrap this up.

I have met some amazing individuals working for the bank, and am really going to miss them.