Moved.
Sore.
So quiet.
Here is my newest piece. I am using a corner of the rooftop revolving lounge as a little gallery.
@ghandigirl Very Cool!
@ghandigirl How charming! Thank you for sharing with us.
@ghandigirl it’s beautiful. ?
I’m going to apologize in advance for this as it’s 100% venty and not as constructive or light worker-y as the rest of the forum but - tomorrow I’m going to initiate a difficult conversation with my new boss and you’re my community so - if anyone wants to send some light to the situation (particularly to keep me focused and strong and to suppress that Italian blood in me that has been boiling for the past week or so - great!)
There are three people in my department. Two are funded completely by our ISD, and myself who is funded by 10 ISDs. This means I work around the entire northern region of my state. The rest of my job has always been going from grant to grant to make me a full time employee which - I have appreciated the full time work, but has always left me with the impression that people think “Boy that DannyBoy - nice guy but man, his job changes every year so he must be terrible.”
One thing I was really excited about this year with the new boss coming in was that she was going to wean me off that into local work. Unfortunately that’s 40 days of my contract this year and maybe 60 in future years, which means the rest of it is still regional (which I LOVE and don’t want to get rid of)
We have weekly consultant meetings where she asks us to keep her up to speed on what we’re doing. As the weeks have dragged on she’s started listening to my updates less and less and continually praises my two coworkers for all the great work they’re doing. This week it came to a head with her interrupting me halfway through my report and telling me “What you need to do is start meeting with local principals.” (Who I’ve worked with for 11 years - they already know who I am…). I’ve continually brushed this off but in talking with one of my other coworkers about it she’s been reading the same messages I’ve been getting from my boss. “Those two are doing great work. You aren’t doing enough.”
So tomorrow at my evaluation meeting I’m bringing all my receipts to the table. All the work I’ve done that I’ve informed her of that she hasn’t come to to see what I do. All the prep work for my 40 days of local time. Data galore. I’m going to be nice and productive about it but my plan is to also head this off at the pass now before it becomes ingrained in her - my job is not the same as my coworkers, and even if she’d really like it to be, 10 other ISDs pay for my time too and I have to be equitable with it. The 40 days of time at the place I’m housed out of will go really quickly if I’m being instructed to just “go meet with local principals” who already know what I do and know to reach out to me when they need me.
The ace in the hole (though I know from a reading with Jeanne I don’t need it but I will allude to the card if I have to) is that all 10 of those other ISDs would scoop up my contract in a heartbeat if given the opportunity. If she continues to not even make an attempt to understand my position I will tell her she can be rid of me as early as next week if she wants to lose all that support she’s been promising local districts I’m available to offer. It is an interesting time to be a worker during “The Great Resignation” (a term I just heard in the Atlantic article)
My hunch is she’ll be appalled that I took her comments the way I did, but she needs to understand the issues at hand, and that the entire department is seeing it too.
God I hate change at work. ?. So again, if anyone would like to send some light my way at 11 a.m. EST Thursday morning I’ll need all the “calm and patience” I can muster.
@dannyboy, I'll send some your way tomorrow morning since I have plenty of "calm & patience."
For example, this is how crate training is going at my house:
@cindy this brightened my evening immensely! (Though I also broke my perfect state of ketosis to have two beers with a superintendent friend and her principal husband, as well as a bowl of bar popcorn. And when i got home I found a bag of Girl Scout cookies - just in case I hadn’t reached my maximum carb intake for the day.).
I don't blame him I wouldn't want to be in a crate either, good looking dog. That's what an owner's bed is for, one must learn to share.
Regards
Thanks for the light today gang! I definitely felt a lot calmer than I would have without it having the conversation with my boss. Unfortunately, even though we had an hour blocked I only got about 10 minutes because she double booked. I have no idea if the "You've given me something to think about, thank you" was honest or just something to get me out of her office since she was waiting on our Superintendent but the words were said and I was polite but firm. Thanks all. Time will tell I suppose.
@ghandigirl, that's lovely! Do you have a special area to house all of the small pieces you use in creating your mixed media artwork? Have you collected them over the years?