Hi, All – These last few weeks have been
packed with intensity.
There has been a lot of back-and-forth at
work with new policy changes about me being able to get a permanent position
within the Finance Department before I have a 100% completed finance degree and
even my CPA. To have all of those under my belt, it would be at least 5 years.
I am having a hard time understanding my boss because she was very blunt with
me during my mid-year review that there is no way I can be part of the team
before I have obtained all of those degrees/certifications but I should look
into other corporate avenues within the company and eventually make my way to
Finance. She then turned around and said that they are considering extending my
temporary assignment another month and also making my position a permanent one
but I would have to apply and might even get it before I have all of my
degrees/certifications. I am growing tired of trying to read between the lines
she is writing so I will just keep working hard and see what comes my way in
the next few months.
All of that being said, I decided to get my
MBA. I applied for January enrollment in a dual concentration of International
Business and Finance. As I promised myself I would stay within the company´s
tuition assistance funding amount, I will be taking one course at a time. This
would put me at about a 4 year mark for completion. Wish me luck!
In all of the commotion of my previous
entries, I completely forgot to write about all of the fun visitors I have had
recently! L was back for about a month between her jobs in Mexico. We got to
visit each other for one night. I was, admittedly, a bit of a grumpy pants the
day she came to visit so she more than fulfilled her Friend Duty by taking me
out for some Mexican comfort food, a beer and a personal pint of icecream –
none of which I had more than a few bites/drinks of but nonetheless appreciated
her generosity and patience! Not long after that, P and her boyfriend C were
back visiting from Europe for about a month. I was in much better spirits for
their visit. We enjoyed a delicious American meal and lots of catching up as it
had been two years (since college graduation) since we saw each other last! I
know what it is like to be visiting a place you have not been in a while and
how you tend to get pulled in many directions. I was thrilled they all were
able to make time for a nice visit with me.
Every now and again I am reminded of just
how small of a world it is in which we live. There have been some new faces at
church lately as people are moving to the area for the new round of college
enrollment and other various life changes. After a few weeks of speaking with
one of the gentlemen in particular (I say gentleman, he´s about my age), a
light bulb apparently went off in his mind and he got really excited saying “I
know! You´re related to the L.P. family in Florida, aren´t you?!” I just about
fell out of my chair because 1 – people always make those connections to the
other side of my family due to last names and general appearances 2 – this sort
of “I-know-your-family-but-you-don´t-know-I-know” only happens to me when I am
around my hometown and never in Chicago (for obvious reasons) and 3 – because
after all of that, even if someone does draw the connection of my relation to the
L.P.’s, it´s always the family in NY, never FL! Apparently, he knows my aunt
and uncle pretty well. They even recommended he get in touch with me once he
moved to the area but in all of the commotion of moving, he forgot to get my
contact information. It was a fun, unexpected little happenstance today.
Yesterday, a large group of us met at the
new priory to clean it from top to bottom. We were cleaning from 9am until 6pm
mass. We cleaned a solid 20+ bedrooms, 2 community sized bathrooms, a massive
library and a double kitchen. I even found myself scrubbing walls and ceiling
fans. We accomplished a lot, even much more manual construction, repairs and
landscaping, in one day. I have to be honest, I don´t think I ever cleaned so
much or so thoroughly before in my life. (Sorry, Mom :0) ) I woke up the next
morning more sore than I am if I did an intensive workout. Yikes. In all
seriousness, it was very gratifying to be able to work next to so many
passionate and talented people for a great cause. I learned a lot about
cleaning tips and tricks that will help me when I decide to clean my apartment
that intensively. There is still a lot of work to be done but the main rooms,
and then some, are move-in ready for the first priest to arrive on Wednesday. I
imagine we will have a few more intensive cleaning days to finish the rest of
the building.
Until next time!
