2016 Week 13 Update

This was another short week and as of today, I am now down to exactly five weeks before my contract runs out. By right, the company I work for should formally let me know either this week or next if there’s no chance of continuing here, but will they do, I really don’t know.

I am also more confused than ever what will happen to me here, sometimes when Big B speaks to me or others, he alludes to me being around after the contract ends, but he does not say anything directly to me. Yes, the income coming in would be great, but I think I’ve made my peace with this situation, whatever happens, no hard feelings and I’ve got plans for the rest of my year, which I will share later.

Big B is going to be traveling mostly from next week for work and pleasure and I think in the next five weeks, he’ll be in two and out three. So far he’s in during what is supposed to be my last week here.

Life also will come a full circle – when I was recruited three years back, it was just before this major annual conference the department has and I had to get stuff ready in roughly two/three weeks’ time, and it all come together so beautifully that my then boss and his boss was full of praise. Now I will be leaving a month before the same conference, which will be in the same city as the first conference and my successor will be the one who has to dot the I’s and cross the t’s before the event and hopefully he/she is as successful as I was all those years back!

We went to a wedding on Good Friday and it was nice catching up with the extended family. The wedding was of the daughter of S’ father’s distant cousins and most of them are meeting GG & BB after eons and they were all startled how big they’ve grown – I’m talking some meeting them after 7-10 years, so you can imagine how astonished they were, since BB is quite tall (he is roughly 170 cm or 5 ft, 7 inches) while GG is shorter at slightly over 5 ft. 3 inches. The irony is that we all live in the same city and some of us live within a couple of kilometers away! That’s what a busy life does to you I guess….That’s why such social functions are great for catching up with friends and family…

Ok, back to the grind after a relaxing three days, gotta go to work now. Happy Monday everyone and we’re almost at the end of March which means a quarter of the year is done…..

2016 Week 12 Update

This was a very short work week for me. Since Monday, I’ve been feeling uncomfortable in my stomach and on Thursday it became worse. So at lunch I came home after speaking to Big B and went to the doctor who diagnosed it as stomach flu. So the rest of the week I decided to work from home and I just love working from home – I get a lot done without having to look and speak at people I dislike!

I’m down to 29 working days here now and am even more confused if that’s possible. I spoke to the site manager of the company which notionally employs me and according to this person; even they don’t know what is happening. The headquarters of this company is undergoing some savings plan and contract staff comes under this. Supposedly more clarity will be made available soon and everyone will know where you stand. I did speak to them about potential future employment opportunities and was told they can try something elsewhere, but only once they get clarity from my company.

Then on Friday we got the formal notification that the company is moving – and this move will mean a longer, maybe tougher commute for me. The move is going to happen around 18 months down the road and so will probably not impact me, but that’s also a factor in deciding to stay I guess. On one hand, I will be happy to leave the irritants and some of the work I detest, but the thought of being unemployed, dependent on S for money is enough to give me the heebie-jeebies! Also the thought of starting out from scratch……enough said I guess…..

I’d mentioned earlier that we were planning to get some work done in the house and we finally did it last week. Specifically we renovated GG & BB’s rooms, their study tables and BB’s bed. The rooms look a lot bigger now, but this also meant that we ended up spending quite a bit more than we planned. We need to buy BB a new bed and a bedside table and we should be done. Then some electrical work which should happen next week and painting! After this, I am going to save up some money and do my bedroom and the hall next – there are some built-in furniture which I dislike!

So that was week 12 for us. Happy Monday everyone and hope this week (another short week because of Good Friday and Easter) is great for everyone!

2016 Week 11 Update

A short work week like I mentioned earlier, but a very hectic week! I was busy with something that Big B gave me some weeks back and which seemed to be so large that I didn’t see it coming to an end soon. But this week with the efforts I’ve put in, the end looks very near. I just have a couple if days work to end this. With this, there’s no major projects left for me here, just one more weeks worth of work in April and I am done. So this should give me time to start work on my handover notes and also look in earnest for new positions. 

Friday was my sister-in-law’s seemantham or baby shower. Since my father-in-law passed away two years back, its S and I who have to take over the role of her mum and dad. The ceremony was in the morning, and my day started at 3:45 am! I reached her place at 5 am and then from that point was busy, busy till everything ended around noon. We had lunch quickly and I had to leave as BB’s school ended at 12:30 and we had not cooked lunch for him and so had to take some food from her place. 

So that was my week, hope you’ve had a good one too and this week is a great one!! 

2016 Week 10 Update

This week I’ve been in a funk! The reality that I will be unemployed in about 6 weeks time probably hit me and I’ve been completely unproductive the whole week. I had plans, none of which I did. I really need to step it up if I have to have any hope come May.

I did send out my resume to a few places last week, but no nibble yet, that probably also had a hand in why I was so out of sorts. Though I have plans on what I will do post May, I also don’t want to be in that position….Its a catch-22 situation for me and I don’t like it one bit!

Big B is being quite nice to me these days and I guess there’s some guilt involved in that. I do plan to let him know if I need to take time off for interviews, but so far there’s nothing, not even a speck in the horizon – guess my age and varied experiences are finally catching up with me, a situation I dislike tremendously.

This week will be a short work week for me as I am on leave on Friday. My sister-in-law is pregnant after trying for close to 10 years and that day is the traditional baby shower. Unlike western cultures, most Indian communities have a very elaborate baby shower or Godh Bharai in Hindi and Seemantham in Tamil. In our community this is done usually in the seventh or ninth month of pregnancy and traditionally this is the date when the pregnant woman leaves for her parents place to complete her pregnancy and deliver the baby. These days though, most women only go to their parents homes after delivery, if at all.

Hopefully, writing this down will be cathartic and I am able to shake off the funk that I’ve been in and this week is a good one! Have a great week people!!

 

2016 Week 9 Update

What I was dreading came to fruition this week. I finally spoke to Big B and even though he was very reluctant to say it, it seems that his bosses have rejected my transition to a full-time position. Big B says he’s been pushed back twice and the reason given to him was that they are looking for someone who will provide administrative service now and not the hybrid role that I’ve been in. So now it’s back to the drawing board to start searching for new positions!

I’ve started looking for new positions, but given my age and varied experience, it does not look very positive for me. I’ve also given a thought about my helper. Now if I am not working full-time, I also don’t need and can’t afford a full-time helper. R’s contract ends sometime in September and so I guess I will wait out her contract and see how it goes. If I get a new full-time position by September, then it’s cool, I can continue to employ her, otherwise she also needs to find a new employer, though I think she will find it a whole lot easier than me!

It’s been quite depressing, but strangely I am not too worried – I find it very strange myself. Maybe it’s all a grand plan for me to get a great position? I really don’t know, but am hoping for the best while preparing for the worst!

This was my big news of the week, otherwise my boring life continues…

Oh, I also got the report of my HBA1C report which I did last week. After a very long time the result has moved from Unacceptable to Suboptimal! So I am quite happy. Now my goal is to bring it to Optimal, which I hope to do in the next 3 months (when I next do the test). Fasting Glucose still is above the optimal range though! Need to research on how to reduce that and work on it….

Happy Monday and March is on us tomorrow!!