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December 29, 2007

I Knew There Was Something Else.....

... interesting that I've done. In my whole life, no I mean, in the last year.

Jury service!

It was too, interesting, when it wasn't mind-numbingly boring that is. Luckily for me this didn't happen too often. There were people who didn't even get on one jury panel in the whole two weeks and they were begging the rest of us to release them from the misery by the second Tuesday. One bloke even took up knitting to try to stay sane.

But I was kept busy, I only spent one morning sitting around, the rest of the time I was on cases: 1 robbery (guilty); 1 racially motivated threatening behaviour (not guilty); 1 burglary (case dismissed); 1 malicious wounding (guilty); and 1 rape (not guilty). I ended up doing an extra week and I have to say, I didn't mind a bit. I was foreman on the last case and got to stand up and declare the accused "Not Guilty M'lud", that made me feel special. LOL

The whole experience opened my eyes to the great British legal system though. It sucks.... for two reasons. Firstly, the supreme lack of effort that the police and barristers appear to make in bringing a decent case. So many times we, the jury members, were left asking each other "why didn't they ask him this" or "what happened to that piece of evidence" and so on. Ironside it isn't. Although there was one barrister who appeared to be doing a screen test while doing his bit, he raised a few laughs, although I don't think that was his intention.

Secondly, the idea of being tried by a jury of my peers scares the crap out of me now that I've witnessed "my peers" in action. Some of these people were scarily thick. Prejudices and assumptions abounded; there was very little understanding of the depth of our responsibilities; and, despite patient and detailed explanation by the judges concerned of what our role was, very little desire to listen to any of it.

If I'm ever falsely accused of anything I think I can say with some certainty, I don't have a chance in hell. Right now I'm baking a cake with a file in it just in case. Does anyone know how to make a rope out of human hair?

Posted by lilliebet at 08:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 01, 2007

A Qualified Success

I don't think I did a jot of work today, nothing. We'd been promised our results for our final assignments and we were all totally stressed out waiting for them. I just kept staring at my inbox waiting for that fateful message to appear.

And it did.... on the stroke of 5 o'clock.... talk about keeping you in suspense!

But I did it, I passed. I even got what, for me, was a pretty good mark in my Project Management assignment which was doubly satisfying. You have no idea how pleased I am, mostly that I don't have to resit anything but also because it's been a long haul and hard work at times and now I finally feel like I've been rewarded for my efforts.

Happy day :-)

Posted by lilliebet at 06:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 08, 2007

Woohoo!

I did it. I only did it.

I finally finished my last assignment for the DMS. Remember this?

Just two weeks short of two years, I didn't think this day would ever come. I need to celebrate but it's way too early in the morning for a G&T.

Of course, I still have to have this one marked but I think it'll scrape through, I hope it'll scrape through. And we're awaiting the results of our integrative project. We won't hear that until the end of this month but I thought it was a decent job we did there. After ten weeks of hard slog, we deserve a good pass on that one.

So let's hope all that remains is the wearing of the silly cap and gown. I pooh-poohed that part all the way through but, right now, I'm kind of tempted. Especially as the post-ceremony celebration should be one to remember.

Right, I'm off to dump all those files off the top of my bookcase.... oh happy day :-)

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October 25, 2006

Carboniferous

So I've been slaving on the wheel of learning for almost two years now. But we're nearing the end, the proverbial light is a dim flicker at the end of a very long tunnel. Right now we're doing our group assignment. The "class" has been split into four groups of what the academics like to call learning support groups and we have to do a group assignment....

,,,, but that's not the point.

One of the group is the manager of an intermediate care centre. It's a council run facility where older people leaving hospital receive the care they need between hospital and home... wherever home may be. The client group is therefore (obviously) older people. It's a very convenient place for us to hold our group meetings and so that's just what we did the other day.

We were gathered around a laptop in what is normally the clients' dining room/lounge when I espied a flip chart. Just one word was written on the flip chart.... carboniferous. Yes, just that, carboniferous.

I turned to the centre's manager and asked him

"Does carboniferous come up a lot in conversation around here then?"

"Oh yes" says he "we talk about it all the time"

"Um, OK"

Posted by lilliebet at 11:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 18, 2006

A Place of Learning

Yesterday my daughter got notification that she's gained a place in sixth form at her school. This means she'll be able to study for her AS and A levels, which will gain her a place at university in a couple of years.

Today my son had an interview with Southport College and gained a place on an Engineering course.

It's going to be tough, financially, but I'm so proud and pleased for them both, for all of us.

I have my fingers crossed.

Posted by lilliebet at 10:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 21, 2006

We are the Champions

Our manager keeps appointing "champions". It's his way of dumping crappy jobs on us but, by dubbing us "this champion" or "that champion", he thinks he's got us believing it's a privelege. Balls! It's just a way to dump crappy jobs on us Mike, we're not idiots. Grrr!

Anyway, I'm currently Intranet champion and Stats Champion - all this power will be going to my head I'm sure. The Intranet I can live with. We've recently moved from Tridion (aargh!) to MS SharePoint Server Portal 2003 and it's a breeze to work with.

But the stats ..... they're a nightmare.

I currently have around 200 different Excel spreadsheets feeding into several others which feed into more and so on and so on until all the figures are summarised in just two. It's like spreadsheet spaghetti! Needless to say, someone is always doing something to mess up one or other worksheet and working back through the links to find the source of the problem is nigh on impossible.

So, today, I thought it's time to tackle this. Let's get the whole thing simplified, make it user-friendly and tamper-proof. I knew what I wanted to do but had no idea a) whether excel could do it; or b) how to do it if it could. So I enlisted the help of Ian the Geek. (I probably shouldn't call him that in case I need his help again but, hey.) When I say I enlisted his help, what I did was told him what I wanted to do then sat back and waited for him to come up with a solution. And what a solution it was when he came back half an hour later. The guy's a genius!

And how does he learn all this you ask? By reading the Excel help files that's how. He's had no Excel training whatsoever, he's entirely self-taught but he makes the damn software jump through hoops I tell you. Perhaps now you can see why I call him a Geek?

And for those of you who are saying "well obviously, that's what the help files are for...", try it - go on, I dare you. Trust me, it's like teaching yourself Greek (or should that be Geek?)

Anyway, I took away the formula he'd devised and put it to the test. Eureka! I now have just twelve spreadsheets feeding into the two summaries and it all works like a dream. All thanks to Ian the Geek of course, damn I wish I had his talent!

Posted by lilliebet at 07:46 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 27, 2006

Everybody Out!!

Tomorrow I'm on strike. Well not just me, there will in fact be 1½ million of us across the country in dispute over central government's proposed changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Guardian article

So we're downing tools (in my case pen and calculator) in an effort to force them to agree to protect the pensions of existing council workers against the massive changes that will take effect by 2013. Well it worked for the Civil Service!

At the time of the last all-out strike, in 2002, I was an active union steward and spent the day on the picket line. Tomorrow I'll probably just spend the day doing housework. I don't think I have the heart for the fight anymore. Our working conditions have been gradually eroded over the last five years, we don't enjoy anything like the job security we did when I first joined the Council a mere 12 years ago. No-one seems to have much fight in them anymore and the unions don't have the power they once did. Let's hope, this time, there really is strength in numbers.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:45 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 04, 2006

A woman's work

Only one day back in after the holiday and I took today off. What a wimp!

Yeah that's what I would have said but, jeez, I've worked my little cotton socks off today. Scrubbing, cleaning, polishing, mopping... need I go on? Well yes, because I didn't mention the shopping.

The real reason for the day off was that I had two deliveries arriving today. The guys from Comet arrived before 9am with my new washer/dryer (oh joy, oh heaven) but the Homebase crew weren't due until after 4pm with my daughter's bedroom suite so I decided to fill my time with some shopping. The contents of my shopping basket....

Yes, you heard, a banana chair! It's a bean bag in the shape of a cube but one end is shaped like a banana so you can rest against it. It's bizarre but it looks soooo funky in my living room. Now I need to find out how to lay my new lino and how to plumb in a washing machine. Why do I take these things on?

Huh! The guy from Homebase called to say they'd dropped the wardrobe and damaged it. Now I have to wait two days for them to order one from their Southport store. Maybe I'll just have to book another day off.

I might just sit in my banana chair a while and contemplate the problem.

Posted by lilliebet at 09:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

January 03, 2006

Don't you just hate....

... going back to work after the Christmas holiday?

First job will be to pack away the decorations for another year. Second will be disposing of all the green, living things that someone forgot to remove from the fridge before the break. Eewww!

I guarantee I won't be able to find my swipe card; I'll have forgotten the door entry codes and my computer passwords.

There will be several forlorn looking tins of sweets lying in wait to tempt all those whose new year diets start today.

Worst of all, there will be all that work I refused to do just before the holiday because "it's Christmas", I never learn on that one.

Perhaps I should get started early? I guess that's one new year's resolution I might try to stick to.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:02 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 09, 2005

A piss up in a brewery

Or, as "they" like to call it, a failure to communicate. We were expecting to move at 7 o'clock this morning, the carriers were expecting us to move a 3 o'clock this afternoon. Management and property services went into battle with the carriers. The carriers won!

So like good little minions we had to de-crate and set our PCs back up so we could get some work done. The payroll closes in two working days, why this move couldn't wait until after then is anyone's guess but "they" always think they know best.

So it all starts again on Monday..... watch this space!

Posted by lilliebet at 04:51 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 08, 2005

And they're off...... again

Yes, we're moving once again. And not a moment too soon for my liking, I'm convinced I have Sick Building Syndrome The heat in our office is stifling and we're packed in like termites in a mound.

So this morning, orange crate fever hit once again and we've packed everything that isn't nailed down. Each time we move though, we're given less and less storage space when we reach our destination so we've been forced to dump precious filing etc. each time. You just know that one's gonna come back and bite us on the ass.

Oh but what joy! Tomorrow is the last time I will ever have to enter Tinlings Building again. There will definitely be no regrets.

Posted by lilliebet at 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 23, 2005

Five Day Forecast

My son recently landed a job with a roofing firm. He's absolutely made up, he loves it, it's the perfect job for him. The guys he's working with don't treat him like an apprentice or a gopher, he's jumped right in from day one, learning the job properly. And, from all accounts, he's doing really well at it.

But, like so many things in this country, it's adversely affected by the weather.

Obviously rain puts a damper on things (excuse the pun) but so too do frost, fog, high winds and snow. You can imagine, there aren't many days left in the year once you've extracted all those.

And, of course, when he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. It's really difficult to keep him motivated... he has a job he loves, a trade with a future but his income is unreliable, sporadic even. It's a great shame because, when spring comes, he's going to find there aren't enough hours in the day for all the roofing repairs that need doing. Let's just hope he can bear with it until then.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 09, 2005

Turning the tables

A few weeks ago I had a sort of rebirth - that's a bit of a flowery way to put it but I cast off a lot of anger. Alright, a lot of it was directed in totally the wrong place and I'm very sad that that happened but it's a fact now and I have to deal with it.

Letting go of all the resentment I was feeling has had such a positive effect, it's remarkable. I don't get irate in work any more. Shit happens and I just let it, I don't let it get to me. It's not that I don't care, I do very much, I'm just able to step back and look at it from over there instead of right here in the middle of it all.

I was talking to my mum this morning. Her working world has been turned upside down and she and her colleagues are really going through the mill. Last night it spilled over into her social life and, like I did a few weeks ago, she had a hissy fit and directed all her resentment at one person (not entirely undeserved I grant you but she was out of order all the same.)

So this morning I found myself giving my mum some very positive, productive advice. She wasn't entirely receptive at first but I think it eventually dawned on her that here was the person who would usually be having the hissy fit suddenly talking sense; being the voice of reason; and if this normally manic, hyper lunatic is able to take a step back and start looking at her life differently, well then anyone can. By the time we parted company, I hope she had taken my words on board.

Life is stressful enough without us creating more stress for ourselves or others. In a few short weeks I've learned to take a different view of my world and it's been an enlightening experience. I see so much now that I didn't see before, it's like watching the world through a window; being far enough removed from the hassle and aggro that you can weigh it all up and know that you've thought it all through before you act or speak. Knowing too that you can deal with the consequences because they're of your own making. I guess you'd call it taking back control.

Posted by lilliebet at 10:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 02, 2005

Present Arms!

I have to do a presentation!

That just about sums the whole thing up. I have to do a presentation as part of my DMS assignment - Personal and Professional Skills - and I've never done one before.

The horror I felt tonight as we discussed the content etc was so blatantly written upon my face that the guy sitting opposite me couldn't stop laughing.

I cannot speak in public. I'm alarmingly lacking in self confidence and I will go to pieces, I know it. It's 6 weeks away and already my stomach is churning.

I think I'll just go and sit in a corner and rock until it's all over. Excuse me....

Posted by lilliebet at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 21, 2005

Kill or Cure

Mommie's little soldier has been suffering a nasty sore throat this week (his tonsils look like haemorrhoids) but, first week in new job and all that, he's been battling gamely on determined not to give in.

"The boss, John, told me there's a spray you can get from the chemist that's good for sore throats" he tells me

"Oh OK, what's it called?"

"Not sure.... hydrochloric or something..... will that work?"

" Um, yes mate, that'll cure your sore throat alright" :O

Posted by lilliebet at 01:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

That was the week that was

The whole family were supposed to be having Christmas dinner together at a pub up the road so on...

Sunday

...we decided to go and pay the deposit and have our lunch while we were at it. The first awfulness of the day came when we were told the chef had been sacked. "Oh don't worry" they told us, "we have a new chef". Chef wasn't the four letter "C" word we were using by the time we'd finished our miserable cold dinner and decided we weren't parting with a penny.

I should have known it was going to happen...... for the rest of the afternoon, I suffered another session of what appears to be my family's national sport, Liz bashing. Today's subject being my son's inadequacies and my failings as a mother. I've never understood why I endure their venom. It must be some misguided sense of "family". Suffice to say, I came away from the encounter battered and bruised and somewhat inebriated. And that's when the manure really hit the ventillation. I managed to get embroiled in a row with my best friend who now won't speak to me. Can't say I blame him but I woke up ...

Monday

...heartbroken and desperate to talk to him. At the very least I wanted to apologise and explain but he didn't want to know. He did tell me to stop being a victim though. At the time I didn't recognise how valuable that advice was but later, I went down to the beach to talk to the iron men about it. They didn't impart much advice but they did listen.

While I was down there, my son rang and I asked him to come down and meet me. It was his first day on his new job, a real job this time, a trade - with a future. I stood by the pond waiting for him to arrive, being investigated by the geese that winter here. I guess they thought I hadn't been probed enough yet.

Anyway, I had a point.... oh yes. I watched my son for a long time walking across the vast expanse of grass that covers most of Crosby Marina. I could see the spring in his step; the way he held himself; and, when he got close enough, the whiteness of his smile against the filthy mess that was his face. He's taking a shot at his life, he's giving it a go. OK he falls over now and again but isn't that what I'm there for - to pick him up and get him back on his way?

With that picture in my head, I walked back home and told the guys on my site about the whole sorry mess. They were very supportive, full of good advice too. I came away from the conversation determined not to be a victim any more. It may be too late to salvage a wonderful relationships but by the time....

Tuesday

... came around, I was like a different person. My sister phoned that night to (by the way) see how my son was getting on in his new job. I left her in no doubt that he was going to make a go of it; turn himself around and achieve great things; and that I would be there to support him whatever. Even over the phone I could tell she was unsure who she was talking to, this was someone she didn't recognise. And boy did it feel good.

Wednesday and Thursday

... came and went with still no contact, no chance to make amends. I'm not really surprised, this is one time too many I've lost the plot and taken it out on the wrong person. It's a lesson that's taken me too long to learn and the only one who loses out in the end is me, so I guess it's a valuable one. But I'll get over it. For all the wailing and whinging I normally do, I always get over it in the end. No wailing and whinging this time though. Think happy thoughts!

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October 19, 2005

So Much to Say, So Little Time

Really, truly I've been chocker for weeks, I haven't even been able to stop by here and talk about it.

So much has happened too but look at that horrible blank space at the bottom of the page :O

Never mind I'll make amends. Tonight, yes definitely tonight....

Posted by lilliebet at 07:08 AM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2005

Wagons Roll!!

Well we're in, finally, our new offices that is. And what an awful hovel it is too. By the end of yesterday, we were all filthy dirty; cut to ribbons and sporting various strains, aches and pains from humping orange crates around for the last three days.

The usual IT catastrophes are happening. I've been linked up to a printer at the far end of the office that I swear is in a different time zone (or postcode at least). The first few times I phoned my manager and asked him to get my printing he thought it was hilarious but it's starting to wear a bit thin now.

This, by the way, is the building my mum works in. The one that was flooded with raw sewage a few weeks ago! Property Services have assured us the rumours about mice and other vermin are unfounded but the presence of several strategically placed bait traps around the place isn't convincing anyone.

The particularly paranoid contingent have also decided that the carpet is alive with fleas. Three of them claim to have been bitten while rummaging about under desks plugging in phones. Just after lunch yesterday one of them thrust a finger in my face with a small dark object stuck to it and asked "has that got legs?"

"No Max," I replied "it's a chive!"

I guess these rumours will persist until they eventually send someone in to hose us all down. Again!

The really stupid part about it all is that our senior manager has assured us we will be here for seven weeks at the outside. Seven weeks and we have to do it all again.

They really should have issued us with tents.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 22, 2005

Pick up thy intray and walk

I've worked in the same department for eleven years. The first seven of them was spent happily enough in one building, 4th Floor, P Court. No problem whatsoever.

Then about four years ago, the powers that be started a relocation programme that defies understanding. This didn't just happen to us, the entire authority seems to have been permanently in transit ever since. I don't know why they haven't supplied us with tents.

See if you can follow the logic here...

Move 1: P Court to V Place
Move 2: V Place to G Street
Move 3: G Street to P Court
Move 4: 4th Floor P Court to 3rd Floor P Court (??)
Move 5: P Court to T Buildings (this one happens tomorrow)
and in two months time...
Move 6: T Buildings to V Place

Why? What on earth do they gain from constantly shifting us from one place to the next? The cost of these moves must be phenomenal and this seems to happen to everyone. It doesn't bear thinking about.

To enable these moves, everything has to be packed into orange crates which are rented by the day. If it's not crated, it doesn't go. You can recognise corpy workers easily.... they're the ones traipsing around town carrying coat stands, pedestal fans and anything else that won't fit in an orange crate. With a rather lost, faraway look in the eyes.

Oh well, I guess I'd better get on with it.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:22 AM | Comments (4)

September 05, 2005

Let the Train Take the Strain

Steve rang me this morning to warn me that there was a problem with the trains and they'd been suspended. Feeling very smug, I told him I was already on the train and had missed the mayhem by minutes.

Not five minutes later I was feeling less smug and more hoist-by-my-own-petard as the train pulled into Sandhills station and we were unceremoniously chucked off due to a failed train in the underground ahead of us.

So I considered my options. 1. Wait for who knows how long until they move the failed train and be late for work; 2. Wait for the rail replacement bus service to be laid on and be late for work; 3. Walk half a mile to the regular bus route and wait for a normal bus and be late for work; or 4. Walk.... and be late for work.

Now Sandhills is only one stop before mine, how far could it possibly be?

Nearly forty minutes it took me. It was only when I got to work and looked at the A to Z I realised it was two miles, TWO MILES. Now I admit two miles isn't a great distance but in sweltering September heat with my little legs.... well it was no fun that's for sure.

It was kind of funny though watching all the long legged girlies striding out at a fair old lick while I marched along at my unswerving 3 miles an hour. About twenty minutes into the long march and I was passing them all again. The urge to recite the story of the tortoise and the hare was pressing but I doubt I'd have been warmly received.

By the time I got to work I was an unflattering shade of beetroot and my crisp white blouse was somewhat wilted. Today was definitely not walking weather. Still, in an effort to make me feel better, the lovely Steve greeted me as I arrived....

.... with a steaming hot cup of coffee!!

Posted by lilliebet at 07:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 20, 2005

First Step

OK the climb starts here.....I'm applying for a job.

"Big Deal!" I hear you say, "you've done that plenty of times." Yes I have but this one is something of a departure for me and here's why...

I know I've touched on this a couple of times before but I wanted to get it in proper perspective and be honest about the whole thing.

Four years ago the HR & Payroll department I work in went through a restructure. At the same time, we bought the Oracle HR Management System (nightmare!) and a new SysAdmin team was set up. I applied for, and got, the job of Systems Administrator, there were seven of us. All good so far. Unfortunately, Oracle HRMS wasn't quite what it was cracked up to be. When it was introduced, it was expected that many payroll jobs would be lost because Oracle was all-singing all-dancing. I dunno, maybe we bought our copy from the weasel faced guy at the Computer Fair??

So anyway, I was asked to stay in payroll until such time as Oracle was running full throttle and I could be spared. I agreed, no problem, happy to help. I'm still here! I didn't mind too much, I loved my team and was very proud of what we'd been achieving over the last few years so, for the greater good, I soldiered on but I was always concerned that I was missing out.

Just recently though, the threatened job cuts have reared their ugly heads again. Only they're not in payroll as expected.... they're in SysAdmin. The team is being reduced by two and the duties of those two posts are transferring to payroll.

It was at the point of hearing this I threw my dummy out of the pram! I'm the only SysAdmin who never physically took up the role and the others have all the experience. It was obvious to me that when it came down to interviews I'd be on a hiding to nothing and it just seemed so unfair. I'd sacrificed my opportunity for the sake of others and it had come back and bitten me on the arse. So I sulked, stamped my feet and was pretty bloody childish about the whole thing. In short, I was a cow! Luckily Bill was there to slap my arse and tell me to behave myself.

So OK I stopped pouting and, when our Senior Manager asked for expressions of interest in transferring to payroll, I volunteered. I can't say I was ecstatic about it but at least I'd have a job .....

.... and then I stumbled on something that Bill had written. It wasn't an article - it was more like class notes - but I read it a couple of times and it really hit home with me. It was about selfishness... not the miserly, miserable form of selfishness but about doing things, living your life, for your self. At least that's what it said to me.

So I thought again about taking up a new job; learning new tasks and skills; starting over; and I made a decision. If I have to put myself through all that, I'll do it my way, for me. So I'm applying for this job. It's a totally new direction for me and I'm definitely not qualified or experienced in this area. In fact the chances are I won't even get an interview but that isn't actually important and I certainly won't lose sleep over it. What's important is that I'm taking positive steps to change (improve) my life and I'm doing it for me.

This is only the first step....

Posted by lilliebet at 03:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

July 29, 2005

Oh Shi...

My mum's office flooded yesterday. Only it wasn't your normal kind of flood, it wasn't a burst water pipe or an overflowing tank, oh no.

It was the toilets!!!

The entire basement was flooded and the ground floor (where she sits) was up to six inches deep in raw sewage.

So next time you think you get a lot of crap in work, stop and think about my poor mum. Eeewwww!

Posted by lilliebet at 06:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

July 18, 2005

I think I'll just sulk here for a moment...

Everything's going pear shaped at work at the moment. We're having another "re-organisation", we just don't have enough of them right? So, in theory, my job's on the line.

I'm substantively a Sys Admin but I've never actually been in post, I've been gamely flying the flag for payroll for the last four years and, in truth, I'd much rather it stayed that way. But it's the Sys Admin section that's being reorganised and all of a sudden someone's decided I am one!

So last week I spotted a vacancy for a Systems and Information officer in the neighbouring borough council (which is actually where I live and closer to home). It's a grade higher than I'm on and looks like a great opportunity. So, thinks I, it's a sign from the gods, I must apply.

Then my boss reminded me that if I leave, I'll have to pay back the cost of the DMS course I've been doing - £2000 - yikes! Not only that but I bought my daughter's computer through the home computing scheme at work. You pay installments over three years, through your wages, which means you get tax relief. Ultimately a £600 PC actually only sets you back £450 but the drawback is, any outstanding balance is automatically deducted from your final pay when you leave. Double whammy!!

I thought I'd approach my senior manager and try to cut a deal with her. After all, she needs to reduce numbers, I'd be doing her a favour wouldn't I? Reckon she'll fall for it?

Nah, me neither :( So I guess I'll just sulk for a while until I can come up with another plan. lol

Posted by lilliebet at 09:33 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

July 09, 2005

Work, Rest and Play

I've suddenly realised that I have too many irons in the fire. I'm going round in circles. I used to say my problem was terminal procrastination but I don't think that's it at all.

The thing is, I'll suddenly have a good idea or a want to do something and that's it, I have to do it, there and then. I don't put time into planning before execution, I just go for it all guns blazing. Then as soon as another thought occurs, off I go again, only right now everything's overlapping and I need to sit back, take a deep breath and prioritise.

Six months ago a friend and I decided we'd start a website. We knew it would need a lot of content and that would take a lot of research. In other words, it would take time. But here we are six months down the line and there still isn't half the content there should be and we're still not in a position to "go live".

Before that I started writing articles for a friend's website. I did a handful and they weren't too bad but I'm guilty of letting them slide, I've only written one since Christmas and we're nearly on the icy road to the next one.

I've been doing two courses: the DMS which runs for two years and the IPRO2 which I've (thankfully) just completed. BTW I passed! Then today I received an application form for a job I really fancy so I have to put some time and thought into that.

I have my own site, lilliebet dotcom, which is great fun but again, content is lacking because I'm too busy having fun in the forums. Even this poor blog has been missing me lately.

Then recently I had my latest bright idea... my own online business. The idea is sound, the site is up (and looks great too) but what do I know about advertising a business, getting it started? Nada!

All this of course comes on top of work, home, kids etc. It's no wonder my head's up my ar...mpit. What I need to do is concentrate on doing a good job of one or two of these things at a time, not a bad job of all of them.

So I've decided. Firstly, I'm going to do a great application for that job this weekend. Then, I'm going to find out properly how to get the business launched. Of course, once it's off the ground I'll be too busy for anything else...... at least I hope so!

Posted by lilliebet at 09:17 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

July 06, 2005

You only reap what you sow

Oh the shame, I am such an evil, evil person.

One of my colleagues has been off sick for a week and I did nothing but complain about having to pick up her queries while she was off.

She came back to work yesterday and was obviously still not 100% fit but she said she'd felt awful for leaving us in the lurch. Feeling like a completely repulsive worm, I continued with the work I'd taken from her in her absence and told her just to concentrate on anything new in that morning.

When I handed it back to her all done and dusted, she was delighted and my guilt was somewhat assuaged... until today that is, when she came over and quietly handed me a little thank you gift. It wasn't much, less than a fiver but it taught me a valuable lesson.

I'm blessed with good health. I'm never off sick from work and I should be grateful for that fact, not moaning about those less fortunate. There will come a time when I'm sick and I need colleagues to return the favour, I'm sure I'll get well a lot sooner knowing they're doing so with a smile on their faces.

Posted by lilliebet at 08:38 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 22, 2005

The Best Present a Mother Could Want

I've just packed my son off to work..... yes, WORK!!

I don't know who's more excited, I suspect it's me, but he's just left for his first day in his first proper job.

It's almost a year to the day since he left school and, apart from occasional casual work and two days a week in college, he's filled the role of layabout teenager quite adequately.

Not today though - he's a proper "workie" now and I'm so proud of him. For all my mickey taking, he actually does work damn hard. Actually landing the job was the difficult part.

Congratulations Day and good luck in your new job. I know you'll do well :-)

Posted by lilliebet at 06:35 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

June 13, 2005

A real sense of achievement

I handed in the fourth of my DMS assignments today and received my feedback from the second.

I had feedback from the first one last week but I didn't mention it here because, in truth, I was a little disappointed with myself. But I shouldn't have been, that was silly.

I left school at the age of 16 with a couple of 'O' levels and never looked back. I went right out to work and didn't stop until I had my kids (even then I did part time bar work). When my daughter started school, I went straight back to working full time, as a Positive Action Trainee with Liverpool City Council. It was a vocational training course, lasting two years, aimed at minority groups (I got in by dint of being a "woman returner"). I'm still here ten years later.

As part of the training, I completed NVQs at level 2 and 3 in Administration and won the City & Guilds Award for Excellence but I never went back to academic study, much as I would have liked to.

Until now that is. The DMS is a postgraduate diploma in management studies, postgraduate being the key word here. In normal circumstances, entrants would be graduates and have experience of academic writing, study, critical reflection, referencing - none of our group have that. We are all City Council managers, from a variety of service areas and we are all very much in the same boat. While we know and understand the issues and have the experience, none of us have the academic background, so we're all learning from scratch.

Anyway, my grade for my first assignment, Customer & Business focus, was 57% and, while I know this is a "strong pass", it sounded rather low to me but, hey, I have no frame of reference, what do I know? This was our first attempt at writing an academic piece and we had no idea what to expect. After talking to a few of my group today, I've realised 57% is nicely mid-range. Other grades ranged between 35% and 70% so I'm not complaining.

Today I got my second lot of feedback, this time for Professional & Personal skills, 72% - the highest score in the group. Obviously I've found my niche. Strangely this has made me feel better about the first grade, don't ask me why.

It probably had a lot to do with what my tutor said to me today...

"Now I hope you believe that you are meant to be on this course"

Yes, I think I do!

Posted by lilliebet at 06:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 27, 2005

Sleepwalking

I use the train to get to work every day and have a five minute walk from the station to my building. Due to the proliferation of roadworks and new building going on in the city centre, my route is somewhat twisted and tortuous but short nonetheless.

As I do most days, this morning I turned up at the door of my building with no recollection of having got there. Obviously, on autopilot, my feet just know where to go and my brain doesn't need to involve itself in such trivialities. Probably because it was, as yet, unaware of the fact it had risen from my pillow.

I was discussing this phenomenon with a colleague as we waited for the lift. "Oh yes" says he, "I do that every day".

Now that scares me... the guy drives to work. It's bad enough that I might inadvertently walk under a car in my trancelike state but the thought of what could happen if I drove...... oh too scary!

Posted by lilliebet at 07:52 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

May 22, 2005

Don't panic!

We had a fire drill in work the other day... at exactly the same time as they normally test the alarms (Friday, 10am). Needless to say, we all sat there looking stupid for at least 5 minutes. Just about long enough to be overcome by smoke I reckon.

God help us if we ever have a real fire at 10am on a Friday!

Posted by lilliebet at 09:46 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

May 21, 2005

What would it take....

... to write for a living?

Some writing talent I guess and the ability to tell a story. An idea for a story would be a must.

Do I think I have what it takes? hahahaha No! But writing for a living would be kinda cool. I've done so much writing in the last year or so: blogging; articles; assignments for my diploma; even at Castlecops I wrote up guidelines, canned responses and stuff. (One thing I was always good at was giving errant posters a right royal telling off.) And I can't help thinking, what if I was being paid by the word for this?

I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm inspired but I won't hold my breath. lol

Posted by lilliebet at 06:06 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

May 13, 2005

Shame on me!

When I joined BlogExplosion I was a little dubious about opening up my blog to unregistered comments but I'm glad now that I did as I've received lots. Most of them kind, constructive or interesting. None of them rude or flaming.

I'm a little lax in replying and even worse in leaving comments myself, even though I surf BE every day and enjoy most of the blogs I read. Which is pretty lousy of me because I do get a real buzz out of them and where would I be without my daily fix of Sophie and Doug I hereby resolve to change that forthwith, Brownies honour!

Posted by lilliebet at 07:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 24, 2005

How do you advertise a website?

It's not like you can walk around wearing a sandwich board - well, I suppose you can if you have a webcam.

A while ago I was asked to help out gathering news and articles for a website Divorce and Back. It's a great source of information and support for anyone going through the divorce process but it's been a slow process getting it off the ground.

Although it caters primarily for people living in Australia and New Zealand it's a global subject. Divorce is pretty naff wherever you live after all.

So how is it some sites are bouncing while others just muddle along? What does it take (apart from getting Google to sit up and take notice) to get people interested?

If you were going through a divorce and looking for advice and support, what would you be looking for in an internet site? Or, if you were me and trying to get people's attention - how would you go about it?

Posted by lilliebet at 02:53 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

April 18, 2005

One down ... HOW MANY to go?

Well I did it. I'm so proud of myself, I finished it... my first assignment. I have another ten to do before the end of these two years but this one has to have been the biggest hurdle. Whether it's a pass or a fail I will still feel a sense of achievement (although I hope it's a pass, I don't want to have to go there again).

My friends have been a great help too, thanks ever so much guys :-)

Posted by lilliebet at 08:24 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 16, 2005

OMG is that the time?

OK I have three days to complete my first DMS assignment. If anyone catches me blogging, playing around in the forums or (heaven forbid) surfing the net - give me a good stiff talking to.

Um.. except for this of course, this is OK, I mean....

... oh hell, gotta go!

Posted by lilliebet at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 10, 2005

tea, teach, teak, teal, ____, teapoy, tear

... and the missing word is...

Team, yes that's right Team! Wikipedia has this to say about the word team...

A team comprises any group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team.

So I'm thinking I stop calling my team a team and start calling them a group.

But you're their manager, why don't you do something about it...?

...because, and correct me if I'm wrong here, the team ethic isn't something you can "make 'em have". It's intrinsic, you can't learn it, or can you?

There are certain specifications you trip off in an interview because you know it's expected of you:

• I have excellent organisational skills
• I am a good communicator
• I am a team player

It's there, in every job description, "the ability to work as part of a team is an essential criterion for this post". So if you don't have that, why apply?

To be fair, for the most part, my team is a great team. We have to be, we work in a very pressured job, our deadlines are extremely strict (the SysAds have had to drag me screaming from the keyboard before now so that they can take the system down) and, being understaffed, we are all carrying an extra burden. But one squeaky cog in an otherwise finely tuned engine makes the whole vehicle grind and judder all the way to it's destination (if it gets there at all).

I'm sure I shouldn't be venting this here but it's a matter very dear to my heart, it's majorly pissing me off and, if I were to open my mouth in work, I don't think I could be very professional about it.

Bleh! I'm off to Google for "how to turn your squeaky cog into a precisely crafted component."

Posted by lilliebet at 10:57 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

April 08, 2005

We Shall Not be Moved

The RMT have called a two-day strike for today and tomorrow. There will be no trains to get me to work. You can imagine how gutted I was when I told my boss yesterday I'd have to work from home today ....

.... he's picking me up in an hour! :(

I don't know what the Railmen's demands are (except maybe they're fed up of having to drive over the desperate souls who throw themselves on the line with alarming regularity!) but these two days will hit the network pretty damn hard. Today is Ladies Day at Aintree and tomorrow is, of course, The Grand National

Much as it will inconvenience me, not to mention several thousand eager race fans, I hope they get what they're asking for. I wouldn't do their job for a gold clock. The abuse and aggravation those guys put up with would try the patience of a saint.

More power to your elbow guys!

Posted by lilliebet at 06:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 06, 2005

The strain is beginning to show

Yesterday I filled in a form for an employee and sent it over to the Pensions Fund. Today it came back. I was looking at it, trying to figure out why they had sent it back, the information was all correct. Then it hit me.... I had signed it in the employee's name....doh!!

I think I need a holiday!

Posted by lilliebet at 09:52 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 01, 2005

Um... dare I ask?

Anyone who knows me will also know Bill Gray. Bill writes great articles, I'm always first in the queue to read them when they get their weekly airing at CastleCops. If you haven't already, take the opportunity to read them, Bill has a way of writing that makes you stop and say, "Hey, I do that!" or "That's me he's talking about." He sees something in human nature that most of us don't recognise until he slaps us in the face with it but he certainly gets you thinking about things. He also has a very positive, forward-thinking view on life and I envy that because it's something I just don't seem to have.

At least, not when things aren't going my way.

Take last night for instance. For the past couple of months, a friend and I have been putting together a website (you'll have to see it when it's ready) and I pushed the idea of a new theme, a new look, for the site until I got my own way. It looks great and it gave me a renewed spark of interest, it's been hard work and I have been flagging a bit recently. So feeling all perky, I set about adding web links but, wait! The module's not working, damn!

I asked my cohort his opinion, "a bug in the new theme" was his suggestion. Damn again! So I dug in my heels and determined that I would either prove it wasn't the new theme that caused it (did I mention I'm pig-headed?) or I would fix it and quietly gloss over it so as not to look too foolish. I spent two hours last night trying and testing every conceivable angle, but nothing I tried made the slightest difference. Time was running out and so was my patience. By the time he arrived on the scene, I was completely miserable and ready to throw the monitor out of the window.

Five minutes of prodding and poking and he'd sussed out the problem and fixed it. Can I venture another Damn! here? OK, it wasn't a bug in the theme, so I should at least be happy about that. In fact it was caused by something I had no knowledge of or control over whatsoever, so what's my problem?

I suppose it's being made to feel like a helpless female and, yes, I know it's all in my own head but it wrankles nonetheless. I've spent months trying to learn this stuff and when it goes right I'm so chuffed I'm like a little kid, even over the little things, but when it goes wrong I get so frustrated with myself I could scream. In fact, I generally do.

If it was anyone else, I'd be telling them there's nothing they could have done about it. Because it's me though, I get mad.

Why do I set myself higher standards than I set others then curse myself when I don't meet them? Guess I'll have to wait for Bill to cover that one, I may learn to give myself a break.

Posted by lilliebet at 08:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Just call me frustrated...

This is the second day of me realising there are so many things I can't do, this frustrates me beyond belief.

Yes, I know Google is my friend but sometimes Google is like several thousand friends all shouting different answers at once and I can't sort the wheat from the chaff.

Thank Frustration It's Friday!

Posted by lilliebet at 07:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 25, 2005

NukeWrap or Nukewrap, that is the question

As he ran out the door to work last night Mark said to me, "didn't Bill find a way to integrate his blog into his site, why don't you work on that?" This stumped me for a moment, why didn't I know that? I remember he did it with his CastleCops blog but why wasn't I aware of same with the new blog? Ah well.

So, never one to baulk at a challenge, off I went in search of NukeWrap. Found, downloaded and installed within minutes. What could be simpler?

When am I ever going to learn?

I read and read and re-read the install.txt file until my eyes were crossing. Plain English is obviously not this guy's area of expertise. The people who write these scripts are amazing, I bow down to them every day, they make all this possible for know-nothings like me but if only they would remember that's what we are and temper their terminology just a tad.

Half an hour in and I was starting to chew my hair but luckily a passing Norbie came to my aid (once again). BTW if anyone's looking for a nearly new, damsel in distress, 103 careful owners....

So it starts: do this, try that, tweak the other - nothing, nada, nix!

"So" says I to Norbie, "Who do we know who's good with Nuke?"
"ME!" replies the ever-patient Norbie
"Oops" is the loud reply.
"Right, let's start again... you say youve uploaded the folder?"
"Well yes"
"Where to?"
"Modules directory"
"So it should be in modules/NukeWrap/ yes?"
"Apart from the fact it says Nukewrap instead of NukeWrap, it's there"
"If you'd said that earlier.... one capital letter makes all the difference"

Oh bugger, will I ever learn? Hey, looks good though. Cheers Norbs :-)

Posted by lilliebet at 09:59 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

February 25, 2005

Pragmatist/Activist

There's a particular task in work that I've been avoiding like the plague. It's not rocket science, it's just inputting manual payments into the system but, if you've ever used Oracle software, you'll understand my retiscence.

Then, Wednesday, at my Management Studies course our tutor told us all about "learning styles". According to these two guys, Honey and Mumford, there are four styles in which we learn as adults and our own particular style can be determined by completing a questionaire designed by them.

So I completed the questionaire on the train, on the way home and it seems I'm a Pragmatist/Activist....

... getting down to brass tacks, what that means is I'm a person who's outlook is: It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it and that someone might as well be me.

So the following day, armed with this new vision of myself, I dragged my pile of payments from where I'd cunningly hidden it (behind my waste paper basket), faced the screen, took a deep breath and picked up the first one from the top of the pile. Within five minutes, I was picking up the next and, two days later, the mountain has reduced to a molehill, with still 3 weeks to go until year end.

It's the oddest thing but it seems being told I'm pragmatic, made me pragmatic. Finding out that my attitude is "well, I'd better get on with it then" made me say to myself, "well, I'd better get on with it then" and get on with it I did.

Nice one H&M, any more golden nuggets you'd like to share?

Posted by lilliebet at 09:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 28, 2005

Oh Dear!

So my PR&D was cancelled and my boss spent the day rushing around, looking very fraught. It's always worrying when he does this, he doesn't mask things very well.

Sure enough, mid-afternoon he called us all together for a briefing. The upshot is the City have a budgetary shortfall of £20m to find and are asking for volunteers to express an interest in voluntary severance.

Liverpool Echo report

Ironically, for me this actually means more work. We in payroll will have to pick up the extra work providing estimates and processing severance claims. Still, very worrying times.

Posted by lilliebet at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)

Personal Review & Development

I have my first PR&D since my promotion today. Trembly, trembly! My previous manager did nothing but sing my praises in my last ones, I suppose that has a lot to do with why I'm here now.

Today though, things might be very different. Watch this space!

Posted by lilliebet at 06:50 AM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2005

We all have our talents

Mine is payroll, purely and simply, payroll! I don't make any bones about it, I know my stuff and I'm bloody good at what I do. I have others, I'm still discovering some of them but that's my major one, right there.

So when I was up for the job of managing my own team, I knew I had the talent needed to perform in the job but what I didn't have was the talent (or bottle) to to perform in the interview. My last one was only a few weeks before and it was a total disaster.

I keep making mention of this fact but it is a fact all the same. Without Bill's guidance and advice, I wouldn't have got through the interview and I wouldn't be where I am now. You see, that's his talent - he has the ability to make you see your potential and find within you what it takes to make that step.

He keeps telling me off for this. He tells me I sat through the interview, I did all the work, I sold myself. Yes I did and I was never in any doubt that I was the right person for the job but, until he had faith in me, I had none in myself. I knew where I needed to go, I just didn't know how to get there.

So if his talent is to help me see my talent, I think he should take a leaf out of his own book -

Take pleasure from what you do for people like me Bill, accept the thanks and the applause you get - you've earned it.

Posted by lilliebet at 07:16 PM | Comments (2)

.... and speaking of courses .....

Since September, I've been doing night classes at Liverpool Community College

IT Essentials 1: PC Hardware and Software

also known, for some reason, as IPRO2. The majority of the study is done at home online, through the Cisco Networking Academy Programme but I attend classes to do labs and sit the assessments (generally one every week/fortnight). There's a huge amount to take in, ranging from the very basic to the downright difficult but I'm enjoying it - not so much the hardware it has to be said, as can be seen by my assessment results.

Module 1: Information Technology Basics 95.8%
Module 2: How Computers Work 70.4%
Module 3: Assembling a Computer 88.9%
Module 4: Operating System Fundamentals 100% <-- found my niche here
Module 5: Windows 9x Operating Systems 95.7%
Module 6: Windows NT/200 Operating Systems 81.0%
Module 7: Windows XP Operating Systems 84.6% <-- ooh not good!

The next one, I don't fancy at all

Module 8: Multimedia Capabilities

And there are another 6 modules to fit in before July, what d'ya reckon???

Posted by lilliebet at 07:31 AM | Comments (1)

January 17, 2005

This day gets better and better!

Oh WOW, I really can't believe this but I've been accepted on the DMS Programme. I go to Chester Business School for induction (I'm going to be induced??) on Feb 3rd. I honestly thought I'd fluffed the interview, maybe I did and they just felt sorry for me, I don't care - I'm on the programme and that's all that matters.

What a brilliant day! :-)

Posted by lilliebet at 04:22 PM | Comments (1)

January 13, 2005

Bleh!!

Well that didn't go well :(

I had so much work stuff rattling round my head, I was a total mess. All I could think of was how much work was waiting for me back at the office. Must be a sign, I'm too busy to commit. One of the downsides to this job - nothing ever gets finished.

Posted by lilliebet at 06:33 PM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2005

Biting off more than I can chew?

Before Christmas my manager asked all of his team leads who would be interested in doing a Diploma in Management Studies, only two of us said yes and on Monday I got the thumbs up. I'm the lucky so-and-so who gets to dedicate all their free time to self-development (couldn't I just eat pies???)

So Monday I fills in the form and, just before close of play today, I'm told I have to fill in an application and take it with me to an interview tomorrow. Wow, this just gets better and better. I shouldn't moan, it's a fantastic opportunity all bought and paid for by work (£2000 on little old me, amazing!)

So why am I so trepidacious? (Excellent word, one for Paul) Because I think I may be over loading myself I suppose. It's an awful lot of work on top of a full-time job and a family. Oh but I so want to get out of here (Liverpool that is). If I could get my son away from the no-marks he hangs around with and move the whole family in the general direction of better, I'd be a much happier little bunny.

Ever since my cousin got his clearance to emigrate to Australia, my feet have been itching. Oz might be stretching it a bit but there has to be something better out there.

The course starts the end of this month and will take two years to complete but it's a goal, a light at the end of the Mersey Tunnel. I'm tied into my flat until September 2006 anyway, so maybe the two things will come together at the same time. Wish me luck tomorrow, this could be the start of great things. I really do hope so.
Download file

Posted by lilliebet at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)