I'm still alive. Been super, super, super busy with work. We've had lots of changes which included my direct supervisor quitting and dumping a shitload of her work onto me. It set me pretty far behind on my own tasks, so I've been doing non-stop long hours since I got back from the states. FINALLY, all the training is over and I can begin to relax for 1 week until school starts, and Ramadan begins, and all the conduct and fire alarms begin.

Oh, we also had a trainee that was supposed to join us and supervise the new female hall, but then she decided the package wasn't good enough for her. Yah, someone with a BA applying to get trained for a job that requires a MA decided she should get paid just as much as we do. FYI, what she was offered is what the average hall director makes in the US WITH the MA. Anyway, I get another hall to look after, because I'm not busy enough trying to keep up with new expectations and still finalize wedding plans with 3 receptions on 3 continents. Seriously, Rory and I should win some kind of award for that.

Oh top of that, I just found out our director has decided to leave too, effective October. So Lord only knows what's going to happen now.

I'm behind on loads of photos, but thought I'd force myself to at least get a smattering of some posted today. I'll sleep better tonight!

an old photo from my trip to seattle in march:




my knitting class in may:

results after lesson 1




results from lesson 2




product after lesson 3




product after lesson 4




product after lesson 5




snapshots from the short trip home:

my nephew ryan really took to rory, whatever rory did, ryan wanted to do too - adorable teeth brushing session






me and my mom




my precious bambi




my youngest nephew, fox




freezing our asses off during 'summer' at shakespeare in the park




photos from the shower:

a game rory and I had to play answering questions about each other, each wrong answer equaled another marshmallow in the mouth. I lost.






another game where teams had to place their roll of TP onto a teammates plunger....








end of the night bonfire, it was a perfect day




quick trip to italy:

rome, with a view of vatican city (dome)




rory and his mate lawrence viewing the ruins




a look inside the colleseum




being romantic by trevi fountain
(we saw 2 engagements in less than 15 minutes)




a pit stop in capri




the streets of pompeii




pretending to be security guards with our tourist radios




hillside of pompeii




recovered bodies in pompeii; you can actually see their expressions!












the end

Update on previous post: no one lost an eye!

There are some changes happening at work. I have a temporary divider wall to allow (e:Rory) to visit me in my home but that will be coming down next year because we need more space for students (my end of the hall currently houses me and 2 contingency rooms). No divider would mean he couldn't live with me once we're married because the country's moral codes don't allow co-habitation in this setting, even for married couples.

That combined with the fact we're running out of space has lead to the decision that RHDs are being moved off campus to community housing. This is unheard of in my position but until our new facilities are built, we are in a pickle. It means we would have to move back to a campus apartment whenever we're on duty...all of us sharing one apartment. I'm both pleased and annoyed by this. Pleased because it means nicer accommodations and lower noise. Annoyed because who wants to uproot their life one week a month (or more depending on vacation schedules) to live in a shared space?

The bigger changes are that people are leaving. A fellow RHD couldn't hack it so she's outie, and I'm totally cool with that. So I knew we had to find a replacement. I helped interview several while I was in Seattle. What I didn't know until I got to Seattle is that my supervisor has also decided to leave. She's been here for 3 years so it's cool. You can only sacrifice so much for so long. I just assumed they would post for that position like all our others and someone would replace her. That is not so.

The other day I was called into the big cheese's office along with another fellow RHD who has been here since the start with me to have a briefing. The low down is, my supervisor's position will be taken over, with some new responsibilities, to her existing equal. The current equal will be promoted. The remaining coordinator position will take over the other responsibilities, which are probably the least fun of all the things you could do in housing - assignments, billing, maintenance, etc.

At this briefing they say they would rather promote from within instead of having to open up the search outside. So, basically we have the opportunity to apply for it. Now comes the part of weighing pros and cons.

Pros:
Chance for a new challenge
Shows upward mobility on my resume
Increase in pay grade
On-call duties marginal compared to RHD position
Opportunity to supervise other professionals
Freedom from petty conduct issues that plague my desk
Work hours much more in line with my future spouse's
Not having to move back and forth to campus while on duty

Cons:
Interaction with the students (for the fun stuff) will greatly decrease
Participation in staff training would decrease substantially
I'm not a morning person so a 7:30am start time makes me cringe
The tasks are purely administrative
My fellow RHD and I are both qualified- if he applies as well it would boil down to a popularity contest which I would lose, and that irritates me on principle
Although I would be happy for him, I cannot say 100% that I would be 'resent free', especially if he then became my supervisor

Other thoughts:
If I don't apply, do I lack ambition to move upward?
Another position, for which my fellow RHD would be most suited for, is possibly opening up next year, definitely the year after...would he get this one, then switch to the other?


Ultimately I want to be happy in my work. There are things I would miss about what I do right now, but I think professionally it would be a wise move, and personally, it would help (e:Rory) and I lead a slightly more 'normal' life in our first year of marriage.

I just needed to talk out loud.

These are some of my regular frustrations with work.

• Working very hard to plan something in advance, getting it all down the the tiniest detail, then someone walking in and saying, "Oh yah, we're scrapping that".

• Working very hard to plan an event which you know you cannot attend, but everyone insisted it happens on that day. So you do it, and you do it very well. Every detail is taken care of, all they have to do on the day is have fun. But then without your presence apparently everyone forgets their very simple job and it becomes a huge mess. They do not take responsibility for it, they blame it all on you by saying, "Not my problem, I didn't plan it". Sigh.

• Having endless meetings about something, getting everyone in agreement about the actions your going to take in a large scale event. 2 months later someone walks in and says you did it all wrong and all the work you've already done has to be taken back, making you look like a complete tool.

• Being told something is a crisis, emergency, world is going to end situation - busting your ass to deal with it, only to find out it didn't really matter at all.

• Being on duty every time there is a holiday or birthday celebration resulting in me missing all the fun.

• Being told you're allowed to do things your way, then when you do them your way, being told you should do it their way, making you do double the work.

• People being incredibly ambiguous with information you really need in order to move forward on a project.

• Being told you can't get any programs or products to make your life SO much easier because you'll be moving into a new building in 2 years - 3 years ago - of which the building hasn't even broken ground yet - of which we'll not move into for at least 2 more years.

Sigh. Off to get passport pages added. I filled mine up in 5 years!

Interviews with:

Harvard
Cornell
Wellesley
Qatar Foundation
Niagara University
SUNY Brockport
SUNY Oswego

Let's hope a job comes from one of them!

So everything has been so up in the air lately I was losing my mind. Today I got the call I had been hoping for. I have been awarded a grad assist position with the International Office / Admissions. I'll be working between the two offices, assisting international students with the admissions process and welcoming them to Canisius. Best part is, 75% tuition paid! I SO needed that! Ciao.

I was offered a job that I really want. I'm waiting to hear if I am offered another job I want a little bit more. I'm supposed to give the first offer an answer on Monday. I most likely won't hear from the other until later in the week. I don't know what to do.