yes, inventorIES....I've taken inventory of everything that I was responsible for, including equipment (multimedia projectors, video cameras, projection screens, etc) and training materials (listed all materials on hand, and made a special printing guide for some materials, like the ones that need to be printed in color, or bound, or laminated!)...

believe it or not, a projector had been "abandoned" in one of the meeting rooms!Since this happens so often, I want to have all 3 on hand tomorrow when I say good-bye to my boss, so he KNOWS I handed them in before leaving...no misunderstandings there! (these are $2k each!)

I have also started removing my personal stuff, starting on Monday this week, so there really isn't much left...I have been sending emails like crazy with all these attachments on how to manage all house expenses (7 houses!) and how to handle the logistics for training...so I feel a bit overloaded....I have been leaving work at around 7:00-7:30 every night...tonight is an exception because I have to go pick up Ale and I know she can't reasonably be expected to behave at my office for more than 1 hour!! ...so, I'm guessing I'll have to come earlier tomorrow, if I want to leave before 6 on my last day!

Only about a 100 times, I think!...
well, my best friend called yesterday because they need some translations at the place she works. I quoted her $570 (it is about 40 pages)...since it's over %500, she has to get two more quotes...so, now I'm waiting to see if I will be the one to get the assignment or whether someone else will give her a better offer ...I hate waiting!!!...it would be SO great to get it!!

I'm trying to do my day-to-day tasks while filing/throwing away everything that I should have filed/thrown away in the past 3 years, but didn't!! and, whose fault is THAT? mine and mine alone, really!) ...also, I'm trying to write out the programmable admin tasks for April and May, so that things are at least half-controlled once I leave (not really "required", but I know it's expected!)...there's a major training in April and, things should have been ready by April 5th, so now I'm trying to have everything set up by March 30th...that will give the other admin about 17 days before she actually has to take 100% charge of the training logistics (believe me, that is supposed to be an "extra 10% activity", which somehow ends up being a full time job for at least 2 weeks!)...I'm also in charge of a pilot test for the new purchasing process, which started this monday....so I'll also have to leave instructions for that...so far, I've managed to list (most) of the tasks for April...but, this is the "programmable" ones, meaning the ones I KNOW when/how will hit me...there are also the many odds and ends that I take care of....needless to say, I'm feeling the stress!!!...(the only good thing about that is it DEFINETELY offsets any sadness I might feel about leaving...it actually makes me want to run away!!LOL!)

between re-locating my files to fit the stuff for the office supply pilot test, and trying to catch up on 1 week of backlogged work at the same time, and running around to get all the info/tests I needed to deliver to the emb assy, I'm going nuts!...now, the space allocated for the office supplies is really not enough, so I have to re-locate my training materials (of which I shouldn't have as many as I do, but, one of our managers left recently and he found about 10 manuals and other odds and ends in his desk when cleaning up...all of which landed magically on my already cluttered desk!!)...the good news is: I already found the perfect filing cabinet for my materials...except currently it's full of old materials (we use to print a copy of everything for the trainers...we then decided it was way too much effort and now we upload it and have them download it into their laptops...and each downloads whatever modules s/he's teaching!)...we also have a longer session(2 days vs 1/2 day) to review all materials with them, to decide which materials need changing BEFORE they are printed!...
AND, I have to schedule the trainings for this year in my calendar and a reminder to send the purchase order to the printers 3 weeks in advance! (If I do leave, I would then just forward these "appointments" to the person in charge of trainings and then s/he can do it or, forward it to the next victim, er, admin assistant to take my place)...well, gotta go!

...because of my performance during the workshop, the Director of logistics has requested my resume and asked my boss (VP) whether he had ever thought of recommending me for a higher position in the company...

Oh, well, it is nice to be wanted!

The workshop was very interesting...for one thing, I realized just how much effort is put into the procure to payment process at the company....and I also learned just how badly I mess things up for other people when I try to speed up things for my unit...oops!....

At the very beginning of the workshop my boss (VP) told the whole group that hierarchies (sp?) had to be put aside for this workshop and not to dismiss anyone´s input...(this was directed to our Logistics Director, who, naturally, is the designated leader of this project, because she tends to do that...she´ll only listen to people with titles of Director or above!)...anyway...we went through the workshop and, when we finally agreed on what the new process would be, we were supposed to present our case to a senior panel (CFO, VP of contrallory and VP of strategic development)...Most of us volunteered to present, and I ended up in charge of explaining our Current Si tuation map....as I was taught at school: forget the fancy language, keep it flowing, make occasional eye-contact and try to read body language to see if you should explain or if your audience is "buying"....it went pretty well...my bosses (Director and Manager) even congratulated me...that was nice!...I also presented the Expected Benefit on the final day of the workshop and, again, they said very impressed...now, for some strange reason, the part I DIDN´t like was when A (manager) said to me that they were amazed at the value that i had added to the workshop and the clarity of thought that I exhibited....so, I´ve been working with them for the past 3 years and they never noticed that before???...I´m trying to think it´s only that our day to day doesn´t really showcase it as well as a structured workshop might!...

Oh, well, in the end, I got praised and, even if I end up leaving the company, I can see the results of this workshop and its implementation as my "legacy" to the company! (they asked me to run a pilot test in our area, starting March 1st!)

the good news is: I'm the chosen candidate for the open position!!! yay!....


the bad news is: they take my current salary, without the $120/month bonus, as the basis for their salary negotioation!!... me no like!

Oh, well, I guess I have to wait until I hear from them again - if I ever make it out of the Ac celerated Improve ment W orkshop...we seem to be working from 8 through 6:30 every day...and, just to give you an idea, our morning break today was at 11:50am....and lunch was served at 1:00pm!)...more on that tomorrow, as it has been a very interesting experience and definetely worth blogging about!

my boss got a phone call, as did one of my good friends (with whom I've also worked!)...YAY!!

I meant to post about it yesterday, but, by the time I was done with the interview and the English class at our "adopted" school it was already 1:45pm and, I was supposed to leave the office at 2:00 to go to the Decameron for the training logistics thing...

I feel the interview went rather well...we laughed a lot and I think they got a good impression...
First they asked me if we could speak in English and if I were to rate my English would I say it was good?...they asked me about my past work experience, why I wanted to leave my current position...I think the clincher was when they asked me "what about creative problem-solving?" I just told them, well, modesty aside, people come to me and they say: I want to ask this from you because I know that if you don't have it, you'll know where to get it and, if you cannot get it, you'll make something up and find a way to substitute it...(which is true!)...

And, as I said, we did laugh a lot together, so they know I'm fun to be with!...I feel that I really connected with all 4 interviewers, and that I would be a great fit for this office...it's just a matter of them deciding whether I am the right candidate for the position and, of determining whether "the price is right"....considering not only salary, but also additional benefits, of course!

they mentioned that the office will be small and that somedays there will only be boring tasks...--I just spent half a week making photocopies! Every job has "its moments"--...

We'll see...I keep trusting that G-d will know what is best for me and either keep me here or send me somewhere else, accordingly! ....

it's 10:18 am and I'm supposed to leave at 10:45am for my interview!!!!!

...still, I´m $25 short to make it to next payday (Feb 15!)....I think I can collect that from here to Tuesday!...we´ll see!

I just got a call from the Embas-sy...I'm excited!...the only problem is I need someone to take over my English class at the school we have adopted....need to go look at the schedule...
I'm also supposed to go to the training which is at a resort 2 hours away from the city, but, as long as I'm there before 6pm, there will be no problem!...

wish me luck!

Ale is so funny!...she brought home the proofs for her school pictures...here's a collage I made:

She obviously wants the group picture, too--which I haven't seen...the package costs $15, and it includes 1- 8X10 individual, 1- 8X10 group, 2 wallet and 4 passport size pictures....we chose the picture we like best (we liked the same one!)...and I said to her: ok, right now I don't have the money, and I have to see where I'm going to get it from, but, don't worry, we'll find it...(meaning re-allocate it from somewhere else)...she looked at me very anxiously and said: but, not from my piggy bank, right??...LOL!...I love it!

it went as expected...it's not a difficult test for me and, I've done it before!...the great news is there were only 4 of us and noone from the Embas-sy, so that means there's no "inside" competition!!!....they should be calling us for interviews either by the end of this week or early next week...
we'll see how this goes!

at the Embassy (again!)...they throw out all candidate's files after 6 months...

this is for an admin assistant position...

Let's hope noone from the Embassy is applying for this position, as they (logically) tend to give priority to their own people!....

The test is next Tuesday....keep your fingers crossed!

well, we are going to take our last notebooks (about 50-75) to the flea market...they have already been stored for over a year (from past Jan 06 to this January 07) and who knows if they'll survive another year in good enough condition to be sold...we are also taking a boxful of stickers, and the returned glue...I'm going to be taking some old books to see if they sell and we are also taking some sandwiches....Ale has declared that she will NOT bring any toys this time...wish us luck!

we are having a Telethon for the construction of new physical therapy centers here in ES...our company typically donates all the artist's flights, but we, as employees, also contribute...since last year the amount we brought was $10K, this year the goal is to reach $12K...so, they have organized a competition among all Vice-Presidencies, to see which one can collect the most...insider knowledge says we are in second place right now (ok, so one of our guys is dating an HR girl!)...we have collected about $800...there's a rally tomorrow and we're all hitting the malls to pester people for money, er, ask people to donate...a group is also going to the airport...what's nice is that, no matter who takes 1st place, we all win!

I'm proud to say that on Saturday I took my laptop with me and worked on my presentation to the Minister of Tourism...all it needs is some music..now I need to work on my cover letter, too!...once that is ready, I'll burn a CD and drop it by the Ministry...my deadline is next Tuesday!...I will work on the music today and tomorrow (first find something appropriate, then put it in)...
wish me luck!

well, so far I've made 2 contacts (out of "required" 4)...this weekend I'm planning to tune up my presentation for the Minister of Tourism and, the plan is to drop it off at the Ministry no later than Wednesday next week!...
This year, actively seeking translations for the E-Spiral will be my $20 challenge...wish me luck!

That was my share of our earnings for the Xmas + School supply sales...

Allocated as follows:

staying on track with my proposed plan and re-working the numbers:
cc == $295.00 (to be paid tomorrow)
Ale's bed == $116 (PAID $108.53/ PENDING $8)
Ale's school == $137 (PAID)
Ale's transportation from school == $30 (PAID)
personal loan == $69.63 (PAID)
Infamous phone bill == $303.15 (PAID)

car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)== pending, depending on cousin's payment (wish me luck!)

Which basically means I'm "broke" again...but, Ale has a new bed and I have $597.37 less debt...and I'm up-to-date with all payments...I can DEFINETELY live with that!

Now, I need to re-focus my "outside of work" energies into the translation business!!

staying on track with my proposed plan and re-working the numbers:

from the toy sale$166)
cc == $50.00
Ale's bed ==to be paid today 070107



From the translation:
cc ($145.80)
technical dictionaries + internet bill(investment in business as per allocation - $145.80)
savings $36.45
donation $36.50


From the school supply sale (?):
cc == $550 (expenses)
Ale's school
car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)
personal loan == $70
Infamous phone bill == $300

Payment due from cousin (!)
infamous phone bill!-- she says she'll give me at least $200... we'll see...this would be put towards cc == $200 (?)
Loan to pay for 2 months of school for her darling Prince last year: $170 ==
additional bedding set for Ale's bed +/-$30 and cc +/- $140

I keep playing around with these numbers!

Cousin and I have been working like crazy-- getting up at 6am and going to bed at midnight...it has paid off, though, we already made enough money to repay the loan to our cousin ($800), got back what we invested (about $300) AND, got $559 each...we may have to reinvest part of that, though!...we'll see how things go, we still have 3 more days, but we don´t want to go crazy like last year!!...

On non-financial related news, nephew R came by the other day....sis and I agree he´s NOT ok...another reason for worry is that we locked ourselves out of the house and he said: no problem...he simply took out some windows (we have the kind that open and shut to let in the air...) and slid sideways through the bars in front of the window (he´s THAT skinny)...took him less than 2 minutes!....I already bought a planter for that window, and, tomorrow I will go out and buy some soil and some thorny plants...I guess it IS financially related, since I will be spending some money on that...((sigh))

well, gotta go to bed...it´s 1:41am already!!

Just wanted to wish you all a wonderful 2007 and to let you know I´m still around!

things I paid:
1 month's rent (I was still behind, now I'm 100% up to date!)
I'm left with $30 to "survive" until Jan 15th!
****
still pending

from the toy sale:
cc
Ale's bed
personal loan


From the translation:
infamous phone bill ($145.80)
technical dictionaries + internet bill(investment in business as per allocation - $145.80)
savings $36.45
donation $36.50


From the school supply sale:
cc
Ale's school
car maintenance (tires,brakes and shockabsorbers)

Payment due from cousin (!)
infamous phone bill!-- the last of it!
cc
additional bedding set for Ale's bed

Re-worked the previous numbers a bit! ((sigh))

we are tracking all expenses/payments with cousin on the school supply sale....I was commenting this with sis the other day and she said she doesn't understand why I do business with cousin if it seems that I never make any money...I agree, profits are not as good as they could be (about $700 for the whole toy venture this year....and an estimaded $500 for the school supply venture in early January)...that's a lot of effort for that money and, on top of that, I never get to "see" the money ...meaning I don't really get to do anything "visible" with it...I don't buy stuff...I just put it towards debt...

I agree with sis that there are other things I could do and, that going into business with cousin has proven NOT to be the cleverest decision (after all, that is how I got suckered into putting a phone line to my name in her house!)....but, another reason is precisely to check what she owes me and, to at least be able to recover SOME of it when we are dividing the profits...

((sigh)) Believe me, G_d willing, I won't have to do the toy gig in 2007 (most likely, I will have to do the school supply thing, as we estimate that there will still be items left over due the changes in the lists!)....it takes up too much of my time and energy and, leaves Ale needy for my attention and very resentful of the little time we spend together....(a happy kid is A LOT more valuable in my book...right now, I really cannot afford NOT to do the toy thing, otherwise too many debts will go unpaid... ...Ale really deserves better!)

I'm still speechless...anyone that knows me "in the flesh" will tell you that my being speechless is not only highly improbable, but also impossible...but, I am...sort of...
This morning, my boss (VP) called me to his office and, there were a couple other people there looking like the cat that swallowed the canary...they left and my boss asked me to sit down and then said: "you may have noticed I haven't given you a Xmas present..."...I said: yes -- very matter of factly, honestly I just thought he had given them out while at the Xmas party that I didn't attend and figured he probably had forgotten it at home and I would get it next year...no biggie...he said: well, I hadn't because I was trying to find the best way to go around it and do the best possible while keeping it affordable...by this time my mind was thinking: cool! he got me a raise!...and then he said: ...I have heard from other people in the unit that you are interested in pursuing a business on the side...yes (it's no secret, really!) and then he said: and I also heard that one of the things holding you back from that was a computer...(I swear my jaw scraped the floor!)...and he continued...so, I bought one of our old laptops from the company, it's not new, but I had it cleaned and refurbished and loaded with all the software you might need....I believe I might have said something like: Ak-ak-adack before saying THANKS!...
I mean, physically it's just a computer, but, in reality, it is so much more!!!...I really can't find the words! (which is why I am here at my desk crying as I type!)...but, this one is just too big to keep to myself!
..I know I also have to give G-d a HUGE Thank You for putting people like this in my life!

well, we thought we were done with the toy sale...but, we've had 3 new orders placed ....they all want them for tomorrow or Friday, of course!...They're small orders, thankfully, but, still, it'll be some extra cash!...

Did I already complain about December being a tough month?

I'm looking at what Xmas will cost...about $200-$250 ....that pays for my half of dinner and also for presents (sis, niece, Ale, cousin, friends, teachers, nanny, etc)...not really too much all things considered...still, $200-$250??...part of me says I should be paying off debt with that money, while another says if I don't spend some money doing stuff that is fun, I'll go crazy and burn out...I don't know which side to believe!...The money is already spent anyway, so, short of returning the gifts that have been bought but not given out yet (which is impossible for the most part, having been bought from informal businesses downtown!)...well, there's little I can do about it anyway...

Yet another part of me wants to go out and spend, spend, spend...but, I KNOW I need to shut HER up and throw her out the window if needed, so I'm not worried...plus, it's not like I have the money to indulge her, even if I tried!

I've sent so many the past three years, I'm starting to worry that they'll think I'm a terrorist just trying to get in! LOL!...I also got my docs ready to apply to an admin assist position at an International Organization...

wouldn't it be nice to start the year off with a new job??

already typed the lists in Excel to see how many of "Y" we need to make 20 packages for Pre-K, 20 for K and so on...

Cousin went downtown today to buy some stuff that we ran out of last year....tomorrow we will go through our current supply and see what we have/what we need...our total investment this year shouldn't be more than $200, as we still have so much left from last year...

On Sunday we will start getting the packages ready....That gives us 2 1/2 weeks to get all packages ready....sale starts on Jan 3rd and ends Jan 10th...

this will be the first "additional income" for 2007....of course, as with the toy sale, it will not be included in my $20 challenge, as this is something that we already did anyway...

December is a tough month!

things I paid:
1 month's rent (I was behind with my payments)
personal loan
cc
nanny's Xmas bonus! (well, I haven't paid THAT yet, but I will tonight!)

We still haven't collected all the toy money, from that I will pay:

cc
Ale's bed
Xmas dinner

From the translation:
new tires for the car
infamous phone bill ($150)

From the toy supply sale:
cc
Ale's school
car maintenance (brakes and shockabsorbers)

Payment due from cousin (!)
infamous phone bill
cc
Ale's school
additional bedding set for Ale's bed

Hopefully, everything will go according to plan!