all my work colleagues are going to Honduras for a regional conference. I'm to stay and "guard the fort"....they leave tomorrow and come back next Monday...I was starting to wonder what I was going to do with myself for 3 whole days (it's slow when they ARE here, imagine with them, and 95% of the people at HQ being gone!), when, the people in HQ decided to send me some translations (these do not mean extra money, as it is part of the job description, but, hey, they'll keep me sane!) LOL!

from a very good source (finance dept employee!)...our year-end bonus will be paid next pay period!!! (she was warning the bank teller to make sure she had enough cash!)...it's not confidential, or anything, everybody knows it's due on payperiod 22....but, since it's my first year here!....

If you said MORE Translations....you're absolutely right!...3 PowerPoint presentations for the training tomorrow!...woo-hoo!...and it's only 9:30pm and I already sent them!!!...that levaes me 1 and a half hours to work on the 4th presentation (due on Friday)...the comments from today's training sessions will have to wait, but, of course, those are lower priority... I still haven't done my wordcount on those presentations, so I still don't know how much $$$ I'm getting for them! LOL!...

This is a "small" one...a contract...should bring in about $30-$40

well, our office does...and guess who's been charged with the shopping!!

...they already gave me a list!
2 printers
1 "office set" (desk, return, chair + filing cabinet)
1 conference room
4-6 chairs....

think that's going to do it??...we'll see!..
problem is,I'm used to getting top value for my $$$$, so I may end up spending a lot less!!
(I'd love to have this be a problem in my personal finances...having surplus $$$, that is!)

sooo, today I get to go to someone's house to help them translate a PowerPoint presentation for some high-ranking govt officials...
We'll see how much this earns me in the end...but, right now, I want as much as possible to put towards debt...(and, I need to work on being patient, because I'm not seeing any $$$ until mid-Oct/early Nov!!)...all this could be my Xmas present to myself!!
...who knows, there might even be enough for Ale's bike!

I've been doing "happy numbers" - which is what cousin and I call it when we make numbers based on the best-possible scenario (which is, of course, the worst way to prepare for anything!)...and, if I managed to make an average of $400/month with translations, I might actually be able to be debt-free by mid-2009
.... oooooohhhhhh!!!

Dreaming is free!

LOL!...it's 11:07pm...I sent my last work of the day at 11:04...4 minutes after my self-set cut-off time!...woo-hoo!...only 12 pages to go and, from what I've seen, I can have them ready before noon.

I then have to work on some other stuff, but that is not as urgent...I might even stay with Ale at a friend's b-day party tomorrow (was thinking of just dropping her off if I was still swamped!..now I'm thinking it would be a nice nap!LOL!)...

speaking of which...I gota go ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ now!

Will update total wordcount for the weekend tomorrow!

I went to bed late, and got up early-ish (ok, so 7:30 instead of 8!--it's SATURDAY!)...managed to translate most of the day --minus a 1 hour break to rest/bake some honey bread...yum! Just like grandma's! And I didn't want Ale to feel TOO neglected!...
I'm almost done (in every sense!)...I'm going to go watch TV to soothe my brain a bit...
I still have stuff to translate, but, I will work/send that tomorrow before noon! (they need to have the docs tomorrow at the latest, so they can put them all together --they gave us half and the other half they gave to another translator!--make them look like there was only 1 single source, print it, bind it and present it to some VIP's before a mid-morning meeting on Monday, so....)

Good thing it deals with stuff that I know (and I mean KNOW, as in: this was "our business" 2 jobs back!)

$127!!!... ~$114 after taxes...for 2 hours worth of translations!!...woo-hoo!!

(at work, don't worry!)...I can actually see what I'm writing without squinting and/or slouching now!!...they sure took a long time, but they are finally here!-- I've already updated our asset inventory!!...we are all

LOL! Funny story: I plugged my monitor, but could not get it to work...I had to call my boss to help...he asked if it was on...(I gave him the evil eye)...and then...he chuckled and just closed the laptop and...voila! the image came on!...duh! ...I'm technologycally-challenged!

well, they just announced a salary increase of 2.7%...after taxes, that comes to about $12 more per pay period for me...I'm goint to put this towards our Disney trip (more on this later!)...starting 9/27!!

Well, I had made plans to spend my morning going to the social security offices to renew Ale's card and to have our "adscription center" (meaning where we are to go for medical care!) to one closer to home....as the one on our records was the one closer to the place we USED to live!....and then going to the bank to make a (small) payment towards my loan....Although I couldn't get started at 8am like I intended (the office opens at 9, not at 8!), I was done well before 10am! Nice surprise!...Instead of roaming the streets and wasting fuel, I came back home to finish Ale's sweater (and log on to SA, of course!)...and, Nanny told me there had been an "urgent" phone call for me...from the translation offices!...sure enough, they have some urgent translations...since they only have print-outs, they're sending them to me right now!-- which means I still get enough time to log on and work a bit on Ale's sweater!....I'm "free" from now until 3pm, when I have to pick up Ale, so I expect there will be plenty of time to do the work! (I'm rather fast!)...

I'm glad, because, if I had been at work, I wouldn't have been able to take these translations (let me see: working on translations during normal business hours, when I'm supposed to be working on my primary job ...er, - NO!)

So, I'm off to finish knitting the pocket to be sewn onto Ale's sweater!!...(small enough that I KNOW I can finish it today!)...

HAPPY LABOR DAY, EVERYBODY!

came yesterday. Payment should be in about 15-30 days....about $60-$65 (haven't done the wordcount yet!)

woo-hoo!!!

Of course, I only have $3 in my account right now and, most likely, that's the amoount I'll have next Monday (I like to make all payments before I have a chance to spend the money on "wants", so I make payments, fill the tank in the car and generally make sure there's a ::very:: limited amount sitting in the account!) ...not good, I know, but better than the alternative!

Got paid for some translations on Saturday, half an hour later, I was "poor" again!...I went straight to the bank and paid it towards the personal loan...the sad news is, a payment was due on Sunday, which means that I'm back to where I was on Friday....the good news is, at least they are seeing a will to pay (important! If they see payments, most banks will NOT report you to the credit bureaus!) and, also, the delinquency level keeps my account with the banks collection agency, it doesn't escalate to their legal department or to an outsourced collection agent (because then they start CHARGING you fees for every call you receive!)...
I'm still pending some other payments, so...

The translation they sent yesterday night will bring $68! - woo-hoo!...
just a short lease contract, and it took me about 2-3 hours....I could hear their minds going ca-ching! when they asked me if I worked nights and I said "Yes"....most people will not work on a document received after 6...but then again, this is my 2nd job...and, mostly, I start working on it at 8:05pm, right after DD is put to bed (8:00pm is her bed-time!)

I got an email today: we have a purchase order for $10K for house furniture, do you approve??....WHAT??...NO, I don't! (believe me, I'd KNOW if I had placed a P.O for that amount!!...) I sent them back an email saying I didn't have a record of that, but to send the info so I could check with my bosses before approving/rejecting (in theory, they should have asked me to place the order...so...)...and, get this, this is just for dining room furniture!!!

((breathe in, breathe out))

****
Boss #1 doesn't know about this, either!!!

well, I am still owed about $320 for translations...since the people I did the work for were supposed to get paid last Friday, I'm calling today to see if my payment has already been processed...

Call #1:The person in charge wasn't there...will try to call in the afternoon!

Call #2: The payment should be ready this Friday (17/Aug)...we'll see...

Call #3: The end customer still hasn't paid!

Ok, I admit it, I'm a hopeless sentimental and good-byes are really (REALLY) hard for me...this past weekend I went to my former boss' farewell party (VP)...needless to say, my eyes started watering the moment I said Hello and, once they showed a video the guys from the office made for him, there was no stopping me from crying....it was like Niagara falls!...awful, awful...to the point where people were asking if I was ok...and this was BEFORE I had to officially say good-bye to him!...and, on top of that, my other former boss (the director)is also relocating in about a week, so I had to say good-bye to him and his wife (the ones that have helped me with Ale's school)...so, I've been in "cry mode" the whole weekend...literally, you can make me cry just by looking at me right now...
(I KNEW there was a reason I NEVER went to ANY of the other farewell parties!!)...but, after all he did for me, how could I NOT go to this one??...there I go, crying again!!!...ok, I'll log off and go home now! ugh!

...I´ve been asking for extra money and, yesterday I got an email from my previous job inquiring about a translation for this weekend (they haven´t sent the document yet, though) and, today I got a call to go do a job for a documentary producer (just voice over)...those are fun and generally well paid!...so, tomorrow I´m supposed to go there at 9am...I´ll probably be home in time to cook lunch and, they generally pay within 15 days! woo-hoo!!

Or, as the song says: No estaba muerta, andaba de parranda!!...lol!..not exactly...

please be patient if you see a lot of typos, the "s" on my keyboard is not working properly!...

As most of you may (or may not) know, I started a new job in April of this year...some days I have little to do....others I have a regular workload and, only occasionally do I have lots to do!...it feels SOOOO weird!...really, it IS weird...most days I'm home by 5:30pm (if you can believe that!)...the monthly pay is only slightly better, but, there's a mid-year bonus and the end-of-year bonus is almost double what I got at the other place...plus, if you take into account quality of life, then it's definetely worth it! (also, if rumors are true, then this was definetely the right decision at the right time!...apparently the other place is going to let go 500 employees before August!)

So, I'm trying to enjoy my time here and not go crazy....my file is perfectly up to date..including the docs that arrived this morning, thank you!...my Outlook Inbox is practically free already (most things have already been taken care of) and I only keep "active" things there...and never for more than a week!...my desk is clean at the end of each day...((cue music from The Twilight Zone))...

Ale is a much happier child, we have time to play and read and watch TV together before bedtime...she just finished her Preparatoria and is ready for the 1st Grade!...since I didn't want her vegetating for 6 weeks, I enrolled her in summer camp at a local club and, she's taking swimming lessons, tennis, karate, ballet and arts and crafts on a rotating schedule from Mon-Fri, 8:30-12:30....her afternoons are blissfully free, so she can rest or play or generally enjoy the art of just 'being' for a change....she's chosen to teach Nanny to write in cursive!...

We have also acquired a new pet...a cat, who now has the un-original name of KITTY...HELLO Kitty is her full name! ...she's a total sweetie....if you are wondering what Fiona (our dog) thinks about this new creature in our house....well, Fiiona thinks Kitty is her puppy...she keeps "cleaning" her (eewwwww, the poor thing ends up covered in dog drool at least 3 times a day!) and steers her out of trouble...literally, the cat cannot take a step without Fiona directing where she should (or shouldn't!) go!...I predict the time is not far when Kitty will teach Fiona the meaning of "giving someone space!!" LOL!...but at least things are peaceful in the house!...
Well, guys, I'm sort of defying all those "no expectation of privacy" warnings that keep popping up on my computer...(no internet service at home...the bills caught up with us!...when you live paycheck to paycheck -- and at minus $200/month!, missing one salary payment has a HUGE impact!...Hoping to report progress soon!)

WOW! I met my boss´ boss' boss this week (yep, three rungs higher than my boss!)...and, when introducing me, my boss mentioned that 60 people had applied for the job I got!...really, WOW!!

ok, so I asked God for a new job:

1. which paid more than what I was earning...from $12K to $16K per year, gross earnings...and less deductions!!!

2. where people appreciated and recognized my work (it was recognized and appreciated at my previous job, I just didn´t want risking falling into a job that didn´t!)

3. close to my home (5 blocks...I´d say that´s close!)

4. which allowed me more time to be with my daughter (I cannot stay in the premises beyond 6pm without an escort...I leave the office between 5 and 5:30...which means I arrive home between 5:10 and 5:45...at my previous job I left between 6:00 and 8:00...and it took me anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour to get home, depending on traffic!)

5. Interesting, so I wouldn´t be bored or feel like quitting....

So, I just wanted to give Him public thanks for giving me this new job!

Well, the trip to the Northern Zone was really eye-opening...in more than one sense!...
at one point, a very young girl who works for the national development committee came to me and said: I wanted to introduce myself, I hear you are MI, the new admin?...Yes, thank you, we´ve talked so much on the phone these last days...
Next thing I know, I´m in the middle of a semicircle of 5 people, all looking at me with wide admiring eyes...((hello, I´m pretty average looking, really...)) ..then there was this really awkward silence and I said: eh, yes??...and they said: oooh, it´s just that we´ve heard so much about you, they are really impressed with you, they say you´re a superstar...("they" being the country director, deputy country director and program officer)...they did??...yes, superstar, that´s the exact word they used!...((wider eyes on their faces))...oh, really?...
Now, that is actually intimidating...I now have to try to live up to that reputation!!...and, if I think about what I´ve done this past three weeks, nothing seems extraordinary to me...I mean, yes, I´ve added value in small ways, but, I don´t feel I´ve done anything to deserve the "superstar" moniker...
So, this part of the trip was scary, but nice! LOL!

These past two weeks were crazy, but it was worth it!...we had our First Northe rn Zo ne Tour last Wednesday...

To oversee the completion of the compact signed between the Milenium Challenge Corporation and the government of ES, a board of directors, consisting of 4 cabinet members, 2 NGO representatives and 1 private sector representatives was chosen at the beginning of the year...

We helped organize a committee to go to the NZ of the country, where the aid will be concentrated, as this is a "poverty belt"...well,let me tell you, it was EPIC!!!.... we set out at 5:30am, a caravan of 14 vehicles, carrying 60 people....including the ambassador....

So, here I was, little old me, with all these prominent people, whom I see on the news everyday: the minister of education, the minister and viceminister of public works, the minister and vice minister of agriculture, the deputy technical secretary to the presidency, the managing director for our organization, people from the private sector, the ngo representatives, the newly elected executive director and deputy executive director in charge of actually complying with the compact, the coordinator and several members of the National Development Committee...10 drivers,2 translators and some of us "lower level" people from 3 different organizations...no press, so that the attendees could concentrate on actually hearing what the people were saying instead of on what they were going to say to the press!...this was WORK!, not a publicity thing!

It took us 3 hours to get to our first stop, where the group met with mayors on the advisory council, members of a coffee cooperative, cattle farmers and members of a group of municipalities involved in water preservation...

We had a VERY tight schedule, but, the people at the towns we went were VERY organized and managed to stay on track with the time!...

After that first meeting, we left to visit a National Education Institute in a small village 21 kms away...so you have an idea of how bad the roads are there (about $200K for road construction), it took us 45 minutes to get there!!!...We were greeted by the school children, who were waving flags... it was very touching...

Here, the meeting was to hear the expectations and plans of the students, parents and teachers at this little village....the parents said they expected that the educational component of the compact would allow all their children to study and complete their high school education, and, who knows, maybe even go to the university some day...The representative of the private sector asked what they thought were the reasons for the high migration rates this village has and, the parents told her the lack of jobs...being honest, even if you graduate, what then, if there´s really nothing there, no stores, no factories...and, the land is really inhospitable there!...

It was amazing to me to see something so desolate in my country...I would have imagine this was pure forests and, instead, I saw some cows that were kept together only by their hides....trees that twisted in the dry, hot air, like lost souls out of Dante´s inferno...here and there you would see a tiny house made out of tin or cardboard.... and, here and there you would see Mansions (yes, capital M, houses as luxurious as the ones you see in the capital city, only larger!)...these are the homes of the families that receive remittances from the US...I mst say, I understand the lure to migrate...even for those in the mansions....If I had one of those mansions in THAT place, it´d want out....not necessarily to the US, but, at least to the next town!!!! ...but, for those in the tiny shacks....well, just think what they must feel...the difference is really EXTREME!!....

After about an hour and a half of more bad roads, we reached the Lempa river....our ancient Father river...even in dry season, we needed to board the ferry to cross (the compact also includes building a bridge over it)....it was a beautiful spectacle....once all 14 cars were across, we went to yet another town, for yet another meeting, this time with the cattle farmer cooperative, who also explained the opportunities they see with the new road, and with the productive development component of the compact....we had lunch there, organized by the mayors of all these towns we had visited...local river shrimp (they looked more like tiny lobster than shrimp) and hen....quite tasty...

Then back in the cars for the last meeting in a small city, this time on paved roads, but, they were so narrow and full of curves, the cars couldn´t really go much faster than they had on the dirt roads!...

At the last town, the meeting was with the business sector, especifically transport and small commerce representatives...

by this time, it was 4:30pm and, you can imagine how tired everyone was!!!...we left the small city at 6:00pm, back to our capital city....we took a different route this time, and it took only 1 hour and a half to get back home (we COULD have taken this route, but, the whole idea was for this people to actually SEE what the people in the NZ have to live every day and how urgent it is to do something for them and how much of an impact our work will make in their lives)...

Everyone was tired when we left, but, all the people in the caravan where very pleased with the tour and very glad they had joined the tour...could you believe very few of the attendees (me included!) had never visited that part of the country? (where the heaviest fighting was during the war) and, we even had one person who had never actually left the capital city!!!

I don´t have enough time to polish this entry, because Ale wants to play, and it really is a shame, for I know I cannot begin to convey the sense of historic momentum that this trip left in all of us!

I will tell you more about the new job some other time, but, for now, this is the most important thing and, I really wanted to write about it before the feeling goes away!! (and, honestly, I hope it never does, because I feel like I´m really part of something much greater than myself at the moment!)

My first day was good..I got loaded with so much info, my head was swimming by the end of the day...we finished at 4:50pm! unheard of!!!and I felt guilty about it!!...next day was a bit easier, I got access to 1 network (Im going to be working on two networks, but, since I need an id badge, my fingerprint AND a password to log in to the Emb network, I still havent even touched THAT computer!!!...and it is an "Unclassified" station!!!...I do not want to know what they require for someone that uses a classified equipment!) Our whole team here in ES is going to be five people... we will be complete as of April 29, since the development specialist is already hired but finishing his job until that date...Everyone is really nice and they have done their best to make me feel welcome....I have done my best to make myself useful (as much as I possibly can without full acces to everything and with my very limited knowledge of how things work!)...I really think we are going to make a good team!...and, once I get the hang of things and start meeting more people, I wont feel so lost and useless!...They invited us (Ale was included) to go bowling on Tuesday....Ale loved it...and, in typical Ale fashion, half an hour after meeting the people, she was being cuddly to the point of harrassment!...hugging people, tickling them...fighting with them!! ...at one point, one of the women asked me if Ale spoke English and I said: no, not really, why?? ...and she said: Oh, because it looks like she's talking to L. and he doesn't speak A WORD of Spanish!...well, that's never stopped Ale before!!...lol!...

As you can see, I'm quite happy...I predict that in a month it will be as if I had always been there!....(although, I do miss the gang...especially since going from 22 people to 4 feels quite lonesome!) -- oh, well, I get to see them o Friday the 13th, as I'm invited to someone's 30th b-day/engagement party that day!

there are network problems and I cannot print...I NEED to print!!!...otherwise I cannot hand in the manager's travel expense reports!!! H E L P ! ! !....

I already called Help Desk...they are working on it....so, the questino is: can they fix it in time???

H
..E
....L
......P
.........!
...........!

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!

I thought I had 9 vacation days remaining and, according to the HR system I have -2?? meaning I have taken 2 days MORE than I was entitled to??...NO!...so, I wrote to them to try to clarify it....I mean, I want to be PAID for those 9 days -as per local law!