so...I wanted to finish with the final surveys today, but work got in the way! ... I learned that my boss will be away for 2 weeks, which meant that I had to input ALL outstanding travel reports so he can authorize them before he leaves (else they'll sit there for 2 weeks!)...I got a special request from him to "drop everything" and do a last-minute translation....luckily, although the presentation he sent was 21 slides, a lot of those were 1-sentence slides!

... I'm back on "feedback form" duty already!!....hope to finish this tonight and then start with the "module feedback forms" tomorrow...there's about 960 of those! ((sigh))

I've already processed 11 feedback forms!!! ...out of 1,000!!!...

In my defense, these are the final surveys, which take a lot longer to process, because they include comments, and those have to be typed (the forms are NOT submitted electronically!)...and the handwriting has to be "interpreted"....and that requires me to be able to read hyeroglyphics (sp?)...

The module feedbacks forms also have spaces for comments, but few people bother with them!...((sigh))

I have over 1,000 new feedback forms...plus leftover handouts that need to be shredded,...invoices that need to be paid and new travel expenses to be processed plus some non-disclosure agreements that need to be signed.... all these arrived TODAY!!!....

((sigh)) ....at least the cocktail party turned out well!!....

I still have to pack the leftovers tonight and return the trays to our supplier tomorrow...

And I'm still missing 3 training boxes...which means more feedback forms, more feedback forms, more documents for the shredder, 3 projectors, 1 video camera, 1 tripod and some toys to be put away on Monday...on top of my regular tasks and taking the company car to (finally!) get the new license plate!...

Oh, and my boss wants me to translate a document and then do the voice over for a video based on that text! ...

I better stop here or I'll have a meltdown!

The original plan had the presentations lasting until 5:30...this was changed (and noone bothered to tell me)...they are now scheduled to end at 5:00... the food has not arrived...the waiters have not arrived.... I do have plates, glasses, cups and drinks, though....

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

I think. It was just your basic fact-finding placement agency interview: education, experience, family situation (yes, they DO ask about that here!), how much $$ are you making, how much would it take for you to change jobs...seemed to go well...it was all in Spanish, so I imagine maybe the interviewer doesn't speak English and maybe I'll get interviewed in English later on (IF I make it to the next interview)...I was honest with her and told her that I would not consider changing jobs for less than $1,500 per month (this is about 60% more than what I'm making right now) because, once you apply taxes, less than that is not worth leaving what I already have (up to $1,000 I get about $10 more after taxes each month!)...so, we'll see...

I got called today for a job interview at a job agency...this is in relation to a cv that I sent back in January!!!...

This toy store (our regional version of Toys'r'us) has t his new special offer this year: reserve your toys now with 25% of the total purchase price and you can pay the difference in 6 installments...OR, charge the 75% difference to your cc's and these 3 local banks (Evil Card is NOT among them!) will give you 6 months to pay at 0% interest....

This is the card that arrived at my house...




To me, even considering this sounds crazy, yet I'm sure there are people "taking advantage" (or being taken advantage of?) of this offer...this is crazy...first of all, I imagine there's a minimum to even qualify....I cannot imagine that minimum being less than $100...and, I cannot imagine spending anywhere near $100 in toys! (maybe if I had 5 children...)
Still, I think it's crazy...

We went there the other day, as this is one of the stores from which we buy wholesale, and ask the manager how things were going (as we have had very few orders, and it's already "late" in the year...generally, we get most of our orders in October....)...they said things are very slow for them, too...like us, they have presented many quotes, but they've gotten very few orders...Up to a certain point, this is good news to us, since they are our "brand name" toy supplier...seems most companies are going for cheaper toys this year (they do not carry these lines) and, we do have other suppliers, so that could mean more orders for us....

...and not with my money!!!!....Our team-building box got stolen from one of the cars last weekend, so all the stuff had to be replaced!...they gave me $$$ and a shopping list!!...it was a bit like Treasure hunting, getting all those things...I am proud of myself, I looked for the best prices, got everything from 3 different places only...well, 4, I'm still missing the food coloring!...and I have to go to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up one storage box (they only had 1 and I needed 2!)...

Oh, did I mentioned I also took some time to run 2 personal errands? (went to the jewelry store to look at stuff for my niece...NO way, the cheapest thing they had was $121...while not too pricey for a graduation gift, it IS too pricey for my budget! -- will have to keep looking!)...and also looked at some beds for Ale...saw some gorgeous ones...real wood, too...the furniture at that store all looks like someone took it out of a doll house and then zapped it with a "maximizer" or something...it is sooooo cute!...you can pick the style and colors and have it custom-made, too! (and prices are about the same as at the dept store!)...still too high for my budget, but, they do sell only the headboards, so I could buy a "normal" twin bed and then order the headboard from them and, perhaps if we go order it together, Ale won't think that I'm just trying to con her....(she gave me "that look" the other day when I suggested we could buy just the box spring and mattress and then later on I would buy her a nice headboard...you know the look...the one that says: "I wasn't born yesterday, you know!" LOL!)

about a year and a half ago, one of our previous managers gave me a letter to cancel his local credit card...since he's a foreigner, he had been requested to secure the cc with a deposit covering 150% the credit limit...aside from canceling his cc, I was supposed to make sure the deposit got cancelled and the money transferred to his savings account... I have been fighting with the bank and, honestly, the last time I contacted them over this must have been about 2 months ago...I had temporarily forgotten about it, even...and, today, the bank exec called and said they ARE transferring the deposit into his savings account!!!...I cannot believe it!!! it's such great news! (1. I get to take that off my "pending" list and 2. the poor guy gets his money back, finally! -- I was afraid he was going to think I had cheated him out of his money!)

WOO-HOO!!...Now, let's hope they don't ruin things with the transfer!!

I couldn't sleep last night...I don't know if it's because I haven't been feeling well (getting over a cold), because I feel like my bills are catching up with me again (money is tied up with the toys until we deliver the orders, sometime between the 27th/Nov and the 5th/Dec)...or, because I still haven't got the materials to go print and the training starts on Saturday, so the boxes have to be ready on Friday!....might even be a bad combination of all!

we have to put together a training for 40 people....that's ok, we've known for months now and, ALMOST everything is ready...want to know what is NOT ready?...the training materials have not been updated, which means I cannot print them or make copies....AND, everything has to be ready by Friday noon, because the training starts on Saturday...the training comprises about 23-25 modules...each module has at least 1 handout...which has to be printed, then copied X40....and then re-distributed into 6 boxes, properly separated and labeled for each of the trainers...

The stress is building up!!

Add to that, there are 5 people on the Logistics team and, we can only really count on 3 because 2 have been allocated to a Priority 1 project that is ending in 2 weeks - our unit got called at the last minute because the area finally figured they were not going to be able to complete all their deliverables on time!... so these 2 team members really cannot afford to help us this time...

Can I start screaming now??

I delivered my last payment request at 16:59 ! woo-hoo!!! no "leftover" payments for next week! ....of course, once again, my desk looks like it exploded!...oh, well, it's raining very heavily, so I'm stuck in here for at least 1 more hour!...guess I'll be working on putting everything away! (given the state of my desk,it will still look like it exploded, but it'll look like it was a smaller blast! :P )

wait! There IS a rule against this...but, as usual, they have made an exception!...I'm inputting travel expenses from SEPT 2005!!!

tomorrow is Day of the Dead, and, the company decided that anyone that was willing to sacrifice 1 vacation day would have the 3rd pre-approved!!...needless to say, I'm off to much needed rest (only 5/22 people in my unit will come to work!--but that is mostly because the projects they're working on are operations-related!...)

We ARE going to try Termos del Rio (www.termosdelrio.com.sv) I'll let you know how it goes!

sent this to our VP:

********
…and before I forget to mention: Maria did a great job in helping them set-up on Monday - e-mail account, getting enough chairs, internet connection - all of that was not really ready, but Maria did a fine job (once again) in overcoming these difficulties.
****

he was so very busy this Monday, when we got 6 interns who will be working with us on a special project for 2 months...I hadn't known until Monday 8:15am that they were coming and, someone else from another area was supposed to have everything set up for them (no, it wasn't! -- 2 chairs for 6 people, the phone line and data lines were not activated, there was no telephone to plug in, either!)...not that they are fully settled at the moment, but, at least they can work!

...yesterday, when I gave my keys to one of the managers so he could take my car home (I took theirs, so I could leave straight from home at 6:30 am this morning for the police inspection!), my car had a bit less than 1/4 tank...today at lunch, when I moved my car out of the manager's spot, it had a full tank!...now, my car doesn't do that (fill up magically, that is!)so, that means the manager filled the tank yesterday!...that was really nice of him! (especially since his house is about half-way from our office to my house, so it's not like his taking it would have meant higher consumption!)...

woo-hoo!...that should last about 15 days (or, 8, if you take into account our planned "Termos del Rio" excursion with Ale!)...hmmmm, should I put $20 (about what it would have taken to fill the tank) into my $20 challenge??

well, our VP said the other day that we should be passionate about our work and make sure we are creating value for our unit/company...I have already done that today!...I've input 4 post-trip reports ($$ and peace for 3 different managers!), and 6 pre-trips ($$ and peace for 1 manager)...and have still 7 more to input ($$ and peace for 2 managers)...I have also photocopied and sent originals of medical expenses ($$ and peace for the Director!) and a contract to have internet/phone line installed for another manager...and, right now I'm on my way out to quote repair of a scratch on one of the new cars -- don't ask! ...and it's only 2pm!

********************
I CAN'T belive this! ...the car was almost out of gas!!!...I had to go to the gas station and put in $5 (I've already submitted it for reimbursment!)...the pilot for the gas was already coming on (want to be they haven't put in any gas since las Thursday, eventhough they used it to go to the airport, which is 45 minutes away from the city?? (each way!)

ugh!...totally unrelated topic, but...
I handed out the keys/cards to the 3 new cars on Thursday (Oct 19th)...I got a phone call on Saturday (Oct 21) asking whether I hadn't kept one by mistake??...no. I handed them out with the keys, a key and a card in each bag...in front of witnesses...

Oh! I can't find mine...

This has GOT to be a joke, right??

A sick, twisted joke...right???

We were summoned to fill out a survey ref organizational climate...I'm fairly happy here, so that's what I wrote, that I like and respect the people I work with (I do), that I feel that my job is important and appreciated (I do) and that I feel I do contribute to the goals of my unit and the company (I do)...I also wrote I feel demotivated by the fact that there is no career path for admin assistants (I do) and that I feel I'm underpaid (I AM!)...

From what I hear, many people in my area feel more or less the same way...we may be "the best paid people in the company" (or so they say!), but, really, we ARE underpaid for what we do! (and, at the risk of sounding snobbish, few people in the company have the capabilities this group has, and, few work as long and hard as we do! -- yes, the other secretaries bring coffee, but, I've yet to hear of one that goes all the way across town to get the necessary documentation to process new license plates for a company car!!! ...or that translates shopping lists to take them to the supermarket to have orders filled-out and delivered!...how about someone that translates TRAINING MANUALS??)...Our boss knows how we feel (we even had a meeting about this yesterday!), so I know he won't be surprised by the results!-- the unit is very proactive in getting upward feedback!

our VP requested that the van assigned to our managers, as it keeps breaking down and, last year we spent well over $2,000 fixing it...and it still breaks down every 3 months!...

Now, administrative services is asking that we hand in the keys to the 2 mazda sedans to deliver them to the car dealership to get a new car...but, they have said nothing about the van...

So, our VP asked...they didn't respond, but, today I got a phone call from the administrator stating that they will be towing the van away to take it for an evaluation(?)... ((sigh))...in the meantime, I have the managers asking me about the replacement cars EVERY day!

Well, I made it to payday...I got a (very) slight pay increase this year... $42 gross/month...which amounts to about $30 after tax...still, it will pay for my half of the water and electricity bills!...woo-hoo!!!...but, SHHHHHHHHHHHH...my boss asked me to keep it a secret (out of embarrassment at the amount, I would imagine! LOL!...still, it's SOMEthing...and last year I got $0, so....)

Now, the first thing I will do is pay for my half of last month's rent (this month's will still be outstanding, though! ) ...then I need to pay for my debt and then leave at least something for gas and the nanny on Monday...hmmmmm...I guess I won't be filling the tank!

My cousin arranged the purchase of 4 boxes of Kimberly paper for printing our Business Plans for the contest (she gets them at $1.50 each, 100 page box....local price is between $1.90-$2.25 for a box of 25!)...well, the business plans are due Monday at noon, and, we had agreed to try to have them by Friday noon so we could hand them in either Friday afternoon or Monday at 8:00am...but, she still hasn't gone to pick it up!!!!...and it's THURSDAY...and it's almost noon!!...((sigh))...
my plan was to print the main body here at the office (b/w) and take only the color pages (about 6 per plan) to X*erox across the street to have those printed today and then have the whole thing bound...

She said she'd drop them off as soon as she gets them...we'll see...otherwise, I'll have to come up with a Plan B before end of day today! ugh!


**** woo-hoo! update!!! she has the paper and will drop it off after lunch!

WOO-HOO! For the first time since they established the new system (payment requests can ONLY be submitted on Mondays, from 1pm to 5pm), I submitted my requests before 5!!!....woo-hoo!

since there are a lot of us that are carrying around a few (or more than a few!) extra pounds, we are going to play Biggest Loser at the office...
the rules are: $30 to get in. You recover half your money if you lose 8% of your total body weight...the other $15 stay on until Dec 15, when we see who the Biggest Loser is(percentage-wise) and, s/he gets the pot!!
...someone asked what happens if none of us loses the 8%...we really hadn't thought about that! (at least, it means we are all being very positive about this!) ...someone jokingly said if none of us reaches the 8%, then we'll use the money to pay for a pizza party! LOL!

So....I re-started my diet today, am NOT drinking sodas at work and, will go out to walk again tomorrow!

Starting weight (after breakfast, clothes on, but no shoes) is: 140 Lbs....

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!!!!

...there were enough leftovers that we know no-one went hungry...but few enough that there really was no waste! (4 mushrooms, 2 pieces of chicken pate sandwiches and about 5 cherry tomato & mozzarella sticks)...1/8 bottle of whisky, 6 diet cokes, 6 sprites, 8 regular cokes, 6 mineral waters, 1 bottle of red wine and 2 of white wine (all the liquor got put away for the next event/party, so there's no waste!)...everyone liked the food that I chose (someone said: it was the perfect choice and well-balanced)...so, I'm happy about this now...
NEXT!

well, today we finally got to meet our counselors!...the good news is, since this was delayed for almost 2 weeks, all other dates get "shifted" accordingly, too!...which means I need to submit my preliminary plan by Oct 1st, as opposed to Sept 19th (yay! that means I get to work on it during the week of 23-28, when my "kids" are away at training!!)

I liked my counselor, so that is another plus!

I hate it!...that 1.5 week out messed everything up!...I lost my habit of recording every expenditure (trying hard to get it back!) plus, I had so much backlogged work, I feel swamped!....AND, since I wasn't here to take care of payments, and the other admin hasn't processed any in so long, she processed them wrong, so we defaulted on ALL utility payments (which means you cannot pay at the bank, but have to go directly to the utility company) AND, that next moth I'll also have to go to the utility company because the invoices will include this month's amounts...so you have to go there to have a new invoice re-issued! (not to mention that I'll get chewed over the overdue fees!)......then there are the problems with the cars (the managers managed to lose 1 license plate - you cannot drive with just one here, you HAVE to have the 2!....and also to lose the car registration card for another car! ugh!)...one of our major trainings is coming up, too, and I'm in charge of logistics for that one...and we don't even have the final attendee list~

I guess I'm feeling overwhelmed!

We are now in the middle of Phase II - training
We finished our Entrepreneurship Abilities Workshop and our Business Plan drafting seminar....now we will be paired with special counselors to draw up the business plan and get it ready to be presented to the jury....this will e theend of phase II, on Oct 2nd.... then they'll choose 24 finalists for Phase III and, from these they'll pick the 9 winners...wish me luck!....I like my idea and, from what I see, even if I didn't win, it wouldn't take that much money to set things in motion...getting it to the point where I could quit my job to dedicate myself full time to my business would be something else, though! ...still, it would make a good "side" source of income ....

stupid me! procastinated all weekend and then forgot all about it...luckily, I rememberd while I was watching CSI (starts at 9:00pm my time!)...so, here I am, just finishing up and sending the translations to my office email...they are for the company, but, contrary to custom, they are paying for this ones! ($60, yay!)
This goes to the $20 challenge for August (since it's less than $75, it gets paid via petty cash!)

I just received a call from the US Embassy, asking me to come for testing (English proficiency and Spanish drafting) on Wednesday...
but...I'm in the workshop for the contest all week...and if I miss any of the workshop, I'm automatically out...
I told the lady from the US Embassy no...
Please, someone tell me this was the right thing to do!...
The position available at the Embassy is for an HR clerk (which would be ideal for me..or rather, for which I would be ideally suited), paying more than I'm currently earning, 4 blocks away from my house...many, many,many additional benefits....but, also, it's not like they were offering me a second interview or something like that...in fact, it would be the third time I go take the test (and, just my stupid luck, they keep them for 6 months and the last time I went there was 10 months ago!)...

The decision really has been made already, so I guess all I need is some reassurance....