Mass Exodus

I am so depressed lately. I go back to work after a 6-week leave and the 3 people in my old team resigned for one reason or another. All of these deicisions were made independent of each other, but the timing is eerie. Including my move, there are 4 vacant positions within the immediate department. It is quite a scary thought. As always, I feel sad when I see people leave the company, even though it's always this time of the year that people tend to resign. First reason is that they've stayed until Dec 31 to fulfill the requirement to receive the previous year's bonus. Plus, outside companies already have their new payroll budgets finalized in Jan and will open positions up. So, there is a mass exodus lately. I don't like it a bit. This time, it's the worst because I am especially close to the people who are leaving.

I like steadiness and don't like changes. When people say that change is good, I disagree. It's not always the case. When things are going great, why change it? I am beginning to worry about further changes in our company. I wonder if other people will start to leave and more announcements be made. I heard that our senior VP might leave or get re-assign to another position. This will effect me personally because this person has watched me grow in this company and knows me, my performance, and track record. But if he leaves, I feel like I'll have to start over to prove myself. It's not that I want to be promoted, but there is a sense of continuity and stability there. I don't know, but it's really sad thinking about all the changes happpening lately... So people tell me, at the end of the day, it's just a job. It's all business, nothing personal. But the problem is that I get so emotionally attached to the people there. That's why I'll have such a hard time quitting this place, even though I know I'm currently overworked and underpaid. I've been there 7 years -- with the friendships I've made, it's not easy to just call it quits. Well, who knows? Maybe, just maybe, this day will eventually come...

So I return to work tomorrow after 6 weeks of medical leave. I didn't spend today any differently than I did for the past 6 weeks. Woke up at 10am, went out for lunch, roamed around running some errands, and then headed home, surfed the web, blogged. I am in the state of denial right now... and sad! I have to admit that I'm really going to miss this lifestyle -- the life of no worries, no stress, flexibility, and simply doing nothing! As boring as it sounds, it's a great change to my ever stressful job and long hours. I couldn't believe that 6 weeks went by so fast. But then again, time always go by fast. I can never say this often enough.

Tomorrow and the days ahead at work will be crazy. I will be returning to another department which means that I will have to re-learn processes and meet new people. I did not seek out this new position, but had been assigned to it. It happens when people go on leave for a period of time. Prior to the leave, I managed a good department. I like the team, the business, and the people I work with. So, it's hard to adjust to this change. I question whether this change will be for better or for worse. Wouldn't it be fantastic if people can tell the outcome before making a decision?? Then there would be no bad decisions.

My husband and I are moving along towards fixing our house. We've been planning that for the past 5 years. Right now, we plan to just add a bedroom and bathroom to our unfinished basement instead of extending the house out to the backyard or adding a third level. Those construction projects will be too costly and require a lot of work to obtain building permits from the City. I went to the Planning department this past Friday by myself and it was quite an experience. Despite long wait lines, people there were generally nice and helpful. I had zero architectural experience so I had a hard time answering questions they raised. But it was because I didn't have the Title 24 (Energy efficiency) report that they required so I didn't get the permit. Better luck next time! We hope to start construction during Spring.

Recycle & Reuse

Here is something I found interesting: A group of 10 environmentally-conscious friends, who called themselves, "The Compact" are going above and beyond normal recycling. They pledge to not buy anything new for a year. They vowed to reuse, reduce waste, and be anti-consumption for the better of the our Planet Earth. Of course, they have to exclude essential things such as food, toiletries like soap, shampoo underwear, etc. that fell under the categories of health and safety. But everything else, it was fair game.

Besides shopping at thrift stores and garage sales, the group also found that it was easy. There is a network of websites that offer freebies that others want to get rid of. Here are some of the websites where people post free things online. http://www.freecycle.org and http://www.garbagescout.com

They started the pledge for 2006 and it has been successful that the group is now continuing their commitment into 2007. They follow 2 basic principles, as posted on their Yahoo! Groups page.

#1 Don't buy new products of any kind (from stores, web sites, etc.)
#2 Borrow, barter, or buy used.

Honestly, I don't know if I myself can do this. It's hard not to buy anything...anyone want to take this challenge??

Happy 2007

Happy New Year, everyone! Another year... wow, where has time gone?

As tacky as it sounds, I wish that there would be world peace this year. I hope the government can finally come to their senses and withdraw from Iraq. America should mind our own business internationally and use our tax revenue to support programs domestically. How about free preschool programs or funds to improve our bridges and infrastructure?

Speaking of bridges, the Bay Bridge now costs $4 to cross. That's crazy. It was only as recent as 1997 we were still paying $1 to cross the bridge. Now fast forward 10 years, we are now paying $4. That's insane.