This Thing I Made

So....I did this little thing at work...I ummm...created a website.

Normally I don't talk about my work on here but I kinda like it. Feel free to go to the actual site at: www.daystarschool.org

I even took most of the pics throughout the site (but not the professional looking ones of kids like on the main screen - J did those and the complex graphics).

I Need a Pen!

I have been paranoid about not having a pen to do my work at home. I just cleaned my purse....

Office Pic A Day

Each day, I take a pic of myself at work and send it to my best friend, Usher. I also send the same pic to J.

I'm not sure why I started doing it. But now it's just this fun thing I do at the office now. And one can never have too many self pics of oneself.

It's Worth It

I LOVE my job!!! That said, sometimes my job as an admissions and marketing director can be frustrating, heart-breaking and thankless. There are times when I work really hard for a family to attend our school and it just doesn't happen.

The other day, one of our students gave me this drawing. This makes it all worth it.

Am I a Creeper?

So.....We needed binoculars for a theme luncheon at work. I asked several staffers of they would please bring in their binoculars. Does everyone only have itty bitty binoculars? Am I the only one with huge ones?

J bought me binoculars so I can look in the windows of neighbors across the way and to see into the offices in the Sears Tower. But now, I'm actually feeling like a creeper 'cause now I see how little everyone else's binoculars are. Not gonna stop me from creeping though...

A Fine Line

I work at my kids' school. As a staff member, there are things that I am not privy to because I am also a parent. I strive to differentiate between parent and staff. Sometimes, it can be a fine line. It may also be hard for others to know where that line is. It is important for me and my colleagues to be attentive to the line. When I explain the "Scenario" you will understand why.

Parent/Staff Distinction - Example 1
I am the admissions and marketing director. In my capacity, I should have access to the financial aid (FA) documents to ensure they have been received in a timely manner and work with the financial aid committee to determine acceptance of FA requests. However, as a parent, I should not know who is receiving FA and certainly not how much. To maintain parent confidentiality and retain impartiality a non-parent on staff handles this.

Parent/Staff Distinction - Example 2
We have a great staff and faculty that I love dearly but they are are not my Facebook friends. Our school policy (and my personal policy) is to refrain from social media contact with students and alumni under 18 years of age and it is advised to refrain from social media contact with parents. I am not even FB friends with my principal whom I consider a friend.

School Environment
Our school teachers, classrooms, staff are very open and accessible within the school environment. If kindergarteners are working on a project to find and name purple items, they freely walk in and out of any classroom or office they need to. It sounds chaotic but there are controls and checks and balances in place - i.e. kids walk around in pairs, closed doors are off limits, etc. Our school is a safe environment for students to gather knowledge.

The Scenario
I returned to my desk to find a note from a student. The note said that my son had yelled in her face in after school care and could she please discuss it with me that day. I was livid! If I were any other parent, that student would not have been permitted to walk across town to my office and leave me a note. I put the note aside and went about my busy schedule (6 tours, 3 meetings, and lots of projects due).

At my first opportunity, I asked my principal if I was wrong to think the school should deal with it first. She agreed with me. I said I would reach out to the teacher.

Bad Timing
To compound matters, my son's class was out of school from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm on a Learning Excursion to our state capital. Under normal circumstances, I would have been able to ask the girl's teacher to pull my son out of class and work on conflict resolution. Under normal circumstances, I would have asked my son about it when we got home. As it was, we got home at 7:50 pm and he was in bed by 8:00 pm.

Work It Out
It is a private Christian school that adheres to biblical principles when dealing with conflict resolution. This means the offended party goes to the offending party and tries to work it out. Our teachers are amazing at helping our students voice their feelings and concerns and allowing an opportunity for forgiveness and grace. If the situation cannot be resolved student to student with teacher direction, the teacher initiates next steps. Throughout, students are learning valuable life skills.

The Dad
The girl's father approached me the next morning at my desk. He wanted me as a parent to know what had happened and for us to resolve the situation. Dad said my son had apologized at the time but that his daughter did not think the apology sincere and that she was distraught over the situation all long weekend and much of the school week.

I explained Parent/Staff Distinction, Bad Timing, and Work It Out. Told dad my son needed an opportunity to rectify the situation without parent involvement and that I would discuss it with my son afterwards. Dad hugged me and left.

Rock and Hard Place
This dad and I have worked on committees together and he is an active, involved parent. The 10% that you can always count on to step up to volunteer. If I screwed up in this parent situation, I could cost my employer a great volunteer and a tuition paying student.

Teacher
The teacher read my email and came to me. She apologized for not reading the girl's note first. Had she read it, she would not have allowed her to come to me. It was just a rare oversight on the teachers' part. Teacher said she would get the two students to talk it through. And she did. And it was resolved student to student. You see now why I love my kids' teachers and this school?

The Whole Story
The kids were playing dodge ball. Motor Mouth explained to Girlie that she was out. While that was going down, Motor Mouth yelled something to the effect of, "Aw man! Holy crap!" because a dodge ball almost hit him. Girlie thought he was yelling this to her and up close in her face.

Thankful Thursday - Job

I love my job. Really, truly, love my job.

It's crazy that I love what I do so much. I work harder at this job than any position I have held. It's more out of my comfort zone than almost anything I have done before. 

I do marketing and recruiting for a private school. Initially, I was hired to do marketing and events. That morphed into much more, including recruiting. The thing is, I had really started to enjoy being a stay@home mom and did not want to go back out to work 2 years ago. In fact, I cried on the way to the interview. Cried.

My job is scary. What if no one calls? What if no one submits applications? What if I don't fill the classes? I clearly remember winter 2010 when my boss told me we had less applications than at the same time the previous year. I hauled ass! By the time school started in September, we had increased enrollment by 35% and had a wait list in two grade levels.

This year I could have coasted into a wait list in five grade levels. But instead, we added a new classroom. It is a challenge that I was chomping at the bit for. I could hardly wait to get the final go ahead so I could start working on filling a new class.

I love meeting new parents and new children. I love sharing about the unique educational program we have. I love mailing letters and calling parents to inform them their children have been accepted at our school. I love seeing the children I met at a tour or class visit when they start school. 

I love my job. Really, truly, love my job.

Only I Could Screw Up Like This...

Monday evening, I went in to the office to do some design work from 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm. I knew someone else was in the building when I got there because of the alarm status code. It is a large building that is used by space sharing organizations.

About an hour in, I heard the alarm warning sound indicating it was set. I ran to adjust the alarm so I would not set off the motion detectors. In doing so, I locked myself out.

No key to the building. No key to my car. No cell phone. No shoes. No coat.

It was snowing outside. And a rather desolate street after dark.

I saw a cop car driving by. Tried to flag him down. He stopped. Waited. I waved some more, jumping up and down. He drove off.

Then I saw the guy who set the alarm driving out of our parking lot. I waved. I jumped up and down and waved some more. He drove off. He stopped. I wave and hopped towards him. He reversed. I ran towards him. In my socks. On the snow. I have big boobs and no coat. Must have been a sight.

He agreed to let me back in. Nice man. I know his name but from now on, he will be 'Jesus' to me because Lord only knows what he saved my evening from being.

Did I mention J is out of town and I had a babysitter at home, expecting me back at 11:15 pm? Even if I had flagged the cop down, I don't know a single person in Chicago's cell phone number by heart. The only co-worker whose home I know how to find w/o aid is the Irishman's wife. She would not have appreciated riding in the backseat of a cop car. Oh, but the stories we could tell our co-workers in the morning...

Great Employers - Sears Canada

In my Great Employers series, I continue with Sears Canada. I started working for Sears in a local retail store when I was 18. The primary reason I was interviewed was because I beat my manager (who had an MBA and a MSc) on the aptitude tests.

I was supposed to work on the floor, putting kids clothing away, answering questions, getting cribs and car seats out for customers. I didn't have kids. I knew nothing about kid stuff. However, I excelled working at the cash terminal. Whenever anyone had a problem with the computer, I was the one figuring it out. It was a blast.

Through college, I worked in the store one weekend each month to hold on to the job. They paid well and that there was an opportunity for promotion. When I completed my schooling, I applied to head office.

When I went for the interview I thought I screwed it up with my physical appearance. I am 5'9". I wore 3" heels. The department director was a 5'4" man. I stood up to meet and be interviewed by the department manager. He too was 5'4". Dear Lord, I knew that if those men were not confident in their manhood, I was NOT getting that job. They were. I got the job. They were great to work with.

I LOVED working at Sears Canada headquarters in downtown Toronto. I met people from all over the company and worked with great vendors like IBM and the SAS Institute. I learned a lot. I did some fun things, like providing support for laptops when they were still a novelty technology. I was the project manager on an installation that IBM said was the best, most organized national install they had experienced for a company.

Great Employers - Scotiabank

The other day, I talked about a crazy employer. I want to share about a great employer.

If you don't know, my education is in computers. When jobs were posted in college, I only applied to the Toronto jobs. I remember a classmate of mine suggesting I hedge my bets and apply for a job in our home town. I told her I wanted to work in Toronto or nowhere at all. Even then I knew I was not made for the small or mid-sized city. I had the big city in my sights.

Fortunately, I was selected by my first choice: Scotiabank. I worked for Scotiabank headquarters in downtown Toronto as a systems analyst. Scotiabank is one of the top 5 banks in Canada. In high school economics, I studied the top 5 banks and most notably, Cedric Ritchie, a former CEO of Scotiabank. For years, I worshipped the ground this man walked on. Cedric Ritchie was a god of the banking industry.

It was a great time to work for Scotiabank. The brand new headquarters building, Scotia Plaza, was nearing completion. It became the 2nd tallest building on the Toronto skyline, next to the Bank of Montreal (BMO) building. And the 2nd tallest building in Canada.

My role had me all over the bank offices. I even supported some of the computers on the trading floor. The trading floor was never dull. Like the time one of the traders unplugged a major computer and shut his area down for days.

The craziest thing I ever did was take a computer for a walk. There was this one computer that was finicky. My team lead told me to take it for a walk around the block. I thought she was joking. Dead serious. There I was, wearing a linen dress with 3" leather pumps, pulling a computer behind me in one of the top financial districts in the world. Fortunately, it was a glorious summer day and I loved it!

One time, I was on the executive floor. I had been there so many times before. Each time, I hoped to catch a glimpse at Cedric Ritchie but it never happened. Until this day when I was escorting a service provider to a computer. I had to stand there and wait for him to finish. There I was, in the executive offices, standing around doing nothing when my idol, Cedric Ritchie, is less than 5 feet from me. I wanted to say something to him and die all at the same time. We made eye contact. I looked into Cedric Ritchie's eyes! He stared at me like he was wondering why the hell I wasn't working. But I was! I was providing security for bank assets!

I can't tell you how many times I have replayed that moment in my head over the past 18 years. Sigh. I know, most girls my age back then got all weak in the knees over a movie star or singer. I was fascinated with a financial genius.

It was still a dream come true to be in the presence of such greatness as Cedric Ritchie.

Crazy Employers

Every work for a crazy person? Or a dishonest person? I have.

I have no idea what sparked this memory. But, well, enjoy.

In the late '90's, someone my family knew asked me to work for him.

It sounded interesting so I went for it. 

I had known this man to be a brilliant financial planner. We'll call him...BS as that is what he was full of. Truly, BS was very good and gifted as a financial planner. Things were great at first. But then he got into an upstart business that was draining him financially. He had dumped all of his savings into this new company. 

I knew something was wrong when some of the employees' paychecks bounced. Yikes! From then on, I would take my check to the company bank and cash it the morning it was given to me.

After that initial bounce, I noticed BS would get snippy and anxious a few days before payday. Then the clients would come in. BS would have his financial clients come in for a sales pitch on his upstart. If 5 people came in, at least 2-3 would have signed over their investment funds to him. And payroll was mostly met. Again, if you were the last to cash your check, you were screwed! So were the investors who were unwittingly giving their savings to make payroll.

BS had started off being nice to me. But he started to get mean. One day, I thought he was going to hit me! He actually started to charge towards me. Lucky for him, he caught himself, turned around and walked out of my office.

He had become so mean to everyone. One of the financial planners had quit. The financial strain was wearing on him. I'm fairly confident what he was doing with the payroll making scheme was illegal. He was careful to not include me in that aspect of his business dealings because I had personal relationships with many of his financial clients. 

BS was such a jerk, I actually contemplated spiking his coffee with ExLax. I wasn't sure how to do it, but I did think about it. When you start thinking crazy like that, it's time to quit. I cleared out my desk of all personal belongings. I was going to give him my notice. Lucky for me, he called me in to his office to lay me off due to financial difficulties. He offered me severance and was all apologetic. 

I was so happy to get out of there, it was all I could not to dance and sing, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last!"

Works for Me Wednesday - Winter Carnival

What Works for Me this Wednesday is the Indoor Winter Carnival I hosted at the school where I work.

Part of my role as the marketing & recruiting associate is to host events that will bring our school families and the general public into our building. A great way to get our name into the community through fliers, postcard mailers, web advertising and signs is to have a fun, family event with no strings attached. Come have fun at our school and we will not ask you for your name or even offer a facility tour. 

I lost sleep last week while hoping and praying (begging really) 

to get enough volunteers and at least 200 people attending. We had over 260! 

The Gathering Place (large multi-purpose room)

massive inflatable, free balloons, bracelet making,

activity table, carnival game, seating for parents

Look at the size of that caterpillar inflatable!

The Great Room (gym)

2 inflatables, 3 carnival games, traversing wall

face-painting, temporary tattoos, concessions

3-in-1 Combo Inflatable

Homemade Fishing Game

Kids fished for a Beanie Baby

Judging from the continuous lines, it was a hit!

 Traversing Wall

Even I had my face painted!

This photo sums it all up:

balloons, face-painting, temporary tattoos, bracelet making, 

Beanie Babies won from the fishing game,

shoeless feet to run from inflatable to inflatable, 

popcorn, pizza, rice krispie treats in her tummy,

and a great big smile on her face!

Biggest Event of My Year

I do marketing and recruiting for a private school. I'm also the events person. In the past I have worked on picnics for 40 - 100 and for 2,000, banquets for anywhere from 200 - 800, weddings, graduations, receptions, you name it.

But all of that success aside, I am freaking out right now. 

I have an indoor winter carnival set to go in 13 hours. I pray to God people show up! My primary goal is for everyone to have a wonderful experience - the volunteers, the kids, the parents. Everyone. But for them to have a great time, they all need to show up. In droves.

Heartbroken

I gave my client 2 weeks notice this week. I am so heartbroken.

For two years, when I go to my client's home to work in his home office with him, it is a bright spot in my day and week. So many times, I have gone over there tired, stressed, sad, broken. But when I leave, it's like a healing balm has been placed on my spirit. I walk out with a spring in my step and I'm really happy. It's not that my client says anything special. He is just one of the most interesting, intriguing, and unique individuals I've ever met.

My client's values are no where near those of mine. His lifestyle is like no one else I've met - that has admitted it! So many people I know would not have worked for him. But I learned so much and was exposed to a completely different way of thinking than ever before. If you are surrounded with people who all hold similar beliefs and values and live similar lifestyles, you don't get to find out what others think. You cease to be challenged in your belief systems and can become stagnant, close-minded, and stuck in your ways.

Since moving to Chicago, I've once again become exposed to people of different faiths, orientation, lifestyle, political views, etc. It's refreshing and feels like home again. I'm sad that someone with such a different voice will no longer be in my life on an almost daily basis.

All that, and let me tell you, my client is one of the nicest, kindest, most gentle and brilliant men ever. I'm really, really sad that my life is just too crazy busy to provide the level of service he deserves. Now that I give it more thought, of everyone I've met in Chicago, I've spent more time with my client than with any of my friends outside of my family and a handful of people from work.

I love my life. But I hate it too. I hate that I have to choose and this is what has to go.

It's Gotta Be About More

I love money. I need money. I want money. I can spend money easy.

There are things I wold be willing to do for the right amount of money. Like live in the Toronto area again. But there are things I would not do for money. No amount of money would entice me back to living in Oklahoma, for example.

Several opportunities to work at amazing places have come up in the last couple of months. I'm not looking. Things usually fall in your lap when you are not looking. I was told I could make a bunch of money at one place in particular. And I'm sure I could. But it's gotta be about more than money.

Right now, I'm doing marketing and recruiting. It is challenging, a ton of work, and not as much money as I've been paid in the past. I am really happy where I am. Maybe I shouldn't say that because inevitably, some craziness will happen that will piss me off and make me wish I'd never said all that on here. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point, right?

The thought of leaving for more money and a job I could do in my sleep is not appealing to me. I like what I'm doing and feel like I make a difference. A good difference. Maybe I have a martyr complex. It's not about the money (although I could use more). It's about learning and growing in a position and making the most of what you do. It's about feeling like you make a difference. And that your presence is valued and appreciated.

Learn|Grow|Blossom

I. LOVE. My. Job.

It is varied and I get to do some fun stuff that makes people happy and feel special.

Each year, the school I work at has a Back-to-School all staff meeting and luncheon. It's my job to do the decorations. Our principal made it easy for me - she chose Learn|Grow|Blossom as our theme for the 2010-11 school year. 

First came the creation of the logo I plan to use throughout the year. 

As it was the first day back for many of the teachers, I wanted them to come in to a colorful, vibrant environment. The meeting and luncheon was held in our very large Gathering Place, an open area with skylights that can seat 240 at banquet tables. 

The luncheon tables each had colorful tablecloths

red, blue, green, yellow

I used watering cans to carry through the garden theme.

Dirt Cake was the dessert!! I made it.

I used pails, dried flowers, WORMS, and a shovel to scoop

There were 4 tables with assigned seating so I decided to create a theme of official flowers that incorporation our location in Chicago, Illinois. We are a faith-based school with a Christian worldview so the official flower of the USA and representative of Jesus were used.

Official flower of Chicago: Chrysanthemum

Official flower of the State of Illinois: Violet

Official flower of the Unites States of America: Rose

Official flower representative of Jesus: Lily of the Valley

We wanted to give the teachers something tangible to keep for the school year, as a reminder that their classrooms are a 'garden' and the students are seeds planted in that garden to learn|grow|blossom.

I was thrilled when I scored these little pots that say 'Garden'

Sadly, I did not get a photo of all 4 colored tables with their decorations.

The work tables did not need table coverings.

I served fruit with a shovel scoop, had pails with flowering plants, flower napkins, and the markers to write their name tags was color coded as part of the theme. 

We have mints with our school logo on them so I put a tin on each table. Fresh breath is important during all day meetings! 

There were place cards with the learn|grow|blossom logo as we had assigned seating. Can't show first and last names on the blog. I can show you that we used real plants on the meeting tables. To add color and carry the theme from the colored tablecloths, I put the plants in colorful pails.

Meeting Table Flowering Plant

I did a simple beverage setup with bottled water and orange juice.

The blue bags are for a team building exercise. The lunch was served from where the bags had been.

We have a new company coming in to do hot lunches a couple days per week. I asked the company to cater our lunch so the teachers could see the portion sizes, taste the food, and ask the company owner questions so when parents ask them questions, they can answer with personal knowledge and experience. 

We actually had Mediterranean Chicken w/Tatziki but this is a sample meal

Reuse|Reduce|Recycle

The pre-kindergarten teacher wants to use the shovel and pail decorations for her classroom.

The important part of the whole day was that the teachers and staff felt appreciated, special, and thought of. There is energy and excitement going into the 2010-11 school year which has to be great for
our students.

Appreciated

I often feel as though I am not doing enough and that I could do so much better and should do better. Then a yesterday happens along.

In the morning, a gentleman I work with told me he appreciates having me around because things flowed so much smoother for an event. He also said it was nice being able to tag team.

That afternoon, a co-worker told me she was so happy to have me around because I helped to lighten the load.

And last night, a board member told me he appreciated everything I had done and that I made a difference for the better and he is glad I will be staying around next year.

Maybe it is just the end of the school year and people are feeling nostalgic. But at any rate, it made me feel as though I make a real contribution to the team and that I am a vital part of the organization. And this makes me feel as though the long hours, late nights, and working around our kids' schedules to reduce the impact on them were all worth it.

What Is Going On??!!

I've been a bit busy lately. For 2 weeks straight, I worked 45 hour weeks at my PART-time job - that doesn't include the volunteer meetings or my Client work. Or the fact that I am a parent of 2 kids and a wife. We had dinner guests, so of course mi casa had to be clean for that. I did put on a Winter Carnival for about 200 kids and their parents. And to prove that I should not work, I got sick. Down for 4 days!! Truly, I should be a housewife and community volunteer - please be sure to let my husband know...

Get New Employees Productive by Noon on Day 1

I was able to be a contributing member of my new workplace by Noon on Day 1.  It's not often new employees can say that. Not because I'm such a rockstar but because my employers did pre-work that enabled me to jump right in.

Here is what my new employers did:

1. Gave job description, duties, salary in an email.

-  I don't think this is standard, but great as I could review and prep questions.

2. Gave HR forms at job offer meeting. 

- These were taken home and to be returned before start day.

- Saved hours in HR the first day.

- Required fingerprinting completed and clearance approved before start.

3. Computer access was setup as was my email address. 

- Seems basic and minor, but not many IT departments get it done without a reminder phone call on start day. Or they setup this but not that.

4. Pre-printed lists of training/orientation areas to cover. 

- Too many companies wing it.

- Building tour, forms location, network info, procedures, etc.

5. Fax and phone lists updated with my name

- Ummm...Wow.

6. Keys and Security Code

- Building keys and alarm code all given on Day 1

7. Office was clean and ready

- My office was not a storage location with a bunch of junk I had to wade through before finding the desk top

8. Welcome e-mail. 

- The office manager sent me a 'welcome' email. How nice was that?!

It's Not What I Am

Last week, Mercy Street wrote this about not identifying with what you do because that is not who you are. It is what you do. I needed to read that.

It was a good, timely reminder. I have fallen in love with my housewife/stay@home mom titles. In a few days, I must remove my current titles and return to working mom status. Can you hear the deep sighs over the violin playing and the passing of the wine and cheese trays?

Returning to the work world is for our family's greater good. I'm aware of that. It is somewhat of a dream job, working only 4 days/week and being able to keep my little research assistant business. Perhaps it is the end of this brief era I am mourning.

I need to remember that at the core of it all, I am still a wife and a mom - working or not. I am me and that remains unchanged. In some countries, this would be a cause for celebration. Please raise your glasses with me...!