Satisfaction

The last day of NaBloPoMo! Congrats to everyone who has taken part! A special thanks goes out to Robin, Evonne, and Pants, for keeping me entertained with their blogs all month long. :)

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What a day today has been! Usually when I say that phrase, I mean it has been a heck of a long day. I'm completely exhausted, but the best way to describe today is to simply call it satisfying. You know when sometimes you just have those freak days when everything seems to be going wrong, and you can't do anything right? Today was one of those freak days on the other end of the spectrum. Everything seemed to be going right for me today. :)

First off, I worked this morning. I was a little worried about getting up because I really hadn't slept nearly as long as I needed to. Somehow though, I woke up perfectly refreshed and ready to go. I was actually out the door early! It was pretty sweet, I've got to say. I am chronically tardy! This is a trait I inherited from my mother. As the old saying goes, I'll probably be late for my own funeral... which is definitely not a bad thing when you think about it. I mean, who wants to be early for their funeral? Not I. Anyhow, moving back towards the subject of work, it turned out well! I was a floater sub, which meant I was stepping in for teachers while they met with parents and the school psychologist for meetings about their troubled children. It just so happened that there were only two teachers doing meetings that morning. They were both done with their meetings by 10:30am! So that meant not only was I getting paid for a full half day of work, but I was getting to leave an hour and a half early! I literally got paid $50 for two hours worth of work this morning. I definitely don't expect to get so lucky any time in the near future!

On a side note, it was very odd to meet the school psychologist. Don't get me wrong, she was a nice woman, but she looked so much like my friend Jess from camp! I mean forget "looking like," this girl was like Jess's doppleganger. I mean seriously, they looked about the same weight, the same height, very similar facial features, same color hair (same way of wearing hair in a loose ponytail), even similar glasses. I was completely gawking at this girl because I couldn't get over the resemblance. The even freakier part of this is that Jess just recently finished her master's degree in... SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY. Freakiest thing ever.

After getting off work early, I expected to come home to find my mom in her pajamas, watching tv and feeding half her breakfast to the dogs. What a pleasant surprise tonfind my dad watching tv instead. I had forgotten that my dad took today off and that my mom had a doctor's appointment. My mom was at the doctor for almost two hours. The whole deathbed act she's been doing for the last week has finally ended, because the doctor said she's perfectly normal! He confirmed that she does in fact have a sinus infection, as well as an inner ear infection, but other than that she is fine. He tested her blood sugar and confirmed for my mother that she is perfectly healthy and fine. He also took a look at my mother's glucometer and told her that she had programmed it wrong, and it was giving false results. I swear, that doctor just made my day by making my mother act like a normal human being again. Hallelujah!

After I had some lunch, I went on my way with Christmas shopping. I got the very last of the George Foreman grills that Walmart had on sale! I was completely psyched. It was so funny, too. I originally walked through the store, looking through the kitchen aisles for the grill. I saw that it was the last one, and suddenly realized that it was a little too large for me to carry around. I went dashing back to the front of the store (as fast as one can dash in a crowded Super Walmart) to get a cart. When I made my way back to the aisle, there was this old man wandering down the aisle, gazing around. I was so worried that he was going to snatch up the grill! I had a childish urge to yell "finders keepers old man!" Don't worry, I resisted the temptation! Instead, I just quickly tip toed around him and scooped up the grill. I wasn't sure that was what he was wanting to buy, but I couldn't take any chances. Christmas shopping means taking no prisoners! :) I was also very lucky to find a nice supply of lounge wear on sale at Old Navy (if you are looking for a nice gift that isn't too expensive, I highly suggest hitting up Old Navy), and I think I got exactly what my sister will like. I also found a sweet parking spot at the mall, and ran in and out quickly getting gift cards for my brother in law and sister. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my Christmas shopping is complete, and it isn't even December yet!

When this was all said and done, I had that phone "conference" with one of my bosses from the summer, Adrian. I was kind of dreading the conversation, because I figured he'd want a concrete answer about the summer. He actually wasn't asking me for an answer! He honestly just wanted to hear my thoughts about last summer. I started talking about the more positive side of things, and it was a pretty good conversation. Then, he not so slyly shifted gears and started asking me about all the things I addressed as a problem from last summer. I was slightly hesitant to talk those things over. You know, with my boss Jenn, any comment about something that didn't go well, or your frustrations, she takes as a personal insult or attack on herself. She is so defensive about everything, it drives me nuts! I had a pretty good working relationship with Adrian this summer, but in the past I've definitely had a few tantrums where he is concerned. This year he was just a lot more positive, and so much easier to work with. (I think the fact that he got promoted to Assistant Camp Director, and the camp is not only paying him pretty much double what he made as a teacher, but built him, his wife, and kids a pretty sweet spacious tri-level house with 2 car garage and finished basement on acres of wilderness might be a factor.)

I just bit the bullet and realized that if I wasn't open and honest about my frustrations, we weren't going to get anywhere. He just bluntly asked me "So, you and so and so didn't get along last summer. I want to talk about that." Wow. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to talk to your boss about why you would like nothing more than to smack one of your co-workers. I was just completely honest with him, saying that I felt hurt and even betrayed by a former friend after she was completely rude and obnoxious with me all summer. Instead of telling me that I had a part in that, he actually apologized to me for having to deal with it all summer! He also asked me how I felt about an experienced staff member possibly returning to health staff last summer. I was very open and honest about that, too. I finally told him that I thought Jenn saw this person as a "golden child," but I thought they were in desperate need of an attitude adjustment. Again, he completely agreed with me! It was just so nice to have someone not only hear me out, but completely trust my judgement. In the end, he ended up thanking me for my honesty, and telling me that he had been thinking a lot of the same things, but needed to hear them from someone else to have them confirmed. I mentioned something about possibly visiting Jenn next weekend, and he told me to "not be a stranger" and to make sure to come visit him and his wife, too. I definitely didn't expect my conversation with Adrian to end with him inviting me to his house.

So anyhow, that was my day. I was completely satisfied with work (funny how all it takes for me to be satisfied is to not actually have to be there!), satisfied with my shopping (I love that shopping high, even if none of the purchases were for me), and satisfied with my phone conference. I'd like to make this night completely perfect, and end it in my pajamas and eating junk food. Somehow, I don't think that will be a problem. :)

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Tomorrow I'm turning this blog in to complete Christmas tackiness! Buwahaha!