What a momentous week in our household! I started my new job on Monday (and I happen to have a new backpack to carry my lunch, etc.), Sophia and Madeline started grades 5 and 3 on Monday, and Georgia started kindergarten on Tuesday. The girls' bags were stuffed with school supplies when I took this picture on Monday morning. Also, the older girls started ringette conditioning camp Monday evening and they both have new equipment bags. I had to get a shot of those, too. The timing of this prompt was perfect! :)
I've been at my new job for three and a half days at this point (I'm on my lunch break right now). New location, new people, new job -- it's a major change! So far, there are just three of us in my area at Longman (my manager, her manager, and me). I believe there will be 11 people in total around mid September. We've been setting up shop -- rearranging furniture, cleaning, unpacking, organizing supplies, having new software installed, etc. I'm getting to know my manager much better and we've had several conference calls, but not a whole lot of the real work yet (i.e., the primary work I will be doing). That will happen soon, though, and then I'm going to be VERY busy. I'm looking forward to it!
At the company I work for, I've had five roles in five years (since I came back from my last maternity leave) and none of them felt just right. I kept searching for something better, trying different things by taking temporary assignments. Since January 2007, I have worked as a portfolio writer (my favourite of these jobs, but I was frustrated), dealer rep, project writer, marketing strategy manager (in charge), and customer communications and planning manager (in charge). I learned a great deal about the company in those jobs and I'm glad I had those experiences (I learned a lot about myself, too), but I was never very satisfied or happy.
During a Career Management course in June 2010, I learned my top five work-related values: accuracy, customer service, expertise, fast pace, and help others. That was nice to know, but I wasn't sure if I'd ever get a job in my field with those elements. Well, I think this it! My new role as the knowledge- base editor in Customer Self Serve should encompass all of those things -- plus my favourite types of work, writing and editing! Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day. This was the first time a position came along that I felt would suit me well enough to move from my permanent position in Marketing, and I feel SO lucky to have received this opportunity.
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The girls have been enjoying their first week of school, too. Sophia (grade 5 in a 4/5 split) has a very experienced teacher who is well-loved by her former students; Madeline (grade 3 in a 2/3 split) has a young teacher who taught in London, England the past couple of years (she's from SK originally); and Georgia (in Kindergarten) has an exchange teacher from Switzerland who is fluent in five languages (French is her first language) and has been teaching for six years. All three girls are in classrooms with some of their closest friends. I think they're going to have a great year!
Please wish me and Neil good luck in looking at all three agendas every night! (Plus the reading log, etc. Eek.)
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Sophia and Madeline are off to a great start with their ringette conditioning camp as well. It's 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Thankfully, they're both in the same time slot! This morning, Madeline was looking forward to her 3rd session. This camp involves a lot of skating and I was worried that she'd complain of her legs hurting, but she hasn't, and she's excited to practice stopping since she just learned how to stop near the end of the 2nd session. Sophia was already a pretty good skater thanks to being in ringette last season, but this camp will really help both of them be ready for the season which begins in October.
