Moving desks

always unearths some interesting things.  I've worked out of the same office for the past 4+ years, but this week am making the move to one of our other locations.  So far I have found copies of assessments we haven't used since 2009, boxes containing two out of date versions of my business cards, brochures for programs that no longer exist, a Palm Pilot case (!), and old papers.  Sooo much paper!  Who even uses paper anymore?

Okay, I use paper some times, but will avoid it when I can.  I had so many folders of handouts, resource guides, meeting minutes and the like, none of which I had looked at in the past 4 years.  I'll Google it before I open my file drawer.  When I go to a training, I usually ask for the presentation to be emailed to me.  If it's an agency wide training,  the information is scanned and made available in a shared network folder.

Is this finally the dawn of the "paperless office" we heard so much about in the 90s?  I, for one am happy to no longer be hoarding bits of dead trees in my workspace.   Everything seems lighter and cleaner!  Even spacious!  I rejoice in this clearing of clutter!  I revel in the ability to find resources at the "click" of a button!

Until the day the power goes out.  Then I'm screwed.  Here's hoping they have back-up power at that new office.  :p

Mug Shot Memories

So we have to have ID badges for work now.  I had my picture taken a while ago, at a moment when I was rather unprepared.

The badge showed up today.  I look totally stoned* in the picture.

It's better than one I had for a job many years ago.  At  the time I had dyed my hair blonde and happened to be wearing a light coloured shirt.  This is where I should mention too that my skin tends to be paper-white.

The pic was taken in front of a white wall with a very flash-y camera.  I looked like a glowing yellow light instead of a person.  There was sort of a halo with eyes in the middle!


*I wasn't.

Bah Humbug to you too

Okay, seriously upper-management?  Sending out the THIRD email to remind rub it in advise us that we will NOT be let go early this Friday since it's not acutally Christmas Eve is a bummer.  Following this message up with an animated, red and green HAPPY HOLIDAYS message does not make it better.

Sincerely, Nectarine.

Update: Big Christmas-spirit points to my direct manager however who kindly reminds us that many of us have lieu time we can use, or if we just happen to have last minute appointments booked outside the office on Friday afternoon...    ;)

Nectarine's Day Off

It's friday before a long weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving).

All 3 of my supervisors are off today.

Our whole network at the office is down.

I am going to try reeeaally hard to maintain a "client focus" today, but I must admit it is extremely tempting to play hookey. :)

Always Fresh

Office coffee: just like Tim Horton's, 20 minutes 5 hours fresh!  Mmmm....



If you can't read it, that sticker says "9:35am". Pic taken after 2pm.



Social Work Summer Look Book

Summer provides a particular set of challenges for the housing worker dress code. As always, we must look professional enough for the office, but causal enough meet comfortably with clients in their homes.

Temperatures have been in the 30’s, and even hitting 40 with the humidity so we must try to stay cool. Getting in and out of the car is inevitably hot and sticky. Most clients do not have A/C at home. The office, on the other hand, as well as the many coffee shops, libraries and other public spaces we frequent are chilled to what I’m sure is minus 5 degrees, so layers are important. I’m toting cardigans with me in the middle of a July heat-wave.

We don’t get paid enough to maintain a particularly generous wardrobe which means I rotate the same 2 pairs of shorts and one skirt with great frequency. They are the only things that will allow me some relief from heat, while also allowing me to sit comfortably in some of the less than sparkling clean apartments and rooming houses I visit regularly.

And then there are the shoes.

I read with jealously when SocialJerk disparaged the social worker stereotype of wearing Birkenstocks, because frankly, I’d take any type of sandal right about now no matter how “social worky” they may make me look. But that’s a big no-no. Along with outlawing high heels (makes sense when we are entering all types of settings with a wide variety of health and safety disasters problems concerns) my agency has decided that a fully enclosed heel and closed toe are the only way to go. So the choices are sneakers and socks (which look AWESOME with my shorts and scrawny legs) or some type of flat dress shoes. Either of which leads to sweaty and stinky.

And the cherry on top of this sweaty, sweater-toting, scrawny legged mess? There are some clients who do keep a very neat and tidy home and want me to take my shoes off when I come inside. I’m not allowed to do this, and it’s too bulky to bring along “indoor shoes” so I end up popping on these babies:

Who ever said social work isn’t sexy, hmm?

Office Space

I love my desk.

At least as much as anyone can love their designated office compartment. 

At a recent restructuring of our office, I finagled and pulled rank to get this lovely quiet spot at the far end of the office, with a window at my back.  I get to enjoy the sunshine as well as relative privacy.  I take comfort in the fact that there is no one behind me.  Until I turn around and realize that three levels of management have been sitting at the picnic table directly outside the window, while I have just spent 10 minutes checking Facebook.  Whoops!

Potty Break

I was at our local disability support office with a client the other day. It’s a nice new building, so I decided to take the opportunity to use a clean and non-scary washroom. I walked in and nearly burst out laughing (which was bad, since I really had to pee) when I saw this sign next to the toilet:

I then turned around and saw this one:

Text: AS A COURTESY TO THE NEXT USER PLEASE OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING: > Do not step on the toilet bowl > Please FLUSH the toilet after use > Keep the whole toilet area clean as you leave. Tissue is cheap. > Please wash your hands after you have finished.

One sign must not have been enough to dissuade these incorrigible washroom destroyers. I guess some people just have no sense of public toilet etiquette.

Adventures at the Doctor's Office pt 1

Found in a doctor's waiting room yesterday.  It's not the best shot, so in case you can't tell that is a National Geographic magazine from October 1977.  I know doctor's offices are notorious for providing out of date reading material, but this is a little ridiculous!  There was an ad for "color TV" on the back.

Tinnitus too

We have a new microwave in the office. The tone when you push the buttons is extremely annoying.

The photocopier won't stop beeping because it is angry that it has nearly run out of cyan toner.

My co-worker must be very popular today, because she left her cell phone on her desk and the beeping, bleeping, and ridiculous ringtone are incessant!

There are at least 6 people in here all on the phone at once, yelling at the poor people on the other end of the line in order to hear themselves over everyone else!!!

THIS NOISE MUST STOP!

If this is some weird test from the universe to see how well I handle what many of my voice hearing clients experience every day then I fail. Miserably.

The Snow Day that Wasn't

If your boss sends out an email on Tuesday warning of an oncoming snow storm and advising that if the schools are closed the office will be too, that should be taken as a definite sign that the office will be open on Wednesday. The warning email officially “jinx’s” the chance of a snow day.

Oh, it snowed alright. All night too. Just not quite enough to close things down. More than enough however to turn a 25 minute commute into a 75 minute heart attack.

On a happier (personal) note, my niece was born last night! Kiddo was excited because it was the day she picked in the baby poll. Apparently the whole family is doing well, and hopefully the roads will be cleared enough for us to go meet her tonight!

(Almost) Back

So I’m back in the real world (and the blog world) after a (mostly) lovely Christmas vacation. AM is still off, so the kiddo is home with him today, meaning that my first morning back run-around was significantly simpler than usual. Between that, and the lighter holiday season traffic, I was at work pretty early. So early in fact, that, ah, there was no one here…and the door was locked. There was a Very Helpful Sign on the door that said “Dear tenants, the building will be closed on December 27 and 28, 2010 for statutory holidays.”

Uh, yeah. See Christmas and Boxing both fell on a weekend this year, so there apparently had been some variation in how companies worked this out – my agency gave us Friday and Monday as stats, and the building company apparently decided that Monday and TUESDAY would be better. I returned to my car, and parked with a view of the door to see if anyone else showed up. They did, and apparently had some super-secret, special way of getting in the building (how was I to know that our swipe cards would work for the outer door too?) and I followed them in. So everything worked out, but for arriving so early, I won’t also get to leave as early as I thought I would at end of day, since I didn’t start working until later. *grumble grumble*

Can’t wait till Friday, when we’re off for New Years. And at least I’ll know what to do NEXT week when the building will be closed on MONDAY.

Luddite Moment

$!*&^@**#!!! photocopier!

That is all.

My stomach in crisis

Emergency!

Where did all the office snacks go?!? They were here on Friday when I left, but now they seem to have disappeared…

I need something to get me though all these assessments.

I think there are some anxiety issues we should talk about...

No, just because you leave me SIX messages before the office is even open does not mean that I will meet with you four hours ahead of schedule.  You can pace around the waiting area all you like.

The Closed-minded Co-worker

I got snappy with a co-worker this morning. We’ve had some donations in the office and as a “joke” he put a set of flower patterned sheets on a male managers desk. When it was figured out who did it, he started loudly proclaiming that it was a joke because “no man should have to sleep on flowered sheets” looking for collaboration from the rest of us. I shot back “where do you get these close-minded ideas?” Another female co-worker laughed and said “okay, I’m not the only one who was thinking that!”

This was a small occurrence, but he says sexist things like this a lot. And it gets on my nerves. A lot.

It’s not that he’s saying anything that would constitute harassment or whatever, but it is annoying. I especially don’t understand this kind of attitude in a social work setting.

It’s not that I can’t take a joke. I do have a sense of humour. I do! It’s the thoughtlessness behind these comments that gets me going “please, just SHUT UP!”

I could lay all kinds of “anti-oppression framework” or gendered analysis on this one, or I could talk about how in this line of work we all have to explore our own privileged and social location etc, etc.

But it's friday, and I don’t want to. Is it too much to ask for people to think before they speak and check their prejudice at the door?

Office FAIL

If I had a good picture to include, I would send it here.

I’m often annoyed by able-bodied people insisting on using the wheelchair/assessable button to automatically open the doors in my office building. They open the door incredibly slowly, and they prove to me that you are lazy. It comes up often, because they are on every door. EXCEPT THE WASHROOMS. WTF?

The worst part is there is an oversized wheelchair accessible stall and sink in the bathroom. But anyone who really needs it can’t get to it. So, to the 86 year old lady with a walker who comes in to see her doctor and was walking in front of me today at about 0.00000000000000002 km/hour, I hope you went before you left home!