Sunday, December 26, 2010

1 week and Christmas

The long weekend has come and gone and, as usual, I find myself wondering where on earth it went. I remember leaving work an hour early on Thursday at the behest of my supervisor, a few family gatherings, a movie, and now it is Sunday and quite dark. I think a major holiday came and went as well. Why can't Monday-Friday feel that way?

Speaking of Monday-Friday, this will be the last such that I spend doing triage (maybe not ever, but hopefully for the foreseeable future). Tia asked me today if I was excited about the new job. I was not really sure how to answer that. I am happy to be leaving a job that I do not like and that does not agree with me, but I cannot say I am excited for what is to come. I am more cautiously hopeful. I am no grizzled health care veteran, but I do know that what is promised is often not delivered. Even if it is delivered as promised, it has a tendency to change rapidly into something else entirely.

My old supervisor (lets call her J) worked in the IV dept for many years. Specifically in pediatrics. Anyway, the supervisor down at MP ran afoul of some of the higher ups and they needed a new supervisor. With some measure of reservation, she decided to do it. She then found she quite enjoyed it. Within a year she was replaced as the supervisor down there, and her hours and pay cut. Within another year she was squeezed out of a job. Now I am not going to suggest that J was the world's greatest supervisor or employee, but she was not nearly the worst in either regard. So, effectively J left something she professed to really enjoy to do something to help the department, ended up really liking it, and then ended up out of work entirely.

So, to get back to the point, am I excited to be the guinea pig for a newly created position after some significant retooling in the department? Well, not entirely. Will I be more excited to go to work next Monday than this coming one? Absolutely. And that, at least, is a step in the right direction (though truth be told I would much rather be a 'kept' man and just stay home and go back to school.........working on it :)

As to the above, it may be creeping closer to reality (not the staying home entirely aspect, but perhaps something less than full time plus school) as Tia continues to garner accolades and, it appears, significant interest from others to advance her position. The nature of how exactly she might get the promotion or even what that would exactly entail in regards to remuneration is murky, but it appears she is doing quite fabulously and they will be rewarding her. I am of course, thrilled for her. I am not ashamed to admit that she is a much much better employee than I am, with more dedication, drive, and general ability than I seem to be able to muster. It of course creates no minor conundrum: her career trajectory vs. my general disinclination to stay in rainy Portland. But that is nothing to directly be considered at the moment.

At the moment, we must consider another move it appears. A local one however. We have mutually determined that the ENSO is not what we had hoped it would be. The staff are gracious and accommodating and the location is superb, but the apartment building itself leaves much to be desired. As I have detailed before, it is largely about expectation vs. reality. We expect that the trash chute will not be clogged (now multiple occasions), that the facilities will be clean and in working order, and that we won't have water in our apartment windows nor share music or conversation through our walls with our neighbors. These are expectations that we would not necessarily have were we not paying a premium price. What makes it even less tolerable is that there are SO many other places about. So, the search will begin in short order. More to come as always.

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