I'm in the U.S.

I have a a 35-hour work week. My hours are 9-5, which I hate.  I'd much rather work 8-4, like everyone else in my department.  My boss doesn't care and would gladly let me change hours, but her boss wants me here until 5.  So, I sit in a totally quiet office for an hour after everyone else has left.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great time to get stuff done without interruption, but I'd rather come in early and leave early, so that I still had time in the evenings to do stuff around the house.  I really function much better in the morning, so by that time of the day I'm pretty much doing filing and no-brainer type stuff.  No one comes in after 4 and no calls come in after 4, so the support I provide to the department during that hour is nil, except for my own tasks, of course.  I could easily work 8-4, without any hardship on the department at all.  But alas, I am stuck with it.

Thanks, Marie.   Your suggestion to use the Mark Read function worked great.  I took the time (and it was a lot of time!) to do that this morning.  This afternoon, it showed which forums had new posts since the last log-on.

The font is so small I am squinting to read it.  I probably wouldn't care about the colors as long as the font size was readable.  But then again, that is usually my complaint with computer programmers - everything is so tiny it gives me a headache to read it.  Have the same problem here at work. 

One other thing I've noticed is that in the old DD forum when you clicked on a thread, it would take you right to the newest posts that you had not read.  Now it takes you to the top of the forum and you have to scroll down to the bottom to find the ones you haven't read. 

Like I said, I usually just go with the flow.  Had no problems or complaints when the website was updated.  But the change in the forums was pretty drastic and did cause a lot of time-consuming searching.

I have to say too that the reason I come to DD is for help and suggestions on work-related issues.  It almost seems to me that this focus is being lost along the way.  I hope I am very wrong.  I realize that I will only use the features I want to use, and that is fine.  I just hope the main purpose of the board isn't being diluted.

Not one to complain usually - I pretty much "go with the flow".  Gotta say, though, that I'm having a really tough time figuring things out on this forum.  The other one may have been old but at least it was clear-cut and easily understood.  

Every thread is marked "new".  I'm having a devil of a time figuring out if I've read that post or not.  I tried going under recent topics and updated topics but they only seemed to lead me down the garden path but not necessarily where I wanted to go.  

I guess I'll get used to it in time.

I'm labeled as a "rookie" - thought I'd been around long enough that I didn't qualify as a rookie any more.  Although, come to think of it, I am definitely a rookie with this new format , so maybe that title is appropriate!!

AND I have to agree that things are WAY slower than they used to be.  Although I'll be very happy if the time out is truly fixed.  That used to annoy the heck out of me when I typed a really long response and then had it get lost before it posted.

Oh, well, now that I posted it listed me as "hero member".  Maybe it should just call me "confused".

The thing is - California is broke.  The state and local governments are in complete financial disarray.  I assume the family planned this memorial, but they sure aren't kicking in to pay for it!  If they don't get donations, it's going to end up back on the taxpayers, who are already strapped to the max.  I believe (and I could be wrong) the donations are to pay for the extra city services that were provided (police, fire, etc.). Frankly, I think the family and the entertainers who managed to get face time should kick in and cover the cost.

duque, believe me in the U.S. it is the same.  I have been scrambling to try to find ANY channel that isn't covering it to the nth degree.  It's really ridiculous.  I understand about the musical genius part, but for gosh sakes, the guy had a lot of problems that certainly in my eyes keeps him from being an idol or an icon of any type.  If I hear the words "exclusive new video" one more time, I'm going to scream!!!

I had the death of a very beloved boss to cancer.  It was 6 months from the diagnosis to death.  In the beginning he was still working, so I jumped in and did whatever I could so that he had to do only what I could not.  Then for a while he was home but still dealing with work.  Eventually, he was not dealing with work at all.  All of it was very difficult.  I cried a lot at home in the evenings.  But he suffered so that it was a relief when it was over because I knew he was no longer suffering.  

I had a difficult time over the next couple of years finding enough to do to fill my days.  His work had been such a large part of my workload.  He was a true Type A personality and it kept me hopping just keeping up with him!  Suddenly all of that was gone.  I kept asking and asking for more duties.  Eventually I was given some more purchasing work to do, and that in the end led to my current position.  But I have to say that I really was never totally happy in my old position once he was gone.  I was just never given enough duties to fill that huge hole in my workday.  And I knew that it was unlikely that I would ever have the relationship with another boss that I had with him.  We were like hand and glove and it worked beautifully.  I had other bosses that I liked and respected and we worked well together, but it wasn't the same.

However, it all turned out well in the end, since my persistence in seeking more duties did eventually lead me to this position, and I couldn't be happier now.

I'm with the old-fashioned group here.  I have a Tracphone - it has no camera and no fancy bells and whistles - it is just a phone.  I buy the yearly package and never come anywhere close to using up the minutes.  I think I have something like 880 minutes on it right now, and it's due for renewal in July.  Wish they would give you the option of renewing without having to add minutes if you don't need them.

I keep it for emergency use only, and it is generally turned off.  I have had it about 3 years, and only just recently activated the voicemail function.  I keep forgetting to turn it on to see if I have messages!  My friends have the number, and I do turn it on if I am due to meet someone.  That way they can reach me if they are running late.  No one at work has that number, nor would I ever give it unless it were truly necessary.  My away-from-work time is just that - away from work!

Edited by spitfire78 on 05/05/09 04:21 PM.

No, as usual the hardest hit are the lowest paid - a lot on the housekeeping staff and other lower paid positions.  It just makes me feel bad.  The whole place is pretty grim today.  I know we'll get through it but it hurts right now.

Michelle,

Believe me, I am still on pins and needles.  My job was hanging by a thread in February, but my boss fought and won on the argument that she can't do her job without me.   However, as the last hired in this department and certainly the most expendable, I am well aware of the precariousness of my position.  However, even if I keep my job, I am still facing a potential pay cut.  Decisions haven't been made on that yet, so we're still waiting to hear.

In February I went over all of my finances with a fine-tooth comb.  I have an emergency fund that would cover 6 months of expenses, and my severance pay would give me another 6 months.  I don't have a whole lot left on my mortgage, and I've been paying it down like crazy.  Don't get me wrong - it would still be a hardship but I think I'm as prepared as I can be.  I guess that's all any of us can do at this point.

All 3 of us in my group came in dressed in black this morning.  Turns out it was a conscious decision for all of us - just reflective of the way we are feeling.  There were 12 let go yesterday.  In our small division of about 300 employees, that is a pretty significant number - enough so that all areas are affected either directly or indirectly.  So far, I've only heard the names of 5, so I'm still waiting to hear who the other 7 are.  It's so hard to know that people you have seen for years are just simply gone.  We've been fortunate enough that this has happened very rarely in all of the time I've been here, so it really is quite a shock for most people.

lay-off day, that is.  

They're doing it in a large room just around the corner from my office.  It's really awful - people are crying and just totally shell-shocked.  It's not newbies either.  I'm talking about long-term employees, some of whom I am quite fond of.  

My job is ok (for the moment, anyway), but all 3 of us are really moping around.  It's hard to concentrate on the job at hand, and we all just want to "go home and bury our heads under the covers" - as my boss said.  Of course, as I said, it isn't going to be any better tomorrow when those people are no longer here.

What a day

All travel to Mexico has been suspended indefinitely.  In addition, they sent an e-mail around asking for information on any planned international travel for the next 12 months.  My guess is that they are going to keep this information centrally and then as the flu progresses from country to country, they can notify the travellers whether or not they can proceed with their planned travel.

In addition, of course, they sent around the info about washing hands, covering your mouth, etc.

I just sincerely hope that people heed the warning to stay home if they are sick.  This place is notorious for having people struggle in here sick as a dog, even though we have a very generous sick policy.

Well, I finished a long response to this a while ago, only to be bumped out when I hit "continue"!  I'll try again.

For 25 years I worked in a fast-paced, hectic department.  When I moved over to this department a couple of years ago, my supervisor spoke to me twice in the first few months about slowing down and not working so fast!  It was second nature for me to rush from one task to the next, and it took a while to change.  She told me that our job is to keep the work flowing and moving, but there is no need to work at warp speed.  I like a nice steady pace and have settled into the pace of this office quite well.  I still accomplish things expediently (don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today!), but without the frantic rush that I had before.

That said, we do have certain times of the year when it is INSANE, and I am working at warp speed and still not getting it all done.  The worst time is rapidly approaching - the dreaded change of the fiscal year.

As far as filing, everything is filed immediately with the exception of packing slips from deliveries.  If I stopped and filed them as soon as I get them, I'd never get anything else done!  Other than that, I am a stickler for filing things immediately.

I have always brought my own lunch, for the simple reason that it is much cheaper than eating out.  I bring a thermos of iced tea, half of a sandwich (1 slice of bread) made with light mayo and lunch meat, and fruit (lots of fruit in the summer!).  We have a cafeteria where we can buy food but I never do.  We also have picnic tables so we can eat outside in the nice weather.  Once in a while my friend and I will go to a local deli and get lunch out, but I really prefer just bringing my own.

Well, I'm sorry for the redundancy, but am very glad that you have  a back-up plan - you go, girl!!!

Lay-offs are coming here on May 1 - everybody is very, very grim.  I think (but am not totally sure) that my job is safe.  However, I may be facing a salary cut.

They've been talking about all of this since February.  So, for 2 very long months we've all been on pins and needles waiting to see what is going to happen to us.  It's got everyone quite jumpy.  I don't know if it's better to know in advance or to have it sprung out of the blue.  There have been a lot of sleepless nights lately.

Best of luck to you in your new venture.  I'm sure you'll do really well.  Maybe this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.