January 4, 2012 by sassenach
I’m one of those knitters who HATES swatching. I’ve been known to make sweaters without making proper swatches first (because I am too lazy/impatient to take that small, yet very important extra step). Happily, this swatch in particular serves a very special purpose, so I don’t mind making it: it’s for the beginner knitting class that I’m teaching at the library later this month!
I’m pretty excited because sign-ups are almost full. 
I’m a wee bit nervous about teaching the class, but I feel confident in my skills, so I’m not too worried. I’m just glad that I’m able to incorporate knitting into my job–I feel very lucky!
It’s also interesting how having a job that forces you to deal with the public can actually change your personality a bit. I’ve always been very shy, but over the years that I’ve been dealing with people at work, I’ve had no choice but to come out of my shell over time. I’m still not an extrovert, but it’s definitely easier for me to talk to strangers now. Several years ago, I NEVER would have thought I’d have the opportunity or confidence to teach (not one, but three classes!) at my job. Now, it’s really not a big deal at all! What a relief.
Category: Knitting, Working Girl | Tags: swatching, teaching | 4 Comments
December 14, 2011 by sassenach
…I wanted to be a teacher. That’s the first thing I remember wanting to be when I grew up. I think most of that desire came from admiration that I had for my kindergarten teacher–she was a really nice lady (who has since passed away, sadly).
Well, I never did become a teacher, but pretty soon I’m going to be teaching some classes at the library! I’m pretty excited but also nervous. In January, I’m teaching a beginner computer class for adults. We’re going to do this once to see if there’s a good turnout; if it’s successful, we’ll do another class in March. Also in January, I’m teaching a beginner knitting class for adults. I’m really excited about this one! I think it’ll be fun. Finally, in February, I’m teaching a teen knitting class. This should be fun, too–and encouragingly, I registered my first student today!
Hopefully we’ll get a good turnout for all the classes. I’d like to be able to do them regularly, but if no one shows up, then we probably won’t. But I’m hopeful! The base (where our library is located) has posted flyers on Facebook for two of my classes so far and they’ll be posting the third flyer soon. I’m glad that they’ve done that because I think that’s a really good way to get the word out.
I never in a million years thought I’d be teaching anything (at work or…anywhere!), but I’m very eager to start planning for these classes and putting things together that I want to discuss. Lesson plans, I guess? Handouts? I have a lot of brainstorming to do!
Category: My So-Called Life, Working Girl | Tags: | 4 Comments
December 8, 2011 by sassenach
I gave myself a stress headache on Tuesday due to Monday’s chaos at work. Today, one of my coworkers (not the problem coworker; someone else) had to be taken to the hospital due to chest pains. We called an ambulance and everything. (She has other health issues and has had a heart attack in the past, so we didn’t want to take any chances.) And the past couple of days, I’ve had this weird lump-in-throat feeling that doesn’t go away. I’m convinced it’s probably stress-related, too.
I’ll say it again: I love my job, but something drastic needs to be done about this problem coworker. She is literally making the rest of us sick. 
(I don’t know the status of the lady who went to the hospital; we didn’t hear from her family for the rest of the day. Hopefully she’ll be okay, though.)
(P.S. I just realized this post probably won’t make much sense unless you follow me on Twitter; my apologies for that!)
Category: Working Girl | Tags: | 2 Comments
December 4, 2011 by sassenach
There are a lot of things going on at work right now that I can’t talk about specifically (at least for now). But I spent the better part of my morning (about two hours) writing up a…statement? report?…for my boss’s boss, informing her of the issues that have been going on for a while. I hope that things will work out okay because I really love my job and it’s frustrating when certain people there aren’t pulling their weight–and that’s a massive understatement. I just really hope that things get better very soon.
Category: Deep Thoughts, Working Girl | Tags: | No Comments
August 26, 2008 by sassenach
Well, I did it. Last night I gave my two and a half weeks notice at my second job (the library). It is bittersweet because I really like working there, but it’s part time so I couldn’t leave my day job for it. Also, I’ve been working two jobs for almost a year and it has really taken its toll on me. In the words of my doctor (nurse practitioner, whatever), I’ve been “burning the candle at both ends” for a while now and “something’s got to give.” I was sick basically all of March and part of April (I got tonsillitis two or three times in two months). ok, ok, you win, nurselady! So, yeah. I’ll miss the extra paycheck but M and I should be just fine without it. And since I’m taking the fall semester off, I’m not going to do much of anything for a while…I’ll just go to work from 8:30 – 4:30 five days a week like other people. No more 12-hour workdays, YES! And now I have time to actually knit! And sew! And read! And um, finish unpacking the house we moved into back in June!!
Like I said, I have mixed feelings…I’m going to keep an eye on the job postings for the city because my boss gave me a heads up last night that some full-time positions might be opening in December. So keep your fingers crossed for that, because as she said, I can always come back! Also, she said that she’d be happy to give me a good reference, so that was really nice of her. But I’m mainly just relieved that I won’t be killing myself with work/work/school this winter!
Category: My So-Called Life, Working Girl | Tags: | 4 Comments
June 9, 2008 by sassenach
So remember how I recently posted about my first annual performance evaluation at my day job? My boss had mentioned that he recommended me for a raise, but then I never heard anything else about it. Well, I asked our human resources administrator if I was approved, and I am! I’m getting a raise! I’m not sure how much–my boss said maybe 5% but he wasn’t sure. Anything in addition to my current salary is a big help!
I think maybe he is bribing me so I won’t look for a new job. Not because he thinks I do such a fantastic job, but because he probably doesn’t want to have to hire someone new and train them all over again. I’ll wait to see how much the increase is before I decide where I want to go from here. 
Category: Working Girl | Tags: | 3 Comments
May 12, 2008 by sassenach
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