Rosie the Riveter

So - I am now a week in as Manager - Organizational Training and Development at a really neat organization called Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System. Here's a link to their web site: http://www.sclhealthsystem.org/

Basically, they have hospitals and clinics in Colorado, Kansas, and Montana, and around 15,000 employees. I'll be supporting mainly on the clinic side of things. As I was interviewing with various folks, I just got a really neat sense from each person I talked to. They all seem to really like working there, and they all are working hard to fix a lot of the challenges that have come up because of recent growth. In some ways, ThedaCare was further down the road, so I think I'll have something to offer - even as I'll have SO MUCH to learn. It's a different business, they've done things differently, and it's in a division that I have a lot to learn about - good challenges!

It wears me out, though! I come home with my brain buzzing... acronyms, faces, names, and org charts dance in my head. Someday the alphabet soup will sort itself into meaning, but until then I keep thinking I can wrestle them all into submission - and that is really exhausting.






Patrick and I are trying to figure out our schedule with me working.

The PLAN

• he cooks Monday
• leftovers/team work Tuesday
• out to eat Wednesday
• I cook Thursday
• cleaning happens magically when neither of us is here

This week's REALITY:

• Patrick cooked Monday
• Patrick cooked Tuesday
• we went out to eat Wednesday
• Patrick cooked today
• ha!

We both gave a few things a lick and a promise, but real cleaning may take a while to figure out. How did I do this when I was single? I'm hoping that work won't take quite so much outta me once I've hit my stride again. In the meantime, he suggested getting in a cleaning person now that I have a job... might not be the worst idea! 

Interviewy and Jobby stuff

Does anyone like to interview?? I think it's just plain hard. First to get them in the first place, and then to actually do them! I had three in the last 1 1/2 weeks. Two in person, one over the phone. There's such a mix of emotions, even when you know your stuff. Figuring out what to wear (really not something I love!), making sure I know where to go, making print-offs of work samples (going through stuff and figuring out what makes sense to bring)... yuck, yuck, yuck! On the drive to both of the in-person ones I had to keep reminding myself to BREATHE. I would hold my breath and then make myself more nervous.

And then there's this whole beautiful (mostly!) hiatus I've been on. It's good and hard and crazy to think about jumping back into the workplace full-time. In so many ways it will be good. I'm just grateful for the slower time as well.

And... I got a call this morning with a job offer - a Training Manager job with a local healthcare organization (well, mostly local. They have sites in a few other states as well). They want to know if I can get all my stuff in and start MONDAY! Eeeeh!

So I'm going for it. I can't get over the timing. Saturday is my last official day with ThedaCare (I've continued to do mini-projects for them for maybe 5-10 hours a week). Sunday is our six month anniversary.

I'm thankful and bewildered and excited and looking forward to the "getting to know ya" part of the new job to be over. I'm hoping I hit my stride sooner rather than later - we'll see!

hiatus

So - what do you do when you haven't blogged in a year or so? Do you just start right back in again where you left off? Or do you try to catch up in bits and pieces? Or write a big summary blog?

I suppose there's no exact right answer, so I think I might try some kind of crazy mix of all three. I will try to post a few posts of fun stuff that's happened in the past year, and I will back-date it... but that may be confusing for any of you who get my posts via email. Pshaw, you're smart. You'll figure it out.

So - today I had the first of a second round of interviews for a Training Manager position with a good-sized health care organization based here in the Denver area. Since moving out here in October I've been playing housewife, of all things, so it's weird to be talking business-speak again and thinking about all the stuff I was doing professionally before I left Wisconsin. I've been doing some work for ThedaCare remotely since I left, so I have sort of kept my hand in - but I've mostly been getting a feel for all things Colorado. I have to say it's been pretty fun. Getting a real live full-time job will be good - but a big change. We'll see if I have that chance soon!