know what is hard? being 7 and having to stop PS2 play on the FIRST DAY you have it to do HOMEWORK! I r a mean mommy.

Happy birthday to Calli! And I think someone else! Burrell!

msbelle, that does sound incredibly hard! I would not be able to do it and I am not 7! But good for you, because perhaps when mac grows up he will have the self control I lack!

I have been off for a week working ontheatre, and I dread going in tomorrow and looking at my email. I stopped checking it Wednesday, because there were so many things to answer. My Big!Boss, when she fired my boss, put us in the terrible position of having no one to back me up. Literally no one knows what I do, so to try and leave for a week is horrible. I am not sure how to even train someone, because most of the hard/confusing stuff I do is actually on a case by case/phone call by phone call basis, and I actually figure out the answers from a) having worked at 3 different schools within the university and b) google. So when someone calls me with questions about a student visa, my substitute tells them to wait next week until I come back, while I know it is no where near my job, and refer them to the correct office. I so do not want to call back all these people who have been waiting a week for me to tell them I am not the right person!

Remember that wacky new version of the video for "Take On Me" with the different lyrics? The same people have struck again: Head Over Heels: Literal Video Version (The Tears for Fears song, not the Go-Go's song.)

Happy birthday Calli and Burrell!

And happy to hear more good news for MK. May it continue to increase.

Sophia, it might be helpful for you to write up an outline of what your job actually covers as well as a few of the bigger questions that come into you on a regular basis. Then have the answers or steps to go through to find the answers. Like:

- Student needs a visa: Refer to X office at xxx-xxxx. - Something completely random: If the question is not covered above, I do the following: 1) call XX person to see if they know the answer or who to send the person to 2) go to google.com and look up the question 3) explain that this office does not handle the situation and re-direct them to a general # for the university.

That is a good idea, msbelle. I will have to remember to do it in my downtime-- it was not a great idea to take a vacation on one of my busier weeks, in the busiest month of the year, but I asked for it off before my boss was let go, and normally she could cover me (although she never learned how to register someone or take a credit card, which I found easy to teach to my substitute as they are very concrete!) Part of the problem is that the main university number often directs calls to me when they don't know what to do because I answer them (they know me from my last job, I think)! So I get a lot of weird calls!

Also, I am so happy to hear Mr. Kitty is feeling a bit better. One of the cats that was almost in the show (they were cut at the last minute because they were scared of the live band and kept hiding under the audience) was named Loki, and I thought of you, sara. you all will also be glad to know that the cats (which we did not used) did all have families already, and were just on loan!

like four jobs ago I had a boss who made all of us put together "hit by a bus" binders that outlined our most common/most important duties. I have tried to do it on some scale at every job I have had since then and it always helps me to actually formulate processes (often spotting inefficiencies of time) as well as train interns/new staff when the opportunities arise.

like four jobs ago I had a boss who made all of us put together "hit by a bus" binders that outlined our most common/most important duties. I have tried to do it on some scale at every job I have had since then and it always helps me to actually formulate processes (often spotting inefficiencies of time) as well as train interns/new staff when the opportunities arise.

I have that boss now, and while putting it together the first time is a huge PITA, it really does come in handy for vacations and training. (As well as having one place for all those Really Important phone numbers you only need to call once every couple of months, but when you need them you need them now.)

I'm trying to decide if it would be insane to bike to work tomorrow, given that I have owned a bike for all of about 36 hours. I mean, I bought it specifically for commuting, but 10 miles each way sounds like maybe more than I should do on my first real trip out. (I did take it grocery shopping yesterday, which was TEH AWESOME. SO much faster than waiting for the bus!)

Also, I have a pretty cute kid. Just had to share. t emoticon smile

Jamaica puzzled by theft of beach

Police in Jamaica are investigating the suspected theft of hundreds of tons of sand from a beach on the island's north coast.

It was discovered in July that 500 truck-loads had been removed outside a planned resort at Coral Spring beach.

Detectives say people in the tourism sector could be suspects, because a good beach is seen as a valuable asset to hotels on the Caribbean island.

But a lack of arrests made since July have led to criticism of the police.

Also, I have a pretty cute kid.

Yep. Also, where did you get that t-shirt?