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WFH, is this the future?

My company gave us the option of working from home till March 31st on March 9th, when the coronavirus was upgraded to a pandemic.  I jumped at the opportunity because I live with my parents who were in a vulnerable age group.  It was believed at this time that it affected people in their 60s and up, while children were safe.  In fact, I got the option to WFH while my niece and nephew still had to go to school.

I believe the kids were finally told they shouldn’t come in the following week.  All the sudden, my sister was a full time employee and a full time teacher to two elementary aged students.  She wakes up at 6 AM and works till 9AM.  Spends 9 AM to noon with her students and then goes back to work from noon to whatever time in the evening.  She’s WFH permanently.  While her husband was still working as he is an essential worker.  They made the decision to have him stay at their house alone and move the kids and my sister to my parents’ house when the quarantine started.

At the same time, I was working on one of the highest profile projects of my career that was due April 9th.  So I needed to be in a place where it was quiet and allowed me to focus. As such, I decided to move in with my boyfriend. I knew that his house would be the perfect place for me to work without interruptions.  I also knew that if we were ever placed on a total lockdown, at least I could be there and take care of him since he’s pretty hopeless in the kitchen.

After an entire month of working day and night, my team and I managed to deliver the project on time!!! Yay!!!   Around the same time, the office extended our WFH to April 30th. After delivering the Limited Availability  version of our project, the team and I spent the rest of the month till now working on knocking out bugs and UI/UX issues.

It’s now almost the end of May.  There is still no vaccine, however, government officials are opening the state back up and leaving the social distancing rule in place.  However, they seem to have forgotten people are the reason this virus was able to spread so quickly in the first place.  Every day, I hear stories on the news about people breaking that rule, or getting fights with people about wearing masks, etc.  Our delightful president even suggested that ingesting or injecting antibacterial substances could be a potential cure.  When he was called out on it, he threw a hissy fit and stormed off stage.  After a day or some, he claimed to be just throwing ideas out there.

But hey! At least my company has made it optional for us to WFH till the end of the year if we wanted. Small wins.  Hope everyone out there is staying safe and healthy.

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Women in Tech…

If you want to be treated as an equal to men, please, STOP expecting special treatment.  I’m just so tired of the millennials expecting to be equal, but not act equally.  When I started in Tech, I was one of about 3 females.  None of us expected special treatment.  We didn’t expect special projects.  We all had to work our way up the corporate ladder.  Please stop it with this nonsense and your sense of entitlement.   It’s exhausting, excruciating and demeaning.

For example:

  • Don’t say you’ll work at home and be offline all day. That isn’t convincing anyone.
  • Don’t be so sensitive.
  • Don’t get offended if a colleague asks you to help take some notes as they are busy doing a demo.
  • Don’t do things to seek attention and get offended if it didn’t hit your target audience.

 

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Florida Panthers

Recently, my niece and nephew got to go to their first hockey game as part of the Girl Scouts for Scout Night.  Since that day, the kids have been doing the Florida Panther chant and claps.  My nephew has declared himself a hockey fan.  This has convinced me to take him to another hockey game.  But, I am reconsidering after watching the video their mom took during the game.

The players were walking to the ice and the little kids were standing at the sidelines with their tiny little hands stretched out.  They were trying to high five the players.  It seems like most of the players couldn’t be bothered paying the kids any attention.  Some tapped the kids hands with their gloved hands.  The goalie didn’t even acknowledge them. The two that seemed to care was #12 [Ian McCoshen] and #15 [Riley Sheahan].  They actually high fived every outstretched arm.

How can a team with so many issues with creating a fanbase be so nonchalant?  These kids are the next generation of hockey fans.  Why not give the kids a high five or at least a smile? I bet this will also encourage parent and guardians to want to support you!

 

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Happy 2019!

My resolutions this year include: losing weight, saving money, travel.  So, basically the same as every year!  🙂

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Disney’s Wine and Dine 10k

Around this time last year, I broke my foot while playing kickball. I heard it break as I was running to first base. That night, while driving home, I experienced the worst pain of my life. I begged my podiatrist to see me on a Saturday morning where he advised that it was broken. Not fractured, but broken. He put me in a cast and sent me on my way telling me to use crutches and not put weight on it.

Teo months later, when I was out of my cast, my sisters and I ran the Disney Princess 5k. The next month, I  ran the Miami Beach 5k, setting a personal record. When registrations for the Wine and Dine came up, my sisters decided to register for the half. Since I was still on a high from my PR, I decided to give the 10k a go.

This morning, my sister’s best friend and I set off to accomplish a 10k together.  My only goal for this race was to stay ahead of the balloon ladies.  That we did! We managed to finish the 10k ahead of pace time! My feet hurt terribly, but I feel accomplished! I have never ran so far, for so long before!

 

 

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Cash only – Berlin

I had two food goals in Berlin. Try authentic German pretzel and currywurst.   During my three day trip to Berlin, I learned that this was almost impossible without cash.  I really don’t think it’s fair for my bank to charge me such large fees for using my own money. On my last day, I exchanged a US $20 for 20€ with the friend that I was staying with.  She helped me realize my foodie dreams.  The pretzel was amazing. The currywurst is an acquired taste. It was novel, but not something I would eat often.

I’m shocked that a city as large as Berlin is, is so cash friendly. I wonder if this contribute to why pickpocketing is so common in large European cities.

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Customer service – Läderach

The French are notorious for being unfriendly.  I discovered that this is true even for those in sales. I visited the Läderach store and was left on my own. Only when I approached the sales person when they stopped chatting in French and helped me. They are lucky the chocolates are worth it. 

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Hand and Stone Massage

I purchased a Groupon for a 50 minute facial and a 50 minute massage at one of he Hand and Stone  locations. I made the appointment for my mom last week, but the morning of my mom’s services, they called to reschedule because the esthetician called out sick.  So I rescheduled it for June 26th. At 11:04 am, I get a call from Hand and Stone saying that my mom requested to do some added services and wanted to know if they can charge it to my card on file.  I asked what services she wanted they, they said a microdermabrasion  and an anti-aging collagen treatment. I told them that I thought it was weird that my mom would want to upgrade, but if she truly wanted the services, of course I would pay for them.  I asked the person who called me twice if it was what my mom really wanted. I know my mom. She would never do that. The person said yes. I asked to speak to my mom, but was told that she was getting her service. Weird since the esthetician just told her that my mom wanted these extra services and clearly not performing them on her at the moment.
An hour later (12:04 pm) , my mom calls me to say that she was done and used the cash I gave her for tips. I asked if she enjoyed the extra services. She asked, “What services?”  I told her about the conversation I had with the person that called me. She said that they tried to upsell her but that she told them no.  She just wants the services that her daughter already paid for.  Because, while she did have the person at the front desk ask me if I would pay for my mom’s added services, someone at Hand and Stone lied to me by telling me that my mom requested the  microdermabrasion  and an anti-aging collagen treatments.
Three minutes after I spoke to my mom (12:07 pm), the person  called me from Hand and Stone  again, stated that they wanted to talk about my mom’s spa visit.  She stated that the total of her added services is $60 and since they didn’t actually have my card on file, I would have to give them a credit card.  I told her about my conversation with my mom and repeated that she did not requested added services, in fact, she turned it down, requesting only services that I had already paid for.  She again claimed that my mom asked for these services.  I told her that my mom doesn’t even speak that much English to have request those services specifically.  In fact, when I made the appointment, I asked them to email me the intake forms because my mom did not know enough English to fill out the forms herself.  When they failed to send me those forms after two calls, I went into the spa specifically to pick them up and had them filled out.  So it is HIGHLY impossible for my mom to request “microdermabrasion  and an anti-aging collagen treatments”.  The caller stated that she was not in the room, and neither was I.  I told her that’s correct, however, I also know that my mom would not ever ask for added services.  After talking in circles, the caller told me that she will call her manager and get back to me. I asked her to tell her manager about the exact conversation she and I just had and not some lite version of it. I also stated that I would pay for the services if they insisted, even though their business practices are unethical and dishonest.  I also told her that I will contact their company and post very honest Yelp review.
I had a facial at Hand and Stone with Marybeth back in May after a friend gifted it to me.  While I enjoyed the facial and paid for some “Sensitive skin” treatment options, I declined their membership offer. I will never set foot in this “spa” again.  I am not fond of businesses that prey on people.  I will not support such horrbile business practices.  I understand that upselling products and services maybe part of their business model.  Lying should not be.
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Finally!

It’s been six months since Mr Robot and I started dating.  Turns out, he’s not that robotic after all. He’s just protective of his feelings. I get that. I am happy to report that we have decided to pursue a relationship with each other. I’m super happy because he’s really wonderful. I can see myself falling for him. He’s nice. He’s smart.  He’s considerate. He cares about me. He works in tech. He’s funny. He’s European 😉 . Those are important traits in my book.

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Small gestures

I had a conversation with Mr Robot about being more considerate and perhaps doing more small gestures that let me know that he cares.  I remember when we were in Europe together, he would charge my Apple Watch, iPhone and backup charger every night.  The next morning, he would bring it to me. I guess during the last few months of weirdness, I lost sight of the small gestures as did he.  Since for a while, it seemed like we were just avoiding each other.  But at the Renaissance Fair this past weekend, he remembered and offered me the better seat for the show that we were watching.

I’m so happy to say that we have decided to give us a chance. While I am still unsure how he feels about me, I am still very sure that I want to be with him.  We have a few more dates planned until his brother and his best friend come into town and I am away for holiday.  

I have discovered that he’s a lot more affectionate with some liquid courage. But I’m not sure that I want to be with someone who has to be drunk to be flirty. I hope that it’s just a nerve thing and he will get over it as he gets more comfortable with me. The thing is though, I’m his best friend and he’s so ackward with me. It makes me wonder if it’s because it’s me. Or if he’s this way with all girls.

I’ve planned most of our dates. But the ones he’s planned have been fun too. It shows me that he’s listening to me in the past because he’s suggested things that I’ve said we should do.  He’s even came up with ideas on his own that have been a hit. I’m trying to stay optimistic. I really want to see how this pans out for us. He’s a great guy.