Although not completely unexpected, some of the social elements of my new work life are mildly adventurous. So far, I've done a visual survey of a college store, and I'm scheduled to check out some athletic events at our campus this week (three of them). None of this is *required* per se, but it does help tremendously with some of the smaller details included in budget survey assignments. Also, it does get me out and about. (It is nice to shake things up from desk to field trip every now and then!)
For Those of You on Campus: If you see a short middle-aged lady in business casual dress with notebook or clipboard in tow, peering around a bit more than the people surrounding her...you've probably found me "on assignment." Tap me on the shoulder and say hi!
Cheers,
Your Sociable Introvert
Monday, November 16, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Now For Something Completely Different
Several months ago, I was given priceless advice by a friend and colleague regarding the Best Fit for My Personality. This advice allowed me the peace and tranquility to seek promotion in a new line of work. The job is perfect for me, and I seem to be perfect for it. I am being paid more to do a job that suits my particular character (and particularly my modes of communication).
The transition to a new position was smooth, but as with all changes it caused a bit of Introvert-related pain. My meticulous routine underwent an overhaul. Of course, this was only one factor among several that impacted the Great Routine:
* Transition To New Job
* Renovation/Repair to Home
* A Few Personal Challenges I Won't List Here
In order to compensate, I found time to go to the gym early in the morning prior to the start of my new work-day. I initially kept to the same lunch schedule because it was familiar (although unnecessary). I kept two journals simultaneously--one for Depressing Stuff and one for Aspirations. I chewed a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of sugar-free gum, which aids digestion as well as thought processes. (Please reference my Think and Chew post from last month.)
Now that the dust has settled a bit, I am focusing on how grateful I am to be here doing something that I love. My home looks beautiful and comfortable, and I continue to journal about things that were, as well as things to come.
Be well, fellow Introverts.
The transition to a new position was smooth, but as with all changes it caused a bit of Introvert-related pain. My meticulous routine underwent an overhaul. Of course, this was only one factor among several that impacted the Great Routine:
* Transition To New Job
* Renovation/Repair to Home
* A Few Personal Challenges I Won't List Here
In order to compensate, I found time to go to the gym early in the morning prior to the start of my new work-day. I initially kept to the same lunch schedule because it was familiar (although unnecessary). I kept two journals simultaneously--one for Depressing Stuff and one for Aspirations. I chewed a lot (and I do mean a LOT) of sugar-free gum, which aids digestion as well as thought processes. (Please reference my Think and Chew post from last month.)
Now that the dust has settled a bit, I am focusing on how grateful I am to be here doing something that I love. My home looks beautiful and comfortable, and I continue to journal about things that were, as well as things to come.
Be well, fellow Introverts.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Think and Chew
"Cogitate and ruminate." - Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony was one of my favorite authors when I was in my early teens. The stories are incredibly intelligent, a bit bawdy, and wonderfully well-written. The quote that sticks with me to this day is "Cogitate and ruminate." (Think and chew!)
One of my favorite pastimes is to wander through streets and/or forests, checking things out, thinking and chewing (gum). It is the most restorative form of Introvert Time for me. I've been known to walk miles...close to ten miles at a stretch in some cases. It allows the self-absorption of ruminating on everything in my life at one particular moment. The steady pace is similar to meditation. Tangents and cotangents are as welcome as is thinking about nothing at all.
My mother was the one who got me started with this pastime. It feeds curiosity, creativity, and of course, the need for movement and exercise. Be well, fellow Introverts.
Piers Anthony was one of my favorite authors when I was in my early teens. The stories are incredibly intelligent, a bit bawdy, and wonderfully well-written. The quote that sticks with me to this day is "Cogitate and ruminate." (Think and chew!)
One of my favorite pastimes is to wander through streets and/or forests, checking things out, thinking and chewing (gum). It is the most restorative form of Introvert Time for me. I've been known to walk miles...close to ten miles at a stretch in some cases. It allows the self-absorption of ruminating on everything in my life at one particular moment. The steady pace is similar to meditation. Tangents and cotangents are as welcome as is thinking about nothing at all.
My mother was the one who got me started with this pastime. It feeds curiosity, creativity, and of course, the need for movement and exercise. Be well, fellow Introverts.
Sunday, September 6, 2015
Bacchanalia
It is a source of continual seeming unreality to me that the word "party" is still societally synonymous with drinking. I'll be honest here--I'm a lightweight. It doesn't take much for me to become pleasantly inebriated.
One of my best friends and I discussed a week of monastic abstention. I proceeded in typical gung-ho fashion. I was offered no less than five drinks during that window of time. When one contemplates the social ramifications of this pattern, it's a bit worrisome.
I'm not advocating for a lack of alcohol, but I'm questioning the volume of intake that is socially accepted within my generation. I realize that this topic is contentious at best. Please understand that I mean no offense.
Be well, fellow Introverts.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Home-Body
Our house is undergoing some much-needed rehabilitation. Fellow Introverts, those who revel in book/cat/knitting time...you *know* how painful this can be! The body of our home is currently in a great amount of disarray as a result. The long term results of this will be fan-freaking-tastic. It's already starting to look pretty spiffy. However, my oven is in my dining room (pending the kitchen's paint job after tons of plaster-work).
"My oven is in my dining room" pretty much sums up how I feel about this whole process. The house is not in order, and neither I nor my kitties are remotely amused.
"My oven is in my dining room" pretty much sums up how I feel about this whole process. The house is not in order, and neither I nor my kitties are remotely amused.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Patience and Kindness for the Win
I received a revised bill from my care provider after resubmittal of the health care insurance claim. The patience and kindness of my letter paid off in rather large dividends. So far, the professionally-toned request to re-submit the claim to the proper arm of my insurance has saved me almost $150. It is not the only claim that was billed, but it is a start! I am one happy customer.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Sometimes, You Have to Giggle
I've had some interesting moments this week in my quest to play a little bit better with others (a familiar journey for The Introvert). Mostly, these moments have had to do with health care and having to share information about my health history.
Scenario #1: The Erstwhile Non-Matriculate
I've made no secret of the fact that I'm planning to take a non-matriculated refresher course in the Spanish Language. I'm excited about it because it's been ten years since I used the language with any frequency, and it's been almost twenty years since my last Spanish Language class. In order to take the class and be a Non-Matriculated Student, several online forms are required regarding health history (presumably, just in case I have to visit Student Health Services). One of the forms got into detail regarding conditions and surgeries. There weren't enough lines or fields available for me to give the complete answers to the questions. This sent me into somewhat of a funk. No one likes to think of themselves as having a difficult medical history. Most of the time, I don't think about it at all! It certainly was no one's fault that the lines/fields in this form were too small.
The Answer to Scenario #1: I took a break, and went back to it after cooling down.
Scenario #2: The Flummoxed Fee-Payer
Health care billing is not my favorite thing. Indeed, this Introvert used to work with Telephonic Case Management for health insurance claimants out in Seattle. I'm very, very good at deciphering medical bills and determining if the claim needs to be re-submitted. Recently, I was sent a rather hefty bill for normal (and medically necessary) services rendered. When I first looked at the amount, I blanched. However, the claim and where it was sent was handled in a way that was not technically correct. Rather than calling the billing department at the care provider's establishment and pointing fingers, I opted to type out how the claim should have been submitted (per my understanding of the ins and outs of our insurance plan), and to send my response to the bill at hand directly back to the billing department in the hopes that the paper trail and the pleasant tone of the paper sent would facilitate a quick and timely resubmittal for full payment.
The Answer to Scenario #2: I played to my strengths and experience, rather than giving in to the feeling that I should call someone and demand action right this minute.
Scenario #3: The Mania of the Move
My older stepson is moving to his graduate school tomorrow. Due to this fact, our house is understandably in a state of flux. However, the constant movement and clutter of things and people is detrimental to my serenity. It's a temporary state, but the difficulties inherent in this state of being are not helped by the overall sense of mixed sadness and extreme pride about the move. Brady is an amazing stepson and a very accomplished young man. I'll miss him terribly. In the meantime, I've set up "base camp" in the living room, carving out a space where I can chill out with my kitties and be available to Brady for whatever he needs while he prepares for this next chapter of his life.
The Answer to Scenario #3: I'm available to my boys, while preserving a calm space during a time of transition.
Scenario #1: The Erstwhile Non-Matriculate
I've made no secret of the fact that I'm planning to take a non-matriculated refresher course in the Spanish Language. I'm excited about it because it's been ten years since I used the language with any frequency, and it's been almost twenty years since my last Spanish Language class. In order to take the class and be a Non-Matriculated Student, several online forms are required regarding health history (presumably, just in case I have to visit Student Health Services). One of the forms got into detail regarding conditions and surgeries. There weren't enough lines or fields available for me to give the complete answers to the questions. This sent me into somewhat of a funk. No one likes to think of themselves as having a difficult medical history. Most of the time, I don't think about it at all! It certainly was no one's fault that the lines/fields in this form were too small.
The Answer to Scenario #1: I took a break, and went back to it after cooling down.
Scenario #2: The Flummoxed Fee-Payer
Health care billing is not my favorite thing. Indeed, this Introvert used to work with Telephonic Case Management for health insurance claimants out in Seattle. I'm very, very good at deciphering medical bills and determining if the claim needs to be re-submitted. Recently, I was sent a rather hefty bill for normal (and medically necessary) services rendered. When I first looked at the amount, I blanched. However, the claim and where it was sent was handled in a way that was not technically correct. Rather than calling the billing department at the care provider's establishment and pointing fingers, I opted to type out how the claim should have been submitted (per my understanding of the ins and outs of our insurance plan), and to send my response to the bill at hand directly back to the billing department in the hopes that the paper trail and the pleasant tone of the paper sent would facilitate a quick and timely resubmittal for full payment.
The Answer to Scenario #2: I played to my strengths and experience, rather than giving in to the feeling that I should call someone and demand action right this minute.
Scenario #3: The Mania of the Move
My older stepson is moving to his graduate school tomorrow. Due to this fact, our house is understandably in a state of flux. However, the constant movement and clutter of things and people is detrimental to my serenity. It's a temporary state, but the difficulties inherent in this state of being are not helped by the overall sense of mixed sadness and extreme pride about the move. Brady is an amazing stepson and a very accomplished young man. I'll miss him terribly. In the meantime, I've set up "base camp" in the living room, carving out a space where I can chill out with my kitties and be available to Brady for whatever he needs while he prepares for this next chapter of his life.
The Answer to Scenario #3: I'm available to my boys, while preserving a calm space during a time of transition.
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