A bed of roses

Had a good chat with new colleague that actually included work! We added a couple of the new docs to the existing folder structure rather than starting from scratch. Apparently, there are links to specific documents that people are using, so it's a good thing I didn't take the unilateral decision to wipe everything!

Also had a meeting with our former placement student who is now back at uni for their final year - and wants to be working instead! There was another member of their team on the call and they and I were trying to encourage the student to just stick it out. It isn't even a full year, really, because final assessments happen in April. And they are working with us one day a week - hence the meeting. I thought I'd solved the problem I'd booked the meeting to discuss but then I remembered later on that there was something else. Doh! So I messaged both student and colleague to ask for help on that. Will look at the response on Monday.

Then daughter and little ones arrived. Younger grandson had managed to go all morning without a nap but was in a very good mood. Granddaughter was slightly less happy, despite downing a bottle and a half of milk! Daughter said she might need to do slightly fuller bottles - 6oz instead of 5. Grandson was zipping about like a mad thing as usual. All our ornaments are out of their 'right' place - either moved by him or by us! He's also found his way into the cupboard we keep our spare mugs in... I brought granddaughter upstairs with me for a third meeting. She finished her bottle and had a snooze - such an angel <3 Grandson still stops to give her a kiss or a pat.

Tonight I played another hour of Stray Blade - I think I'm about to meet the first boss. Then I watched HIGNFY; always so funny.

And now to bed!

So there's another person doing the Tuesday evening course that is from a very different Christian tradition to mine but they said something very encouraging last week, and I've been thinking and praying about them - and tonight I was going to ask if they wanted to meet up for a coffee (I even prepped some dates!) but they weren't there because they were doing AN Other Thing :( And now there's a 2-week break for half-term, so I'll need to get some new dates. And I was feeling so open, and curious about their perspective, and wanting to (metaphorically!) embrace my sibling in Christ! Well, it'll just have to wait a bit longer.

The session tonight was interesting because it asked us to come up with a vision statement - a verb, a target group and an outcome in less than 8 words. I started out quite confidently because I think I know what I want to do - but it didn't really fit the template. Am I looking at the wrong thing? Or sticking too rigidly to the template? Or just not thinking creatively enough? Not sure... But it will come. I believe it will come.

The premise was a good one, though - that the work we're called to is often right in front of us.

Speaking of work, the new PM was being very bouncy and enthusiastic today. They are generally very supportive of our approach and want to get on board, so I'm not looking to dampen their enthusiasm any time soon :D

Watched some more of Rex Sterling's FFVIII stream. He's really getting to grips with TT! His next stop is the TV station.

Hoping for a good night.

I was expecting to really not get on with some of my siblings in Christ who are also attending the Cultivate course, and there was one in particular I thought would be diametrically opposed to a lot of my beliefs. Well... yeah... I think they and I would disagree on quite a few points but they were very supportive of me as a servant of my congregation. I spoke to our vicar on the way home saying I was surprised by them and the vicar said they were really trying to understand other perspectives. Which I think is a really brave thing for them to do. 

I'm also in a much broader faith space myself, these days, more tolerant of other POVs. Because it's very possible for people on the liberal/progressive end of the spectrum to be just as entrenched in our attitudes :D Reading Richard Rohr has really helped from that perspective, challenging my dual thinking, my 'us & them' mentality - because there is no 'them', there is only US. When we hurt our siblings (including plants and other animals), we hurt ourselves.

Anyway, there is a possibility I'll ask this particular sibling to meet up for a coffee.

Today started with a meeting, then lots of desky-stuff. I also met up with a colleague for a chat and sorted the son's phone out. And I updated my list of 'puzzle games without combat' list and sent it to the colleague who has a young step-child.

I've also made quite a bit of progress planning for Sunday.

And now I'm watching some of Rex Sterling's shorter videos. The longer ones tend to be too long for me to engage with - but maybe on Friday? It's another desk day and younger grandson isn't well so we won't be getting a visit from the grandbabies this week.

OK, that's all for today.

Had a PM meeting that actually went quite well... Maybe everyone's energy levels were just too low :D

Before that, we had a Stage Gate meeting. LM was in full-on, I've had an idea and this is how things SHOULD be and if YOU don't do that YOU can't get through. The PM said, 'Are you saying you don't think I've done that?'. 'Oh, no, I know you'll have done all the things...'. I stepped in and suggested we do the actual SG rather than discussing random ideas. I then spent the hour after the (successful, of course!) SG talking the PM down again.

I completely understood what the PM was hearing, but I also think I know what LM was getting at - they just really don't know how to express it. I said to the PM that I'm always happy to listen. I care very much about my colleagues - but I don't usually carry other people's problems around with me, so they needn't be afraid of overwhelming me.

Um... I think that's about it for today :)

Despite being tired last night it took me ages to get to sleep. And then I woke up early! By the time I'd done my character sheet for the day I was ready to curl up and sleep for the rest of the morning - but it was time to get up. But I made it through the day, even the long meeting at the end of the afternoon.

That meeting was for project prioritisation, and was probably the best of those we've ever had. Over the years, we've tried different scoring methods, different memberships, different ways of presenting the project ideas - looks like we've hit a good combination! And the group did their job - they prioritised a couple of pieces of work that scored quite low. So, yeah, an interesting meeting.

In the morning, I had a fight with Power Apps but I emerged triumphant! I also had a conversation with a couple of the Power BI team with a view to me taking over some of the editing of the reports I use. So progress there :)

When I was sitting awake this morning, I watched videos about obscure FF enemies, and some about philosophy. And my copy of 'The Iron Giant' arrived - I'm actually looking forward to reading it.

This evening, I got the 'Shape the Nation' survey with the boys - I did my section a few days ago.

It's been nice to have a rest from churchy stuff tonight.

Meeting up with favourite colleague in the morning, so looking forward to that.

 Husband and I had breakfast in the back garden this morning. There was a thunderstorm during the night - husband heard it, I didn't - and it had really cleared the air, so it was lovely and fresh. By the time I made it into work, though, it was already getting hot again, and now it's nearly as bad as it was last night.

Finally caught up with my colleague. We mostly had a good chat but they did have a grumble about not being properly involved in projects that they should be involved in. I'm not involved at that level, so I don't know if they are involved enough - or whether they really should be. That's the job of the PMs to decide. I have found a member of our team that they like, though! And they've taken up crochet and absolutely fallen in love with it, apparently. They had some pictures of some cute teddies and a little jacket for someone's dog.

I did a bit more exam prep. Some of the questions I got wrong I can see that I just didn't read the question or answers properly - others, I think were really poorly worded. I tend to do just well enough at multiple-choice exams, so I'm not going to stress about it - but I will do a bit more prep in the morning.

Managed to watch an episode of Connections. We had tea quite late, so we played 'beat the intro' with my list of liked songs on Spotify. It's quite random. There are songs on there that I don't really recognise - I guess I've listened to an album and decided I liked a song, then never gone back to it :D Anyway, I have 3k+ songs :O

And now I'm heading for bed, so I have some chance of being alert enough for this exam!

I spent today tidying up some project folders and talking to two colleagues from other parts of the university about project processes.

I also got another story edited - but this is one I'm going to need feedback on, I think. I don't know if it all holds together properly. Anyway, I have a couple of Beta readers lined up, and I may just pick on some other people :D It's also one of the stories that might make a good full-length novel.

A colleague brought their children in to the office yesterday - a 2 1/2 yo and a 6mo. I picked the sleeping baby up - after checking with the colleague - and they just slept on! Until it was feeding time. They have the most beautiful eyes - mostly a sort of golden hazel with a blue outer ring - and really big, even for a baby. And then they randomly started blowing raspberries! I enjoyed the chance to just cuddle a baby, which is one of the things I miss most about grandson #2 growing up - he wants to be up and doing, not sitting still on my lap :D

I've just finished Carto and the ending is just as cute as the rest of it. I managed to trigger one of the 'hidden' trophies - finally! I've looked up the list and the plat looks very doable. I also found I very nearly triggered one of the others - darn. So, I think the weekend is for hoovering up the remaining trophies.

And now I'm going to get ready for bed. I may be heading into a week off, but I like to keep to a fairly regular routine.

I belong to the 'women's network' at work. I don't normally go for that sort of thing - I actively resisted the 'women's book group' at church, for example - but... I don't know... maybe it's working in a male-dominated department...? I definitely want to see women building each other up and to be part of that positivity. Anyway, one of the things the network does is 'coffee roulette'. You volunteer your name and get randomly paired with someone, meet for coffee and a chat and see if you click. If not, well it was only coffee; if you do, you have a new friend. I joined in the first round, and met someone online but thinking back, I think I was in the office but she was at home. Anyway, we didn't spark and I can't even remember her name (so much for building up my sistas!); we managed about half-an-hour's conversation but after that it was a struggle and needless to say we haven't met since.

Today was a much more positive experience. I met up with someone I know by sight because she organises a lot of the network events but haven't actually spoken to before. But we had a good chat about some of our interests and how interests overlap in ways you might not expect. At one point I thought I'd uncovered another FF fan, but it turned out it's her partner who's the fan. Oh, well - can't have everything!

One of my immediate colleagues asked to meet up for coffee a couple of weeks ago, but Life and Work keep getting in the way and we have to keep reorganising it. I joked today that it's starting to feel personal, which they assured me it isn't. Feels like they have a lot bottled up and need to let it out. I suggested trying the Leafyard thing, but I don't expect they did.

I watched the latest video from Leafyard yesterday. If you don't respond to the email prompt within a few days, you get a reminder saying something like, 'we know you're putting this off but it'll really help'. Well, I'm not putting it off, I'm just busy! And if I was feeling all the anxiety you assume I'm feeling, guilting me into watching your video isn't really going to help. I've said before that I really appreciate the university paying for us to have access to this service and I'd feel churlish not using it - but it expects you're using it because you're having issues of some description.

Yesterday's session wanted me to fill in the built-in journal, assuring me it was completely confidential. It's structured around 5 questions that ask you to reflect on a specific event - but the video said, 'don't think about it too much, just start writing'. But I don't have an event I want to unpack in that way AND the structure feels artificial to me. AND, I have a journal. It did offer some helpful information on the value of journalling and writing in general, though - again, nothing particularly new but a good reminder. So that's something.

I've stuck with it because I keep hoping I'll learn something new, and keep being disappointed :D It does make me realise how much 'work' I've done on myself over the years, though.

I also had a frustrating time trying to transfer the Virgin DD to the joint account. The site says you have to clear your bill first, then you'll be taken to a link to change your bank details. The first frustrating thing was the new app my bank has made. The old one I had on my phone since I opened my own current account with them and had no problem with. The new one - I think today was about the 5th or 6th time I've reinstalled it. Every so often it just freezes, or gets stuck on the loading screen with the purple spinning circle of death. Anyway, I get the app reinstalled and pay the bill, then click on the link to change my bank details - which takes me back to the start where I have to pay off the bill... (The bill is paid, btw, but it still shows the same amount being due.) I'm WFH on Friday, so I'll try ringing Virgin because this is the second time I've gone through the process with the same result.

And tomorrow is Rising Tide Day!!! *bounces excitedly* The boys can watch Liverpool (hopefully) overcome a 3-0 deficit at Atalanta, whilst I go looking for sea monsters. I know who'll have most fun :D

I had a really nice catch up with a colleague who works in another team. It's interesting hearing their opinions of ITS, knowing the opinions of ITS about their team... I just nod and smile and think, 'Well, yeah - you have a point, but so do they!'. The difficulty is that neither side would ever acknowledge that.

I'm understanding where EPC is coming from a bit more. I felt that we should have completed the development of the new system before rolling it out - they wanted to keep people in the loop and bring them on the journey. The problem is, to the rest of the team it felt like they were being asked to do something in Way A, then a week later being told, 'oh, no - do it in Way B'. To them, it felt like a change before they'd even got their heads around the original way, whereas to EPC it was an evolution. Plus, they really do bounce on people when they're in the middle of something. I've been resisting referring to them as Tigger because it's starting to feel like a bit of a nasty nickname - especially when I'm only using it behind their back. But it's also accurate...

Anyway, we had another bun fight today over the level of detail for the project plans. New line manager wants to see exactly what people are working on and doesn't get the level of detail they want from DevOps, so wants the PBIs translated into tasks on the plan. I'm concerned it's a duplication of effort, although DevOps contains a whole level of detail you can't get in a task, and tasks allow you to put in a start and end date, which you don't get in PBIs. And everyone is unhappy about new line manager's resource spreadsheet that nobody ever gets to see. Although one of the features of P4W is a resource report, which would at least justify adding this level of detail to the plans.

One of the contract PMs is about to start a new project, so will be using P4W for the first time - their existing projects are just too far down the line to ask for them to be added. And we have a newbie who discovered today that I'm a gamer. I love being the last thing people expect me to be :D Can't wait to tell them I have an almost-18yo grandson.

I have a 9am meeting tomorrow (thanks, Tigger!), which I may join at home and then make my way down to the office. Or I may be able to get my arse into gear to get there in time - we shall see.

Tomorrow is the last day I'll be Tigger-free until I'm next on leave but I've made the most of the break. I understand the PBI reports much better, although not quite sure what they're intending from publishing them in ppt. I've asked the PBI devs to pause that until I've had a chat with EPC next week.

Today was pretty much the opposite of yesterday. Most of it was spent at my desk, getting through a pile of adminy stuff and updating my annual objectives. There was a meeting in the afternoon, which I'll write up tomorrow. I managed to watch an episode of Fuzzfinger's LP of Rebirth, and realised I'd watched the next episode before it - but I'm caught up, now.

Tomorrow, I've got a coffee date with the colleague who's been having a pretty shit time. I get to be Auntie Rosa :)

Which reminds me - I promised to send some dates to my spiritual director and I haven't done so, yet. I've put a note to self in my calendar for the morning.

In FFXVI, I've completed all the side quests and got the Gotterdammerung. Just the Level S hunts to track down, and then I'll play EotF. I particularly like the side quest for Harpocrates. It's such a sweet thing for him to want to do. And Dion is so broken ;( I know most of the side quests are basically fetch quests, but I love the way they round out the world and the NPCs. They're one of the things I really love about the game.

And Liverpool have won to go back to the top of the League. My boys will be happy :D