Appreciation

Today I'm in a cheery mood.  It all started yesterday as I stumbled into work wearing only things that don't match.  I had on my black + many colored sorta tie died but acceptable for work skirt Mandy got me a few years ago on, a pink/salmon tshirt that didn't match the pink in the skirt, an ill fitting black cardi, long knee socks that are cream and appropriate for winter, my brown winter boots, and a green long flowing headband/wrap thing on my head to "hide" my dirty hair.  Over it all I wore my red and grey winter jacket and had on orange fingerless gloves that I knitted.

My work has windows that reflect you perfectly when you walk in.  Also, it was super cold and all of my warm clothes are super dirty, that's why I was dressed like that.  I realized that I wanted work to be easy yesterday and fun, so I said to myself in my head "I appreciate my job.  I appreciate my coworkers.  I enjoy this about this person and I enjoy this about this person."  And by the time I go inside I was not simmering in my own disgust, but was a little bit smiley.  Because, actually, my work is pretty awesome and they spoil the hell out of us.  It's not works problem, but me that's the problem.

Then I was invited by my friend/coworker to go office supply shopping!  Always awesome.  Plus, I actually did have a list of things I needed.  I'm starting a new filing system for my random papers that are usually stacked up on my desk.  I'm putting tabs on them and labeling the tabs, and then putting them in one file.  The file is upright on my desk in a file holder, and all the tabs stick up and are easily identifiable.  As the papers no longer become needed by me, I recycle them.  It's a new short terms storage system.  I was able to get some nice sticky tabs that have space for me to write notes on the papers too, to remind me why I'm even keeping them and what I need to do next with the papers.

My colored pens are also running low on ink, so I got more of those.  They didn't have a small pack of the bright colors, so I got the large pack with 3 new colors!  I now have light blue, dark blue, purple, red, pink, green, and orange pens.  When I read things and take notes I use different colors.  Black is just information notes.  Blue usually means, here is a thought I need to take action on.  I use orange for emails and calls I either made or need to make.  Green is thoughts I have or questions while I'm reading/taking notes.  The other colors just make things pretty or if I use them it's because I grabbed them first.  I also have yellow, green, pink, and blue post it notes, and I like to write on them with matching, or sometimes contrasting, colors. 

When I got back, I started working on this presentation I have to give in May.  It's the Tribal Utility Summit in Seneca, NY (near Niagara Falls), and one of my coworkers is the person planning the entire summit.  There, water and waste water plant operators will earn CEUs (adult learning credits...needed to maintain certification in water and waste water operating).  My presentation is 1 hr long and it is worth one CEU.  It's on watershed management.  I know nothing about watershed management.  Except what a watershed is, I do know that.  I was planning on doing a lot of research and coming up with a presentation that way, but I realized I wouldn't never get a quality presentation done in time.  My thesis presentation was only 20 min long! (I think, I don't actually remember).  So, using my new skillz gained at work, I googled:  Free Online Watershed Management Course.  Sounds pretty improbably right? Right.  Yet, I found one!  Not only that, but it's from the EPA, and I'm still working on an EPA Grants Management Course that has actually helped me quite a bit.  The best part of this Watershed Management Training course?  I get a certificate at the end!!!  I will pretty much do anything for a certificate.  They are like Work Crack.  I even get to put a copy of my certificates in my 'Official File' in the HR office.

Now, I want to talk about the Government.  It seems to move slow and it's results are less in quality (usually) than if a private company was providing the results.  But look at this, the government provided me with a free online course on watershed management.  I don't have the time or resources to take a course at the college, and the government (EPA) stepped in to help me.  The government (Dept. of Energy) has been creating National Optional Standards and online training tools for energy auditors and energy auditor certification.  It's not the best available, but it's the best available for free.  So I say to everyone as a whole and to the general public, before you start being upset that the government takes your money and you see no results...have you been looking for the results? Do you know everything the government provides?  The US Government is a pretty damn big government...there is'a hella lotta land and different people types and different regional cultures the government has to manage and make happy.  I think our government is doing pretty good when you look at it that way.  I mean, our country is too big to be perfect.  Why do you think Sweden is so awesome? It's the size of California (I googled that to find the answer...I was going to guess Minnesota or something).  I bet California would be a lot different if it was completely able to govern itself.  There be pot smoking gay married foodies EVERYWHERE and they'd have to pay high tariffs to Nevada and Utah for their water.  So, imagining California as it's own country is a little futile because it pretty much does what it wants anyways.

I was also able to buy more Werther's Originals for my candy bowl.  I buy them because they get eaten slowly and I don't like them.  Also, the are stereotyped as the candy grandpas always have, so I get them to tease my coworkers about being old grandpas.  My candy bowl is made out of an agate-y sedimentary rock.  The gold wrappers of the candy look really pretty in it.

Another thought on how great our government is.  Look at Greece...they are a small country, and yet they couldn't hold it together. If I was into this sort of stuff I'd talk about the differences of the Greek Government and the US Government, but besides size and the differences in country, I have no idea.  Government and politics are not my strong point.  But soon, watershed management  will be!