Since then, we've spent as much time as we can together. We've done a bit of exploring around the town, and we've been shopping around for deals on things to spruce up the apartment. Mostly it's just been nice to be able to talk, about anything and everything.
Another big change Courtney brought has been in my eating habits. She's a terrific cook, and now that she has the time and space in the kitchen, she's been making a lot of amazing, nutritious meals. Which, suffice to say, is a significant improvement over the way I'd been eating when left to my own devices.
There have been significant changes at work as well. Three weeks ago, we had a meeting, at which we were all told that the current schedule, in which all shifts are staggered throughout the day, wasn't working. The current proposal, we were told, was to move to three set shifts that everyone would be on. We were given sheets to fill out with suggestions and elected people from each shift to form a committee to help decide exactly how things should change.
A week later, at another meeting, we were told that the three-set-shift proposal was off the table. Everyone would keep their current shifts. But a committee would still meet to offer suggestions on alternative schedules.
Shortly after, my supervisor informed me that she and my trainer felt that I no longer needed to have my hand held, so I was going to be changing to my new shift - 9:30 pm to 6 am. This would allow my trainer to take a new position as a troubleshooter.
Shortly after that, in a staffing update email, I read that I would be moving to the night shift, as well as "send outs to flex as needed and PTO coverage of reference caregiver." I wasn't sure what that meant. Eventually, I was able to talk to the supervisor about it, and she explained that I would be trained in the reference department, which is the area in the lab that coordinates the specialized send-out tests.
My training, and new shift, was supposed to have started today (for me, it's still Monday). But when I arrived at 9:30, I saw that I was just scheduled for the same processing work I've been doing. So, I guess I'll see. My training may still be coming.
This weekend, Courtney and I took a trip up to Portland and visited the nation's largest bookstore, Powell's City of Books. It was interesting, and worth seeing, but very overcrowded. We also stopped at Ikea to pick up some shelves for our DVD collection.
Yesterday (Sunday), we had a little birthday celebration. We exchanged gifts (since we were apart for Courtney's birthday) and had some cake and ice cream.
I think that just about brings us up to date. I'll try not to wait quite so long between posts in the future.
