Rebound

Still haven't discussed my personality results further, but am less stressed by them/they're not keeping me up nights anymore. One of the things the guy said was "these are all strengths" -- a regular line, but whatever. And really I don't doubt myself -- I'm a kick ass employee and typically pretty highly valued. I'm in unique circumstances now, but still encouraged.

One of the things the guy asked me was about a perfect day -- at work and off work. For work it's about getting a lot of tasks to do and plowing through it, getting feedback and clearance quickly, until it's time to go home (maybe with a good lunch break with coworkers thrown in). Perhaps I'd answer that differently if I wasn't so starved for tasks (again, it's the unique, temporary circumstances dictating that mostly). Hrm.

My response to the "off work" perfect day was basically spending time with Shawn and/or our families (can any day be perfect without a squeeze from Owen Jay?!). But the more I thought about it, the more I thought I'd like a perfect day in New York. In some crisp fall air, with a street festival, some Mercado's pizza slices and a Diet Coke, a stroll through Washington Square Park (assuming construction is all finished by now) and a look up 5th Ave through the arch. Maybe a matinee Broadway show (drama or musical ... just something good). Maybe a sushi dinner after the show and a ride down 5th Ave on the bus to get "home" -- or maybe ride all the way to the Staten Island ferry for a night time ride in the cool air before ending the day.

What is my perfect Baton Rouge day though? I don't have any activities I really love that are exclusive to BR like my NYC memories. I LOVE our house -- so puttering around here is fun. Actually my perfect day now would involve my couch, comfy temps (read almost chilly in the room with a cozy blanket), something good to eat and drink, and a full DVR of shows to watch, heavy on the Psych. Oh, and maybe something good to read too ... because I'm seriously bored much of the time as I wait ... and wait ... and wait.

Assess Me

I took a personality test -- or something like it -- at work a couple weeks ago, and on Friday I got my "results." Nothing too shocking. I mean, I know I'm detail-oriented and impatient. But what was a surprise was my "score" on manageability.

I like to think that I'm a really good employee -- I follow directions, offer suggestions but know my place once a decision is made and go do my work. Apparently not, at least according to this test. Perhaps it's a reflection of how I FEEL rather than what I DO, because sure I might grumble about directions or projects that don't make sense, or when a decision doesn't go my way ... but I don't think that makes me unmanageable when I keep the grumbling to myself and ultimately do the work as assigned. So I've been tumbling that around in my head for a couple days now.

The results also showed that I would not likely be happy or good in a leadership role, i.e. leave me alone in my work. I can see that, but I also want to think of myself as having room to grow into a leadership capacity. Maybe not in the cards, but if not I would like to think it's my choice rather than a personality trait.

So what I came away with is that I can't be managed and I can't lead -- so what am I do to for an occupation? Blurgh.

I still have to talk with someone who actually works with me/has seen me in action (results were given by a nice third-party guy). Also funny to note: I am totally different personality/traits wise than everyone else that I work with in the region. The third-party guy was really confused how I fit in ... until I explained to him my communications role and journalism background (and then he thought skepticism was the bees knees for me rather than a possible hindrance). Oh me.

Domestically Disinclined

On Saturday I did a big grocery shop to make a bunch of casseroles to freeze. The shopping wasn't too bad (although getting to the store was -- stupid timing on our part re: game traffic). But the cooking has been exhausting. So far I've made six dishes, and we've eaten one of them (a spinach and cheese strata that I realized probably would not freeze well, although I'm not actually convinced any of them will taste good).

When the inlaws were here my m-i-l took me to Sam's and one of the things we bought were these throw away foil pans for casseroles. But I'm realizing they have a weird smell to them, so we'll see if that affects the taste (I made the strata in a regular pan).

Here's what I've made, none of which look as good as the recipes, of course:

• Baked Penne with Sun Dried Tomatoes (we actually ate half of this one on Sunday and it was pretty good)
• Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
• King Ranch Casserole
• Best Macaroni and Cheese
• Shepherd's Pie

The two left to make are Baked Rigatoni with Tiny Meatballs (what am I thinking, this recipe is two pages long?!) and Spinach and Rice Casserole. I also have the stuff for Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili, but I pre-cooked and froze the chicken so hopefully can just cook as directed and throw the thawed chicken in at the end. We'll see how that works ... and if I can get it together to make some corn bread or muffins to go with it -- I guess that's another thing I could premake and freeze.

I've come to the conclusion that I should have just relied on takeout ...

Random song/video for fun:



Road rage got me this morning on the way to work. I need to revisit my defensive driving materials from work. To be fair I was provoked/the guy was tail-gating me, but I'm really lucky nothing actually happened. Good grief.