Tag Archives: trainer life

Grateful Dead and Surprise Packages #100HappyDays

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Day 90:  Wedding receptions make me happy.  My boyfriend invited me to the reception of one of his good friends.  We had a great time!  My boyfriend was so handsome in his suit and meeting his friends was really fun.

Day 91:  Experiencing new music makes me happy.  My boyfriend is really into the Grateful Dead, and a documentary about the group came out recently on Amazon Prime, so we watched it.  I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  I never knew too much about the Dead–basically that it was “hippie” music and Jerry Garcia was involved–so I liked learning more about the group and the music they made.

Day 92:  Coaching others makes me happy.  I’m part of a group that helps trainers improve their adult education skills, and I had a 1:1 session with one of my colleagues today.  We focused on determining if trainees “got it”–she really wanted to make sure that trainees were understanding the information she taught them.  It was really fun to look at another class and find ways to make the information stick.

Day 93:  Surprise packages make me happy.  Imagine my surprise when I go to the mailbox and see a package from my friend Kathy!  She sent me a favor from her baby shower and lots of other goodies as an early birthday present.  She’s into fashion and makeup, so I’m excited to try the cosmetics she included in the box.  Yay for great friends!

birthday box.jpg

I can’t wait to try out this stuff!

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Surviving, Snacks, and Family Vacations #100HappyDays

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Day 80:  Surviving makes me happy.  This was my sixth day in a row of teaching customer class and my voice started going out.  I was able to get through my class anyway though–sometimes you just have to be happy you made it through.

Day 81:  Buying snacks makes me happy.  For our upcoming family vacation (more on that below) I was in charge of buying the snacks.  Who doesn’t like buying snacks?!?  The hardest part was trying not to eat them before the trip (and remembering to load everything into the car).  For the record, I did try to buy healthier snacks…but some s’more ingredients may or may not have made their way into the cart too.

Day 82:  Fridays make me happy.  Especially Fridays before a long weekend!

Days 83-87:  Family vacations make me happy.  My family and I camped near Mammoth Cave for the holiday and it was really fun!  We had the most awesome RV in the park (and that’s not me bragging–people came by multiple times a day to compliment it).  We hiked a trail near the cave, which was somewhat challenging in 90° weather with 1,000,000% humidity.  But we made it–and rewarded ourselves with great food and lots of laughs.  Check out the view from our campsite and my new friend Belle below!

 

Kentucky is so beautiful!

Victory (a.k.a. the baddest RV in the park).

Belle!  She protected us by barking at everyone who walked past our campsite.

 

Days 88-89:  Short work weeks make me happy.  That’s the awesome thing about coming back to work on Thursday–you’re already basically at the weekend!  Is it bad that I’m already counting down the hours until the weekend officially starts?

New Developments #100HappyDays

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Day 60:  Developing new processes makes me happy.  I worked with a few coworkers to improve a process for getting trainer review for updates to our software and I think it’s going to make everybody’s job a lot easier.  No complaints there!

Day 61:  Seeing where my company is going next makes me happy.  I had the opportunity to preview some development coming in the next version of my company’s software, and it was so cool!  I never imagined I’d work in IT–especially healthcare IT–but I truly enjoy what I do.

Day 62-63:  Spending time with my parents makes me happy.  My parents were in Wisconsin for a motorcycle club event and I got to hang out with them!  I know I post a lot about my parents, but they really are the most wonderful people on the planet and any opportunity I have to see them is really special to me.  We went to a fun ’70s themed dinner and dance and then hung out in the RV talking until almost midnight.

Day 64:  Small classes make me happy.  I taught a class of 10 students today.  Most of our customer classes are somewhere between 20-30 students, so having this smaller class was a welcome reprieve.  Also, I feel like I’m able to really connect with each student when the class size is small–I like being able to answer out of scope questions and spend extra time with them one-on-one.

Day 65:  International travel makes me happy.  My sabbatical is in October, so my mom and I will be heading to…Costa Rica!  I had a call with my travel agent today to go over our itinerary and I am PUMPED!  My last jaunt to a foreign land wasn’t the best experience (Long story short:  I was racially profiled by a hotel employee and accused of being a prostitute.) but I’m really looking forward to this trip.  Most of all, I’m looking forward to traveling with my mom!  This chance to take her around the world is the least I can do to thank her for being the best mother ever.

Work and the Weather(man) #100HappyDays

Posted in Home Life, Normal People Things, Uncategorized, Work Life by

You’re probably thinking, “Nice job, sis.  You just started #100HappyDays and you’re already a day behind.”

To that I say–you’re right; I am late.  But the reason I’m late is the reason I was happy yesterday, so check your lipstick before you come for me.  🙂

Day 2:  Educating people makes me happy.  Yesterday, I had the pleasure of teaching a class of directors, managers, and supervisors.  Twelve intelligent, curious women learned how to support their staff and received the details they needed to make informed decisions about how their departments will work.  They asked great questions and really seemed eager to succeed, and I was so happy to see that.  I was proud to know that I helped them feel confident in their roles and this new software system they would be using.  This class took most of the day, and after it ended I got so busy with other work responsibilities and spending time with my awesome boyfriend that I missed posting about it.  But, even a day late, it still brings a smile to my face.

Pretty good stuff, huh?  Bet you feel bad about clowning me for being a day behind.  It’s okay; I forgive you.  🙂  And to show you there are no hard feelings, I’ll share today’s happy thing with you.

Day 3:  WKOW makes me happy.  I know this sounds weird, but the local ABC station in Madison helps me start my morning with a smile.  The Wake Up Wisconsin morning show has the best anchors; I love the camaraderie between them (the weatherman is pretty good too).  I appreciate the local news segments they do, and I love that they feature an animal from the Dane County Humane Society each week to help find it a forever home.  Also, today’s trivia question was about a Beyoncé song, which made me very happy indeed.