two down, three to go
by Eli
it’s been another month, another 4 weeks, another 28 days. they’ve slipped by without hardly a notice, and before i know it, i’ll be waking up one morning with my bags packed, the room cleaned out, and that’ll be that; it’ll all be over before it even began. time sure does fly when you’re having fun.
mid-season evaluations
we had our mid-season evaluations this past week. it wasn’t too much of a big deal, just a 15 minute meeting with one of the leads to go over what we’re doing well and what we can work on. they said that i’m doing very well overall, and that even the things i need to work on aren’t that big of a deal. they have to give me something to work on or else i couldn’t improve.
i wasn’t too suprised with what they had to say about me.
first off, they said they really liked my attention to detail. it has definitely come in handy a few times here and there, but they said that at times it can get the best of me when i get a little too focused on the task at hand. apparently i need to take a step back every once in a while and see if i’m using my time wisely. too focused? me? you don’t say.
secondly, they said that i talk too much. jk. well, not exactly. they said that sometimes when i’m working and talking, my work suffers. it’s not all the time, and they’re definitely not saying that we aren’t allowed to talk while working, just that i need to stay a bit more focused sometimes. again, not too surprised.
so, i’m doing well, but sometimes i get too focused and sometimes i’m not focused enough. hmm…
it never gets old
things are still great. i still love walking home in complete daylight after a long night at work, and i still love going to dance parties like every weekend, and i still love washing dishes to my favorite music, and i still love hiking up Ob Hill, and i still can’t wait to come back.
Too focused, no way!
That is the way performance reviews go. In big organizations, there is always a sub-plot. All performance reviews get read by the next level up (in this case the ‘lead’s’ supervisor). The lead is evaluated on how well/poorly he/she did in evaluating subordinates. They want to make it look good for when they are being evaluated. Anyway, congrats on a good one!
i figured as much. there’s all kinds of sub-plots going on around here and i’m trying to take it all with a grain of salt. thanks anyway!
I would like to make it known that I disagree with the idea that you “always have to give people something to work on”. I think sometimes people are doing great, and you should just be able to say, “Listen, I think you’re doing great. I appreciate your consistently good work, and all I can say is keep it up!” In fact, I’m almost certain that people are more likely to work harder after getting a compliment than after getting a “constructive criticism” and more than a real criticism.
Here’s a formula: to get people to work harder: compliment > constructive criticism > destructive criticism.
andy, i just wanted to tell you that you are doing a wonderful job. i appreciate your consistently good work and all i can say is ‘keep it up’.
i agree with andy and danny. you both have really great things to say. keep it up.
Eli-
I just caught up with your news by reading the last few posts. So tell us the rest of the story. Are you waking up without opening you eyes?
Also, please tell what are you learning about the science that is going on there?
How long does it take for mail to arrive to you? Is there anything you would like me to send you?
Love,
Ellen
Cool pictures, I-E. I hear you are doing great! C