1
wowsa, an angel must be watching over me
Posted by Slowplum
on
3/09/2006 08:38:00 PM
..and at the nth hour, I have procured myself a babysitter who is not only reliable, fun, and kids love, but is also a friend, so I know that I can trust her with my precious bundles of joy.
It hadn't even occurred to me to ask her, because I figured her plate was full babysitting wise. As it so happens, she does have availability for me so hip hip hooray! I couldn't be happier!
It came in the nick of time too, as I had been to visit with a prospective babysitter who not only turned out to be a bad fit, but just completely weird about some of her things. I have a 5 page "contract" outlining her expectations and a 4 page resume outlining her experience. The resume I can handle and appreciate very much. The "contract" spooked me more than a little and it involved way way too many rules on her side and way way too much compromise on mine. Sorry lady but I am the one hiring you, not the other way around. Also, the one room the kids were allowed to play in was tiny, and geared towards the baby-to-toddler age bracket. I can't see C & K hanging out there all day. She doesn't take the kids outside in wintertime because of the younger fry she watches after. Their snacks & meals are regimented and the kids are required to eat it. If they are hungry in between a drink of water or somesuch will have to do. Quiet time is mandatory in the afternoons to accomodate the littler ones needing naps.
If I happen to be standing there and the kids do something that I feel is perfectly fine but happens to go against her (many, many) rules, I must discipline them to show that I respect the rules of her house, even if I don't agree with them. Come again? Oh yes you read that right.
I'd also have to drop K off at her daughter's school as she waits with her there every morning (she has a daughter in JK mornings) and wouldn't be back home till 9:15. "What if its terrible weather?" "Then you'll have to drop him off earlier before I leave. I'll add an extra $x amount to my fee." Say what?
In the end I would have been on the hunt for a new one in a few months anyway, as she takes half the summer off (also she only allows for 4 weeks worth of call-ins without pay, meaning 20 days out of the year we could call her & tell her that we don't need her to watch the kids and she won't charge us for it. After that, we pay her regardless of whether or not we are there).
I'm tired of ranting about it, and it might not seem like there's much to rant about. The thing is there's FIVE PAGES worth of stuff and not all of it is coming to mind but trust me, I almost fell out of my chair when I read a lot of it.
So yeah. THANK YOU to my new babysitter, huzzah!
So in the end I called her this evening and thanked her for allowing us to visit her home, but that my husband and I felt she just wasn't the right fit for our kids. SO is relieved that we don't have to take the kids there.
To celebrate, I rented the new Harry Potter flick for the kids. This one was a bit trickier and I found myself explaining a lot of the nuances to the kids (or not explaining them, as I saw fit). The "scarier parts" where Voldemort comes back to life and Moody transforms back into Barty Croutch Jr. the kids spent huddled behind pillows begging me to tell them when it was over, but for the most part they were unphased by anything they saw.
SO is gonna have a hell of a good time tomorrow as both kids are home for March Break. Har har har!
As far as work is concerned, things are going well. They put me on the phones today for the first time (mostly I've been working as observer after I'd finished my stint in the tax department) and I was so nervous because there is sooooooooooo much stuff to know and I don't know much of anything. The one lady D keeps pushing me too. I mean the other girls in training got at least a full week of listening only before they were thrust upon the phone and even then the one girl is still only just typing what she hears from her "trainer". Me? D wanted me to do it on my own without a trainer's guidance for an hour!
I said hells no and put my foot down. I said I did not feel confident as of yet to be guiding the branches and law offices on policies without some help and did not feel comfortable doling out information of a calibre that I could not ascertain was of the standards expected in our department. Plus it would be bad for customer relations. Anyway. D seemed to understand but she said it looked like I was ready, but only I could gauge that and if I truly felt uncertain they would continue to train me with a trainer listening in on the calls and guiding me as I advised the various branches and law offices.
Just so you get the picture here, I have to be a fucking expert on mortgages, law, insurance, registration codes, and all the intricacies and subtexts within each. Mortgages at the bank I am working for come in alllll sorts of sizes and shapes, from flexible open to flexible closed to variable rates to fixed rates to bla bla bla bla bla. Mortgage insurance and loss of life insurance and health insurance and the differences between; prior recognition of ages for renewed mortgages. The policies behind when we are willing/able to backdate entries, adjust interest rates, change frequencies in payment, pay taxes, offset arrears, key and register disbursements. What documentation is required from the law office to close a deal, and when, and how much. How to find what I need to find when I need to find it. And learning in that split second exactly what the customer calling is looking for, and how to address their needs in a timely and friendly matter, no matter how cranky they are, so help them god.
Getting the picture yet? There's more to it than even I am jotting down but even what i'm jotting down is enough to set a girl a little squirrely by the end of the day. I am cramming a pint's worth of information into a shotglass space; there's going to be some spillage and sometimes it is going to get downright messy.
But even so, I like it. I really really like it. And I am sure it will get easier with time and that one day I will go in and know exactly what I'm doing and it will all just click.
But for now I am sticking to panic and mentally breathing into a paper bag seconds before I say "Thank you for calling ......... this is ........ speaking, how may I help you?"
Time to go watch special features on that Potter DVD (aka falling asleep on the couch till SO gets home and pulls my sorry sad carcass up to bed).
It hadn't even occurred to me to ask her, because I figured her plate was full babysitting wise. As it so happens, she does have availability for me so hip hip hooray! I couldn't be happier!
It came in the nick of time too, as I had been to visit with a prospective babysitter who not only turned out to be a bad fit, but just completely weird about some of her things. I have a 5 page "contract" outlining her expectations and a 4 page resume outlining her experience. The resume I can handle and appreciate very much. The "contract" spooked me more than a little and it involved way way too many rules on her side and way way too much compromise on mine. Sorry lady but I am the one hiring you, not the other way around. Also, the one room the kids were allowed to play in was tiny, and geared towards the baby-to-toddler age bracket. I can't see C & K hanging out there all day. She doesn't take the kids outside in wintertime because of the younger fry she watches after. Their snacks & meals are regimented and the kids are required to eat it. If they are hungry in between a drink of water or somesuch will have to do. Quiet time is mandatory in the afternoons to accomodate the littler ones needing naps.
If I happen to be standing there and the kids do something that I feel is perfectly fine but happens to go against her (many, many) rules, I must discipline them to show that I respect the rules of her house, even if I don't agree with them. Come again? Oh yes you read that right.
I'd also have to drop K off at her daughter's school as she waits with her there every morning (she has a daughter in JK mornings) and wouldn't be back home till 9:15. "What if its terrible weather?" "Then you'll have to drop him off earlier before I leave. I'll add an extra $x amount to my fee." Say what?
In the end I would have been on the hunt for a new one in a few months anyway, as she takes half the summer off (also she only allows for 4 weeks worth of call-ins without pay, meaning 20 days out of the year we could call her & tell her that we don't need her to watch the kids and she won't charge us for it. After that, we pay her regardless of whether or not we are there).
I'm tired of ranting about it, and it might not seem like there's much to rant about. The thing is there's FIVE PAGES worth of stuff and not all of it is coming to mind but trust me, I almost fell out of my chair when I read a lot of it.
So yeah. THANK YOU to my new babysitter, huzzah!
So in the end I called her this evening and thanked her for allowing us to visit her home, but that my husband and I felt she just wasn't the right fit for our kids. SO is relieved that we don't have to take the kids there.
To celebrate, I rented the new Harry Potter flick for the kids. This one was a bit trickier and I found myself explaining a lot of the nuances to the kids (or not explaining them, as I saw fit). The "scarier parts" where Voldemort comes back to life and Moody transforms back into Barty Croutch Jr. the kids spent huddled behind pillows begging me to tell them when it was over, but for the most part they were unphased by anything they saw.
SO is gonna have a hell of a good time tomorrow as both kids are home for March Break. Har har har!
As far as work is concerned, things are going well. They put me on the phones today for the first time (mostly I've been working as observer after I'd finished my stint in the tax department) and I was so nervous because there is sooooooooooo much stuff to know and I don't know much of anything. The one lady D keeps pushing me too. I mean the other girls in training got at least a full week of listening only before they were thrust upon the phone and even then the one girl is still only just typing what she hears from her "trainer". Me? D wanted me to do it on my own without a trainer's guidance for an hour!
I said hells no and put my foot down. I said I did not feel confident as of yet to be guiding the branches and law offices on policies without some help and did not feel comfortable doling out information of a calibre that I could not ascertain was of the standards expected in our department. Plus it would be bad for customer relations. Anyway. D seemed to understand but she said it looked like I was ready, but only I could gauge that and if I truly felt uncertain they would continue to train me with a trainer listening in on the calls and guiding me as I advised the various branches and law offices.
Just so you get the picture here, I have to be a fucking expert on mortgages, law, insurance, registration codes, and all the intricacies and subtexts within each. Mortgages at the bank I am working for come in alllll sorts of sizes and shapes, from flexible open to flexible closed to variable rates to fixed rates to bla bla bla bla bla. Mortgage insurance and loss of life insurance and health insurance and the differences between; prior recognition of ages for renewed mortgages. The policies behind when we are willing/able to backdate entries, adjust interest rates, change frequencies in payment, pay taxes, offset arrears, key and register disbursements. What documentation is required from the law office to close a deal, and when, and how much. How to find what I need to find when I need to find it. And learning in that split second exactly what the customer calling is looking for, and how to address their needs in a timely and friendly matter, no matter how cranky they are, so help them god.
Getting the picture yet? There's more to it than even I am jotting down but even what i'm jotting down is enough to set a girl a little squirrely by the end of the day. I am cramming a pint's worth of information into a shotglass space; there's going to be some spillage and sometimes it is going to get downright messy.
But even so, I like it. I really really like it. And I am sure it will get easier with time and that one day I will go in and know exactly what I'm doing and it will all just click.
But for now I am sticking to panic and mentally breathing into a paper bag seconds before I say "Thank you for calling ......... this is ........ speaking, how may I help you?"
Time to go watch special features on that Potter DVD (aka falling asleep on the couch till SO gets home and pulls my sorry sad carcass up to bed).
