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the stars say Ann was at the opposite emotional extreme of where she was last Friday. Last week she was consumed with personal problems and didn't have time to speak with anyone. Now this week she was determined to let me know that she was cramming for a certification test. Suddenly her job was the primary focus in her life once again. I can appreciate her ambition to a degree, but I also feel that it is a symptom of a larger problem. For her the only thing that she can control to any reasonable degree is her job and I find that to be a little sad. Then every so often I get the feeling that she thinks that I'm not pushing myself nearly as much as she does and I guess I can live with that distorted view. I don't need to prove anything to her. What I mean is that she has no idea what kind of educational background I have and how I've been in the same line of work as her for the same amount of time. Just because I am older than her doesn't mean that I haven't done as well. In fact her unfinished degree is related to what we do and mine has nothing to do with it at all. Everything that I know was either self taught or learned on the job. I also have to wonder what she thinks this certification will do her for in our department. I have been thinking about it myself, but I see it as more as springboard for me to leave the company rather to advance in it. Then there is the small matter of her being the loose cannon in the department. I think that she has had an emotional outburst at just about everyone in the department and some of our vendors as well. Her people skills are sorely lacking at times. Wednesday night was filled with her telling me how she had gone off on two people during the day, one of whom was our team leader. All of this random hostility had led to an underlying current that seems to say that if she keeps pushing, she might just be let go. Of course her response to all of these things is that our boss has to decide whether or not she is worth it. The sad thing is sometimes she isn't. She might be aggressive and experienced, but at the same time there are some serious holes in her knowledge. Now I imagine that this might sound like sour grapes on my part, but most of the negativity comes from other people in the department and not me. More often than not I am her biggest supporter. Going back to Wednesday night, she apologized to me about last week and explained why she did what she did. It made sense to me and I felt for her, but at the same time she needs to learn to balance everything a little better and she says that she is trying. The fact that she likes to jokingly tell everyone that she is always right doesn't help her cause any though. ... I've been trying to decide if what I had written earlier made me sound as though I felt threatened by what Ann is doing and my conclusion is no. What I am doing is what is right for me and my life. I'll be the one going to Australia next year. I'll be the person one step closer to leaving the company next year for a job that will hopefully mean more to me. As for how much longer our lives will intersect is uncertain. I did not want to be at work last night and I'm not sure why either. To be honest I did an hour's worth of work the entire time that I was there. Of course Ann wasn't exactly too busy while she was there. Most of her time was spent studying and surfing the web, but that really isn't my problem unless it affects my job and so far it usually doesn't. On the other hand Ann has caused more problems for the day crew with her ever changing schedule and mood swings. ... I guess that one could argue that technology or information systems jobs don't lend themselves to stability, but I do have to wonder how many jobs Ann has had in the past year before she came year. Maybe her age plays more of a factor in her influence on me than I realized. She is much closer in age to me than the majority of the department. While the rest of them have to maintain a more stable environment she and I can afford to take risks with our careers. ... In a moment of boredom, I found this on the web. Sagittarius (astrology), the ninth sign of the zodiac, symbolized by an archer. Astrologers consider people whose birthdays occur from November 22 to December 21 to be born under the sun sign of Sagittarius. Sagittarius, a fire sign, is ruled by the planet Jupiter, named after the wise ruler of the ancient Roman gods. Astrologers believe that Sagittarians have fun-loving, friendly, philosophical, intellectual, straightforward, and expansive natures. Sagittarians are optimistic, and sometimes have a naive belief that everything will turn out fine despite any obstacles. Good luck often follows typical Sagittarians, and because whatever they need usually comes effortlessly to them, they tend to be generous and willing to share. Sagittarians also value frankness and honesty, and their comments can sometimes be blunt. According to astrologers, typical Sagittarians dislike being confined or tied down; they seek change, especially through travel. Sagittarians require freedom of thought and ideas, but they otherwise tend to be fairly conventional and respect tradition. Professions traditionally associated with Sagittarius include higher education; law; medicine; importing and exporting, or other activities that involve foreign countries; and publishing For being randomly generated, I was amazed at the number of qualities in this description that actually applied to me. Now if only I could get a job in higher education or publishing, my life would complete. I could also use a trip to somewhere right about now as well.
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