Sunday, December 16, 2012

After A Very Long Absence.....




I'm back!!





Yes, after a very long (much longer than planned) absence I’m back again.  The reasons for the lengthy time away are many.  First off, because of the Very Evil Person who was the manager for the department I worked in, I had to leave it.  I was heartbroken that I couldn’t stay in a place I truly believed I was meant to be.  And it took a while to completely understand I was a victim of workplace harassment and that no one would do anything.  I went to the union and they tried but the HR department kept putting us off again and again and after a while in the new department, I had to let it go to get past it.  I wish now I hadn’t as she struck again and my dear coworker I worked with also recently bid out as the Very Evil Person cast her spell on my friend – to the point of calling her into her office and telling my friend she wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone unless it was work related and especially me and another person.  The irony is I barely spoke to my friend at work, not wanting to draw the attention of the Evil Person to her.  And my friend has returned (early) after taking time off from dealing with breast cancer.  That didn’t stop the Evil Person though and so far the union hasn’t really helped my friend though she has gone to them too.

But I love the department I’m in now though I had never seen busy until I went there.  For a few months I was working overtime just about every day and weekends in an effort to try and catch up on the massive amount of work that pours in – and another reason I wasn’t blogging.  I finally burnt out and faced the fact that we were never really going to catch up.  Since the manager knows this too, though the pressure to work hard and fast is there, the NEW manager is a good one and is very supportive.

Then there was the fact I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. I think I mentioned that, but I started going to the gym more and more in an effort to get myself out of the terrible shape I’d managed to get into over the years.  Combine that with a whole lot of overtime and I’d come home and zombie like watch some telly, read some and crash.

Then, when I was getting ready to make a return, the gym I belong to had a weight loss challenge I signed up for and that meant even longer hours at the gym.  The prize for first place was $10,000 so as you can imagine, that was an excellent incentive.  One of the conditions was you had to have so many sessions with a trainer.  Way back when I first joined, knowing if I didn’t do something like work with a trainer, I would drift back into old habits.  That kind of happened over summer.  Although I was still working out, bad food was creeping back into the diet.  But now I’m straightened out again and discovered much to my amazement that I LOVE roasted veggies and that a salad with some cooked chicken thrown in tastes very, very good with a vinaigrette instead of say Thousand Island dressing.

I ultimately didn’t win, the person who did lost 66 pounds next to my measly 23, but better than winning was stopping at the gym and eating healthy has become a lifestyle now which is good.  And while I still have quite a ways to go, I’ve lost almosthisclose to 50 lbs – probably by next week it will be *official*.  And as I said on Twitter – yep I came back there tonight – it’s being healthy that’s the best.  It’s being able to go 10 minutes on the elliptical, ride the bike over 5 miles, walk a mile on the treadmill, that makes me feel really good.  It’s knowing my heart is healthy and getting healthier, that I’ve lengthened my life expectancy I think, that I’m not so short of breath I even scare myself that is the wonderful thing.

I really do have so much to say that I think I’m going to have to do this in 2 parts.  What I’ve wrote so far is much of the outer of me, but the inner me has undergone changes to so that’s up next post.

15 comments:

AnimeJune said...

Hoooray! I'm so proud of you!

And glad you're back to blogging!

I'm so sorry you've had to deal with workplace harassment! That sounds so awful. But maybe you can make it work in your new place?

Hope you have a lovely Christmas!

Lori said...

Yay for you! I'm glad you were able to transfer and are happy.

And woohoo on getting healthy! So happy for you! We've all missed you.

farmwifetwo said...

Welcome back.

Bill 168 - Violence and Harassment in the Workplace.

What your employer, union and employee have been doing is against http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/topics/workplaceviolence.php

The Ont gov't passed it a couple of years ago to deal with these situations. Depending on how far your friend is willing to push it... I sent a link from google but she'll have to make calls etc.

LynnD said...

Welcome back Kristie! Congratulations on getting healthy and on getting out of the poisonous work environment. Hopefully the upper management will take a serious look the Evil Manager and deal with it. I hope you friend pursues her complaints - it may be the only way that the higher ups will take notice.

little alys said...

Welcome back, Kristie!
I'm very sorry to hear about the mixed bag of bad/good. Nothing worse than a horrible work environment to literally suck the life out of you.
I'm very glad the new place is working out. Nothing like a nice place to make everything much smoother.
The exercise/health part sounds wonderful. 23 is not measly at all, it's awesome! Can't wait to read more of what's been going on. :)

nath said...

Welcome back Kristie! Woohoo! Awesome to have news from you :)

Sorry to hear about your job, it really sucks. Such people should not be in power, seriously. However, it's really awesome about your health! You must be so proud of yourself! and LOL, I would take your 23 pounds right now :)

azteclady said...

*tackle hugglepounce*

Welcome back, Kristie!

I'm so glad to hear from you, and to know that despite the good-for-nothing person's behaviour and actions, you are doing so well now.

*raising a bottle of water* Here's to your continued success, kiddo!

Wendy said...

This morning, when I had no desire to hop on my elliptical for 30 ungodly minutes, I thought of you and your 50 lb. weight loss. And I said to myself, "Self, get your fat a$$ on that elliptical!" LOL!

I'm sorry to hear work has been trying - but very happy you are in a new department and that they appreciate you even if the work load is crazy-sauce.

And I am SO happy you have blogged. You have no idea how happy. A lot of my faves have drifted away the past six months or so and I've missed everyone terribly! Twitter helps, but dang.....it just ain't the same for me.

Anonymous said...

So glad you're back.
Being unhappy at work can totally wreck your life. I retired early on less money as I knew i could not cope much longer. Congratulations on getting your life in better order.

Laine, Australia

Hilcia said...

Welcome back, Kristie! You were missed.

First, congrats on losing the weight and working so hard to do so! I need to get on that bandwagon myself.

Sorry to hear about your job woes... hate, hate, politics at work! Particularly when it all comes from that "one" person who makes everyone else's life a misery. I'm glad you are in a "new" place and hope that helps your state of mind and stress level.

Come back, we really do miss you. :)

Anonymous said...

Glad you're back, Kristie! I have never given up on your blog - have checked it pretty regularly all along. Sounds like you've been going through a lot, both good and bad. I'm sending good thoughts your way that the good gets better and the bad fades away.

azteclady said...

Here's hoping to see you around here again very soon, Kristie--and with my best wishes for a wonderful 2013, for you and all your loved ones.

Pamela Clare said...

I'm so glad you're back, Kristie! I've thought of you many times wondering what was up.

I'm so sorry about your workplace situation, but it's better to have no job than to put up with a daily dose of evil. (((Hugs))) I don't know why that person couldn't be fired. (And then smacked very hard.)

Welcome back!!!

azteclady said...

Kristie, hope you drop by again soon. Miss you lots!

azteclady said...

Kristie, I hope you are doing okay. (hint: let us know)

*hug*