Tracie's World

At work I serve as a member of the Employee Action Committee (EAC, for short). One of my responsibilities on that committee is to serve as the representative to --- THE CHESS CLUB. (A little backstory here - I work on the 5th floor, in Information Systems, which means I sit around a lot of men who are nerds. And because I sit around them, and they know I'm on the EAC, I was enlisted to be their rep when they submitted their club application. So, there I am.) Now, the last time I played chess was probably in 6th grade. And I do not at all consider myself to be a chess aficionado. I know the game board looks like a checkerboard, and I know it has something to do with pawns, kings, queens, mates, and checks, and that you have to be really smart, and usually Russian to play it. But beyond that, I'm more familiar with "Chess" the musical than I am with the game. But there I was today, at the first official meeting of the Chess Club, with a bunch of nerdy men, playi...

For weeks now, the remaining Presidential candidates have all been salivating over Utah and it's 5 electoral votes. Shouts of "Feel the Bern!", or "Cruz is the prophesied one!", or "a vote for Kasich is a vote for Trump!", etc., etc., have been all over the airwaves, and all over social media. Even perennial candidate Mitt Romney has gotten in on the act, riding in on his white horse with his perfect coif and positioning himself as the anti-Trump of a brokered convention. All while Lady MacBeth Rodham Clinton is wringing her hands gleefully in the corner. Frankly, it's all enough to make me hurl. Utah, to it's discredit, has a caucus system. The idea behind caucuses was originally probably a good idea. To get people involved in their communities, and to help folks have a vested interest in what goes on in their neighborhoods. But as they've evolved here over the years, the caucus system ended up being driven by the extremists and wack job...

Last weekend on my way home from my shift at the temple (literally - on the way home), I got hit with a nasty sinus infection. I've had so many of them over the years that I know the drill pretty well. The headache, the cough, the plugged ears, the stuffed up nose, you name it. A classic case. And it has been all I could do to get through the last week.  For days I hoped and prayed that I would get healthy quickly. Aside from just hating the misery of sinus infections, I knew that I needed to be able to fulfill my temple assignment, and not be a distraction to the patrons or my fellow workers. And I prayed daily that a miracle would occur so that I could get to the temple yesterday. Missing an assignment is a pretty serious thing, and it leaves all the other temple workers in quite a pickle as they try to make up for someone else's absence. So I was very concerned about the impact this would have should I miss. I went to bed Friday night and worried over it most of the nigh...

Received this early birthday present last week from my pal Inge. Seems she saw this and was so excited she couldn't wait the next couple of months to give it to me. It's a mp3 player, made in the shape of a button pin, that plays a Pink Martini album. How cute is this?!

Not much of note to talk about lately. But I did want to make mention of an auspicious event, my One-Year Anniversary at SelectHealth. There wasn't much of a celebration, but I did get a certificate to mark the day, and my sweet mentor took me to lunch. Frankly there were times I didn't think I'd make it through the year. The career change was more difficult than I realized it would be. I figured it would be 3-6 months before I felt fully comfortable, but alas. My mentor tells me that really it takes 2-3 years. So we will see what the next year or two brings. In the meantime, I'm better off financially, I'm fortunate to associate with a really great group of Business Analysts, I get every other Friday off, and I have a shorter commute. I'm pretty blessed.