A Christmas to Remember

Wow, a lot has happened in my life since my last post. I continued to put in 12 hour days the rest of that first week after the acquisition. Then just one week after the acquisiton date, I fell and broke my arm. My right arm no less. It was after the community band Christmas Concert and I was going to put my chair, stand, and horn away. I had them all in my hands and turned - I was closer to the top step than I thought and went down hard and fast. Boy did that change things for me. Especially at work. I had to be creative and figure out ways to get things done. It was so busy and I was so frustrated as things were taking me 3 and 4 times longer than they should have to get done. By the time I would get home from work, I would be in tears. Tears of frustration and release of stress. It is a good thing I got my Christas shopping done before the acquisition, or I probably would not have been able to get done.

Then on the 18th Randi and the kids came home. What a blessing that was. Randi helped me a lot. So nice to have Logan and Lauren around. On the 23rd Denver and Danielle and Travis came home. That was also very nice. I was just overwhelmed with joy at having all of the family here. by the 24th the blizzard started. We were without electricity for 14 hours. So for Christmas Eve supper we ended up having turkey sandwiches and chips. Christmas day the elecricity finally came on again, but it was still snowing and windy. We ended up getting 18 to 20 inches of snow. Christmas Day was really fun though. Opening gifts with the kids was hillarious. Finally on Sunday Denver and Danielle were able to get home. By Sunday night Becky and Dennis were here. It was good to see them, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to cook and clean for everyone. Well, it was a blessing that Randi was still here she and Becky did so much especially since I had to work the entire time they were all here. New Year's Eve was fun with everyone here. I think I finally relaxed after 3 weeks of stress at work and the frustrations of dealing with my arm. Anyway, then last night it got down to -25. Thank goodness everyone's cars started this morning. Becky and Dennis took off around 8:00 a.m. and Randi, Travis and the kids left after lunch. Now it is so lonely here. I have cried most of the afternoon. Well, I better keep cleaning and putting stuff away.

Exhale

Well, the aquisition and move are complete. Whew! Last Friday I spent 12 hours at the new building doing inventory, auditing their teller drawers and vault, and getting all the books closed out for the aquisition. Saturday I was back by 7:30 a.m. to help the tellers get situated and comfortable with our proceedures. Our tech people were there setting up the teller machines and getting everyone's computers set up in their offices. By noon the "Great Move" began. It is hard to imagine how much stuff was in that old building. I think the last load came over about 6:00. Then I spent time trying to find the items I would need to use on Monday when the door opened. Sunday was spent training on our policies and proceedures. Monday I was back by 7:00 a.m. to get try to get the Saturday drive-up and walk-up work through the teller machines. When the door opened it was like black friday at Walmart!!!!! People everywhere complaining about the free checks we sent them, wanting to get their debit cards activated and wanting to get re-set up for internet banking!!!! I finally went home about 8:00 on Monday. Tuesday was a little bit better, but still very hectic. I left at 7:00 because of the nasty weather, but I should have stayed and uploaded a few more internet banking agreements. Yesterday we had a blizzard here so I was expecting a very quiet day. WRONG!!!! It was just as busy as Tuesday. Even though we got all the internet banking uploaded, there were still things to deal with. I spent time dealing with some of the "backroom" issues. I even left the office by 6:00! I hope that today will be the beginning of my quest to get to a normal day. Now, off to work . . . .

Take a Deep Breath

Well, this ahs been a very productive weekend. I completed all of the Christmas shopping, we got the lights on the house and I finished the Christmas cards. Whew! I know tomorrow will be a long day at work, but when I get home I intend to decorate the house and start (and hopefully finish) wrapping all the Christmas gifts. Tuesday will be a long day at work packing up a lot of the stuff in my office. Wedensday I have a VIP trip to Minneapolis. We leave at 7:30 a.m. and won't be home until about 8:00 p.m. I don't think I will get much done when I get home. Thursday I will finish packing up my office. Then Friday is a huge day. I am going to spend most of the day at the other facility making sure that at 3:00 we are ready for the aquisition. I have to make sure their cutoff is smooth and everything is accounted for. At 3:00 we will start moving things and getting the equipment set up. It will be a very long day. Saturday I need to be at the new building by 7:30 a.m. to help them open up and start training. The balance of the day will be spent deep in training on our systems and setting up my new office. I am guessing I will get out of there around supper time. Sunday I need to be at the office by 1:00p.m. to do the policy and proceedure training with the new staff. We need to make sure they understand the policy and proceedures that are specific to us - dress code, time clock, non-frat rules, etc. But the real stress will begin on Monday morning when we open to the public. The will be a lot of customers coming in with questions and issues that we wouldn't have known about before hand. believe me, we have had a ton of calls in the past 2 weeks. Friday was a nightmare!!!!! I suppose a lot of people didn't have to work so they took the opportunity to call or stop in and complain about some aspect of the aquisition. I understand that they have concerns, and quite honestly I probably would too if I were in their position. It just sucks up so much of my time that I can't get my daily work done. Anyway, I am guessing that the first 2 weeks we are open inthe new facility are going to be very long hours just trying to get everything done. Not just for me, but for the entire staff. So, tonight I am going to take a deep breath, have a glass of wine, and go at it full force tomorrow.

Holiday Blessings

Work continues to get more and more hectic!!!! As we get closer to D-Day there are more things to think about and plan for. Every time I turn around I am adding things to my list of things that need to be done. I have delegated as much as I can, but it still seems to be overwhelming. The phone never stops ringing. Customers with tons of questions, management with things for us to do and other branches giving us more work.

On the other hand, at this time of year I always like to stop and take stock of the blessings I have. I have a job which is wonderful with the economy the way it is. I have my health. I have a nice house to live in (even if it is small). I have a wonderful family. And I live in a warm and caring community. The only thing I wonder about is my sanity. Sometimes I feel that slipping away from me. :)

I am sad that Randi, Travis and the kids won't be with us for Thanksgiving this year, but Denver and Danielle will be here. I am blessed that they live so close that they can come for holidays. And now I better get ready for work so I get back to the madness and mayhem!

Madness and Mayhem

Well, the merger mania has begun!!!! I have been putting in 10 hour days lately and I have to say, it is getting old already. The projects that need to be accomplished are beginning to all blurr together. Even with 10 hour days, there isn't enough time to get everything done.

Thankfully I had a little bit of a respit this weekend. Randi, Travis and the kids came home for a few days. They actually came home to see Rachel in her roll as Belle (Beauty and the Beast) in the high school musical here in town. It was so nice to see them. I still cried when they left. Denver and Danielle were home too so that was very nice as well. I haven't seen them for quite awhile either. They will be home again for Thanksgiving and then they will all be home for Christmas.

Well, back to housework. . . . . . . . . .

Just Relaxing

Today is Veteran's Day so that means a day off. It is the only minor holiday that close. It is wonderful. I am cleaning and doing laundry and just putzing. It has been a very long time since I had a day like this. It seems like our weekends are so full that we don't have time to just sit and relax. For my mental health I need time at home once in awhile. I can tell when I haven't spent enough time at home. I get depressed and edgy. And we are coming to that time of the year when I start feeling depressed anyway. It seems like the less sunlight we have the deeper my depression. I seriously think I suffer from SADD.

We got word on Monday that D-Day has been finalized. D-Day will be after the close of business on December 4th. That is going to be a very long, busy weekend!!!! The 2 weeks between Thanksgiving and D-Day are going to be a whirlwind of activity. I had a meeting yesterday about it. I will be overseeing the conversion on the operations side. That includes a ton of training and overseeing of personnel. I am honored that they think I am capable of this much responsibility. I hope I can live up to it. My big questions will be after conversion. What will be my roll in the new organization? Who will I report to? What will be my responsibilities and job title be? So much to think about . . . . . . .

Fall is here!

It was a pretty busy weekend. We finally have had some nice weather so we took advantage of that. On Saturday we worked outside doing yard work. We got rid of some leaves and cropped off all the perennials and put stuff away. Then of course Saturday night I passed out candy to all the little gouls and goblins that came to the door. Leon was at the fire hall to pass out treats. Sunday we finished up some yard work, cleaned the house and then settled in to watch the Vikings game. The game was a little unnerving. I thought they were going to lose it in the 3rd quarter!

Then today it was back to work!!!! I just feel snowed under again. I can't get caught up. I feel like I get further and further behind. I need to get as much done as I can. D-day is coming up fast and I need to be on top of things when that day comes.