In a word, last week was brutal. Like I mentioned last week, one of the products I support invests heavily in the banking sector, and that sector was under major stress after 2 banks failed last weekend.
I anticipated a rough week but it was worse than I expected. I think I did about 40 client calls. One day I did 10 calls. It was really hard to keep up with all of the news that was coming out as the situation evolved. Besides the stress in the US system, a Swiss Bank was under stress as well. As I was on these calls, I was watching all these IMs coming in plus all the emails with requests for talking points and gah. It was rough. My coworker and I did a great job of dividing and conquering as I handled most of the calls and she stayed on top of emails.
As if that wasn't enough, I was nauseated all day on Monday and wasn't able to eat for most of the day. Phil wondered if it was a side effect of stress but I think it was some sort of bug. Then Paul came down with a fever on Wednesday morning. He had high fevers of around 103 for several days. I stayed home with him Wednesday when I had a lighter day of calls and Phil took care of Thursday and Friday. We had his well child 5y appointment on Friday morning so we held off on getting him to the doctor since we had an appointment so soon. I was sure it was strep since it's been going around his daycare recently and he had stomach pains and high fevers which are symptoms of strep. Sure enough, his strep test was positive. He HATES swallowing meds so we opted to get the penicillin shot. It's a very, very painful shot but better than trying to coerce him to take oral meds... I'm thinking we need to see if we can teach him to swallow pills but we'll cross that bridge another time. Luckily he started feeling better within 24 hours.
And then the week ended with a series of layoffs, some within my team at work. I had a feeling they were coming as 2022 was an epically bad year for financial services, but I was hoping that my team wouldn't be too impacted. Some really wonderful people that I enjoyed working with were let go which makes me really sad.
So that's where I'm at... I have no positive spin to put on last week except to say that I am glad I still have a job. This just goes to show why I emphasize how fickle my industry is. It's why people in my industry are well-compensated - the pay is high but the volatility is very high, too.
This week I travel to NJ/NY to do in-person client meetings with some sales reps. I fly out this morning and come back on Thursday. Usually work travel is extra exhausting for me since I'm not an extrovert, but I think this week will sort of be easier than last week. I mean at least we'll have walks/car drives between meetings for me to catch my breath! Last week, I would go from 30 minute zoom to 30 minute zoom - sometimes I had 4 hours of meetings in a row without a single break. I had to dial in 1-2 minutes late a couple of times so I could use the bathroom in between.
I am woefully behind on commenting. I try to be a diligent commenter because I so value the comments I receive on my blog... but I'm going to have to "call uncle" and skip commenting on posts for awhile until I've dug out of the hole I'm buried in!
To close on a higher note, here are some pictures!
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| The geese have new costumes! A reindeer and a cardinal! Why a reindeer in March? Well it's feeling wintery here as we continue to get snow and had sub-zero wind chills over the weekend. |
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| Chef Taco would like to take your order. |
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| Sad, sick Paul. Lots of screen time was had last week. |
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| Even though the feels like temp was -8F on Sunday morning, I got out for a run. YakTraks continue to be necessary. The south side of the lake path was pure ice. |
I'll (hopefully) be back to more cheery content next week! In the meantime, tell me something good!!
14 comments:
I was thinking of you last week, Lisa, because I knew what was going on in the markets. What a week. I am so glad you still have a job; layoffs are so stressful in every way. Good luck with your travel this week! Don't give a thought to the comments, we all understand when life is busy - and your life is especially so! Take care this week and I hope you can at least get a few moments to yourself. xo
I feel you, although I have not had it as bad as you!! I wish you the best this week and I hope that your trip goes well and quickly and there are no more crazy things headed our way this week.
Good: after being gone for over two months (!) G will be back in the office today! I am looking forward to seeing him and to having help with some of the more gnarly things that arise, as I have had to face most of them basically alone for the last couple of months. Plus, now I can take a day off! I am almost tempted to take one just because I can, but also don't want to waste a vacation day for no reason, so probably practicality will win out. Also I booked a flight to AK in August. Hopefully they are not getting as much snow as we are, as I feel like some of our mountains may still have snow in Aug at the rate we are going! However, I am happy to have that behind me, as I have had the flight alert on for awhile and the price kept going up and up. Safe travels!
It might help Paul learn to swallow pills if you try mini M&Ms. They're really tiny, and if you can get him to swallow without biting, he'll have the knack. Another tip I learned was "swallow the water. The pills will follow". Safe travels.
What an incredibly stressful week- to have Paul sick on top of everything else must have been really hard (poor little guy!) I hope this week is better for you, and don't even worry about commenting. I can't even imagine how you keep up with everything you do. Good luck with your travels!
Oh friend, what a week. You have had so many competing pressures over the last few months (years!) and now this. I hope that the trip goes smoothly and provides some form of relief maybe, even?! And that everyone stays healthy moving forward. Poor Paul.
My 8-year-old just learned to swallow pills this winter and it is so helpful! For a while, we would break the pill in half (I know it depends on what you're giving whether this is okay, but I was just giving basic Tylenol), and then put it inside a spoonful of jam so he had a bit more "bulk" in his mouth when swallowing instead of just water. Now he can do it with water, but it took time for sure. I've heard of people having their kids practice with Tic Tacs? And some pills can be purchased at a slightly higher price in much smaller formats? How does he feel about chewable kids pills? My kids were never big fans, but it was a lot less messy than the liquid.
Lots of hugs!! And hoping for a calm, steady financial market again soon.
Yikes, that IS a grim week. I truly feel for you and thought about you often last week.
On another note -- I think this would work and is worth a try. It works for Lizzie, at least. Take the pill and crush it with the back of a spoon into a fine powder. Then mix it in with something to disguise the taste -- probably something sweet, if that's his thing. Frosting on a cupcake? Applesauce? PB&J (especially the J) in a half-or-quarter sandwich? It's worth a try.
Sounds like a high stress week work wise and then a sick child on top. I hope this week is better for you and that Paul feels better soon :)
Also, hi! It's been forever since I've commented and loved being able to catch up on your life through your blog :)
I have been listening to podcasts about these bank failures and I guess I still don't really understand what's going on. Ha! I'm glad that I'm not you and it doesn't really effect my day-to-day because all I could think about when I was listening these podcasts was that your life was probably really hard because of all of it!
Something good: After a couple of quiet weeks on the job front, I have a second interview for a job later this week. I'm not getting my hopes up, but I'm glad that I'm getting some nibbles.
Oh Lisa, what a week. I am so glad you still have a job and I hope that the worst is behind you. Poor Paul too - so glad it was something “easy” to treat like strep, even though it is so awful to see a kiddo feeling so ill. Thinking of you as you travel.
so sorry to hear about last week, work stress and sick kid is the worse combo possible. seeing your coworkers let go must be super sad and worrisome for your own job. I know it's difficult to spin anything positive out of it in those circumstances, and that's fine too. somedays we have bad days to remind us to be grateful of good days. hope your work trip goes well this week and you can take some rest to sink in.
and don't worry about commenting. focus on you and your family now.
BRUTAL. Of COURSE there was a sick kid, too, because OF COURSE. Hang in there, and I hope this week is smooth sailing **fingers crossed**
I hope this week wasn't as brutal as last week! That's so much stress to deal with AND a sick kiddo? Too much, universe, too much!
I rarely if ever comment but just had to say that I am so sorry you had such a horrible week, and I do hope that it has smoothed out a bit by now. You dealt with a lot - the layoffs would have been particularly hard for me. Take care of yourself.
I’m so thankful that you still have a job!!! It’s so hard to go through that!!! I love the geese costumes!!! Strep is the absolute WORST!!!! The good thing about the shot is that it does knock it out!!! I’ve had more of those shots than I can count! This is when I really miss you being on social, I was in NY/NJ the exact same time as you!!!
Lori
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