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My boss is out for the next 6 weeks on medical leave, and I've assumed many of her leadership and team guidance responsibilities because, uh, I guess I just naturally assumed that role, even though my title puts me lowest on the totem pole and I've been with the institution for the least time. In the 4 days that she's been gone, the two people in our unit who are above my boss have asked me, separately, "Is your boss hard to work for? Does she ever impede your ability to do your job?"

 

I don't know what that means and I don't like the linguistic acrobatics I had to perform to say yes in a very polite, courteous, professional way that best made it seem like I wasn't saying yes. I also don't like that I had, at minimum estimate, a 33% FTE position dumped on top of me and not given any more than my standard 40 hour week to perform the workload, which was already estimated to be about 125% FTE.

 

At least I still find my work rewarding and love it despite the weird office politics, I guess!

 

Sounds like you handled the questions from the higher-ups well. You never want to outright say yes, because that just makes you look bad for mudslinging, but I bet you they got the hint you were trying drop. They wouldn't have asked in the first place if they hadn't already seen some evidence of it.

 

As for the extra work, be glad that you're not salary and being told to work 60 hours with no extra pay to get it all done. Those sorts of stories are all to common these days. Many companies just pile work on until you start to crack : (

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I got my first real job three months ago. I was absolutely terrified but it could not have gone better. I'm testing software with a bunch of cool people, I've learned so much about the industry in a great professional environment, and for the first time in my life I'm able to spend money without feeling immediately guilty about it. We released a new version of an app today so my name now appears in the credits of something! My contract also got extended another three months and they had nothing but good feedback abou my work, so I'm feeling really positive and I know that wherever I end up working next I'll feel a hundred times more confident about applying.

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Cheers for the well wishes. Nervous but I've just found out there is a carvery right across the road from the office. Roast dinners everyday!

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I know this is pathetic to complain about but I got offered a job that I was hoping I wouldn't be because I'm not sure I want it or not, and now I only have three days to decide if I want to move half way across the country.

It's a PhD position. The thing is that I've applied for other ones are much closer to the things I've actually studied, but I know I won't hear from them for a while. I actually have another interview scheduled for next week /o\. So do I choose to stay unemployed and gamble that I can find something cooler? Being an adult sucks.

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I just moved down to San Francisco (From Portland, OR) with my wife, because she got a job at Industrial Light and Magic/Lucasfilms. As a film geek, it's pretty awesome that she's working there. I was sad to leave Portland, but I'm quickly warming up to SF. Getting some damn fine authentic ramen in Japan Town last night didn't hurt. Living on the 15th floor of a building and got a fantastic view of the city. Got a couple interviews today and tomorrow for some low-level jobs that should be interesting at least. End entry.

 

OH and I hope to stalk Chris Remo.

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So starting January 1st I'm gonna be covered under health insurance for the first time in 13 years (because my father was in a hurry to boot me from his plan when I graduated highschool).

 

And since my family didn't give me any guidance in life, uh... so how does this work? Do I have to wait before I can so much as schedule an appointment for a check-up even if it's scheduled for next year?

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I would wait until you get your insurance card from your provider as it has all the information the office will ask you for even when scheduling over the phone. Once you get that or have access to your online account which should give you the option to download & print a card I would say go for it. 

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What kind of insurance is it? Depending, you might be assigned a primary care physician and have an appointment with them scheduled automatically on enrollment. Regardless, you probably have to stay in network for appointments, so it's worth contacting your insurance company to ask them who you even can schedule with.

Insurance is complicated and hard, even after you get it.

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Yeah insurance is pretty complicated.  There's really no way to fully answer that question without knowing more about your plan and network.  You might be assigned a primary care provider like Mangela said, or you might have to find one yourself like my plan does.  Your plan should start Jan 1 but like Jenna said it's worth waiting until you have your card. 

 

If you're worried about scheduling, insurance comes into play when it's time to pay so it shouldn't matter for that purpose, although knowing whether or not they are in your network will matter to you.  Most places should still see you if you're out of network, but you'll have to pay more because your insurance probably won't cover it.  Some plans will completely cover things like preventative care, others won't.  Then there's stuff like co-pays, deductibles, out of pocket maximums, HSAs, FSAs, etc.

 

I'm not an expert but if you want some help trying to figure it out you can message me.  Or post it here if you don't mind it being public.

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So one of the funner things about going through a bout of gastro / foodborne illness is figuring out where it came from, right?

Over the weekend I attended a children's birthday party and, on reflection, I thiiiiink that I might have mistaken my forkful of brightly colored birthday cake for my repurposed fork carrying a modest mound of soft modelling clay.

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Hah, I'm sorry but that's kinda funny. It's what you'd expect one of the kids to do.

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I posted this in Slack earlier, but for the non-chat people, the dorm my daughter lived in at KU was imploded this morning to make room for a new dorm.  We headed in to watch it, as neither of us had ever seen a building implosion in person before.  It was really cool!

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That was great! I listened to Albinoni's Adagio as it went down.

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So...I had a job interview for a post-doc and invited talk in Germany. It went well, but I think I may have been a little naive. I come from a lab that has zero money problems, and the answer to most problems being THROW MONEY AT IT UNTIL IT WORKS, while these guys seem to be much more...classical and less monied.

 

It seems like a beautiful place, and despite their lack of money, they seem to have pretty good output in terms of high impact papers. They also all seem like super nice people and I got along with everyone there. I'm just nervous because it's a super important career decision, and I don't want to make a mistake.

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I find when I start stressing about the what ifs of something, sitting down and thinking through what would actually happen if x y & z went wrong, and formulating a plan for responding to that is immensely helpful. I don't know if it helps anyone else, but it usually pulls me out of the feedback loop I get into that just destroys me otherwise.

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I ended up turning down a job offer that was great in every way except that I wasn't excited at all about it. Next week I have an interview for a different project that I'm much more keen on. I'm quite hopeful, but even if I don't get it I think I made the right choice. Time will tell I suppose.

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I find when I start stressing about the what ifs of something, sitting down and thinking through what would actually happen if x y & z went wrong, and formulating a plan for responding to that is immensely helpful. I don't know if it helps anyone else, but it usually pulls me out of the feedback loop I get into that just destroys me otherwise.

 

Thanks, that actually helped. Most of the down points had exactly the same outcome no matter where I go...

 

So, I decided, if I get an official offer, I'm going to take it. Ich bin ein wissenschaftler.

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Hey Glo, going from well funded to 'traditional' sounds like a good experience to have.

Would a list like this help persuade you of Germany's appeal?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_in_Germany#Styles

There's this saying among dome of my friends, "British people want to move to France, French people want to move to Germany." I couldn't tell you where Belgium or Switzerland fit into that but....

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Yeah, I have only had one boss for a while, and he's not like...the don of endocrinology, so I didn't think he was massively well funded. Turns out he is. Not like the Americans, but certainly a lot for the UK. Going to basics will certainly be a good lesson, plus it looks like they have another project coming through around lung physiology which is more of my specialty. 

 

I actually had a bunch of weißbier while I was out there. Even though it was only in airport/trainstation bars. That stuff is fantastic. I'd like to try the dark beers, if they're anything like the Slovak dark beers, I'll be extremely happy.

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I posted this in Slack earlier, but for the non-chat people, the dorm my daughter lived in at KU was imploded this morning to make room for a new dorm.  We headed in to watch it, as neither of us had ever seen a building implosion in person before.  It was really cool!

Thanks for this video. I love seeing this stuff.

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I had an interview yesterday and got offered the position five hours later \o/ yay. It's my first proper job.

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I had an interview yesterday and got offered the position five hours later \o/ yay. It's my first proper job.

 

Congrats! That's a fast turnover, you'll probably be promoted on Monday.

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The UN Climate Summit (COP 21) is going on in Paris right now and I suppose it concerns the subject of this thread in its broadest terms.

Maybe there is a better place to discuss it within the Idle Forums but I find it heartening to see poorer, "weaker" nations (in economic terms) talking up a good game and being prepared to rely heavily on renewable energy sources.

Meanwhile, the richer nations appear to be more sluggish, weighted down, causing me to question how dependent my own nondescript "developed" lifestyle is on maintaining huge and unconscionable inequalities between rich and poor both in the present and in the future.

It's bumming me out a little.

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