Baked spaghetti

Yesterday I got the idea to make baked spaghetti this weekend. I'd never done that before, but it sounded delicious. I did some recipe research, and it looked quite easy. Today I gave it a try. Here's the finished product:

As soon as this came out of the oven, I thought "Why haven't I ever made this before?". And it tastes every bit as good as it looks.

I didn't follow a recipe per se. All I did was:

1. Cook pasta until almost done. I used the time labeled "al dente" on the box as I normally like mine more done that that.
2. Drain pasta
3. Add pasta & sauce to oven safe bowl, mix together. Top with pepperoni, mozzarella, and fresh grated parmesan.
4. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted, roughly 10 minutes.

I used half a box of pasta which made 4 individual bowl servings. For a 1 pound box of pasta, what I read online suggested using a 9x13 pan.  I will definitely be making this again.

Quote of the week

"People ask me sometimes, When- when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is, when there are nine."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice

What a wasted opportunity

My current job has a SIMPLE IRA plan (moving to a 401(k) next year). It offers a 1:1 match on the 1st 3%, immediate vesting, and you can participate after 90 days. The funds stink (5% sales load!), but the money market option has no fee.

We have over 100 employees, probably around 125. Today I found out how many participate in the plan- 25. I was saddened. Do I think it's because they know the funds stink? As my coworker used to say about me, "Only you read that stuff".  Maybe they are all stuffing money in their personal IRAs instead, but I doubt it. What a wasted opportunity. 

The perfect way to end your vacation

Yesterday I experienced the perfect way to end a great vacation- a call offering me a job that features a substantial pay increase!

As many of you know, two months ago yesterday I started a new job. It offered a major salary increase above my previous job, my own private office, casual dress, and no more working with the public. I am very glad I took it. The improvement from my previous job was tremendous.

Four weeks ago I got a really strong feeling that I needed to update my resume to reflect my new position. I have learned to listen when I get ideas like that, even when I don't know why I get the feeling. So, I updated my resume. The next week, I found out why I needed to do that. I got a call from a job I had applied to in July, before I took my new job. When I spoke to the HR person, I broke a cardinal HR rule- I asked about the pay range straight off. Yes, normally you shouldn't do that, but I already have a job, and I was not going to waste my time interviewing for anything that wasn't an improvement. Let's just say that once she gave me the range, I was very interested. They were also willing to work with my schedule and interview me after work since I don't have any time off yet. I sent them my updated resume that night, I interviewed the next week, then I had a 2nd interview last week on the 1 afternoon I was in town between vacations (yes, I know I lead a hard life at times).

After reviewing the offer and some negotiations (that's what real HR types do), I accepted today, and my start date is Nov. 2. I broke another HR rule and gave notice to my current employer yesterday before I accepted the new one. I know it stinks for them to have to start searching again, but my boss took it really well.

So, do I regret taking the job I am leaving in 2 weeks? Absolutely not. It was definitely the right thing for me to do at the time. Would I have guessed I'd be there such a short time? No, but even though I am a plotter/planner at heart, I know life is not always what you expect it will be. Sometimes there are some very pleasant surprises that come your way.

Divine timing is a thing

Three weeks ago this Thursday was a fabulous afternoon. I met a friend after work, and we took a stroll on a major local pedestrian trail. After that, we had pizza on the patio of a local restaurant on the river. It was a perfect night for alfresco dining.

On the way home, I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in a long time a block from my house and got caught up on his life. When I got home I did a quick e-mail check, and I had an e-mail about a job I applied for months ago. The person couldn't reach me by phone because I disconnected my home phone last month. I called her to leave a message that I was interested, and lo and behold, she was still at work! The job would pay a large increase over what I make now. We scheduled the interview for the next week.

God has such impeccable timing. For all these things to work out like they did was definitely his handiwork in action. God is good, and it was a truly great evening.

200K day

My Tracker hit 200,000 miles on the way home this afternoon. I bought it with about 175,000 miles 4 years ago. It's been a good purchase.

If you're going to be shady, at least be smart

Today I went to look for some information in some HR folders, and the entire drawer of folders was empty. I asked the head HR person if she knew where they were, and she said they are now being kept in her office. I was very glad to hear this, as I was not pleased with the previous setup. All the HR files were kept in the common file room. They had their own cabinets, but they weren't secured. The room was open all day, and anyone could go in. I noticed this day one and thought it was a bad idea. HR files are a treasure trove of information for an identity thief. Thankfully my record never even made it to the file room. The head HR person has only been there a few weeks longer than I have, and she's been working on this for a while.

What's really great is what led to everything being moved so suddenly- one of our employees "allegedly" got into his own personnel file. I asked, and this person is not authorized to access any HR files. He then took his noncompete agreement, erased his signature (this person is apparently known for using erasable ink all the time), and put the form back in his folder. My first question to the HR person is probably the one you are thinking in your head right now - "why didn't he just shred the form?". She said "I know, right?" She said when you hold the form up to the light you can see the imprint of where the person signed it. I'm not sure how, but the owner of the company found out about this stunt, and as you might guess he was not pleased. I have not ID'd the culprit, but the HR person thought I would guess because the person's fondness for erasable ink is common knowledge.  I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

The life lesson here: If you're going to be shady, at least be smart.