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28541. judithathome - 3/23/2015 12:20:34 AM Saves on watering the grass! 28542. wabbit - 3/25/2015 12:39:41 AM SQF score 88!!
Anyone who works in the food industry will know what a big deal this is. I work for a candy company that has been in business for almost 150 years. When we needed to become SQF certified, I was volunteered to be the HACCP Coordinator and the SQF Practitioner. I am also the Packaging Design Department, Product Photographer, IT Department, Shipping/Receiving Department asst. manager, NAFTA consultant, and a few other things. Many hats. I don't know where to begin when people ask me for my title, so I usually go with IT Manager just for simplicity.
I'm trying to drag a 19th century company into the 21st century and little by little, we're getting there. I was hoping for an 82 score and got an 88. That means no 6 month surveillance audit (86 and over to avoid that).
Weird, I know, but it's a very big deal for me. 28543. arkymalarky - 3/25/2015 12:55:08 AM Wow, congrats! 28544. wabbit - 3/25/2015 1:36:43 AM Thank you arky! It's an incredible amount of paperwork, all of which I've had to write from scratch. For example, I keep a log of how often the office trash bins are emptied. Yes, seriously, the office trash. I've written dozens of policies and log forms. I have 17 notebooks in my office alone and there are another dozen on the production floor. Then I chase people around for signatures, then I have to verify that any and all forms are filled out correctly, then I have to validate that the procedures I've written are valid and working. It's a full time job for someone who is trained to do it, and I learned on my own and have no more than four hours a week to get it done. I do a lot of weekend work. And I am very thankful for the people in the plant who help by doing their own paperwork and keeping their records up to date.
Then there is the 100-year-old factory building. Very cool building, but with all the old building problems. And then there is the old machinery - all still working just fine, but finicky to maintain and mostly from the 1950's or earlier. Some really fascinating machines, hypnotizing to watch, but all with personalities. Who knows what is going to happen when the 60-year-old mechanics retire, young folks don't know how to maintain these machines and don't seem to have any interest in learning. There aren't many candy companies still in the US, but we're hanging on as best we can. 28545. arkymalarky - 3/25/2015 3:05:47 AM the closest thing I know of I can relate to, is when I first started teaching. the school I was working in was trying for North central accreditation, and literally we had to have every i dotted, every t crossed, I got so tired of proof reading that school year, and in the end after all that effort the school didn't make it into North Central. If you can get that kind of designation, it's a big deal, because your whole way of functioning improves, but it's a totally grueling process. As you know, I also know the value of tradition and maintaining the heritage of a great product. :) 28546. wabbit - 3/25/2015 4:22:25 AM Indeed! 28547. Trillium - 3/26/2015 3:58:03 AM Congratulations Wabbit! Not only did I not-know what SQF is, or why it's a big deal, I had never heard the term. So thanks to you I learned a bit today:
FAQ about SQF
Thank you for protecting the candy supply! My biggest concern is actually cat food, though. Hope that SQF is in full force in that area... 28548. judithathome - 3/26/2015 11:18:32 PM Arks, did you escape the bad weather last night? 28549. arkymalarky - 3/27/2015 5:42:21 AM Yep, it all hit north, and Mose got a bit of it. 28550. iiibbb - 3/27/2015 5:16:04 PM I hate my landlords... I will be so glad to not have a landlord anymore. Mostly it's the stress of being an intermediary between my landlord and my wife. We were granted 15 extra days in the house - but now we have to let them show the house. My wife doesn't really want to do open houses, but the landlord wants to have a couple of them.
Why do I have to be in the middle of this? I don't exactly care if she shows the house, but my wife is worried people might pilfer things. It's also difficult to balance between keeping it clean, and getting things in boxes.
Need more time.
Fucking hate it. 28551. judithathome - 3/27/2015 6:41:18 PM Just me but I would not try and buck the landlords...just say you are packing and if they want to show the house, have them explain to the potential renters that you ARE in the middle of packing.
If the landlords are insistent, then tell them to pay for professional packers...of course, that might bring on a rash of worry about the PACKERS stealing things...
Personally, I'm at an age where I'm GIVING stuff to visitors...seriously, if someone comments on something we have, 9 times out of 10 we just tell them to take it. Saves time when probate court rolls around. ;-) 28552. arkymalarky - 3/27/2015 7:22:00 PM it's been far too long since we've been up for a visit! 28553. judithathome - 3/27/2015 8:32:46 PM Ha!!! C'mon over...and bring an empty trunk! Or...take one of our vintage ones...seriously! 28554. arkymalarky - 3/27/2015 8:46:49 PM Haha! If retirement ever means Stan gets two days straight! 28555. iiibbb - 3/27/2015 8:57:28 PM Showing the house isn't in our lease. We warned them that 2-5 yr old + packing + cleaning means that one of those things doesn't happen so well.
It'll be what it'll be. I'm going to shoot for not needing much of that extra 2 weeks we've asked for except to clean up and fix things. 28556. iiibbb - 3/27/2015 8:58:24 PM I have problems with anxiety about big plans.
Trying very hard to line the ducks up, and people keep doing things that don't make sense. 28557. arkymalarky - 3/27/2015 11:33:51 PM I always tell people that I would be a devoted practitioner of Zen, if the assholes around me would let me. 28558. iiibbb - 3/28/2015 2:51:20 AM I just don't like how people change up plans. I am very good about getting ducks in rows, and when the plan changes it bugs me.
The landlord is just being pushy. Wants to do an open house while we're out of state. I don't want the house unoccupied for days before and after an open house. If she'd wait a week we might even have it in better shape for a showing anyway. 28559. Wombat - 3/28/2015 5:10:30 AM Catching up after a busy few months. Iiibbb, sorry to hear about your Dad. Mine passed a month before yours. he was diagnosed with Bladder Cancer a few weeks after his 90th birthday in August. He never really recovered from his biopsy and stent insertion. It was fairly fast and not too painful. Now my brother and I are dealing with his estate, and preparing to move my Mom down closer to me. She has Lewy Body Dementia, and is basically non compos mentis.
On the good news front, the remaining Wombling is in his Senior year of High School. He has been accepted at Pitt and Saint John's College in Annapolis. He is waiting to hear from Reed, which is his first choice. Wombette is finishing her third year at Ithaca College, and will be starting the graduate part of her Physical Therapy program. 28560. arkymalarky - 3/28/2015 5:38:37 AM I'm sorry to hear about your father, Wombatt. I'm glad your kids are doing so well, no surprise there.
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