LinkedIn and Transit

So far I'm not doing too well on my New Year's  Resolutions! My 2019 resolutions were to work less, get a cat, and to have a higher post count for this blog by 2020. So far, I've updated twice in January, three times in February, and this is my first March update, when I was hoping to update at least weekly.

The fiscal year ends at the start of April, which means that everyone I work for loses the remainder of their previous funding and gets it renewed. This means that everyone is requesting extra hours in case whoever assesses their needs decides "If you don't use it you lose it" and reduces their funds. So I'm working seven days a week right now, and a good number of double shifts.

And of course I haven't gotten a cat, just because I'm way too distracted at the moment.

I recently updated my LinkedIn. On the off chance you don't know what that is, it is a social networking website, kind of like Facebook, but based on your professional life. Your profile highlights your work experience, allows you to endorse people for professional competencies, and makes an effort to link you with employers looking for people with your skillset. Since I have been  employed or otherwise occupied for the most part, I have not felt the need to keep track of my profile. Every once in a while, I would receive an email saying that I had shown up in a number of searches, or someone would congratulate me on my work anniversary. I would usually attempt to log in, get informed that I misremembered my password, and promptly give up.

So I finally got around to updating it. I added my position at WALES, and despite mentioning that this happened six months ago, I guess it let everyone in my network know that this had just happened, because I received an influx of congratulations on my new position. Also, interestingly, it let people know that this was a "promotion", since I've had previous experiences with Extend-a-Family. I guess that's more-or-less true, even though it's not a totally linear path (From Summer Program to Direct Support to Safe Management Instructor to WALES Facilitator).

I was surprised to see that I had been a Direct Support Worker for four years, a Safe Management Instructor for one, and that I've already been a WALES Instructor for half a year. Concept of time, yo.

The buses in the KW region are updating their fare system. Since I came here, we've had these bus passes where you just show the driver, they make a visual confirmation, and you step in. Now they have these cards where you scan them and let a computer system verify your pass. They're even phasing out physical bus tickets. If you use tickets, you will need to purchase a card and load them on digitally.

This is supposedly in preparation for our upcoming Light Rail Transit, so that we have a streamlined form of payment that works throughout all forms of public transit in the KW area.

I'm not all that opposed. It takes away a bit of freedom from the driver, but this system has been a long time coming. They haven't forced it yet, but I got my new scannable card, just to stay a step ahead.