I am so proud of myself. I finally got the eight recurring contracts done. What a pain in the rear... well, maybe not so much of a pain per se, but definitely time consuming. They weren't too difficult but it was a little challenging only because I'd never done them before. I also didn't have any real guidance. Thankfully, I'm a pretty bright kid and figured it out.

There are 52 procedural steps to creating a PR. (Purchase Request) We use PRs to create POs. (Purchase Orders) I have to either generate or amend PRs then send them to the contracting officer so he can turn them into POs. This is done for large purchases (say our facility needs to buy 3 new air conditioners at $10k a piece.. well, a PR can be initiated to get the ball rolling to make that large of a purchase) as well as for contracts for services.

For example: landscaping, pest control, refuse removal, janitorial services, etc. are all part of recurring contracts. The trickiest part is when a contract has several line items--- when services are rendered at more than one of the smaller facilities/airports we are our responsibility. So, each one needs a separate line item with its own accounting string and that is why they're kind of a pain and also time consuming.

However, I did receive an "atta-boy" (or would that be "atta-girl") from the Contracting Officer who can be a major a-hole more often than not. He's a pill to talk to on the phone because he's very vague in his answers when I have questions. This frustrates me to no end because he's been doing his job for 12 years and I've only recently started taking on this new responsiblity of logistics support. *BUT* yesterday he and I talked over the phone for 30 minutes as he helped me amend a contract from last fiscal year. (Those are a little easier but still tricky to do them correctly.) Our conversation went swimmingly well and halfway through he decided to look at one of the contracts that I had already entered. He told me, "Nice job!" (This guy does NOT give out compliments so that meant a lot to me!) I also felt pretty darned good considering that I hadn't done these previously.

What a relief it was to finally have that out from under me. The next major task? Reorganizing the MSDS binders.... oh man oh man!

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!