job

I'm surprised how much I'm liking having a full time job!  I forgot how nice it is when you're only in charge of a 20 square foot cubicle, which has magically self-vacuuming carpet, self-emptying trash, and a dust-free desk, thanks to a cleaning crew that comes in.  I'm not feeling tired at work (except today I took two Benadryl because I was stupid and ate curry when my new coworkers took me out to Indian food).

Even when I get home I don't feel tired till I sit down.  I have had some moments of overwhelmation.  Laundry is the worst right now; this is only my third day, and I find myself washing a load in the morning and drying it at night and folding it the next morning.  I've been pretty good about keeping the kitchen clean and dishes done, and I've even "kind of" packed lunches the last couple mornings.  Joe has worked full days each day I have, so I can't really complain since I've been working 9-10 hours and he's been working 12 hours with a 1-hour commute each way.  And he works the next five or six days too.

I love my workplace.  I am so appreciated.  Pretty much everyone thinks I'm awesome, and you all know how much that motivates me.  Plus, oh my gosh, they love their employees and they have all kinds of reward systems for people that go "above and beyond" and they're technologically more advanced than Panasonic (ironic, right?) and they order any special office supplies you want.  They're like "Oh, does that pull-out part of the desk bother you?  We can remove that.  Do you want monitor risers?  Would you like these ones that cost $30 or these ones that cost $60?"  Ahhh it's so nice not to have people beating me down...I feel like I'll have the same workload as Panasonic but in a completely different environment.  My P coworkers WERE nice; just the management had them beaten down so everyone was so glum and half-dead.  I report directly to the HR head, and she is amazing with how she's made everything so simple for employees.

Oh my gosh, they have a kitchen.  With a dishwasher, toaster oven, Keurig coffee maker, free pop, free organic fruit on Mondays, jeans Fridays, "Fido Fridays" where one person gets to bring their dog to work (!), "thanks partners" where you give someone a thank-you card and they're entered in a monthly drawing for $50.  There's even better rewards for those who have outstanding performance - including a free paid day off! 

They're so relaxed.  As long as you get in 40 hours a week and you're there at the same time you have important stuff happening, they are flexible about what hours you work.  I've been working longer days since I started on Tuesday and won't hit 40 hours anyway; also, since Joe's been working I haven't really wanted to come home early.  They don't yell at you if you go 2 minutes under or over your lunch, or if you chat with a coworker, or make a short personal phone call.  They don't stand in front of the clock to frown disapprovingly at you when you're one minute late, and later call you into the office and talk to you about punctuality.

Look, I know some jobs you have to be punctual and take your lunch at certain times.  But in my Panasonic job there was no reason to force me to eat at a certain time.  I eat when I'm hungry and that's how I am such a good worker.  I'm convinced that's part of the reason I burned out at Panasonic.  They were so restrictive; I felt like I was always trying to prove that I wasn't a lazy bum or a thief.  Here, they give me the trust and respect I deserve.  Ah!

So, I'm an "executive assistant" for the chief medical officer, but he's out on vacation this week and next.  So basically I'm cross-training in every other department and helping a bunch of people with random stuff, which is cool because I meet more new people who think I'm awesome because I'm helping them.  Next week I will be working on an "executive" project, an HR project, a marketing project, and at the same time I'll be running the mail room and also covering reception in the afternoons!  Oh, and my main resource is going on vacation all next week.  Also the regular mail room person/reception backup is going on vacation all next week.  Sooooo we'll see how it goes.  She has to train me on mail tomorrow,but I also have to call fifty people for a marketing event.  I like this, though!  I don't get a cheering squad and sympathetic ears when I struggle with housework.  I don't feel accomplished and special and awesome.  Yesterday I unloaded the dishwasher at work because it was full of clean dishes, and dirty dishes were piling up in the sink.  And so many people were like "Amber, we love you; Amber, you're a gem; Amber, we're so glad you're here."  This morning at a meeting, one woman said "Darn you Amber, why didn't you interview two months ago when we hired that other girl who didn't work out?"  I was like "Um, I did interview, but they hired her instead."  She was like "Well we learned our lesson, didn't we!"  My manager is pregnant and I mentioned that I am sooo ready for kids, but as a couple we aren't, so that's why I took this job.  She was like "Um, remind me to thank your husband."

See what I mean?  How can I not thrive on this?