Things They Didn't Tell Me...

... when they hired me.

I like my job. Don't get me wrong. I am a little run down right now, but that is the time of the year.

However, there are a couple of things they didn't tell me about my job when they hired me. In no particular order, they are:

1. I am a pack mule. It is my job to cart crap from place to place.
2. I should be a mind reader. I should at all times know exactly what you want and when you want it.
3. I need to be able to kill spiders daily. Even if they give you the willies, doesn't matter. They run this building but we are slowly reclaiming it for the Girl Scouts.
4. Part of my weekly work out will be carrying boxes well over 20 pounds. Normally they are full of stuff we no long need and haven't needed for approximately 20 years.
5. Part of work wear is a parka. It is about a billion degrees BELOW frigid in my office and that is to be considered normal (not matter what time of year, hottest day of summer, frigid in my office. nice, beautiful fall/spring day, frigid in my office. cold, wet winter day, frigid in my office).

That is it for now. But if I come up with more, I'll let you know!

Random Question

What is growing down here in the basement that I work in (well, semi basement) that makes it so I cough constantly each and every morning?

If you could answer that for me, it would be amazing.

Thanks! ;-)

Much Better

I have been looking at old posts recently and found this one. The survey said I should find a new job. Well, I retook the quiz. I think it accurately portrays how I feel about my current job. :-)

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 71%

Your job is pretty good, even if it always doesn't seem like it. You have a lot less stress than most people, and your work environment is definitely above average. So if you love what you're doing, keep doing it. It doesn't get a lot better than this. But if you're in a dead end job, you may want to move on. Because if you're not advancing, it's just not worth it.

I am currently praying about what God has in store for me. If you think about it, could you join me in praying? I really do like my job, I just have this feeling that this isn't a long term thing. But I also don't feel called out of the job quite yet. Pray that I would be content where I am at but also taking steps of faith so that I am about to discern when God is calling me away from this job.

On the Josh Wilson front, he is giving away his version of "Angels We Have Heard on High," today on his Advent Calendar. Love this song and his version. Go now and get it! :-).

Thoughts on Work

I really like my new job. I went upstairs to refill my cup with some water and I was thinking, "is this really my job? I greatly enjoy it!"

Praise God that I feel this way about my job. It is fantastic!!! I like knowing that I enjoy what I do, and that overall I get up excited about work.

However, I do not enjoy the fact that my butt is sore all... sitting in a seat all day can make your bottom hurt. Mine does almost everyday by 5pm. Maybe that means I just need to get up and take more walks, huh?

Girl Scouts

Guess what?!?!

I got a new job!!!

Who is excited? I mean, besides me? I am very, very excited, pumped, stoked, etc about this new job. I really think this is going to be a good fit for me.

I will be a "Membership/Field Director." I will be supporting, training, loving the volunteers. I will be letting them know that they are loved and appreciated. I will help them however I can, etc. There will also be a monthly newsletter that I will be responsible for... I will have to do some marketing (as a non-profit, we do partner with businesses around the area). So, all in all, I am very excited to be the face of Girl Scouts. AHHH!!!

Man, who would have thought that someday I would be working for the Girl Scouts. I have such fond memories of it all.

I started Girl Scouts when I was in first grade as a Brownie, and then kept it up until I graduated High School as a Senior. My mom was the troop leader (Troop 340, thank you very much), and it was good times. We went camping, our annual trip to Busch Gardens. Who can forget all the lock-ins I helped to plan... Thinking Day... selling the Girl Scout cookies (which when I was little made my brother sell for me because I was so shy about it...). Oh man... fun memories, and now more to come!

I am so excited about this job, and best of all, I just can't believe the timing. God totally knew what He was doing... not getting the Google job... having me wait to apply for a new job until the summer... etc. He is so good! Yea!

I'll let you know how the job goes. I'll start Oct 15th, and I can't wait!

Prison vs Work

My friend send this to me today. Thought anyone in the working world could appreciate it.

Just in case you ever get these two environments mixed up, this should make things a little bit clearer.

At Prison, you spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell. At work you spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle.

At Prison, you get three meals a day fully paid for. At work, you get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.

At Prison, you get time off for good behavior. At work, you get more work for good behavior.

At Prison, the guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you. At work, you must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself.

At Prison, you can watch TV and play games. At work, you could get fired for watching TV and playing games.

At Prison, you get your own toilet. At work, you have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat.

At Prison, they allow your family and friends to visit. At work, you aren't even supposed to speak to your family.

At Prison, all expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required. At work, you get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.

At Prison, you spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out. At work, you spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.

At Prison, you must deal with sadistic wardens. At work, they are called managers.

There is something seriously wrong with this picture!!! Now get back to work. You're not getting paid to check emails (or in my case, type this into a Blog).

HeeHee... thought it was funny. Sometimes, things like this can be sooo true.

Whoa

Sorry. Trying to be somewhat regular in my updates, but life is just not letting that happen too often. But, sometimes is better than never, right?

Well, lets see... last week was a little crazy. Trying to catch up with work after being gone a couple of days is always an adventure. But, i think I am somewhat caught up. Now, just have to work on clearing the desk off. I am doing the best I can. I actually have been fairly busy recently, which I may complain about, but overall I prefer it that way. Why? Because it means that I am not bored. Trust me when I say it is very hard to look busy for 8 hours a day if you have nothing to do. In fact, trying to look busy is actually more tiring than working those 8 hours... or at least I think it is.

My friend, Beth, she had her baby last Sunday, June 10th. Isn't that wild? One of my friends had a baby!!! His name is Caleb, and I am so excited for her. She sent us a pic of him, and I have to say he looks super cute to me!

Other than that... I have lots of adult things going on. Finding an apartment (yikes!)... getting the title of my car in my name and registering it here in North Carolina... getting the auto insurance in my name (before i was just paying mom and dad)... getting a retainer to replace my old ones... you know, adult things. Being an adult can not be fun sometimes. To cover all these expenses (and all my travel expenses), I am thinking about trying to find a second part-time job. You know, like work at Barnes and Nobles or Borders a couple of nights a week. Do you think that would fly? I think it might be nice to have some extra cash flow... at least until I can pay off some of this stuff. But, I don't know... I am praying about it. I think it will probably happen. Yikes!

Well, that really is it. Sorry this post is kind of boring. But, these are the thoughts in my mind right now. I am now going to go and QA some grids (that is what I do at work. Pretty much as boring as it sounds)... and then if I have time, I will try catching up on some email. I have lots of people to write to. And, I need to plan out the trip to Ohio this weekend... love the idea of seeing fun people at Joel and Ann Marie's wedding. YEA!

Counting to 10

And taking VERY deep breaths...

our staff meeting today was a little disappointing.

Our new boss took away casual Fridays. pretty much bummed about that.

Not too happy with the fact that damage control was trying to be done. Not that he shouldn't... just with all that we have had to deal with over the last couple of months, we just have no trust for anyone of power... does that make sense?

Probably not.

Just counting to 10 and calming down. Tomorrow will not be casual Friday... so see you all dressed up tomorrow.

Passion

Last night I watched our DVR'd American Idol: Idol Gives Back Episode from Wednesday night. I have to say, it surprisingly (well, maybe not) was WAY impressive.

But more than that, it made me start thinking about how I can make a difference. How can I? My current job just drains me and all I feel about is that instead of helping, I just make people VERY mad. I want a job where people don't yell at me. I don't care if I get recognition... but no more yelling at me because of some new policy, please. Also, I would like to wake up and be EXCITED and PASSIONATE about what I do. That is certainly not true here. So, how does this desire of mine fit into Idol Gives Back?

Well, I am administratively gifted (or so I think those are my strengths), so why not try to pursue a job in non-profits and charities? Ok, ok, so it is actually quite a competitive field, but I really feel like this may be what is for me. I am excited to actually go home and write my cover letters and redirect my resume to reflect my fit for these jobs.

So, I am just praying that God will put me in a job in a non-profit, because I think it is something I would enjoy.

When I told someone at work today, they asked me a very good questions. One of them was, What kind of non-profit? And while I am not 100% sure... something that benefits and helps kids in some way. I also think one that not only offers food for the hungry, but also meets education needs, etc. We can give them food and other necessities, but we should also equip them with skills and other such things. As for whether it benefits those here in the USA or internationally, I am indifferent. There is need everywhere, and I just want to put my skills, knowledge, and experience to use for good.

There you have it. My new plan... one that I am really serious about. But still, sometimes I have a way of being lazy. Will someone please ask me how it is going so that I will really be proactive? Thanks... sometimes, as I like to say, I get paralyzed by the unknown and by fear. This is one time where that could easily happen.

Charlie's Angels

Today at lunch (we went out for Billy's Birthday to Ruby Tuesday's!), we were talking about work. I mean, what else is there to talk about?

Anyway, we were chatting about our boss. We were talking about how we NEVER see her. People, I am not kidding you! We NEVER see her. About every other month or so we actually have one of our "weekly" staff meetings and she breezes in only to breeze back out again in no more than 45 minutes or so.

More than never seeing her, we also have limited to no phone or email contact with her. Since January, I have received one phone call (approx 5 minutes), and very few emails. Now, I am not working on the heavy duty important projects, but supposedly the policies and procedures I am writing are important. Well, could have fooled me... I never get feedback.

ANYWAY, in the middle of this, someone said sometimes she feels like we are working for Charlie in Charlie's Angels. HOW TRUE!!! Boswell (isn't that his name???) would the a manager (whether our current interim, or one of the previous 5, or the new one starting in May). And, the manager delievers our various missions all while "Charlie" looks on.

Ok, so if I ever post about my boss, she will be Charlie. And the new manager will be Boswell... because lets be honest... I am one of Charlie's Angels ;-).

Back to work! Later!

I should get a new job!

Your Job Satisfaction Level: 23%

Your job is definitely a bummer, and you probably should get a new one. Make sure you know what's getting you down. Is it your co-workers? The work environment? Your boss? Getting a new job is important, but so is not repeating the same mistakes.

Should You Get a New Job?

I found this... thought it would be fun to post on!

So, what's your major?

Seems like a simple question, right? I mean... when you meet someone in college, it is definately one of the first three questions you get.

1)"What's your name?"
2)"Where are you from?" (and if you go to UM, then you get a response using your hand ;-))
3)"What's your major?"

Even Freshman get this question. Very few people know what they are going to major in their freshman year. I certainly didn't... my evolution went... pre-med (thanks mom), PT/OT, pre-law (again, thanks mom), christian counseling, school counseling/admin, speech therapy, etc. Then I decided Human Resources was where I wanted to end up. By that time (maybe the end of my sophomore year, but more like sometime junior year) it was too late to apply to the Business School, so I decided on the next best thing?

Study Psychology. Concentrate on organizational, it would be useful right?

Well, I don't regret my choice. I really think psychology can be facinating, and I learned a lot that is really applicable in ALL situations. I find myself using different theories in different situations, and it can help me understand how to interact with ALL people.

HOWEVER, in 20/2o hindsight, I might have chosen differently, double majored (or at least minored in something), OR at least chosen my electives differently.

Anyone who talks to me on a semi regular basis knows this next thing is true of me right now... HECK, if you have seen me at ALL this past year, you know this to be true.

I am not too crazy about my job.

And this has called me to question my choice in a career (all nine months of it... well, if you count my internship all 13 months). Am I meant for the business world? Do I like sitting at a desk 8 hours a day? What do i want to do with my life?

Well, currently the plan is to look into all avenues. Today I went to a Job Fair for Teachers in the Wake County Public School System. What I found out is that you need to have 24 credit hours in what you want to teach in order to enter the lateral entry world. (for more on lateral entry, see www.teach4nc.org, and PS, this may just be the policy of WCPS, so there still may be hope for the teaching thing...) And in all my 120 plus credits, all I could do to get my foot in the door would be to do Special Ed... not what I was planning. So, this has made me look at the classes I did take.

I probably have 24 credit hours of Social Studies classes... BUT, that is one field they DON'T need lateral entry teachers. Everyone wants to teach Social Studies. Sooo... I need to take more classes... not to mention if I ever decide to go back for my MBA or for anything else, I also definately need to take pre-reqs. Why didn't I listen to my mom and take at least an Econ course? I guess I do look at my classes and wonder why I did take some of the classes I took.

Ahhh, 20/20 hindsight. So not helpful. Oh well, not is all lost. At least I like the learning process. So, maybe I will start taking classes at a community college, online, or even at a nearby university. All while job hunting...

God knows what is best for me. He knows what will happen and will make all for the Glory of Him. I am so thankful I am not in this alone. Lord, guide me as i continue to walk with you in this uncertainity.