More Gold Stars...Less Hot Guys

So yesterday, I knocked the socks off the head of the accounting department. Literally rendered her speechless. Not only did I have a witness, but this woman that runs accounting is probably one of my most intimidating superiors. She's really buddy-buddy with "Gwen"/Hot Accounting Guy and she's pretty serious most of the time.

So when she calls to ask me about how the mail is being sorted, I barely believed it when I spit out something to the effect of, "Well, it looks like stuff down here was pretty unorganized before. Could you send me an email with the list of all the mail items that always go to you? This is really our chance to reorganize and make sure things are done correctly from here on out."*

*But imagine it sounding like the most beautiful sentence you've ever heard, it was insane.

My coworker "Cal"* stared at me, mouth gaping. I'm pretty sure my eyes were bugging out, I was shocked, too. It took the head of accounting a few seconds to regain her train of thought, and respond, "Yeah, uh, ok. That- that sounds great. I'll send that right over."

*An old high school classmate--yes, I got him the job, because I rock ;)--so named because he just graduated from Berkeley

I thanked her and hung up the phone. I stared at "Cal" with my mouth open, and he mirrored my expression. "Uh, sorry but...GOLD STAR FOR ME!!" He answered, "Yeah! I wasn't gonna say anything, but yeah!"

Basically, we rock.

In other, less exciting news, I also learned a few days ago that Hot Tech Support Guy has a girlfriend. SAD. DAY. In even sadder news, it's not even like I could make it into some kind of fun challenge, because in the same breath that he told me about his girlfriend, he told me she had done a double major in Woman's Studies and [something that I don't remember because he definitely stunned me with the line about the girlfriend] and was now getting her Master's. Basically she's me, but not, particularly in the man department. So he is hereby removed from The List and re-nicknamed "Cool Tech Support Buddy". Now I have more time to spend on "Gwenny" ;V

"Somebody's got a case of the Mondays!"

[Written October 5]

Big exciting day at work today! And by "big exciting" I mean "stressful" and then "boring as hell".

It all started last night, when I suddenly realized that my time card--which I needed to fax to my staffing agency by noon today--was somewhere at home... And I am house sitting 30 miles away. I had to get up an hour earlier than usual so I had enough time to get ready, drive home, get gas, and have enough time to search for the time card in case it wasn't in someplace logical. The 'getting gas' part of that was also extremely crucial. I always get Chevron, I'm a bit of a brand whore about it. If all I had to do was go to work, it would've been no big deal--there's a Chevron station on my way to the freeway. On my way home, however, there is nothing. So I am praying I'll make it to the Chevron station an exit away from my house the entire 25-minute drive home. I don't think I've ever driven so cautiously in my life.

Thankfully, my time card was easily recovered and I even had time to take my chipped-and-ugly black nail polish off. In celebration of the fact that I am officially caught up with the newest episodes of Mad Men, I wore a super cute Joan-style gray dress today. Obviously, Joan would never be caught dead wearing gray, but the cut is totally her! I'm just the modern American version of her. Hooray!

When I do get to work, I have absolutely nothing to do after I've faxed my time card. But despite the boredom, the afternoon has been somewhat productive in the Man Dept.

Ok, people, not that I am advocating office romances or just generally being a major slut-slut and flirting with every Tom, Dick, and Harry in the office, there is nothing wrong with choosing one or two (or even three, depending on the size of your company) cute co-workers with which to engage in witty banter with and bat eyelashes at. After last week I have two front-runners and a third who I am still assessing (read: I keep forgetting to check his hand for a wedding band and he is somewhat awkward in the interpersonal-relations department). I have described them as vaguely as possible (most favorite to least favorite) below.

Candidate Numero Uno...

• Nickname: "Jax", so named because of his slight resemblance to the (adorable) main character of Sons of Anarchy, and the fact that he definitely rides a motorcycle (crotch-rocket or Harley-style is yet-to-be-determined)
• Early Interactions: "Jax" works in Tech Support, and I met him on my first day. He is very nice and a little goofy-looking, but anyone who knows the physical attributes of my past beaus knows I like them a little on the goofy side! As I once told my mother and aunt, who tried to set me up with the former's super-metro/possibly-gay trainer, "I refuse to date any man who is prettier than me--my ego can't handle that!" On my third day he came down on his way out of the office to check up on me--and he had a motorcycle helmet in his hand. Yum. :)
• Today's Developments: After a short and friendly chat on the company email/instant messaging program in the early afternoon, he came downstairs to say Hello and ask how I was doing. He told me how busy he is (60 Tech Support calls today!), and I told him how bored I was and that if he had any clerical/busy work, I would gladly do it. But he didn't really have any of that, he said. His goatee was gone and he was wearing slacks and a button down, upping his attractiveness factor significantly (although detracting somewhat from his similarity to Jax Teller). I turned around and promoted conversation as long as possible.

Candidate Numero Dos...

• Nickname: "Victor", named in honor of the hot FedEx guy from my other job (although "Victor" has got nothing on Victor, looks-wise).
  
• Early Interactions: When he came in to pick up our outgoing packages on my first full day of work, we hit it off right away. He basically comes by to hang out with me for 10 to 15 minutes every afternoon. I crack him up the whole time.
  
• Reality Check: Ok, so maybe he's not a serious candidate for dating, but he seems pretty cool. Definitely Guy Friend material. I definitely look forward to his visits as a way to wrap up the end of the day.
  

Candidate Numero Tres...

• Nickname: "Gwen", after Gwen Stefani, which I called him after he told me that he was screening his calls. "Spiderwebs", anybody? Sorry, I'm a huge No Doubt fan. I may also refer to him simply as "Hot Accounting Guy".
  
• Early Interactions: I go through the mail, open, date-stamp, and sort all the incoming invoices. I then hand them off to "Gwen" because he is the supervisor of Accounts Payable. Thus, daily interaction and lots of chances to work my lady-like charms. ;V
• Today's Developments: One of the women in HR mentioned that she's never seen "Gwen" joke around with anyone ( you know accountants, always so serious and usually a little socially awkward :P). Part of it may also be his extremely dry, sarcastic sense of humor. I get the sense that he could probably keep a straight face through almost anything. I am gifted with an ability to appeal to many types of humor, so as soon as I made it obvious that I understood his humor, I was "in".
• Reality Check: He is older and as attractive as that is, it also distinctly raises the probability that he is in a relationship--or there is something fundamentally wrong with him, hahahaha.
  

"You get a gold star by your name today."

[Written on October 2]

Well, first things first, let me just say--T.G.I.F., and I've only been here for 3 full days! After all the welcome-to-the-company work, I've hit a little bit of a low in work. So what do I do? Surf the net. What about when I get bored of that? Coordinate my planner and my Google Calendar. Check my bank account online. But that doesn't really keep me busy for that long (I have no money and I have no plans). Then I make lists of things I'm gonna need when I get some money (new shoes, snacks for work, that eyeshadow I'm running low on). Still bored and it's only 2:45. Reorganize my desk twenty times. Add "cup for pens" to shopping list and "photo collage for desktop" to to-do list. Look up a store that I have a gift card to and print a map of the location so I can go tomorrow after I go swimming. Check pool hours for the third time in 18 hours. Window-shop online for things I can't afford for at least a couple weeks.

When I get SO bored that I think I'm getting a headache, I finally get my afternoon 15-minute break. And the first real sign of fall is here--the humid drizzle that falls in San Diego during September/October--and I am pretty depressed. I love the sun, the heat, and the general almost-naked-ness that happens from March to September. So when I starting using my heater when I leave for work in the morning and worry in the back of my mind about rain-proof shoes, my general mood level takes a downturn.

The only things I like about Fall/Winter are:

• Christmas. Duh, especially since I realized what an even greater joy it is to give than to receive, as cliche as it sounds. But then it still might be vanity in that I pride myself on getting as personal and unique a gift I can think of (often my own artwork!)
  
• I don't have to wash my car as often. The only good thing about rain. Oh you know and it helps the "Erf".
• Grandma's birthday and the birthdays of my friends Lawyer Lady*, Princess*, and Pinky*. Similar to reasons given for Christmas.

*Names changed to protect the innocent.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure that's it. If I think of something else I'll let you know. But now it's a quarter 'til Quittin Time and I have things to do, dates to change.

Already?

Right at the beginning of my second full day and I have one small thing to be annoyed with. Maybe it's just Mr. Upstairs reminding me that the human race he created is inherently flawed. And for those reading, remember that people new to your office are NEW, meaning they have no idea where anything is or what the different rooms are called, so please be as specific as possible, even if it borders on mundane.

One of my duties is to be in charge of the vending machines, call the snack/drink company when machines break, refund money that the machine eats, etc. Now let me tell you, going to the high school I did, if the Coke machine ate your money, you were S.O.L. and Coke was $1.25 richer. And when you get $5 for lunch, that a pretty big chunk to waste. So when grown adults with full-time jobs come to me for a 75-cent refund, I can't help but be a little annoyed. Then, of course, they want the machine(s) fixed. I have no problem calling the company to have a repairman come out, but I need the location of the machine and the type of machine it is. When I call the snack company, they have room numbers for the different machines, and my quarter-hungry co-workers have only given me the arbitrary room names. So I send an email to the two people that had problems with the machines. "The people doing the repairs need to know what kind of machine (snack or soda) is broken and where it is (Building A or B and room number)."

And what emails do I get back this morning? You guessed it, the same worthless information that they'd already told me. Room names and no specifics on what kind of machine was malfunctioning. Nothing even acknowledging that I asked for a room number (such as "the rooms aren't labeled with number, Stupid New Girl, we just know them how they're named" or "I'm not sure about the number, let me check and get back to you). And you can bet your sweet a$$ I am not using my 15 minute breaks to go hunt down this information. Maybe during lunch, but then I have no idea where the Production Dept. is, let alone it's break room.

*Woooo-saaaaaah*

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, It's Back To Work I Go!!

[Written September 30 on Google Docs]

Hooray! I got me a new job! And it's as a receptionist still, so I don't have to change the name of this blog. Without getting too specific, I can tell you a little bit about the new company I work for.

First of all, it's FRIGGIN HUGE! Well, technically the office I work at is only about 150 people, but they are spread out across 2 ginormous buildings and I am all alone in the front lobby. The last two places I was a receptionist at had no more than 50 people in the office, and especially at the last place, I had a ton of interaction with my coworkers. My tasks so far include very little interpersonal relations. I think once I get an email account things will pick up.

The company has at least one more office in California and presumably offices on the east coast as well. My next task is to read up on the company in the little booklet they gave me. They sell their products and services to companies across the country, so it's a pretty big deal. Between the two buildings there is product assembly, sales, accounts, tech support, accounts, and all the other business necessities: president/CEO, HR, etc. And there are break rooms with vending machines everywhere. I'm pretty excited to see what lunch is like, and meet some people.

I'm pretty stoked because it seems like they are not that dependent on their phone system. I'm allowed to leave the desk to use the restroom at my leisure, I don't have to get someone to cover or worry about the calls not getting picked up. My boss even told me that I could wander around today and meet people. Weird. Cool, but weird. I'm used to being the hub of activity. In the hour-and-a-half that I was answering the phones on my own yesterday, I got three calls, and one of them was from my boss checking on me.

I should probably tell you how I got the job in the first place, huh? Well I was just getting into my usual routine yesterday afternoon (wake up at 10:30, maybe eat something by noon, watch a few episodes of Mad Men...) and I got a phone call around 1pm. It was one of my staffing agencies (my favorite of the three I'm signed up with, actually) letting me know that they had a position I might be interested in, a receptionist, where it was, good pay, etc. Then she said, "But they need you this afternoon. What time do you think you can be there?" First of all, I wasn't super familiar with the part of the county she mentioned, and I still had to shower and put myself together. "Uh...2:00 or a little after?"

"Ok I'll call and check with them and then I'll call you right back." As soon as I hung up the phone, I scrambled into my room, hunting for an outfit. I haven't been to work in almost two months and I had completely forgotten what I used to wear. Not to mention I have no idea how "professional" I'd need to look. Having watched Mad Men obsessively for the past couple weeks, I settled on a dress and pumps. (I also made a mental note to buy a few more dresses because Peggy and Joan are so adorable!) Within minutes I got another call, confirming that 2:00/2:30 would be just fine. Staffing Agency Lady would send me an email with the company address and the name of the woman in HR that I would be asking for. I ran into the bathroom, bouncing off the walls as much as possible to relieve my nervous energy. I know how I can get, and I don't need to showing up to this place acting like a total spaz.

I was out the door by twenty til and the lack of traffic at 2pm meant I could do a little bit of speeding, another stress-reliever. Once I got here, I was relieved to see the dress was a little more relaxed like my last company. I came into a pretty unsettled situation, not awkward-unsettled, but it seemed they just needed to stop, breathe, and get their heads on straight. I don't think my predecessor left the company in a positive way. *Irregardless*, I got a good vibe from the woman training me (she was the receptionist a few years back, and has since advanced through the company) and it seems to be a positive working environment. I also noticed lots of diversity in ethnicities, always a positive thing to see in a company. I later read in their Welcome booklet that diversity is an important value of the company culture. Always a good thing to hear!

So now I am learning more of the ropes. And I got my sweet little name badge that also allows access to the building 24/7...so I can actually get here a few minutes early tomorrow and get myself situated.