Work:

It's been close to 5 months that I've been working....so I think it's time to update:

I "bribed" the fixed assets analyst with a bag of peanut M&Ms today so she would process my capital order request first.  It was an urgent request from one of the scientists I support and she promised me a wedge of cheese because she was currently in Wisconsin visiting her alma mater.  How ironic...   

One thing that I've learned about business is that in order to get things done, you gotta scratch someone else's back.  For example, we had a finance divisional meeting at the Doubletree Hotel in May.  Since it's close to the end of the year (in finance terms), we'll be having an end of year meeting.  So a rep from the Doubletree delivers to us a HUGE TRAY of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies with walnuts.  Mmmm....I wonder where we're gonna go come meeting time..

You know you've been at the office too long when natural light burns your eyes.  This happened to me when I left the office today.  I'm really glad I have a nice little cave to crawl into every morning and crawl out of each night...

I met with my controller today.  I think he's been working for at least 15 years but doesn't look a day over 25. 

Yep, I love my job.

On another note, I want to give a shout out to my boy Z.  I think Z is one of the greatest guys I've ever met.  He's just so nice, always willing to cook dinner for anyone.  I wish more guys were like Z. 

writing xanga for the first time in 4 months.  i think that's my longest hiatus.

Filling in the Blanks:

Work was really terrible from March through May.  Now it's a lot better and I have a lot more responsibility and can actually do things.  It's kinda scary.  I actually understand SAP and all the stinkin' pharmaceutical terms like SAD and MAD and my favorite, AMDE - Absorption, Metabolism, Distribution, and Excretion.  =)

Saw four of my friends get married. 

Started buying Star Wars figures and toys. 

Found out that LDL Cholesterol is bad for you and HDL is good for you.

Spent way too much time either checking, thinking, dreaming, or talking about fantasy baseball.

Forgot 90% of the stuff I learned in college.

Enjoy coming home from work on Friday afternoons and not having to think about work again until Monday morning.

Learning what it means to be part of a Christian community. 

Day Four - Almost Friday, but not Friday...

I am not suffering at work.  Maybe I am not use to going to bed at 12, waking up at 7:30 and driving to work in the cold.  Sitting in my cube playing with Excel and putting together binders and sending e-mails to request information. 

It's actually not so bad.  Today's fun-ness:

Going to lunch and getting the company to pay for it is awesome.  It's also quite wasteful.  i don't think one person finished their lunch and we ordered six appetizers which no one finished. And it also took an hour and a half. 

Spent an hour and a half talking to my manager.  He finally saw my resume and did not believe that i was valedictorian of my high school class because I had social skills and common sense.  Also made fun of me for liking the Mets.   

Swiped a laserjet printer, an electric stapler, a regular stapler, and oversized thumbtacks from the cube of an analyst who just resigned.  THIS WAS NOT ILLEGAL!  Whenever someone leaves, all of their stuff becomes free game.  The executive admin told me to do it before anyone else did.  Score.

Everyone leaves really early too.  I mean, by 6, the office is pretty empty.  And I know most people don't get into until at least 8:30ish.  No workaholics.  That's good. 

So work is not that bad.  I have to decorate my cube.  Any suggestions?  Would legos be too childish??  I don't really have anything there now, but I'm gonna be here for 11 months so I better put something there. 

Day One of White Collar Slavery -

7:25 - Wake up, very confused, tired, stumble into shower

7:50 - Realized that my shirt is not ironed =(  Even though I have 40 of them...there was one I actually wanted to wear and it was not ironed.

7:58 - Leave for work, realized that my loving, flaming brother leaves the tank at empty for me.  I have to get to work at 8:30.  It's 22 miles to the office.  I decide to go for broke.

8:27 - Make it to work safely.  Get a pretty junky spot.  At least it's not cold out. 

8:45 - My cubicle is a mess.  From the previous occupant, I inherited a box of internal audit files, an extremely dirty gel wristsaver for the keyboard, a couple of his resumes, and 10 cents in pennies.  Also, I do not have a computer yet.

9:19 - First yawn.  Had to get a cup of tea mixed with half and half and sugar.

9:35 - The senior analyst in my group tells me that my fly is down.  Way to go Phil, way to go...

10:00 - Orientation with three REALLY old people. 

12:00 - Go out to lunch with other analysts, realize that it's a beautiful day and I'm stuck in my cube in the middle of the hallway.

2:30 - Get my ID badge picture taken.  A true face of happiness...

3:45 - MY COMPUTER ARRIVES!  A bling IBM T42.  HIghlight of my day. 

5:00 - Meeting with my manager.  Tells me I'll be working with capital projects and headcount for the first couple of months.  FUN

6:15 - Duck out of work after setting up computer stuff and reading stuff about how to depreciate PPE.  Last Yawn.

9:30 - Pooped

So I'm starting WORK in 5 days, entering the "real world".  Not like, a summer internship or a part time job.  The next three years of my life devoted to a company that produces Reach dental floss, Tylenol, Clean & Clear Deep Clean Cleanser, and of course, KY Jelly (If you don't know what that is, according to Jojo, it's candy.  Visit your local pharmacy and ask for it by name.) 

So I'll be working for the rest of my life.  This is it.  Was college everything I expected it to be?  I still remember the summer before my freshmen year at Penn and thinking that this was what I've been working in high school for.  I would meet cool people, have the time of my life, find something I would be passionate about, and yeah, be set for life. 

Now that I'm on the other side, I can definitely say that I've met cool people, had a pretty good time, and found that the only thing that I need to be passionate about is God and that I was set for life before I was born.  I think college was a humbling experience and I can admit that I don't think I deserve what I've been given.  Great friends, solid church to attend, comfy job.  I'm truly lucky beyond belief.  And one thing I've learned is to enjoy the present.  You can't change the past and can't be sure what will happen in the future but you can enjoy each day to its fullest.