One of my friends writes for the Standard. She did this thing once where she took a sign that read, "I'll give you a dollar for your story." - Long story short, she ended up collecting 20 stories. Wonderful tales - people from different backgrounds, life experiences, adventures, mentalities.... Going off from that - I made it a goal for this summer to get to know people more. So I told myself when given the chance, I will ask someone to tell me something about them. Not the usual - what do you do? how do you like it here? etc. But something that tells me a lot more about them.
Take Bob* the office guy. He's got beautiful blonde hair. Probably in his mid 20s. If I ever see him pass by he always does that head-bob "hello." I was getting coffee today and he was there (as usual) stacking all the coffee, tea, fruits and snacks. I'm thinking in my head, what's a young good-lookin' (don worry, blondes aren't my type) guy doing here as an office supplier? He noticed that I was walking strange (knee got busted this weekend from biking). We got into a good conversation about biking and what he did on weekends. I asked him how long he worked here and he said "too long." - Call me crazy, but that translated means "unhappy" (doesn't it?). So I asked what his passion was and he replied construction/social service. Then he was done stacking up he left again. So tomorrow or the day after I will ask him another question - like what's his favorite movie. Did he check out the new X-Men movie? One question at a time.
Take Sue* the assistant (I'm not clear to what her actual title is) - you know those people in the company that knows every little detail? How to run each program, who works in which floor, who is present at which meeting - without these people other people get frantic. She's a sweet heart. A sweet ol' lady who has a cute black "weener-puppy" (as she likes to call it) and gets me lunch every day. She enjoys a good ol' laugh a little now and then - boy, can you hear her laughter! She admitted that at first, she was scared 'cuz she didn't have a degree and didn't think she was "smart" as everyone else, but once she settled in it was amusing to have so many people call/email her and depend on her. My past week wouldn't have been sane without this woman. She worked at another company for 30 years til she moved her. I want to ask her though - why not the degree? She's highly competent and sweet and a hard worker. Why Houston?
My favorite one is the Russian guy*. So of course he's tall, slender, has an accent and likes to crack up jokes (at least all my European friends are that way). I've never appreciated my exposure to other cultures - I take it for granted. I owe my parents a thank you - my experience with such cultures has made it so comfortable for me to ask random questions while not insulting the person. So he came to the States to study (unusual, for a European I must say), fell in love, got married, and now has a kid that is life. I laughed and said, "I bet your kid is beautiful. In high school, all the popular kids were mixed kids." And then he showed me some pictures (this is why I love getting to know people). Of course, as I figured, the kid was beautiful. We made a few jokes here and there about the corporate world, how there are so many redundancies and inefficient use of resources and how especially everybody on the floor lived busy, busy lives. He asked me stuff in return. How my internship was going, what I wanted to do - I didn't have exact answers for him, but I joked that I didn't want to work where I did now (in terms of the field) - just cuz I couldn't picture myself working 50 hour weeks. It was interesting to hear how he balanced work and family. It's incredible to me how people can compartmentalize and make such a huge impact for their co-workers and family.
The best part about today was one, my "project" or little assignment that was given to me - FINALLY got done. I look at what I've done these past days and it's amazing how time went by so fast.
First two days) Understanding jargon and concepts of what needed to be calculated
Day three) understanding how to get those formulas and calculations and who to get it from
Day four - five) setting up meetings, getting the data, double-checking the answers and finishing everything. It's crazy to think that this took four-five days. Maybe if I wasn't new it would have taken me three. But still - inefficient use of resources - this is why my mentor is coming up with an idea to use a software that does all the calculations for us - with one push of a button. I'm excited to be on board!
Two) By creating these new relationships with others - I'm more excited to go to work now! I really am. Now that I've had these short but "intimate" moments with fellow workers, just being in the same office space as them and saying things like, "Good Morning" or "Hi," just helps develop a natural, mutual bond, which I personally think it's beneficial to the unit's cohesiveness.
Now that I FINALLY settled (or at least I think I have), kinda think I know how to get around, a little less scared, and have set my expectations with my mentor -- I'm now more calm and eager to see where this experience takes me :)
Till I learn something new......
Oh one more thing: hearing a "great job" or "a job well done" is always nice. Don't expect it all the time, just work hard regardless. Cuz when you do hear such a compliment, you definitely feel that sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. That sense of accomplishment that you deserve :)
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