a new career chapter for me

It may seem too early to tell, but I am already super glad I left my old job for my new one at OrangeSoda. Sounds like an obvious statement, but I did have my doubts in the interim. I was unemployed for several weeks before getting a job offer, after all. And this was after going back to at least 3 companies for a 2nd interview! Job searching blows!!!

But I finally feel like I may be at a place where work doesn't have to suck. Where it can actually be fun. Trust me, I know how rare it is for someone to be able to make a claim like that. Since starting my working life back in high school at the bottom of the food chain with first a newspaper route and then as a server, I have never thought that work was fun. And that's just life. 

I don't expect that I'll think work is fun every day. I'm not that naive. But the facts that these people are almost as enthusiastic about Halloween as I am and that they encourage employees to take breaks in the community ping pong table room are enough to give me high hopes.

Talking about work is boring, I know. But this has been occupying my mind for, like, a really long time now. So here are some things I've learned to appreciate during my quest for career nirvana. At my new company:

• They value people and employees. That's a good sign. I used to take that for granted.
• They're excited to brag about their benefits & compensation rather being secretive about it.
• The interviewing and hiring process is organized.
• They recognized that it was also in their best interest to make me feel comfortable during interviews and etc.
• I've already been introduced to a gazillion people.
• They have a "work hard, play hard" mentality that makes its employees happy! Imagine.
• They are flexible with scheduling and time off.
• People are just nice. Everyone I've talked to has been friendly and happy. No negative vibes.
• They are expanding and expecting to move to a larger building within the next year.
• It's my first week and they've already made me feel like they want me to stick around.

Here's to hoping I'll be here for a long time. I don't want to job hunt again any time soon. Actually, when it comes to job hunting and I, "we-ee are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together."

update on the office fish tank

Remember how creepy the office fish tank is? I posted about it here.

Well, it has since been a little de-creepified. It actually looks nicer and more professional now, with completed wood finishings and a clean area surrounding it.

However, it is still a source of morbid occurrences during the day.

The owner (or the assistant) always announces when he's about to feed the fish and we all rush out to the tank like it's some sort of show. 'Cause it is. 

He dumps in the "feeder fish," which are usually little shrimps or goldfish, and the other fish all dive in like a regular feeding frenzy!

It's crazy. One fish always goes straight for the goldfish's eyes and gets them sometimes too. The puffer fish likes to gnaw a goldfish in half and gulp down sections at a time. This blind eel sort of squirms about and shoots its head around like a snake trying to catch food.

Some people took to naming the puffer fish after one of the other copywriters. I'm not sure why, but they'll point their fingers and say "Look at Scott - he's so aggressive today!" And people laugh.

And we all stand around, gasping and hooting at the fish like it's a gladiator arena.

Ten or so minutes later, we ho-hum back to our cubicles. La-te-da, back to work.

It wakes you right up if it happens to be after lunch. At least, you hope it happens after, and not right before.

Lately

I don't know that I have that much to post about, but I feel like it's been a while so here is some gibberish that's been on my mind lately.

• First of all, has anybody seen the reality TV atrocity called "Toddlers and Tiaras"? Oh. my. freaky. I clicked on it out of curiosity one day and I couldn't believe the lengths that some (mostly hickish) moms will go to to steer their literally toddler aged daughters into being airheaded beauty/drama queens some day.
• Anyway. I'm also getting over my fourth cold of the season. I feel better, but of course I still have a persistent cough that makes the usual activities somewhat uncomfortable.
• Do we need to start praying for snow? After several mid-Winter weeks of feeling like it's really March or April, I'm starting to feel a little concerned about what this will mean for my beloved summer season.
• Job searching. Again. It's like a yearly ritual or something. You'd think I can't get enough of it. Except this time, my freelance writing has given me a foot in the door with marketing companies and things are looking... sunny.
• My car coughs disturbingly when I turn on the ignition. It's due for an oil check, and I'm hoping that is the only reason why my car is making sickly noises.
• I'm reading City Of Bones for my online book club and loving it. Clare is a good storyteller. It's a magical and totally engrossing plot, plus the characters are fascinating.  Seriously. It's giving me ideas. And hinderig my productivity.
• On that note, my own story writing efforts are coming along. I caved in and did some outlining, eventually realizing that I could write myself in circles without a plot chain to help steer me.
• I am proud to report that Clint is enjoying his new Christmas shoes. I was hesitant about giving him not just 1, but 3 pairs of new shoes for Christmas. But he needed them. I'm always happy to see him wearing a new pair of stylin' shoes picked out by his wife!
• I also caved and finally took down my Christmas decorations. I just felt too weird with it looking like April outside.

Finally, Happy Martin Luther King, Jr day!

catching colds during a warmish cold season

I'm pretty sure this is the fourth time during the past 3-ish months of this season that I have gotten a cold.

 The kicker is, it hasn't even snowed since November, and the snowfall was pretty weak even then. Obviously something is wrong with my immunity.

I've been keeping the cold symptoms at bay each time with vitamin C drops and ColdEez; however, I'm starting to wonder if I should let one of these colds run its course so that it can finally leave my system for good.

The positive news is:

• At least Clint hasn't seemed to catch it from me
• working from home means jammies and relaxing while still getting work done

The bad news is:

• my running legs (and lungs) feel like Frodo trying to climb up the last mile of Mount Doom

So is there a secret to boosting immunity that I am just not getting?

Anway, sorry to take up an entire post complaining about illness. I just never realized colds could be quite so chronic. If you have any tips in this area, do share. Because according to WebMD.com I am simply not meditating or sleeping enough or something. Whatev.

Freelance writing is hard

Sometimes I wonder how long I can continue to fool myself into thinking that I am self-disciplined enough to do this freelance thing.

I'm a good faker.

I had a... um.... mild breakdown after experiencing another week of slow work. I was caught feeling guilty for not working as hard as Clint, for making even less cash than usual while not cutting back enough on my spending, and wondering whether I had made the wrong decision altogether to do this job. 

I mean, do I need to change career directions again?

There's no clear cut answer most of the time and it seems that I have more growing up to do than I ever thought.  I am NOT patient, I do NOT have nearly enough faith, and I do NOT know what my purpose is in life. 

Sound like the life of a 13-year-old? (It's okay to say yes.  I already have.)

But, to be honest, I am somewhat even less self-assured than many of the13-year-old girls in my darling Beehive class. Sometimes I realize that as a kid with the whole world in front of me, I had a sort of magical confidence that I don't have as an adult.  I mean I could have done anything from painting masterpieces to writing novels to playing professional sports to traveling the world...

Not that I always wanted such glamorous professions, but the point stands: the world was mine for the having. 

And now I'm 27. Graduated from college and still not sure where I'm supposed to "end up."

I'm not really trying to be depressing here. I'm just saying some of the things that have been on my mind.  It's actually a positive reflection, because I can at this point of my life say that I am pursuing a talent that I have always wanted to...

Writing.

I went to a new optometrist today to renew my contact lense prescription and had to fill in my new address and such. Under "occupation," I felt a girlish thrill at my hand spelling out, "Self-empoyed Writer." 

And yes, I used a capital W.  Thank you very much.

I'm lucky to be a writer, and I'm especially lucky to have a husband who is patient and faithful and reassuring of my positive influences, so that he can get me through phases of forgetting how lucky I am to be a writer.

And also so that I can feel silly about myself the next day when I suddenly get a whole bunch of new articles to write. So many articles, in fact, that I will be at this computer again tomorrow morning.

Just... how 'bout that.

the home alone shivers

Okay, so nothing could really ever make me buy one of these.  First of all, who came up with that name?  Snuggie? Really? 

No kid who was ever treated to a bully-induced snuggie in elementary school would think of naming a product that and any geek who grew up to be a business savvy marketing genius would never have let this one slip. 

I can do better.  Pajankie, for one example.  Or how about, Blankajama?

Hahaha.  Man, I am such a comic.

Anyway.

Since working from home, I have noticed a few things:

1. Pandora (internet radio) is an insecure girl like me.  It likes you to click that you like it every once and a while or it will ask you if you're still listening.

2. Cable TV with promotional free movie channels is the devil.  (I'll actually be happy when the promotional period ends and I'm not so tempted to always check and see what's on.)

3. Pajamas in the afternoon are totally acceptable, even encouraged.

4. It is deliriously wonderful to only get phone calls and emails from people that I care about.

5. The house is colder without a husband in it.  I am determined to not make Clint pay for letting me work at home in the form of increasing our heating bill by a gazillion percent.  So while the indoor temperature lingers around 66 degrees, I wear slippers, sweats, and hoodies all day while occasionally drinking hot chocolate at my computer.

In case there is any question in your mind at this point, the slippers-and-hot-chocolate scenario is NOT a bad thing.

At least I will never stoop to Snuggies.