Hooray! A project!

First let’s talk about clothes. The pain and agony of my heel blisters left me with one option today. Cheap ass flexible flats from Payless that I got when I came home from London. They were to be my desk shoes (the back-up pair I kept in my desk), but I gave notice so quickly I never used them.

Black flats meant either black pants (wore ’em yesterday) black skirt (not in the mood) or black top. So I picked the khaki skirt and my tight black sweater. Did I watch Tom Skilling this morning? Heat Index? Humiture? Nope. I left my house on the hottest day in two years wearing a tight BLACK sweater and flip flops. Even the flats would have to wait until I got to the desk–these are some serious blisters.

I got to work, got settled with a free cup of coffee, got my shoes on and waited. Hooray! Something happened at 9:30! A meeting was scheduled for 10AM!!! I was going to be included in a MEETING!!!

Yes, by the end of my time at IES, I’d come to dread meetings. But this is a new company, this is a new job, this might mean a PROJECT! WORK! Yes, I know, I’m wierd. I want to be working, not just being paid to sit and read manuels. Just enough time to go to the bathroom, get a warmer on the coffee, and wait for the meeting to start.

Now I’m not sure what has happened in the past, but the other admins are pretty clear that it will not be repeated. There will be no 3AM nights in the office working on this pitch. Nope, nothing. Some long hours are allowable, but nothing past (say) 7PM.

Mr. CND (Cube next door) is taking the lead and I was assigned travel and a little bit of research. The travel I did yesterday and I nearly begged for the research. “I don’t have anything to do! Please let me do something.” Maybe not quite like that, but another admin offered and I said, “I can do it.” My Boss agreed, “Leah doesn’t have any work, she can do it.”

So I got to do internet research all afternoon and print, print, print, print, print,printprintprintprint… things off about the product. I took some initiative and found some online reviews and some blog mentions of the product. Blogs are hot, in case you didn’t know.

I also fussed with trying to do time entry for billing and an expense report. I had work to do and that felt really good. I felt I deserved the third cup of coffee and the handful of chewy candies I took from the community candy jars in receptions. Did I mention that somebody showed me the stash of half and half for the coffee?

For lunch today I turned down an invitation to go to McDonalds (which I received a poor critique from Ronnie. I am supposed to be joining office culture, not being a loner. Damn it. Where was he when I said “No?”) with the other admins. I wandered out of the building in search of food. People are everywhere eating, but the restaurants are well hidden. Where did you get that salad? Where did you get that Potbelly sandwich? I wound up at Chipotle–so I ate McDs anyway.

I got the veggie burrito (Yes, I keep kosher enough that I can’t have a meat and dairy burrito) and a soda. Somehow at the soda bar, I managed to knock most of my diet coke into the napkin dispenser. Then I left with one napkin and no silverware. Having never eaten at Chipotle, I wasn’t prepared for the totally insane burrito experience that I’d put my light colored skirt underneath. Somehow I avoided certain disaster and didn’t get the black beans and salsa all down my front.

I wandered back to the possible terrorist target that is my office building and settled in for an afternoon of internet research. Now that I’m starting to have some work, the day is moving faster and I am starting to feel a little more like I matter.