Comments (11)

By kilax, March 19, 2009 6:03 pm

Yesterday was my First Quarterly Panel review (the event for which I was writing the dreaded report).

Guess what? I ended up dreading the review in the same way I dreaded writing the panel report. I don’t get nervous about presenting things or talking to people, but this was just something I wasn’t looking forward to. A lot of emphasis is put on the importance of the presentation, so I was under a lot of stress and pressure, along with my other HUGE work load.

But, it went extremely well. I presented to 7 people, talked about what I’ve been doing and learning for the last three months, for about 2o-25 minutes, then they asked me a series of questions.

You know what? I actually enjoyed being up there, talking to everyone about my projects, and what I like about working for the company. One member of the audience asked me if there was anything I dislike and would like changed, and I honestly could not think of one thing*.

Everyone told me I did a great job, and one person told me he liked how energetic I am. My team leader stopped at my desk after the presentation (I got to my desk first, because they sit in the conference room after you leave to talk about you!) and told me I made her feel “very proud.”

I think I’ll actually look forward to my next panel report – that was a pretty good day.

But work’s still kicking my ass.

Do you have to do presentations at your office? Do you dread them or love to share with other people? I wonder if part of me is just craving some human interaction. I’ve been buzzing off of it lately.

*Oh sure, I have daily gripes and can bitch and cuss, but that would be at ANY job. I love my company and the way it’s set up.

Comments (13)

By kilax, February 9, 2009 12:44 pm

Somehow, I managed to forget that the appointment I made to get a new government ID this morning requires my photo being taken. If I would have remembered, I would have spent a little more time getting ready this morning.

What a great start to the week.

On the bright side though, I walked by a Crêpe restaurant on my way to get the new ID. Just knowing my office is that close to a Crêpe restaurant makes me happy. Strange – but I’ll take it.

Yum, crêpes. I think I’ve only ever had two – one in Paris, and one in Copenhagen. The one in Copenhagen was huge, filled with hot nutella oozing out of the edges, and folded into a big, chewy triangle. I’m going to spend the rest of the day fantasizing about that.

Update: I just found out I am getting introduced to 300+ people today at our “Town Hall Meeting.” Yay, the day just gets better!

Comments (16)

By kilax, December 11, 2008 8:27 pm

It’s really weird, starting a new job as Mrs. “Steven’s Last Name.” In fact, I haven’t become fully accustomed to it yet. As my new supervisor was introducing me to people on Monday, I just introduced myself as “Kim.” Only when they asked for my last name did I give it, after thinking about it for a split second. (It’s necessary to know the last name of the “Kims” – there are 4 or 5 others on my floor!)

I didn’t exclude Steven’s last name out of insult… I just really haven’t gotten used to it yet (well, obviously, if I am still calling it “his last name”). We got married in September of 2007, but I didn’t change my name until October of 2008. For various reasons. So, it’s a recent development.

Now it is almost 100% changed. The passport and a few various subscriptions and rewards cards remain. Ilax is now my middle name. Goodbye, Marie. (Sorry, mom)

So, having a “new” last name kind of adds to the fun of starting a new job. Because starting a new job is kind of like a chance to start over. You can be whoever you want! You can leave behind your bitchy ways (unlikely), be less of a goober (very unlikely),  quit it with the potty mouth (I’m trying!), work harder (not a problem, heh), be more social (also not a problem, HA!), etc. You get the idea.

I like that having a new last name means NO ONE from work knows about my website. If you search for my first name and Steven’s last name, it takes a long time to get to me. And the first correct hits are my 5K results. Ha! Anyone is welcome to see those! There is one post I wrote that reveals my last name, but I made it private.

Why do I desire to remove my “new” last name from public search? So that I can start to be a bit more candid here. I don’t plan to bash people I work with. In fact, I don’t plan to write about work at all.* I just want to be able to say I feel upset about things, like my problems with food, and not worry that my boss read it and thinks I’m a super weird-o. It’s a relief.

You know, it’s hard not to tell people about your blog. When they say “You ran a 5K as Santa? Are there any pics?” You want to say, “Yeah, go to www.ilaxstudio.com!” But, I won’t be saying THAT anymore. I’ll get used to it. It will be worth it.

So far, I am having a lot of fun my first week at work (hmm… is it a good thing to say you are having “fun” at work?!). My old office had 15 people on a full day, but the floor I work on now has almost 100 people. And we have at least 3 other floors in my building. It’s really fun to meet new people, share your interests, and discover their personalities.

I am in a training group, so there are a lot of social activities. Also, with it being the holidays, we have a lot of social events going on – 3 parties next week! And I even volunteered to help bartend at one. I also volunteered to help load the “letters-to-santa” gifts into the cars for delivery tomorrow. Yes, I like to get involved.

I can tell I am going to like the work, and the complexity of it. And I already know quite a bit about it because my previous employer was a contractor for where I work now (the naked truth comes out!). Of course, it being my first week, I am still filling out paper work and settling in. But I will let you all know how it goes. I really appreciated everyone’s support on Sunday’s post! It made me feel great!

*I work for the government now. Anything mentioned about work is going to be SUPER SUPER SUPER GENERIC. P.S. Did I tell you that I work just a few floors under Mr. President-Elect, Barack Obama?

What is with the two annoying super-long posts in a row? A-N-N-O-Y-I-N-G!!!