Trash Talking the Boss

by Lawyer Working Girl

The past few weeks at work have been long and stressful. One week I worked Monday through the next Sunday. I was getting very little sleep and it was taking a toll on my mood. Yes, Working Girls, I was moody, but I can tell you that I was not the only one. I've been feeling the stress level rise around the office for the last few weeks. Smiles have worn off people's faces, colleagues are getting confrontational with each other, and employees are snapping at their superiors.

I have a couple of colleagues with whom I can bad talk the job or the people we work with only because I truly trust them and they trust me enough to be honest about how they are feeling on the job. I know some of you think that's probably a bad move--trash talking with coworkers--but I think some trash talk is expected at work amongst employees, right?

I also find myself tweeting my feelings some days. I'm never specific, never name names, and I've never tweeted the name of my company. It's usually something very generic like, "My patience is wearing thin" on a day when someone was trying to tell me how to do my job. If my boss read my tweets, I don't think he or she would find anything pointing to him or her or the company, but I have wondered if anyone monitors our personal online activities.

I recently read an article that discusses this very thing. There was a case in Connecticut where the National Labor Relations Board ruled that a company cannot fire its employees for complaining about their bosses on Facebook. I'm kind of for this ruling and against this ruling (just like a lawyer, huh?).

On one hand, I believe that employees should be allowed to live their personal lives without the company butting in; but on the other hand, if someone is out there bashing the company's image or disrespecting the boss, I don't think that should be tolerated. I mean, it's one thing to talk about your boss (which I never do because I actually like my boss a lot) or company or colleagues amongst your colleagues, but when you start bad-mouthing to the outside world that's different. You're possibly damaging your company's image. I think of it as most people think of their families--it's ok for you to talk about your family members, but as soon as someone outside of the family says something, it's not ok.

Working Girls, what are your thoughts on this? Do you find yourself venting through social media? How do you ensure that it doesn't affect your career?

Where did my confidence go?

by In Transition Working Girl

Two months.

This is how long its taken to lose all confidence I had going into my new job. I have lost it all-I feel completely lost and helpless. I feel like I know nothing and everything that I have ever learned has been stripped away from me, literally.

When I made my move a few months ago, I went in feeling so confident and ready to prove myself. I had set goals and expectations of myself and now I find myself feeling weak and powerless. I feel I can't do anything right and everyone is sitting back watching me flail, even perhaps getting some satisfaction out of it.

I have tried to pinpoint whats happening and have some general thoughts. Mainly though they all related back to no one training me or showing me historically how things have been done and then criticizing and making me feel bad when I step up on my own and fail.

Its been a rough transition. Now I know that there is always a learning curve, but making me feel stupid should not be a part of it. This is a major confidence downer. The three former working girls whose job I took over were not here to train me when I started so its my own ball game, starring ME! Which in some regards is a positive because I get to create my own program.

I had a pep talk with my father last weekend and his advice was of course to stay positive (don't let the gremlins get you down), but also learn the people's soft spot who are making me feel bad and learn (not necessarily "be") to be friendly with them. Everyone has them and I need to make it my mission to break the wall down.

How have you handled new job transitions and confidence busters?

I'll Cry If I Want to...

by In Transition Working Girl

This week has been trying and stressful; and there were several moments where I wanted to burst out crying in the office. Yes, I am going to admit it on Working Girl, I am an emotional person. There was even a point in the week when an old friend called to get an update and I just explained I couldn't talk work stuff because I was at work and I didn't want to have a break down. Let me just say this, moving and starting a new job has been beyond stressful.

This got me thinking though, how many of you have cried in the workplace? Seen a colleague cry? And how do you handle it?

Stress is my major point of weakness when it comes to wanting to burst out into tears. It may be long hours or a pending deadline that goes off track, but crying is a source of release for me. In the beginning of my Working Girl career, managing this kind of stress was so new to me that it lead to many crying sessions and more than I would care to admit. However over the last several years I have gotten better about managing this stress and have learned how awful it really is to cry in front of my colleagues and bosses. I makes me feel weak and less respected, so now I avoid it all costs.

For me, learning to manage my tears has come with time and I know there is still lots to learn when it comes to stress management. Here are several things that I do:

• Take a short 5-10 min walk
• Take a coffee or lunch break
• Do something personal (check email or Facebook) to clear my mind off of work
• Walk outside and make a phone call
• Make a to do list to map out how I am going to get everything done
• Take deep breaths
• Turn on my iPod for a little bit

One thing I learned not to do unless I have a friend working with me that I trust, is to go crying to a colleague. If my tears are about to come when I am talking to someone, I quickly end the conversation and head for a private location.

Now reversing roles, what do you do if its someone else who is shedding tears? When this happens to me, my number one thought is get them out of sight of everyone else who might be able to see that they are crying. I usually suggest we get out of the office to continue to address what is going on. Then from there I make sure they know I am there for them and this session will be between us only. If its stress I try to unburden them and see what I can do to take a load from them, otherwise I just listen and try to be a good listener-and that's all.

What are some other tips and suggestions to manage your tears in the work place?

The Vacation is Officially Over

It's another Thursday morning in the office and I'm sitting at my desk clicking the heels of my boots, eyes closed and whispering methodically, “I can make it to Friday! I can make it to Friday. I can make it to Friday?”

I'm officially post-holiday and feeling the sting.

It seems that things at work are getting more and more unpredictable as the company enacts sweeping changes. I've been around longer than most, more than five years, and I've never seen it quite like this. Restructuring, administrative musical chairs, cryptic company-wide memos, nixed holiday bonuses; its leaving me slightly on edge.

I've taken to sorting my afternoon Chex Mix snack into neat categories to calm my nerves. And, despite all the weirdness, it's insanely busy.

Taking a week and a half of PTO at the end of the year has caught up with me in a tremendous way. I've made the decisions eat lunch at my desk more than once since coming back. I'm seriously wondering if time off is work the hassle once its over? The flooded inbox, the mountain of sticky-note tagged items in my chair, the multitude of voicemails that must be returned though I know that half of them probably don't remember calling in the first place. (*sigh*) But alas, I have work, which is more than can be said for 10.2% of Georgians, so really I shouldn't complain. Somehow, holiday gifts are still trickling in Mid-January and there's nothing like an unexpected jar of individually-wrapped Rice Krispie Treats to brighten up a day!

And the weather has been miserably cold. Yes, I know its January but us southerners are accustomed to mild winters with the occasional two or three day "wintry mix" thrown in just to remind us why we choose not live in colder climates. But this frigid weather descended upon the Southeast over a week ago with temps dipping into the teens. At one point, Atlanta was colder than Alaska. . . Alaska, people! No one has time to be courteous now. Southern hospitality fades at 17 degrees. It even snowed, once, and only a few inches fell but since we were below-freezing, it hung around for days. Ice slick roadways made driving, even walking, hazardous. I actually made it across the frozen parking lot at work only to step in the door and slip. The fall was legendary. Think Home Alone. I was on the ground before I realized I was falling.

No, there is not a lawsuit pending but it did get me to thinking about a very real disorder, post-holiday blues, as I lay there wondering if anyone had witness the fall. PHD is a living, breathing, palpable funk that usually hits hard this time of year after the intense excitement of the end of the year holidays, especially if there's craziness at work. The lack of energy and motivation, sticker shock from overextending on must-have Black Friday deals, the fact that the next paid holiday may not be until May and just overall bad mood can strike even the most focused Working Girls so I googled these tips for getting back into the groove:

• Exercise! Okay, you’ve probably heard this a million times but exercising does make you feel good! Start working some form of exercise into your daily routine—you don’t have to buy a gym membership; going on walks or a 20 minute run three or four times a week is good enough, as long as it gets the heart pumping. Exercising will make you feel more alert and awake, which will help you perform well at work, even if you don’t want to be there. It will also help you get to bed at a reasonable hour, which will help your sleeping schedule get back in order. And of course, it will make you look good as well as feel good!

• Clean up. Get organized and put away all holiday decorations. This will help you mentally move on and get into a better mindset to get back to work. It will also take some stress off, knowing that you get to come home to a clean environment will give you some peace of mind.

• Take time to reflect on the wonderful things you did during your vacation. You may realize that, although the holiday is sadly over, you made the most of your time off and had a lot of fun. This will make it easier to accept that it’s time to get back to normalcy.

• Don’t forget about the little ones! Adults are not the only ones that don’t like going back to the old routine—your kids feel it too! Help establish the old routines by getting them to bed early and limiting how much TV they watch. Encourage them by reminding them that school is fun and how all their friends are excited to see them again. Have a positive attitude about going back, so that your children will mirror this positivity.

• Start thinking about the next fun thing you want to do, or the next vacation you want to take, so that you have something else look forward to.
  

I Found My First Gray Hair Today...

And I don't want to talk about it. My first week of work was quite overwhelming, the special needs pre-schoolers I am working with require a lot of assistance and a LOT of patience. I have been trying to keep my cool all week (although I have cried everyday at 2PM when they leave), but the stress has started to get to me, and it's too early in 2010 to get burned out! With that said, I thought I'd write about stress. The word itself even gives me chills (and as I am typing this, the children who live above me are screaming crying and THAT is even stressing me out).

Being a Working Girl in any field can feel like a lot of pressure at times. There are things you are required to do in order to keep your job, as well as things you want to do to prove to your boss that you're right for the job. Presentations, reports, events, meetings, lesson plans, conferences, report cards...it's hard to keep track of everything (especially when you have to keep track of it for 16 three-year-olds and their parents as well), and it can get very stressful very fast. However the key is to manage your stress (along with managing your work, your boss's calendar, social events, and errands, right?) because if not stress will get the best of you and it can damage your performance, your mind, and your health. Here are some tips I found on about.com about why managing is important.

1. Get Organized: I live for making lists! "Food store", "calls to make", "stuff to pack for business trip" and to be extra organized I recommend numbering your lists according to importance.

2. Work It Of: Sometimes you just don't feel like going to the gym, and I can't blame you. After a tiring day at work it's hard to get motivated to go back out (especially if the weather is crummy) so lay on the floor and stretch. Take deep breaths as you reach above your head and to your toes. It will help relax your muscles.

3. Develop Strategies: It's impossible to avoid stress. It happens. Have some back up plans to keep you on track such as an easy meal you can defrost if you don't have time to make dinner or a "go to" outfit that makes you feel more important for that intense meeting next week.

4. Take 5: When you feel yourself getting tense get up from your desk (or ask a teacher to cover your class) and take a few minutes to get your head clear. Get some fresh air or splash some water on your face and take lots of deep breaths.

5. Set Realistic Goals: Lose 40 pounds by March is only going to stress you out more when Feb 28th rolls around and you've only lost 10.

6. Take A Nap: Studies show that a 15-20 minute nap can improve your mood and stress-handling abilities. As for myself, when I come home from school if I took a nap, I wouldn't wake up until the next morning. But there's nothing wrong with crashing on the couch for a bit after a long day.

7. Stay Involved: Join sports teams in your area, go to weekly dinners with friends, or take up a new hobby.

8. Eat Well: Try to stick to a balanced diet during the week to keep your immune system strong and help you sleep well. Vitamin C is magic to a teacher.

So remember girls, it is okay to be stressed out, but managing it is key. Stay organized and take some time for yourself. You deserve to have some fun! And if you ever need to vent, email me and we can share war stories!

My Disappearing Act

I think I owe an explanation for my disappearing act, because like I said on our first post back on Monday WG1 had a much better explanation of why she has been MIA.

I've definitely been in a working funk lately. When my last boss left our company, I was in total and complete limbo. They had no intention of hiring a new Executive VP (even though that would make sense) so no one needed a new assistant. Everyone was pretty much scrambling to find a place for me to fit in. They knew that I wanted to keep doing the events, but what else would occupy my time? Before I had been doing various projects that popped up but that was all based on my workload from my old boss. My new boss suggested I become a Project Manager and work with consumer marketing. This included figuring out email schedules, working with new clients, and such.

So for almost two months they had me "shadow" someone who had been managing projects at our company for almost 4 years. And in the middle of those two months, he quit to go back to school. Which left me with his workload, zero understanding of what I was doing, and a mountain of stress. Not to mention I was uber confused. I knew that I still really loved events and they weren't taking those away from me, but now I was doing someone else's full-time job. And I didn't even like it! I wanted to say something to my boss, but the feeling that the only reason I still had a job was because I was filling in with what needed to be helped with, made me think twice about that.

In a nutshell, I wasn't a happy camper. I thought about getting an new job - even applied to a few. Of course, I heard nothing back because the economy is shot so I kept going about my business in a job I didn't love with a mountain of work.

Just last week, my new boss sat me down and proposed that I go back to working with merchant marketing - a job I had kinda been doing before in my old position. She suggested I work on their projects which would include working with the sales team. I would still be doing events but I would get to work on collateral for the sales team and all their supplemental marketing requests. All things I did at my old job. Things that made me feel more comfortable. Things that so far have made me a teensy bit happier.

I won't really transition into my new position until Monday, and really other than doing new things not much else has changed. I didn't get a raise and my title didn't actually change. Don't worry - all things that I will talk about with my new boss in the next coming weeks. I'm settling in for the moment, not just into my new job but also into a new desk (which is ten times larger than my old one and I'm no longer lodged next to all the creatives who I am convinced hate my guts).

Things are getting better and most importantly I'm back from the black blogging abyss.

Yes, We're Alive!

Eek. So, you might have noticed that WG1 and I have been absent for a while (and by a while I mean almost 1 week and a half, but who's counting?!?). So we wanted to let you all know that we're alive.

Also...

...We are still recovering from our trip to Las Vegas last weekend where we partied like ballers, spent money like crazy people, and saw Britney Spears in concert (which was amazing and highly entertaining!).

...We're both super swamped at work with events, events, and more events. They take over lives. Seriously.

...Not only that but we're both busy in our after-work lives too! WG1 was apartment hunting and moving in with her boyfriend and WG2 has been helping plan an event for a board she is on and yes, just maybe she's been job searching (but don't tell!).

So we're sorry that we've been MIA. But we promise we'll be back in full force this Monday. And if you need a little Working Girl fix, you can always follow us on Twitter!

Overloaded with Stress

On my calendar this week are the following: a charity board meeting, a doctor's appointment, dinner at my dad's, evening out at the ballet, mani/pedi, and a going away party for a co-worker. And those are events just Monday through Friday.

If it isn't apparent, I have a tendency to overdo it. I feel as though I work better when I have a lot going on. So in addition to my full-time job, I also serve on two charity boards, co-write this blog, and try to have a social life on the weekdays and the weekends. (Not to mention I have a very full schedule of TV to watch and I like getting at least seven hours of sleep a night).

In the past I haven't viewed my busy schedule as an issue, but recently I've started noticing a pattern of me sleeping in later on the weekends and doing less on my days off as well. In hindsight, it's probably not the worst thing in the world, I mean I could be falling asleep in meetings (ssh, we all know I practically do that already). But for some reason it bothers me that I'm not more productive on the weekends because while I like to think watching a movie marathon on Lifetime is a good idea for a Saturday, it's probably not. And I think I've realized why I do this - it's because I don't deal with my stress levels during the week.

See, I realized that all the things I do outside of work are a mechanism to make me forget work. After a long day at the office the last thing I should be allowed to do is go home and mull it over (while eating Ben & Jerry's). Because then I think about work (or worse do work) which makes me more stressed which leads me to sleeping less. So when I'm busy after work I have less time to think about my job, which in turn makes me less stressed and a better sleeper.

My dilemma is this. I need a stress buster. Obviously what I'm doing right now isn't working. I'm not sleeping very well these days and the stress of my new responsibilities at work are catching up with me so I've started doing more after work which leads me to my vicious cycle of using my weekends for sleeping 11 hours and watching My Nanny's Secret starring Haylie Duff on a Saturday night (yes, that may have been what I did this weekend).

I've thought about taking a meditation class, but me being zen is almost laughable. Massages always relax me but I doubt I will ever in my lifetime just have an extra $200 laying around. Give me wine on a weekday night and watch me complain the entire next day. Watching TV sometimes does the trick until the show stresses me out which leads me to think about my stress and then I'm back to the vicious cycle.

I need your help Working Girls! What do you do to unwind? What keeps the stress at bay? How do I break my vicious cycle?

The Honeymoon is Over

Things have changed drastically since my old boss quit and moved on to greener pastures, and I can't decide if I'm happy about it or not.

On paper everything sounds great. I had a sit down talk with my new boss, who I have heard horror stories about but has been nothing but kind to me, and she pretty much told me that she didn't need an assistant nor did she want one in the future. Which is when I began to panic because in addition to helping with special projects and running the events, I was an assistant to my old boss and without being an assistant, it seemed like my job would be axed.

Turns out I was wrong. My new boss told me that instead of getting rid of me, they wanted to have me start training to be a Project Manager. Under this new title, I would be working on projects internally such as the launch of our new consumer website and I would still get to manage the events we have throughout the year.

While this sounds picture perfect (aka I get a semi-promotion, possibly more money, a better title, etc.), I still can't help feeling a little weary about the whole thing. True, it's a great opportunity, but a little bit of me inside keeps saying, "Is this really what you want to do with your life?"

With events, it's like I've finally found something besides writing that I enjoy and am good at. And now with all this extra work I'm going to be doing managing projects and slotting emails and making collateral, I won't have nearly as much time to focus on what I really like about my job. I made this clear to my new boss - that events is what I love - and she responded that she had no intention of taking them away. I just worry about her expectations down the line and if this statement will remain true. These other projects will obviously take precedence over events because they need to get done.

I suppose what I'm really worrying about is not being happy anymore. For the past seven months, I've been really happy doing my job. I have liked planning the events, scouting locations, and picking themes. I really enjoyed working with my old boss. Things were going really well and then this little kink happened.

I'm worried that I'm going to start resent work - that I won't want to wake up in the mornings and that I'll start hating coming to work which is what started to happen to me in New York and I started to lose all motivation.

I guess what I'm starting to realize is that the honeymoon phase of liking my job in Chicago is coming to an end. I know I could start looking for a new job, but I haven't even been here a year yet, and I would really like to be able to have more events under my belt before I leave.

So the conclusion I've come to is that I'm going to try and stick it out until February when our largest event is, and in the meantime I have polished up my resume and if I ever start to feel like my job is moving in the wrong direction or events get taken away from me, then I can start looking around.

But until then, I'm going to see where this road takes me.

Inbox Stress. Oy.

I receive a ridiculous amount of emails everyday. When I'm sitting at my desk all day and opening each email as it come in, it doesn't seem like much. When I'm sitting on the beach all the day and leave my Blackberry at the house, it's overwhelming.

I've never once ordered a single item from Bluefly. Do I really need daily emails from them? Do I need to be signed up for each and every newsletter NYMag publishes? Or Daily Candy? Or Food Network? When was the last time I printed a recipe (two weeks ago) and actually cooked it (um...)?

And that's just my personal email account. In addition to that, I have my work account, my Working Girl account and a super secret account. Yes, I have a super secret account. An account so secret that I forgot the password. Awesome.

The problem with me, my email accounts and all of the aforementioned emails is that nothing stresses me out more than having a number next to "Inbox." That number could be 3,434 or 3. It is so stressful to me. So every time an email pops up I have to open it.


Before I learned what archiving was I kept every single email. Talk about stressful. After over two years of working, I've finally developed a decent system for organizing my work emails. I still read them as soon as they come in but I do one of the following with each:

1. Delete
2. File
3. Respond and File
4. Keep in Inbox

The items in my inbox only remain there until I gather the information I need to respond. I typically try to accomplish this within a day or two.

Simple enough, right?

As simple as it is, it still took me nearly two hours to go through all my emails from vacation and I've yet to find a way to translate this to my personal accounts. I guess step one is to unsubscribe myself from all the newsletters I don't even read.

Why So Anxious?

Come Sunday, like clockwork, my stomach begins to turn into knots. I start to worry about my work week - what could I have done better last week, what did I leave to do this week that I should have done last week, what can I do to impress my boss this week. 

I've always been a pretty anxious person. Before interviews, I would turn into a ball of nerves. Before presentations at school, my stomach would become a butterfly exhibit. And before my first day at a new job, omigod it's like I can't breathe. 

And then the day is over and I feel better and life goes on. Eventually I become accustomed to the people, my workspace, my environment, my job, my duties and I calm down. 

Recently though I feel like it's been getting worse. Every Friday, I leave work relieved and happy with the work I've done for the week. I think I worked so hard, I deserve this weekend and these days off. And then all of a sudden it's Sunday and I become a pile of nerves. 

I've only been at my new job now for 6 months...which in some ways seems impossible because I only feel like I've been here two months. But on the other hand, I feel like I've been here forever. Someone at work the other day asked me if it was my year anniversary yet. I replied with a snort. Very ladylike. 

I know my nerves are just nerves. But after two people got let go last week, my nerves went into overdrive. Will they know I looked at Perez Hilton for an hour last week or that I procrastinated and didn't do a project assigned to me until the day before it was due? 

Sometimes on Sundays, I have trouble sleeping. I constantly get that "you look tired" greeting from my co-workers on Mondays (thanks guys! what a compliment!). I know that my worries are just that - worries. I don't think my job is in jeopardy. I know I'm needed. And my boss is always quick to tell me what a great job I have done on projects. 

Sometimes I attribute this worry and anxiousness to the fact that I still don't know the company that well. That even after six months, I'm still learning what our company does. And maybe it makes me anxious that my presentations aren't always perfect the first go around. 

Whatever it is, I hope it goes away soon. 

Be Careful What You Wish For

Since I was an intern, I wanted to work on events. I loved the fast-paced environment and running on adrenaline. As and intern and when I was a sales assistant, I assisted with numerous events. I ran around, did as people asked and solved small problems where I could. I was always assisting someone. I was never working on my event.

Very soon, I have my first event. I'm freaking out (which is causing me to break out, awesome). This isn't just a "hey, let's have a cocktail party for about 40 people" event. It's a "hey, let's fly a bunch a people to a place and do this and then that and oh, we just found out we need go here when we scheduled this" event.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. But I'm stressed. I said to WG2 this weekend, "Um, why did I want this job?" I've realized that what I love about events, is the actual event. I love event day, even if I'm stressed. And there is nothing like the high I have after an event is finished and gone well.

Pre-event, well, it's a lot different when you're the one planning. I'm learning the ropes of the pre-event and learning to love it. There is much more that goes into than I realized, I've dropped the ball on a few things and, I think, disappointed Mom Boss a bit (another story for another day). Because it's my first event, I wanted everything leading up to it to go smoothly.

With the event only days away, I can only just get everything together, pull it all off on event day and use what I've learn with this event for the next one. Oh, and hope that the post-event feeling is event better because it was my event and it went well.

Whoa Nelly

For the past two months, I've been in a work slump. One of my friends told me it was spring fever, and I agree. The weather has been drab (seriously, I am so psyched it is gonna be over 50 this weekend in Chi) and my projects were at a low hum.

I've been bored and my brain had turned to mush. That was until this week rolled around.

Today, I had three meetings. And the most I usually have in one day is a big fat zero. I have about four projects on my plate right now and I usually have around one or two.

The one project I'm really proud of is an e-mail marketing campaign my boss had me put together. E-mail marketing was something I told my boss I was interested in learning more about - the process, the copy, the creative. It all intrigues me. I also like learning the analytics of it - how many people opened the e-mail, how many clicks did each link get - that stuff really gets me going. So my boss told me to put together an e-mail strategy for a current promotion we are running.

I went about my business and put together this fab PowerPoint and presented it to him last week under the assumption that he just wanted to see how I would do when presented with a real project. In other words, I thought I was putting together a fake presentation - something that was important but would never see the light of day.

Turns out I was wrong- oh so very wrong. My boss liked my ideas and told me to put together a timeline and get the ideas flowing. Since then I've been pulled into numerous strategy meetings, survey meetings, and my ideas are being circulated into a few of our merchant and member e-mails. Can we say 'whoaaaa'?

I have to say even though the task of putting this all together is really daunting, I'm really excited to be able to call this project a brainchild of mine. And I can't wait to see it through all the way to the end.

And it's an added perk to be excited to go to work in the morning.

Ch-Ch-Changes

And I'm back in the game! After a horrible experience with Comcast, I decided to get cable from a different provider who came out the next day to install! How great is that? So I finally have the Internet in my new abode and therefore am back to blogging. Sorry for the hiatus, but I think it was good for me to have a teensy break as I have been uber busy. 

It has only been two weeks since I left New York and so much has changed. I moved into my new studio apartment, which is fabulous. I seriously feel like this place was made for me. I have the perfect sized kitchen with all new Electrolux appliances (and a dishwasher!). I have a washer and dryer, a jacuzzi tub, a fireplace, and a sick patio that I intend to use once it's warmer than 19 degrees outside. My dad was instrumental in helping me A) find the place and B) furnish the place so I can't tell you how grateful I am to him. Without my dad, I would have a bed...and that's it. Below is a picture of my new studio (except it's an old picture from when other people lived here)! I'm in love <3 

Speaking of my dad, that is also something that has changed. I used to talk to my dad maybe twice a week when I lived in NJ, but now my dad lives approximately 6 blocks away from me so I see him at least 3-4 times a week. I've already had dinner at his place twice and he is addicted to my washer/dryer so I expect to see him a lot more which I couldn't be more thrilled about. 

I also have seen my girlfriends from high school quite a few times, which again is a huge change. I used to come back to Chicago maybe 3 or 4 times a year for holidays and maybe a visit in the summer, and I would see the girls once the whole time I was home maybe for dinner and a few drinks. But now I get to see them every moment I want to, which is amazing! 

And work is out of this world different. In some good ways and some bad. 

This week is officially my third week at my new company and I'm still getting adjusted to all the differences between my old job and my new job. And since there are quite a few (and since this blog is all about working), I thought I would list the great new things about my job and some of the not-so-great (quite yet) things about my new job. 

SO GREAT I COULD SCREAM

1. My benefits are the bomb. At my old job, I just had health benefits (and they weren't even that great). At my new job, I have health, dental and vision. Yes, vision! Which means I can get a new set of frames yearly! How cool is that? 

2. My new desk is ginormous. Yes, I still sit in a cubicle, but it could practically be an office it is so large. I finally have enough room to stretch my legs, enough room to hold every file of every project I will ever work on, and still have room to have a impromptu dance party (I mean you never know). 

3.  My boss is maybe the nicest man alive. Every person I have met so far at work has told me that I am the luckiest person to be working for him. Unlike The Boss, he seems to just care about the work you do, not what time you get in the office. And he offers to get me coffee, not the other way around. And to top it all off, he has known me about two weeks and he gave me a bottle of wine as a holiday present! 

THINGS THAT MAKE ME CRINGE

1. Everything starts earlier in Chicago. It is a large understatement to say that I am not a morning person...just ask anyone who has lived with me. I am cranky and about half dead when I wake up. And in order to be in work on time, I have to wake up at 6 am on a daily basis. At my old company, we didn't start work until 9 am, so I usually woke up around 7:30. It is a rough adjustment. 

2. I have to look good all the time. My new company has a stricter dress policy than my old company. In New York, I wore jeans about 4-5 times a week, but at my new company we dress up. I have almost run out of outfits, which I guess means I have to go shopping (what a shame). Also, the fact that I need to look nice all day also means that I have to wake up earlier to do those girly things like straighten my hair and apply make-up. These are things I really do enjoy, just not at 6 am. 

3. I am already out of this world busy. In the next two months, I have a conference and a sales trip (to Key West!) to plan. And last week I had to be at work at 7 am (again, I am not a morning person), to work on another event we had going on. Although I am happy that I have just been thrown into things (since I learn by doing), I also wish I had gotten somewhat of a grace period to ease into things. Instead, I am in bed most nights by 10 pm. 

Overall, I am still adjusting. There are a lot of other things going on that of course are stressful - like a little thing called Christmas. I still haven't done any of my shopping. I'm also broke. So, I'm taking things one step at a time. 

But to be cheesy, I am loving being back in my sweet home Chicago.

Burnt To a Crisp

I feel like this is a complete and total cop-out post so I completely and totally apologize in advance. I am, unfortunately, burnt out. Despite my lovely and relaxing weekend at the shore (thanks Andrea!), I am still tired and at a loss of something substantial to write about so instead of my usual wit and humor I am going to regale you all with a short update on my working life. 

1) I am burnt out because my company has a big event coming up tomorrow which means I've been coming in early and leaving late. I even stayed late on Friday to finish printing name tags. I know yuck yuck yuck. Thankfully it will all be over tomorrow and I can go on to plan our next event in November without putting in the long hours. 

2) The New Kid is still killing me. After all your comments on how I should give him a chance I thought, "Ok, maybe I am being too harsh on this guy." It's been two weeks and let me tell you, he has not let up. My biggest pet peeve of the New Kid's is how he loses e-mails. I have sent him numerous e-mails and he somehow can't locate them when I ask to see his work re. that e-mail I sent two hours ago. Oh, and he loves to invite himself to lunch with me and my work friends. Not okay. 

3) My new roommate Natalie is still doing her boss. 'Nuff said. 

4) I still have not heard a word from my Chicago interviews which is highly, highly frustrating and nerve-racking. Unfortunately the economy is not helping my search for the perfect job in the city I yearn to be in. On the bright side Thanksgiving is right around the corner so I am going to get to plan a trip home soon (woohoo!). 

5) I am currently watching One Tree Hill and I just noticed how many work-related topics are in this show! But seriously their professions are so far-fetched. Brooke owns her own clothing line (well not really anymore), Lucas is a writer, and Peyton is starting her own record label. I don't know about you guys but I don't have any recent grad friends who own their own businesses or are making anything close to a number that would let them buy their own houses. Do you think Brooke would hire me? I'm a really super assistant. 

Again sorry for this cop-out post. I promise to bring my normal blogging back on Wednesday once this event is finito. 

Waiting is the Pits

I am officially in the limbo stage of trying to find a new job for my new life in Chicago (or rather old life that I'm trying to resurrect). I am in the Waiting Room - that little room that companies put you in after you interview and they are "thinking things over". It is pure torture.

I might pull out my hair from the sheer stress of waiting.

As you might be able to tell, I am finally back in New York after my four day trip back to Chicago for my interviews (yes, plural!). The first interview took place on Thursday afternoon and it was in the 'burbs. Which I discovered wouldn't be that rough to commute to everyday even though I had at one point last week referred to it as "reverse commute hell". The traffic getting out of the city wasn't too horrible. It was actually a breeze and I arrived an hour an a half early for my allotted time to interview. Whoops. Luckily for me this little 'burb had just built a new strip mall with all the stores a girl like me can entertain herself with (Ann Taylor, White House Black Market, Victoria's Secret). Ah, how I love Illinois and its large expanses of prairie that allow for large outdoor strip malls.

I think the interview went well. I hope. I pray. Fingers crossed that it went well. I say this because I feel like I was somewhat ambushed. Meaning when I arrived for my interview I was informed that I would be meeting with not just one friendly interviewer, I would need to meet with 5. It was a sort of round robin. All the interviewees came that day and we all got juggled between the 5 interviewers. It was intimidating and also weird that I had to see my competition. Not that I will ever know, but I'm pretty sure Nate will not get the job. He was a sweaty mess of nerves. Sorry kid, maybe next time.

There are some things I said that I wanted to pat myself on the back for, and there were some things I said that I instantly wished I could take back. I do this after every interview I've ever had though. Scrutinize my every move until it makes me sick with worry. Which is what I've been doing ever since I left that office 3 hours after I arrived (a very intense 3 hours). That kid Nate has nothing on my nerves now. I am a wreck.

Luckily, my second interview went very well. It was with a staffing agency so I was obviously less nervous. The girl I met with said she was going to recommend me to her supervisor who would then present my resume to the medical journal that is looking to hire a temporary editorial assistant. My gig would be a temp-to-hire one, which means if they so chose to the company I was working for could hire me full time after my three months were up. Unfortunately, this means I would be getting paid hourly. But on the other hand, if I didn't like it I wouldn't feel obligated to stay after those three months were up.

I also had the opportunity to meet with our family friend who also lives and works in the 'burbs for a small local magazine. She gave me some tips. I got to see her kids (who are as adorable as Suri Cruise). And she bought me some delicious cookies. Yum in my tum.

All in all, it was a very productive two days. I got a lot done. I met with a lot of people. And now I'm just stuck in the Waiting Room. Waiting, waiting, and waiting for some answers.

Exhausted by the Whole Thing

This time last week I told you I was drained. Too drained to write a post. One of my roommate's token phrases as of late is "I'm just so exhausted by the whole thing." Last night, as I tried to determine what I should write about, she asked if that's how I was feeling about Working Girl. I realized, I'm just so exhausted by the whole work thing and therefore exhausted by Working Girl. Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything crazy and quit the blog or something. 

I'm still drained and exhausted and frustrated but it's about time I just sucked it up and gave you an update about what's going on a work that's draining me then hopefully my creative juices will start flowing again. I typically don't like to talk about things that are bothering me; I haven't even really explained to WG2 what's been going on. 

Three weeks ago our special events manager quit. Not only was she one of my good work friends, she was also my mentor. I've mentioned before that I am interested in working in events and she was helping me learn the business and gave me the opportunity to get more involved in our event planning for the magazine. I was upset that she was leaving but I also realized that perhaps this could mean something good for my career. I got her blessing and she helped me script a conversation with my boss to ask to be considered for her job. Now, as an assistant, going to manager is a big job and it's not one that happens often.

I spoke to my (female) boss. I told her that my interest is in events, that I'd like to be considered for this position even though I'm just an assistant. My biggest argument is that I've been doing coordinator work from day one and that I know for a fact that I've helped improve our department. We're a big magazine but at the end of the day, we just don't have that many events. I could handle it. She told me that my title would be changing to coordinator soon and that once they post the events position as open, we can discuss further.

Last week I met with both of my bosses for my newly implemented weekly meeting with them. They told me what a great job I have been doing and they said that they want to keep me at the magazine and keep me happy. Then they told me they were changing my title to marketing coordinator. They said this was a step in the direction I want to go and they are right. I was happy about this until I realized I want more. 

First, it would have been nice to also get a raise. Second, I want the events job. Third, I'm so over the work I've been doing. I manage monthly programs which was fun when I started because they were mine and I could see the finished product and be proud. Then they became a challenge (in a good way) to improve and master. Now, they are repetitive and boring. 

My "promotion" hasn't been announced and that's frustrating me too. Can a Working Girl get a little recognition? But the most frustrating thing about it is that nothing but my title is changing. My job description is the same as it was when I started; I don't even have new projects to get excited about. I'm ready for something new and I'm not getting that. I thought, for a few days, that I was just in a funk. Unfortunately, I can't chalk this up to a funk and hope to wake up feel better about the situation tomorrow. I'm truly frustrated, drained, bored and I don't know what to do about it...

Drama, Drama, Drama

Today was one of those days. You know what I mean. The day when before you even walk in the front door you have a feeling that you should turn around and never come back. Yea, one of those. 

Turns out I was right. I spent my entire day burning DVD's with photos from our past event in Aspen for all our sponsors, exhibitors, and partners. This project required me to turn off all my other programs (aka I could not check my fave blogs or chat on Gmail). Leading me to a boring and also unproductive day. 

All together this week has been pretty insane. I got back from a glorious Labor Day weekend and found out two of my co-workers had gotten engaged over the weekend. Now the crazy part of this story isn't that two people got engaged. It's that one of the girls who got engaged over the holiday has only been dating her boyfriend (now fiancee) for four months. Yes, you heard me right. And her rock is ginormous (I can't even use a real adjective to describe this ring because it's that large). And get this...they met on Facebook. I don't even have a comment for this. 

The drama only begins there. Then today I find out that one of the managers at work is leaving the company. Amy is the Vice President of Online Marketing and also my idol. She is in her late 30s, successful, has a graduate degree from Stanford, and has worked at some major awesome companies (aka eBay). She also is from the Midwest, loves rare meat, and is huge into traveling. In short, we're alike and I love her. And I'm super, super, super upset that she is leaving. 

Now on to the big juice. My new roommate Natalie had confided in me when I first moved in that she was dating Drew. Drew just happens to be her boss. He also happens just to have gotten a separation from his wife. And his now ex-wife is also best friends with The CEO's daughter. Talk about drama. This secret has been so hard for me to keep. It's juicy and I want to scream it from the mountaintops. But Natalie asked me to keep it mum. So I haven't said anything. But I think my co-worker Small Fry is catching on, which makes me a Nervous Nelly. I would rather be left out of the drama surrounding my roommate's scandalous love affair. 

The Boss has also been a huge pain in my ass lately. Our marketing department keeps taking on more and more projects. Have I mentioned that our marketing department is 2 people? Yep. Just me and the VP of Marketing. So it's been a challenge. We have another event coming up in October that is sure to be a disaster. And it has just involved so much planning and I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to get it all done. But The Boss thinks I could use a few more projects to keep me busy. Thanks. Once again, I am feeling under-appreciated and under-paid. 

My big personal news of the week. I found out that I got wait-listed for the grad school of my dreams. And while I'm still a tiny bit hopeful that I'll make it through, I'm not banking on it. So I have a new plan in the works. 

All these changes in the atmosphere at work are making me think it's time for a move. More updates on my new job search are to come. 

Sick of Being Sick

Yesterday morning I woke up with a raging headache and a throbbing sore throat. So I took a sick day and skipped work (except I didn't really skip work since I kept refreshing Outlook on my laptop to make sure I wasn't missing anything).

Needless to say I think my sudden bout of sickness is from my recent case of running-myself-ragged-from-the-crazy-amount-of-work-I've-been-doing-and-that-little-thing-called-moving-plus-all-that-jetlag-from-all-that-jet-setting syndrome.

I have this problem of pushing myself so hard for multiple weeks at a time that all of a sudden my body just crashes. I did this in college once - commuting twice a week in and out of the city for my internship, balancing three classes on top of that, and editing the school newspaper late into the night...not to mention my nights of binge drinking - all led me to crash myself straight into the hospital with some mysterious stomach pains that were never really identified.

So to avoid doing that to myself again, I didn't push myself to go to work yesterday. Instead, I took the day off to answer my important e-mails from my couch while watching reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 (gotta catch up before the new 90 starts in a few weeks!) and drinking what felt like gallons of water and ginger ale.

Unfortunately, I only feel a tiny bit better today and I also have the unfortunate luck of having a work event to work/plan tonight. In other words, it's going to to be a long night of schoomzing clients and refilling trays of crudite and antipasto.

I am just so over being sick. Normally, I love getting sick. I know, it's kinda weird. But it's like a free 'get out of jail' free card. No work and an excuse to sit on the couch or lay in bed all day. That is so right up my alley.

But today I just want to be healthy. I want to not have a fever. I want my throat to stop aching. I want food to taste good again. And I would love it if my eyes weren't permanently half-shut. That way I could make this party that best party it can be.

Instead, I am so over it.

Wii While You Work

WG1 and I would like to apologize. We know. We've been delinquent bloggers. We blame this on a few things: the summer weather, our love of the Jersey Shore, and the fact that we're moving at the end of the month and are soon to be homeless (and just an fyi if you live in the Hoboken area and need a mattress, couch, dresser, etc. let us know as we are selling all our shiznit). So in short we apologize. 

Now back to our regular scheduled programming. 

A few weeks ago, I opened Outlook to find an e-mail that had been sent to the entire company announcing that The CEO had bought Wii (yes, I repeat Wii). Originally our new Wii was to be used exclusively that Friday when the e-mail had been sent out. However, after much persuasion, The CEO has decided to let our new Wii system live in the large conference room to be available for after-hours, break times, and as a stress reliever. 

I have heard rumors of companies that will do things like this for their employees - like a lot of movie production companies have Guitar Hero or ping pong tables so waiting clients have something to do while waiting for their materials and I've heard that Google has a skating ramp so employees can take their scooters and skateboards for a joy ride when stressed. I guess I just never thought my company (one that barely lets us expense cab rides) would man up and purchase something totally and completely fun that had absolutely nada to do with anything corporate related. 

I have to admit that the Wii has already started to bring us co-workers closer. For instance, last Friday I played a quick game of tennis with some of the new tech guys. And while I'm sure they probably won't ask me for another game in the near future (let's just say I have yet to master the Wii backhand or forehand for that matter), I do know that I've made some new friends all because of our new entertainment system. And I now know that our Senior VP is super competitive (aka do not engage in a game of bowling with him...ever). 

And Wii is pretty great with stress relieving. One round of baseball after a bad conference call last week and I was good to go for my next grueling meeting. 

Despite all of Wii's positives, my next order of business is bugging The CEO into getting Rock Band for the office. Because my guitar solos are insanely spectacular and I sure would love to hear The Boss rock out to "Roxanne".