Am I weak?

by In Transition Working Girl

I have been dying to write about this for over a week and would like to pose a question to all of you Working Girls. But first, let me set up the situation for you.

Recently, I was given the opportunity to go to lunch with two of my co-workers. The first is someone who, I think, finds a reason to yell at me on a weekly basis and the second, is the person I replaced. It was sort of an odd lunch, but the person who always yells at me thought it might be nice to get to know the "old me" since we are around the same age. It was really great, the "old me" and I hit it off right away.

After the get-to-know-you conversations, the conversation quickly turned to how my boss is non-confrontational and how the person who yells thinks being non-confrontational is a sign of weakness. I stopped in my tracks, this is why I get yelled at! This had me thinking all week, since I would rather talk through the issue, this makes me weak? What do you think?

I think that in the workplace there are many different styles of management and dealing with issues in a confrontational manner can only escalate the situation. To me the word confrontation has negative a very connotation. I would rather talk through the issue, let both people state their point of view and come to a resolution. I do understand that there are people who run from any sort of confrontation, but that does not make them weak, it just means they need to be communicated to in a different way.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Co-Workers vs. Friends

by Lawyer Working Girl


My company recently hired a new employee. Since the new hire was a woman and since she was new to the area, I was sure to introduce myself to her. We started talking and she asked if I wanted to have lunch one day soon so she could pick my brain about work and the city. Absolutely! After all, as much as I move, I'm usually the "new kid on the block" and I always welcome insight from others, so this was my chance to help someone else.


So we had lunch and it was cool. I didn't really think too much about it or the new hire after that until the following weekend when she sent me a text asking if I wanted to have lunch. It was a busy day for me so I told her that I couldn't, but maybe some other time. To be honest, I said it in the same manner that we say to people, "We'll have to get together soon" or "I'll call you" but you don't really mean it. It just somehow slips out of your mouth before you can stop yourself from saying it.


That next work week she asked if I wanted to have lunch again and inquired about my New Year's Eve plans. At this point it hit me. She wants to be friends. She's new to the city and doesn't know anyone outside of work and she wants to be my friend.


For me, if I'm going to be friends with someone I work with it just has to happen naturally, like with any friends I make. I don't force friendships to happen. I'm friends with about three people at work (actually, I should probably downgrade one person, but that is a post for another day), meaning that I hang out with them outside of work (that's a key part in me calling someone I work with a friend), but none of these friendships were forced. We got to know each other by working together and talking at work, and then it eventually led to "hey, let's all grab a bite to eat after work" or "You want to have lunch?" After a while, we started hanging out away from work. We didn't go from "Hi, it's nice to meet you" to "Let's hang out this weekend." I don't do instant friendships.


I feel bad that I don't want to hang out with her outside of work...yet. I mean, I still don't really know her. We had lunch, I shared a little about work and the city, and we learned a little bit about each other. Cool. I'm just not trying to hang out regularly, until I get to know someone and determine that they are someone I would be friends with. Does that sound harsh? Do you get what I'm saying? I don't know her personality yet, I don't know what she likes to do, I don't know...well, I just don't know her.


Working Girls, are you friends with any of your co-workers? Did your friendships just happen naturally? How do you handle a co-worker wanting to be your BFF?

Office Parties

The holidays are just around the corner, and you know what that means working girls...office parties! This is always one of those times of year when people at work come out of their shell and let loose.

I have worked at companies big and small-and they have held parties to that matter as well. My most memorable holiday party though is from my first job out of college. Its not a story of someone hooking up with someone else or dancing on the table, no a superior got a freshly cooked platter of fish (juices and all) spilled on him from an Italian place. He was one of those people that just took it in stride and laughed it off with the rest of us. The rest of the night he smelled pretty fishy though! Guess you had to be there to think it was funny. Poor guy! :)

What is your funniest office holiday story?

Here is a little "how to" guide on how to not embarrass yourself at this years company party. Click the picture to see it larger.

What Type Are You?

I like to think that I'm a very pleasant person to work with. Although I try to always keep a good attitude, I will admit that occasionally I can be a bit moody. I mean, who doesn't have an off day every now and again? Once I realize that I'm in a certain mood I try to check myself and force myself to smile. After all, I'm a pretty positive person so I try to remind myself of reasons why I shouldn't be in a bad mood, but more importantly, I don't want to be labeled by my colleagues as Moody Working Girl.

This got me to thinking about how I look at my colleagues and I realized that there are so many personality types in our office. So here's my list of the Office Personalities where I work:

• The Busy Body: This is the person who always wants to appear busy. Most people see right through the act and realize that she's just shuffling papers around and not doing any substantive work. Shuffling papers will not help you move up the corporate ladder.
• Mr. Important: This is the person who not only thinks that he is super important, but wants everyone else to believe that he is super important. (insert eye roll) This person is probably in middle management and wants those not in any sort of management position to know that he is somebody. This person is closely related to The Busy Body.
• Super Stressed: This is the person who lets every single thing stress her out. Bosses beware of putting this person on a project with Mr. Cool.
• "S" On My Chest: This is the person who always wants to save the day. You know, the one who wants to be involved in everything and volunteers anytime the boss needs someone to do something, even if it's something that has absolutely no bearing on their performance evaluation, like picking up donuts for the office meeting.
• The Check Collector: This person comes to work for one reason and one reason only--to collect a check. He isn't giving any extra. He's not staying late. He's not volunteering to do anything. In fact, he's doing the bare minimum to avoid being fired. He will not do any more than is required, so don't ask.
• The Loner: This person is usually seen eating lunch alone. She rarely socializes with any of her coworkers. She is not part of any office clique and likely will not attend any office social function. She comes to work to work, not to make friends.
• The Social Chair: This person is often planning the next after hours function. Birthday, Happy Hour, Monday Night Football? He's got it covered. But don't expect him to be the one to buy the birthday card for everyone to sign. He will let The Den Mother take care of that.
• The Den Mother: This person is the one who handles all of the things your mother would do if she worked with you. Is there an office birthday? Not only will she bake the cake, but she will also slice it and hand it out to everyone. She will buy the card and make sure everyone in the office signs it. When the party is over, she's the one in the breakroom cleaning up the mess. This person is often known as The Busy Body as well.
• Mr. Needy: This person is the one who acts helpless anytime they are given a task. He always come to you with a lot of questions when the answer is usually right in front of his face. He's always at your desk or in your office wanting you to help him with something. He needs you to hold his hand through everything. Bosses beware of putting Mr. Needy on a project with Ms. Independent.
• Ms. Independent: This is the person who would rather work alone than in a group. She feels that if something is going to be done right, then it's best that she do it herself. If put on a team with people, please do not put Mr. Needy on her team. It will drive her insane.
• The Office Gossip: This person knows everything that's going on around the office--who's having marital problems, who's dating who, and who's looking for a new job. If you don't want your business to become part of the conversation, stay far away from The Office Gossip.
• Mr. Cool: This is the person in the office who is very laid back. Nothing seems to bother him and he's never stressed about anything. His motto is, "I will do what I can today and what doesn't get done today, I will do tomorrow." Deadline? Performance evaluation? Presentation? He won't break a sweat. Bosses often think that pairing this person with Super Stressed will have a calming effect on Super Stressed, but they are wrong. This will only make Mr. Cool lose his cool.

Which one am I? I'm probably a little Ms. Independent and a little Ms. Cool, but I would love to know how my coworkers would describe me. Well, now there is a way to find out what your coworkers think of you. At Honestly.com , you can give and get candid reviews of your boss, coworkers, or business partners. You can even take control of your business reputation by creating your own profile (although I personally think what others have to say about you is more telling than what you have to say about yourself). If someone asked for my personal opinion on my colleagues, would these labels be the main thing that stands out in my mind about them? It's very likely. If one of my colleagues had to give a personal reference on me, what would they say?

Working Girls, do you have any of these types on your office? Are there any that you would add to the list? Would you use a service like Honestly.com to rate your coworkers?

*Please note that these labels are not gender specific. He/she, him/her, and Mr./Ms. are interchangeable.

Flexibility Is a Virtue

I can't tell you how much I appreciate flexibility in a co-worker or teammate. These people are types who are easy to work with, they accept change and run with it instead of fighting against it, they embrace chaos with a smile, they keep complaints to a minimum, and they are not demanding. These types of folks are also typically easy to get along with and generally happy, pleasant people.

Simply put, they make a working girl's life so much easier.

I remember this one time a year or so ago when I thought if it wasn't for a certain individual who had displayed a willingness to just go with the flow given the fast-paced, deadline-driven nature of the given work assignment, I probably would have had to chop my head off or something similarly disastrous. Thank you, thank you to all the flexible people out there, I appreciate you!

This got me to thinking about all the qualities I admire and appreciate most in a co-worker (*sniff* now that I don't have any ... ok, sorry, I'll stop whining now). What qualities do these diamond in the rough people have that I wish I had? What is truly admirable? See my top five list below of qualities that I think would make a gold-standard co-worker (or just general individual) should he/she possess all five:

• Flexible
• Cheerful
• Thoughtful
• Intelligent
• Funny

Thoughts? And I don't know about you, but in my opinion, it's not often you get to work with someone who embodies all five of these qualities. Seriously ladies, if a co-worker, friend, relative, or whoever is even one of these things, and genuinely at that, then I am super impressed and totally drawn to that person in hopes that some of it will rub off on me.

What do you think are the most important qualities in a co-worker?

Scandalous!

Wow. So all of your stories of what got your office mill going were all, in a nutshell, amazing. And it was really hard for us to pick the winners. Our winners and their stories of office drama are below. Seriously these are must reads!

Congrats to all who won! And if you did win, please send me an email me at workinggirltwo@gmail.com with your complete address so we can have your Starbucks Doubleshot Energy+Coffee prize pack sent to you ASAP.

Winner #1 - Katie

"I had just started my first job out of college, getting adjusted to working having a work life balance (still working on that one). But anyway, per company policy, employees are not allowed to start a competing company with co-workers that they meet while working in our office. Ok long story short...someone narked by printing out some files they found on a zip. I walk into work the next morning and there are police dusting for finger prints on the printer. I know it's hard to believe. I still laugh about it today!

Winner #2 - Miss Burb

"This one girl was fired who was on the "Fun Committee" (think birthdays) and she actually TOOK the money she had collected and said she deserved it. Glad I never donated."

Winner #3 - Citizen

"One of my coworkers, who I assume was just bored one day, emptied a bottle of hand sanitizer on his desk and proceeded to light it on fire. This of course scorched his desk, and set off the smoke alarms. Strangely, he is still employed here."

Winner #4 - Born with a big mouth!

"During a buyout of another company, one of my fellow employees called on our of local radio stations to share her concerns and aggravations on the merger. Her choice in verbage, and the fact that she said her boss's names on the air had people waiting at the door to escort her back to her car. Gossip was flying for days along with a copy of her on the radio. Wow - I guess if you are gonna complain on air is NOT the way to do it if you want to keep your job!"

Winner #5 - Bogeygrl

"I work in a very conservative office where if someone wears a skirt above their knee people raise eyebrows. But this story goes a bit beyond that. There is an older guy in our office who is fairly chatty; most people know him. He is about 65 and seems normal. Let's call him "Older Guy". The head boss gets a call one day from a man who is livid. Let's call him "Livid Man".

"Livid Man" says he wants "Older Guy" fired. When the boss asks why, "Livid Man" says that "Older Guy" has been swinging with his life. "Livid Man's" wife has also been posting all of her adventures online. In fact, "Older Guy" and "Older Guy's" wife and "Livid Man's" wife have all been swinging together! If this wasn't enough, "Livid Man" emails a video of the three of them getting it on. Because it turns out that "Livid Man's" wife is really into being watched or whatever. And "Livid Man" says that his wife is now filing for divorce because "Older Guy" is so freaking fabulous in bed.

Needless to say "Older Guy" called in sick for two weeks and I am totally serious."

Scared Workless

Like most people who sit in front of a computer all day, we at WG have been following the murder case of Yale graduate student Annie Le closely (pictured on the right). How could someone stuff her into a wall and not expect to be caught? Who was the murderer? And the question that has really been bothering us, what was the motive?

According to New Haven Police Chief, James Lewis, the grad student's death was one that resulted from workplace violence. "It is important to note that this is not about urban crime, university crime, domestic crime but an issue of workplace violence, which is becoming a growing concern around the country," Lewis said during a news conference today.

The suspect in the case is a lab technician named Raymond Clark III that worked in the same building as Le on campus. Numerous news reports say he served in a custodial role at the university campus overseeing the lab mice that Le worked with while pursuing her doctoral degree.

Just in case you don't know the details - Clark has been charged in the death of the 24-year-old Annie Le, who disappeared on September 8th. Her body was discovered five days later (on what was supposed to be her wedding day!). The body was found stuffed into a utility compartment behind a wall in the basement of the research building where she and Clark both worked.

Various news reports are now painting a portrait of Clark that depicts an angry employee who gave workers a hard time for not handling the lab mice or lab tools correctly. In fact, ABC News reported that Clark sent a text message to Le the day she disappeared requesting that they meet to discuss the cleanliness of the mouse cages she had been using. [ABC News]

As details still emerge, the talk of workplace violence has begun circulating. An American human resources firm stated that office suicides jumped 28% in 2008 from the previous year, which many attribute to the recession. [National Post]

According to the United States Department of Labor, violence in the workplace is "a serious safety and health issue" that in its most extreme form leads to homicide. Homicide is the 4th leading cause of fatal occupational injury and in 2005, there were 564 workplace homicides out a total of 5,702 workplace injuries.

I Have Work Friends. When Did That Happen?

Today was my first day back at work after a week and half off of vacation. (Sidenote: If I could move to Europe right now, I would. My trip was fantastical. I love the Mediterranean. Everyone go there now.)

The first day back is always the worst. No matter what stress is involved. I spent two hours checking emails on Saturday and I still didn't get all caught up until 5PM today. The first day back almost always involves a lot of meetings, eating lunch at your desk, popping multiple Excedrin, and being "invisible" on Gchat so that you're not bombarded by all your friends wanting to know how your vacay was.

Today was not just a day of stress for me however. Today was a day of realizations. And that realization was that I have work friends.

I've been saying for a while now that I don't have many work friends. I actually moan about it a lot on this blog (and to WG1) and that's mainly because at my last job in NYC I felt like I had a lot of friends to commiserate with. I had people to eat lunch with, talk about reality TV with, and just generally chat with. And after a long vacation (or even just a day off), I would spend hours catching up with my NYC coworkers.

So I felt a little sad this morning when I got to work and I didn't have my NYC coworkers to dish with. Of course my new cube mates (I switched desks recently so I have new cubicle neighbors) asked me how my trip was, but they didn't ask me about any details.

Later in the day, I went to hang out with one of my work friends in her office. As I was complaining about all the work I have to do in the next few weeks, she responded with, "Yea you might want to get on that since you've spent the last hour making the rounds chatting up all your work buds. Have you done any work today other than socialize?"

And it was then I realized that I had work friends. Without even realizing it I had wandered aimlessly around the office for an hour stopping to chat with coworkers about my trip and their weekends (turns out one of my coworkers was born in Turkey! Who knew!). An hour! Spent talking to coworkers! And I thought I had no work friends.

Turns out I have nothing to moan about after all. After eight months at my new company, I have work friends. And that's a pretty nice realization to start a week off with.

Hey Good Lookin'

These past few days at work have been hectic - you know, the kind of hectic where there are so many little things that have to get done that you can't accomplish anything of importance. 

One of those little things that has been going on was a manager meeting being held off-site at a new hotel in downtown Chicago. Since the hotel was a) new, b) had already gotten effed up booking my meeting space and c) was just down the street, I have been making a few trips back and forth during my work day to make sure the managers are all happy, fed, and satisfied. 

This afternoon, one of the tech guys and I took one of those trips down to the hotel to pick up the projector since the meeting was finally over (yippee!). We were kinda rushing because we had another meeting to get to pretty soon so I was pretty much half-running and he was just doing his normal gait (because I'm pretty short it's hard for me to catch up!), but despite my gazelle like walk-run we missed a walk light and had to wait at a red light.

No big deal right? No, because the awkward train decided to mosey on in right at that exact moment. We're standing on the street corner talking about Tech Guy's wife and her iced tea preferences when a homeless man comes near us and practically screams, "You guys make a cute couple" in our ears.

Which would have been laughable had he not screamed it again, "Cuteeeee couple! Yes, a cute couple!" And we just awkwardly stood there neither confirming nor denying that were were a couple. 

Thankfully the light turned green and we walked, but we were super awkward until we reached the hotel and Tech Guy changed the subject from how awk that was to how he rides his bike to work everyday. 

Tech Guy and I are pretty close at work - we chat throughout the day (mostly I think because we're two of the youngest employees and we gots to stick together yo) so I know this was only a teeny blip on the radar of our work relationship - something that down the line we'll be able to laugh at.

And I know he knows that I don't like him like that...oh you know since he has a WIFE and all.

But right this minute, we're still in Awky Town. Thanks homeless dude. Thanks a lot.

The Work Spouse

As I was going through my Google Reader early yesterday morning before the droves of co-workers flooded the office, I read a post on Behind These Hazel Eyes on the concept of a "work spouse". 

According to Hazel's blog post (and Wikipedia aka my Bible), a work spouse is "a co-worker (usually of the opposite sex) with whom one shares a close platonic relationship" and apparently this bond tends to mimic that of a real wife and husband. 

And I instantly thought of my old co-worker Ramon. 

At my first job out of college while I was still working in New York, I sat next to a pushing 45-year-old, jovial, Cuban man who shared my love of reality TV shows (oh, and he is gay so don't go getting any ideas that this story is gonna get all lovey dovey on you). 

And we were most definitely work spouses. We even called each other husband and wife at work, which to be honest I think creeped people out. We also fought frequently, went through some troubled times where we stopped talking, and just recently reunited while he was in Chicago for a meeting and took me out to dinner at Rosebud (can we say yum?). 

So while I was googling "work spouse", I came across an article from CNN Living which listed the top seven signs to tell if you have a work spouse. And it made me laugh because it just solidified that Ramon and I were a couple. 

1. You depend on a particular co-worker for office supplies, snacks or aspirin. 

Um...how about money?? Ramon and I would constantly go back and forth borrowing money. And he would constantly steal my aspirin. And together we were the snack king and queen of the office - we would go on snack runs together. Wow, I'm a tool. 

2. There are inside jokes you and a particular co-worker share. 

This is a no-brainer. Our favorite go-to's were anything about the shows Rock of Love and Kid Nation. He even called me Taylor for a nickname. Yea, figure that inside joke out. 

3. You can be bluntly honest about his or her appearance. 

I constantly made fun of Ramon for not dressing his age. And he would make fun of me whenever I didn't do my hair...which was almost everyday.

4. When something eventful at work happens, this is the person you go to for a de-briefing.

Ok, this one had me stumped. Because as much as I loved Ramon, he was a huge gossip so I did not go to him whenever I heard something juicy. But I know he always told me when he heard something delicious (because I usually already knew). 

5. At breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks, your co-worker could order for you and vice versa.

This is most definitely true. Ramon loved his Italian subs from Subway, his Cuban food from the place next to Subway, and pepperoni pizza from the pizza place next door. 

6. You and your co-worker can finish each other's sentences.

Creepy, but yes. 

7. Your co-worker knows just as much about your personal life as a real spouse or best friend would. 

Fact. Although I don't have a real spouse, Ramon knew a great deal about me. And I knew way too much about him and his boyfriends (multiple). 

Looking over this list, do any of you have a work husband or wife?

Things I Could Do Without

Today was one of those days where one second it was 8AM and then next time I looked at the clock it was 11:30AM. Where did my day go?!

Because my brain is mush and my Internet is shotty, I am compiling a list of things that I hate/loathe about working.

1. Commuting. Nuff said. 

2. People who talk on their cell phones the wholeeeeeeeeeee way to work. I mean, really people?! Really?!

3. Nosy co-workers

4. People who hover over your desk. I like my personal space thankyouverymuch.

5. Contracts that need to be signed before I leave for the day and bosses who suddenly go missing (and by missing I mean in meetings for hours and hours) and can't sign said contracts so you have to stay late and then you can't go return your stupid cable box.

6. Blisters from new shoes

7. Lean Cuisine lunches

8. Coming back to work after a long weekend (WG1 visited me this weekend so I took Friday off!!!), and returning to 50 unread emails. No fun. 

9. Co-workers who talk so loudly on the phone that you can't hear yourself think

10. Someone drinking all the water in the water cooler and then not replacing it 

Ok, whew. That was nice to get off my chest. To be honest, today wasn't horrific, but it was really busy. 

And seriously, commuters need to stop talking on their cell phones all the way to and from work. Obnoxious.

! This Message is of the Highest Importance !

There is a sales assistant in an outside office that I have never met. I’ve spoken to her only once or twice on the phone and she seems nice enough. But she commits one of my top office crimes. She flags every single email as “Highest Importance” with a bright red exclamation point.

To be fair, she has sent me some important information that I requested for an upcoming event. It was, however, similar information that I requested from other sales assistants and no one else changed the priority of their emails.

The bright red exclamation point on most to all of a person’s emails is one of my biggest pet peeves because I just don’t understand the logic behind it. If every email you send has a bright red exclamation point, every email is of equal importance.

I received nearly 10 emails from her today and all of them, in her opinion, where of highest importance. In my opinion, maybe two were of high importance and even that’s a stretch.

It's Time to Grow Up

The new me starts on Monday. I could not be more excited. Finally, I will only have to do one job. But I could also not be more annoyed. The new me will be the Marketing Assistant. She will work on projects for Mom Boss, Dad Boss, Promo Girl, me and the rest of our department. We will manage the new me on her projects. So, she should probably take us seriously.

Normally, it's easy to take Promo Girl, myself and other cubicle pod-mate seriously. Sure, we may chat a little bit, make fun of one another and maybe get a little inappropriate. Just a little. But we're hard workers.

That was until the two of them discovered Twilight. Promo girl rented the movie over the weekend (before reading the book, which, for the record, I did not condone) and she is now in love with Edward Cullen. Our other co-worker is half way through the series, has seen the movie and is equally obsessed.

Back in November, when I finished the series, I begged them both to read it. I told them they'd love it. They thought I was a crazy, vampire obsessed teeny-bopper. Now, the two of them are printing out photos of Robert Pattinson, decorating their cubes and saying "oh hello Edward," every time they sit at their desks.

I've been partaking in the Edward love fest and I even have one picture in my cube. I spend a little time censoring NewMoonMovie.org for Promo Girl so that she's doesn't find anything out before she reads the book. I've explained the obsession to Working Girl Two and she put it best. She said that they were in the pre-teen obsessed phase and that we, having finished the series and passed that phase, are in the cool teenager phase.

The three us decided yesterday that when the new me starts, the Twilight talk must stop. I'm not knocking any Twilight fans. I'll be the first to admit I love Edward Cullen but how is a new girl supposed to take us seriously when we're saying things like "I wish I were a vampire with sparkling skin."

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

For the past year, there has been a solid group of assistants at work. There have been four working girls (including myself) and two working boys who have held our office together. The boys are great but the four of us girls have developed a great friendship. One that goes beyond the day to day work conversation.

We've eaten lunch together almost every work day for the past 52-weeks, had dozens of happy hours and celebrated special occasions together. These working girls are the only ones who truly know how bad a bad day is for me or how I feel about certain co-workers and why.

Mom Boss and Promo Girl have both told me that there's nothing like the bond that you have with the people that were assistants with you. Being an assistant is a roller coaster of an experience and many people, in different industries, do it. But they were right, the only people who will really understand the experience are the people at your company who did it with you.

Friday marks the day the first one of our little group of four is leaving. Not only is she leaving the company, she's leaving Manhattan. We begged and bribed our working girl to stay but her home state is calling her back.

A new girl started training today and she's sweet, but she's not the same. She's the first of the next generation. Soon there will be two new assistants; one replacing her and one replacing me.

I've moved to a different position, one working girl is leaving and it's only a matter of time before the other two move on to bigger and better things. I'm used to a lot of change in my life but I don't know if I'm ready for this. We've had a fun and comfortable friendship for the past year and it's all about to change.

Things You Probably Shouldn't Do at Work

For the past month I have been having problems with my cable provider. 

It all started right after I got back from Key West. I turned on my TV after a long hard vacation/work trip ready to watch Grey's and Private Practice to find my DVR had been erased - everything that I had pre-recorded and all the shows I still hadn't watched from the week before poof gone. Of course I was irate since I'm one of those people that love TV (as I have mentioned over and over). 

I called RCN, my cable provider, and they informed me that I had low signal and that I would probably need a new cable box. So the next week they sent out a technician who gave me a new cable box and then proceeded to tell me that he didn't know why but my signal was low (you think genius?) and that he would need to send a proper technician out to fix it the next day. Of course that guy never showed up.

So I called the next week, fuming, and told them my plight. They opened a work order and told me to wait for dispatch to give me a call to set up an appointment. Three days pass, nada. So I call back and this time they set up an appointment -- catch being that it is an all day appointment where someone needs to be home from 8-5PM to let in the technician.

Since I have a 8-5 job, my little sister who was home on her Spring Break from college, offered to sit in my apartment and wait for the cable guy. 5PM rolls around and I am about to get on my plane to NYC (to see WG1 for her bday of course), and my sister tells me no one has showed up and no one has called all day long. I call RCN in an irate state and start bitching and they drop the bomb on me that an all day appointment isn't 8-5...it's actually 8-8PM so there is nothing they can do until 8PM. So my sister waits till 8PM. Guess who still doesn't show up? Yea, so predictable.

Last week, during work, I call RCN and scream until I barely have a voice. I talk to managers and supervisors and no one will do anything but put in another work order and offer me a free month of HBO (which is useless when you don't have signal BTW). So I let them put in another work order and waited 8 days for someone to call me. Nothing. I have not heard one peep. 

Today, in my last ditch attempt, I called RCN again and I got the same song and dance about work orders and dispatch will call me. This time I cried BS and cancelled my subscription. So doing this in the workplace probably isn't the best idea, especially when you are so fuming angry that veins are popping out of your neck as berate the customer service reps who can barely mutter two sentences and offer up "condolences all all your frustrations". A co-worker kindly offered to transfer the call into an empty office so I could bitch in peace. 

After I finally cancelled and went back to my desk, a co-worker of mine who sits in the office behind me (aka my one of my only friends who also happens to be over 50) offered up this sage advice, "WG2," she said, "Cable providers are like boyfriends. You dump them and you move on." 

Nicely put co-worker, nicely put. 

Make New Friends But Keep the Old

This past weekend I jetted off to NYC to celebrate WG1 and our friend Catherine's birthdays. But before I got outrageously drunk off large margaritas at Maracas Bar & Grill and sang along to Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" at Iggy's Karaoke Bar, I had a lunch date with some old co-workers at our favorite sushi joint. 

A few faces weren't able to make it (including Red and Small Fry), but I did get to hang out with most of my old friends while munching on chicken teriyaki. We gossiped, told stories, talked about the recent lay-offs, and the more recent hires. And after lunch I followed everyone back to my old office and chatted with The Boss, visited with The President, and even joked around with The CEO. 

I think I spent a total of two hours catching up with everyone (which seriously cut into my shopping time). And while I know I don't miss my old job, I do miss the people. Sitting around making fun of each other - I miss those moments.

At my new job, I am pretty much friendless. The cast of characters is slim and include a former New Yorker def. over 50 HR manager who sits behind me and makes me laugh constantly, the executive assistant to the CEO who is in her 40's and loves The Bachelor, the IT guy with millions of tats who loves country music, and a married 30-year-old girl who was definitely the cool girl in high school and intimidates me even though I know she wants to be my friend. 

At my old job, the cast of characters was much more vast and there were different people to talk to with all my different issues (work-related and non work-related). 

I miss the camraderie and the longer than an hour lunches and throwing paper planes at each other over our cubicles. I have always had a teeny tiny fear that I won't get to that place with my new co-workers, and seeing my old co-workers this weekend made that fear a little bit wider. 

Not So Crazy in Love

So I never really did figure out if Jay was asking me out or not. 

Equipped with all of your comments and suggestions on how to deflect his love, embrace his offer of free drinks, and ideas of how to let him know I just wasn't that into him, I went to work last week ready to shoot him down gently (by telling him I was so, so, so, so busy when in reality I was really busy eating a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby). 

But Jay never put his offer out there to grab drinks again. In fact, he barely spoke to me the last few days he was in the Chicago office. 

On his last day, I was working late again. Some of the IT guys took him downstairs to grab some Berry Chill before coming back upstairs to test the phones and do all that other IT stuff they do in that cave of theirs. As I was leaving, I gave Jay a hug and wished him luck. And that was that. We promised to stay in touch, but I knew that probably wouldn't happen. We'd known each other for a measly month and there is no real attachment/attraction on my part. 

On Monday, I came to work and sat down and in front of my computer screen was a tiny bottle of Visine with a note that said, "Just in case -Jay". (Quick background: one day, my contacts were really bothering me and were all blurry so Jay saved me by giving me some eye drops). Which was a nice gesture...but also bizarre.

So now I have a bottle of eye drops to remind me of my non-existent relationship with the IT guy Jay. Cool?  

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.

I'm Quirky About My Trash

It is my last full week of work at my current company. How great is it to actually say that! There are a lot of things that I'm going to miss about my job (aka some of the people and the girl at Cosi who knows my breakfast order by heart), but some things I won't miss are The New Kid and the latest thing he does that peeves me off to no end. His new favorite thing is to use my trash can for his trash. 

I know, I know it's quirky. And I know that I shouldn't hate him for needing to throw out some paper or his morning coffee. But it does. It kills me. It really kills me that he can't use his own trash can. 

I sit in a corner cubicle so my trash can is one that is readily available to everyone. Throughout the day I notice it accumulating more and more trash throughout the day. A piece of paper here, a paper clip here, a soda can, a half-eaten bagel. But then there are the times that people throw out something smelly and that really bothers me. See, I have a sensitive sense of smell. WG1 can attest to this. When we lived together, I had to run out of the room whenever she made tuna. It made me gag. 

Bananas have the same effect on me. I can't stand their smell (not to mention it really makes me laugh when people eat them in public - it just looks so lewd!). So when The New Kid threw out a banana in my garbage can a few weeks back, I wanted to punch him in the face. He has his own! Why use mine? 

I know I will never get over this quirk. It's just something I'm not good at. That little thing called sharing. My friend, Pam, and I were talking about it on Gchat the other day (while we should have been working - whoops) about how we just aren't good sharers. We don't like sharing food. We don't like sharing books. And I'm sure Pam would agree that sharing a garbage can is hard work. 

Obviously this is something I need to work on. But one thing I refuse to work on...liking The New Kid. 

WG1 is drained by coworkers. 23 minutes ago.

Recently, a magazine at my company folded. We had an internal meeting at which we were given the news, told that a majority of the staff would soon be informed that they were losing thier jobs and told that a press release would go out that afternoon. To most of us, that meant not to say anything to anyone yet.

Moments after the meeting my coworker, Promo Girl, went on her computer and, out of boredom, checked Facebook. First thing on her Facebook news feed:

Business Boy can't believe that Magazine folded...thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their jobs. 2 minutes ago.

Seriously?! I should mention that Business Boy is Facebook friends with a overwhelming number of people throughout the company. People who had not yet heard the news, people who were possibly losing their jobs. Promo Girl called him immediately and told him to take it down. He protested for a moment before taking down the status.

Business Boy is very protected of his Facebook. After the crazy after-party during our business trip, Business Boy posted inappropriate photos of Michael Scott and the rest of us drinking and looking wasteface. Some were just flat out unflattering photos of yours truly and others, as one of my coworkers put it "the kind of pictures that could get someone fired."

Any rational employee would not have posted photos like this of their boss and coworkers. A rational employee would not have put the magazine's name in each photo caption and photo album title.

I told Business Boy that they was a lot of discussion going on about the album and that maybe he should edit them down. I didn't want to tell him what to do with his photos on his Facebook profile but someone had to tell him. He replied by telling me that, yes, they were his photos and htat he didn't tag anyone so it didn't matter.

Didn't matter? This is the internet we're talking about. It took several more conversations from several more coworkers to convince Business Boy that they pictures were not ok to post on the internet.

Two other coworkers changed their Facebook status to a comment about the folding Magazine. With social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter, personal information the line between personal life and work life are thing. Work is a huge part of our lives. I spend more time at work than I do at home and more time with my coworkers than with my family or friends. But there is a line that just shouldn't be crossed when it comes to business information entering your personal life.