Administrative Professionals' Day

I started my trek into the working world by working at my grandfather's truck rental business at the age of 14. I didn't want to babysit and at 14 there's only a few options you have to make money, the family business being the top of the heap. So I sat in the office putting together rental contracts (and screwing off, let's be honest) with one of my cousins during the summer for 2 years. This was the best job and the worst all rolled into one, but I learned many lessons there. Like these:

• When you work, you may end up with the worst boss EVER. I love my grandfather, but he is horrible to work for. And the fact he paid me 85% of minimum wage because that's all he was required to still irks me to this day.

• You will have to work with some seriously strange people - and put up with all their quirks. One of his employees was schizophrenic, one was nice w/a cute butt and all couldn't aim when using the bathroom.

Throw in a couple other things like learning how to make a decent cup of drip coffee & how to deal with problematic customers and it started me on my way for real jobs. I later left this business to work as a receptionist in a hair salon (what a fun job despite not paying well at all) and a few other interesting places.

Now what I've learned is there are some people who have never heard of Administrative Professionals Day. There are some people who have only heard of this day as Secretary's Day (did you see The Office last week?). There are some people who may have heard of this day but don't think it's a real holiday or that there's no need to celebrate. This is not a story of those that don't, this is a story of those that do.

Up until now I have not had a single company celebrate this holiday. I've worked in various positions that somehow fall under the umbrella of admin professionals and quite frankly I've always written it off as yet another day where people undervalue the position. You get to that point where if you don't expect anything, you will not be disappointed when nothing happens.

Then something does...and you're pretty much blown away.

I came into work on Wednesday to see the most beautiful flowers on my desk and a card that simply said "Thanks for all of your help." The woman who started a few weeks earlier had put them there and my eyes almost welled up in tears. Then later a meeting request came through stating "We are toasting Cass w/a wine and cheese party. Attendance mandatory." This meeting request came through as post dated for the previous Monday because most the people in my office have a little problem with Outlook. ;-) And during this meeting there was a card signed by everyone and a $100 gift card to Nordstrom.

Maybe blown away was an understatement. To know I'm valued where I am now finally makes everything click. I stayed at my last job for far too long and w/o getting laid off I know I'd probably still be there, still miserable.

If you've seen Up In the Air w/George Clooney this is his key phrase:

"Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now. And it's *because* they sat there that they were able to do it."

Cheesy? Yes. Probably going to get you punched in the face if you say it to someone you let go? Yes. But something about that sat with me when I was watching it. Because for some people it really is true. I was lost when I first got laid off, but a few months later I found a company that I like, that does great work and values me as an employee. How many people can say that?

It's Not A Donut

This week has been very much of the suck. Add in April Fool's Day, which normally is kind of a fun day, I am not amused.

I've had this intense pain in my tailbone for about a week or so and thought that I could just wait it out. Back in Nov/Dec I fell HARD on the ice and bruised my tailbone and thought it had all worked itself out, but the pain came back ten fold this time around. That in itself would be cause for alarm but my brain insisted I was just fine and to wait it out.

Ok kids - that is NOT a good idea. Turns out I had a cyst that ruptured and I had to get my butt to the dr's office ASAP. I did all this and got antibiotics to treat the infection, and also had to pick up a cushion to sit on. Three different stores later and I finally have it and no, it's not a donut. Don't try to call it that or I will have to poke you hard. :-)

Because of all this time on the couch you'd think that I'd be blogging like crazy or something like that. But no, my Google Reader and myself have turned into life long friends and I'm reading all those blogs I follow like crazy and thinking "why can't I come up with something decent to say today??" Another day, maybe.

Instead I think about what to eat, how to actually get up to get said food and remind myself that yes, I should get back to the job search.

I think I've found my best friend

This week was St. Patrick's Day. I'm not particularly Irish, I think there's a smidge hidden in my heritage, I'm mostly Norwegian and Native American but my great grandmother always insisted on reminding me that there was Irish in there too "and don't you forget it" so I haven't. There were plans to head out to an Irish pub in Seattle with a bunch of the boyfriend's pals but because it's an Irish pub and St. Patrick's Day you KNOW it's going to be packed. This is why I was given the task to show up insanely early (woohoo unemployment for once!). I got there about 1:30pm thinking at least I'd be able to read some of my book (Geek Love!) and that was the silliest idea I've come up with in a while.

Funny thing though, while waiting I ran into this girl who apparently had the same idea, book and all. We started chatting and in the end our friends ended up co-mingling the rest of the evening. New friends are always fun.

In much more exciting news, yesterday was the boyfriend and my one year anniversary! It's gone by SO fast and I hear that's a good sign. :-) The day was a little hectic for me as I had to go to 4 different stores in hopes to pick up the Eliza Dushku issue of Maxim (which BTW I never found because they JUST put out the new one) and instead felt like I was buying porn since the magazine was inside a plastic cover. But the boyfriend buys one every time he has to go out of town for work and he's going to San Francisco at the end of the month and I wanted him to be prepared.

But all that was worth it for what was to come that evening. He came home from work with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've pretty much ever seen. Afterward we headed to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner which was a first for the both of us. We arrived a little early so we started in the lounge for a drink while watching some of March Madness. I was not completed finished with my martini when our table was ready so the host insisted on carrying it to the table for me. :-) But what was so surprising was when we got to the table our menus were waiting...with the heading of "Happy Anniversary _____ and _____!" I think that just made my night.

All the food was amazing, there were bacon wrapped scallops for an appetizer, beefcake tomato salad (for me) and lobster bisque (for him), filet oskar (mini filet mignon with lump crab & bearnaise sauce w/asparagus for me) and filet mignon & lobster tail w/asparagus (for him) followed by a Grand Marnier souffle (for me) and hot upside-down apple pie (for him). All this was paired with an Argyle pinot noir and we were in heaven. It was all amazing and the great kind of full where you don't feel like you will explode. :-) During dessert they even came by to take a complimentary photo of us that got put in a paper frame and came home with us.

I can't imagine a better evening. All I can think of is the time we'll spend together in the future and he makes me so happy. This morning (super early) I was greeted with a "happy 366 days together" from him. Oh my, if you're reading this you probably just threw up but you know what? It put the biggest grin on my face. I think I've found my best friend.

Posting..how *do* you do it?

I hate to be that girl who starts a post about the weather, but I'm going be her. Over the last couple of days we've had some crazy weather here, WA is not normally one to be all about the rain, snow, hail and sun all in one big swoop but here we are. It's March and there's snow. It's March and I'm contemplating using my electric blanket despite living on the 4th floor. Weirdness abounds. But what really starts this entry is how I might be getting sick or the weather is playing insane tricks with my allergies. I never used to have allergies but within the last couple years they developed and for some reason I can't get myself to take the daily meds.

How many of you guys can remember to post a couple times a week? I don't know if it's for a lack of subjects (or those that are interesting to more than just me), lack of time, etc. but I wish it could be more. I do have another blog, I've had it for about 8 years and it's nice and private where only specific people can see it. That's the place that deals with all my mundane details, asks questions to my friends and has been an online world where I've made great relationships with. But with such an open forum on Blogger I find myself censoring myself. I've seen countless blogs I read deal with the ramifications of employers finding said blogs and people losing their jobs over it. I don't want to be that girl, even being unemployed right now.

But on that front, I might be making some headway. I decided on Thursday that I would just call a temp agency and see what they might be able to find for me. I've used this particular one a few years back to get in with the company I just left 5 years later and we shall see how it all goes down. I met with someone on Friday and she seemed to respond very positive to what I was saying so I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best. I would love to hear that something is out there for me that is a great fit. Remaining positive is so hard, but I know it makes a complete difference if you're not projecting yourself that way.

Until later, I hope Monday doesn't kick all of you in the ass like it's known to do. :-)

I have 10 fingers, you have 10 fingers, let's be friends!

Yesterday was Mardi Gras and it was the first time I've ever really celebrated. Ok, so the boyfriend and I went out to dinner and there was more fun in the bar at said restaurant (pictured at the left) but it was still great. There were balloons, decorations and of course...beads! Thankfully I didn't need to start flashing anyone to get said beads, I still ended up with quite the collection.

Unfortunatly I was beyond stuffed before we ever arrived to the restaurant. Earlier in the day I went to happy hour with one of my closest friends who I haven't seen in a few months. We stopped by a local mexican joint called Cactus and her boyfriend came along. We did the catch up thing, snacked on chips & salsa/guac and had quesadillas. But all that meant was come 7pm I could barely force myself to eat anything extra. :-(

For all the fun had on Tuesday, great hair day and all...today isn't really the same kind of day. I think the job search is starting to catch up to me. I was all positive thinking and going strong with applications etc. and today I can be bothered to care. Ok, scratch that. I care, but the lack of responses and the continuous questions from absolutely everyone about how the job search is going is getting to me.

The boyfriend and I have started watching Dead Like Me recently. I've seen it countless times before but I like to introduce him to shows that he hasn't seen and that I love. But because of this I feel myself missing working in an office. Yes, I just said that. I miss it, I miss having a reason to get up early even though I can't stand waking up before 9am. I miss having deadlines, projects to work on and seeing the same people day in and day out. I miss having a desk or a cubicle where I can put those little doodads up to make me smile after a potentially boring day.

What is wrong with me?

I'll tell you what caused it if you'll handle the effects

Unemployment is a very bad thing. I know you're thinking "duh Cass, why would you say something so obvious?" but bear with me. Yes, unemployment sucks because you are out of work and probably getting a check that is far less than what you used to make but that's not why. It's because you have too much free time.

Even though you spend your time job searching online, there is networking to be done to contact those with opportunities. You're working on reformatting your resume for the 15th time (or so!) and at times you're kicking yourself because how are you really going to write an awesome cover letter to make people realize you are the poop and they need to hire you RIGHT NOW because THEY CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU OMG!!

Exactly. But there's also that time where you don't want to do that stuff. You have laundry to do, a home to clean and there's tv that needs to be watched. Lots and lots of tv. In the last week or so I've watched the second season of Dexter, started Californication, caught up on the shows I missed due to networking etc. and cooked. Yes, OMG I COOKED! Since I'm kind of new here you probably don't know how important that bit is, I don't cook. If I do? It's baking. So actually making real food for real people would make you confused.

Obviously this means I need to find a new job pronto, although lounging in my pjs and showering in the afternoon can be a lot of fun too. Can I get a job that lets me do both? :-) Kidding, a little.

In a slump

It's Day *insert#here* (I refuse to count because it will make me feel depressed) of unemployment and although the job search is promising I've fallen into that phase of apathy. You know, that phase where cleaning & organizing your apt. seems more appealing than searching for a job? I know I'm going to get over it soon enough but in the meantime realizing I'm in that phase is so frustrating.

I'm doing well in the job search though, I'm networking like crazy and I've had a few leads to follow up on. My resume is updated and I figure I'll apply to a few positions this week. I also went to a career fair last week for the first time ever...I think this is where all my apathy is stemming from. I was pumped when I first heard about the career fair, I got my resume ready to go, dressed up all professional and headed into the big bad city of Seattle with a fellow friend that is also laid off. Upon arrival though we quickly realized that this career fair was over hyped and really not worth all the hassle.

There were approx. 10-15 companies there tops, most of which are not what I was looking for. Sure there were hospitals, insurance companies & the army/border patrol/navy but unless I wanted to work as a nurse, insurance agent or carry a gun my luck ran out. I tried to see the bright side in it all, I handed out some resumes, listening to them talk and planned to check out their websites later, but the amount of people at this small career fair was astronomical. Each line to talk to someone had at least 15 people deep and when I talked to most of them they told me to check out their websites.

At the very least I figured out how these fairs work, got out of the house and did something productive - but I thought there might be some sort of payoff in the end. Naive? Yeah I might have been but now I know how it all goes.

Next post includes some fun weekend stories so look for that. :-)

Day One

Like countless people around the country I am now officially unemployed. It hit me like a ton of bricks right in the chest but I understood. The economy is in the toilet and I know that it was one of the few ways that the company I was working for could stay afloat, but it still hurts. It hurts that I was one of the chosen few to be let go, it hurts that despite my best efforts to show how valuable I could be it didn't work, it hurts because I know there were better places to make cuts (like those people who actually don't do work all day).

But I can't dwell, I know it all happened for a reason and as cliche as it can be...it's a blessing in disguise. I can now find a job that I can be happier with. I don't know if I want to stay doing the same kind of thing as before, although if there are any positions in Seattle-ish for purchasing I won't ignore you. It's been suggested for me to go back and finish school, although I'm still paying off those loans from before and the idea of going into even more debt makes me anxious. Something else can fall into my lap or I could network with just the right people, so all it needs is time and I can make it work.

Besides, if I wasn't unemployed I couldn't pick my little brother from school today because he's sick. We're now hanging out at the parents while he plays video games, we drink candy cane tea and lounge by the fireplace. It can't be all bad.