Things I've learned at work

I'm nearing my 6 month anniversary with my job. *Sigh* It feels like just yesterday that I spent hours in my room planning what I would wear to my first day of real, adult, work.

Actually...that never happened. HOURS planning on what I'm going to wear? Even I'm not that neurotic. I average about 15 minutes with a mean wardrobe change number of 2.5.

But anyway, I started working almost 6 months ago. And a lot has changed. For example: I'm 22 now and when I started working I was only 21. I'm a whole "year" older (except it's not a calendar year I just changed age numbers...in case you've never left the house and you didn't know that changing an age number doesn't make you a YEAR older...you're not a whole year older the day after your birthday...), and my hair's a lot shorter. I wake up early on the weekends now because my body is accustomed to waking up at 7 every day. I make my lunch every day, and I'm now a young professional.

But what have I learned? Let's take a look.

Things I've learned at work
1) How to talk to people. Since I'm a receptionist, it's important for me to know how to talk to people. I have to answer the phone and communicate effectively, I have to greet guests and portray a professional image. Before working, I couldn't do any of these things. I had never used a phone before or even spoken to anyone. I communicated via clicks. But now, I can answer the phone, transfer calls, check voicemail, patch in people to conference calls, shake hands with people, banter with people, and even make people cups of coffee! But wait, couldn't I use the coffee 'thing' as my number 2 on this list? So many skills and so little time!

2) How to make cups of coffee for people. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like making food/drinks for people. I get nervous. My hands shake. I perspire. I mess up ingredients or people's specific orders and it's a big 'ol mess. But at work, since I often have to prepare guests' cups of coffee, I no longer get nervous when I'm asked to prepare food/drinks for people. In fact, I almost kind of like it. In lieu of hemp or beads at work, making coffee has become my workday craft. I feel the same sense of accomplishment after making a cup of coffee as I do when I finish stringing a beaded bracelet. So good!

3) How to collate while talking on the phone. I guess this could go under the broader category of 'multitasking' but...I don't feel like putting it there. Or more like, I've already started writing this and I don't feel like getting the mouse and moving the cursor and deleting the text I've already written. Or, I don't feel like holding the backspace key and erasing what I've already written that way. Moving on, I do a lot of collating at work. Collating for the board of directors meetings. Collating for my boss, or for her boss, or for random people that need collating done and feel like giving me things to do. And I do a lot of phone-answering at work too (see above). Sometimes, I need to collate and talk on the phone at the same time. I had never talked on the phone and collated before I got to work but now I'm seriously skilled in that arena.

4) How to be nice to people even if I don't like them. I have a very expressive face. Normally if I don't like people my face shows it. I see a person I don't like and I look like I'm going to vomit. I see my best friend and my eyes spit sun beams. But now, because of working, I can be pleasant and LOOK pleasant to people that I actually don't like at all. It's kind of a useful skill.

5) How to make double-sided copies. Seriously. I never knew how to do that before. No! I'm being serious!

6) How to draw a sphinx. Indirectly, of course. Work didn't teach me, and neither did anyone affiliated with my job. And there weren't any job-related materials or programs that taught me how to draw a sphinx. I was just bored one day at work...so...I found a picture of a sphinx and taught myself how to draw it. But I was at work, and I probably wouldn't have drawn that particular picture if I hadn't been bored at work...so indirectly (being bored while) working here taught me how to do that.

7) How to draw an impossible triangle AND cube (see above)

8) How to make a paper crane (see above and then change 'draw' to 'make'). I still am not very good at them though. And it kind of takes me 20 minutes to make one. I guess I'm a perfectionist :) What can I say?

9) How to focus. OK, so this doesn't seem to make sense since as I sit and write this blog entry I can barely pay attention to it. I'm answering the phone (which is good since I'm paid to do that), I'm playing scrabble, I'm talking to people in G-Chat...But I don't mean focus in general. I can't focus in general. I might have ADD or something. But I CAN focus on my work and get tasks done, thanks to working. I CAN ignore my friends and my pending scrabulous moves in order to finish up work for my boss. I CAN go to lunch a little later if guests are coming or something needs to be attended to. I CAN focus on my work and ignore myself for a little bit. I guess that's good :) Until I turn into a work-a-holic. Actually, I think I like naps a little too much to let that happen. Don't worry!

10) How to hoard food. Oh wait...I already knew how to do that.

11) The Albanian Cycle of Life. Stage 8? Egg. Or was that stage 7?

12) If you have an upset stomach it's best to not have dairy AND to drink WARM liquids (not hot, not cold).

13) How to say a few words in Hebrew. Like Monday is Yom Sheni. And 'what's up?' is Manishma.

I feel unlucky ending on number 13 but what can I do? I can't think of anything else.