Will Work for Food & Benefits
We've lived here 6 months and I've switched jobs 3 times. Not my favorite. Nuh-uh. NO.
In November, shortly after I started my godsend part-time job, I found out that the temp position I held for 1.5 weeks was now a permanent full-time position up for hire. I agonized over what to do. I loved working part-time: the campus was great, the people were great, my mornings of leisure were amazing, I was getting housework done in the morning, I was also getting most of my TV fix in the morning so I could do other things in the evening. Sometimes, I even exercised in the morning. I know. But this was the first part-time job I'd had since high school/college and I realized that it's different. You naturally aren't as plugged in with your co-workers. I mean, I would get about 3-5 emails in a day, on a busy day. You're not there all day, you don't get to go to all the meetings, and I found myself feeling sad about that. I wanted to feel more connected with people outside of me and Brian; especially in a new town. I loved my co-workers, there just wasn't as much time to get to know each other. Therefore, my desire to feel more included and the fact that benefits and paid time off would be awesome, I decided to apply for it. Oh, and the office is right across the street from our loft as opposed to 9 miles away.
Long story short, I got the job! You can stop reading here if you'd like because this is the meat of the plot. I'm now about to reflect on things...
I don't know if it's just that my life experience pocket is filling as I get older but I actually enjoyed the interview process. Well, not the nervousdiarrhea feelings, wondering what would happen, and worrying if they would like me. But, once I actually got to the phone interview and the actual interview, I had...dare I say, FUN. The concept of having fun at an interview has always been so utterly foreign to me and I never would've believed it was possible until I experienced it first-hand.
Pigs. are. flying. The introvert had fun being interviewed by 7 strangers. One of which was over the phone.
For as excited I was about the position I was equally nervous. There are many things involved that I have not had first-hand experience with. Any confidence I feel comes from my trust that I'm a fast learner and can pick up on things quickly. I always refer myself back to when I worked in an eye doctor's office right after we got married.
flashback wavy lines ~ flashback wavy lines~ flashback wavy lines ~ flashback wavy lines...
On my first day, the other office assistants were teaching me 'eye stuff' and I was so overwhelmed that I sat in my car on my lunch break and just bawled. I just wanted to file things and remind patients about their appointments. I was not expecting to learn the Latin for the right eye/left eye, deal with insurance, learn how to fix glasses, cut lenses, fit frames to people, show kids how to put in contacts- in fact, I was still pretty terrified of putting in my own lenses- and how to use a giant machine to take pictures of the inside of eyeballs. It was waaaaay too many topics to learn all at once.
Side note: the eye doctor loved to show us examples of eye diseases. One day he called all of his office assistants into his office to show us a picture of the inside of a patient's eye that had some sort of degenerative disease. Then he showed us a computer animated graphic of the gradual progression of what happens to eyes with that disease, leading to blindness. If the phone hadn't rang, allowing me to jump up and leave the room, I know for a fact I would have passed out.
Anywho, by the end of my 6 month stint at that job I was giving the initial part of patient eye exams and cutting lenses like a pro. I should also mention that I was somehow designated the Spanish-speaker of the office due to having taken 3 years of the language in high school. P.S. that does NOT mean I can speak that language. I had to take all of the Spanish calls and Spanish-speaking patients and here's how that generally went down (and I had a cheat sheet of common eye doctor-ish Spanish words):
Patient on phone: Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish really fast Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): appointment?
Patient: Si Spanish Spanish Spanish really really fast Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday?
Patient: Lunes (Monday) more Spanish Spanish Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): What hour?
Patient: Dos (two)
Jaime: Si. Ok, gracias. Adios!
And then I would put them on the calendar and hope they meant the same Monday I did and hope it was just for an annual exam.
If I can do that, I keep assuring myself I can learn just about anything.
Fade back to the present.
I've been in my new position for 2 weeks and they have kept me incredibly busy and I love it! I love the challenges and the sense of pride I get when I figure something out that I've never done before. I know "perspective" is a sneaky bugger that likes to change constantly but right now I feel set for life. I'm not switching jobs anymore.
In November, shortly after I started my godsend part-time job, I found out that the temp position I held for 1.5 weeks was now a permanent full-time position up for hire. I agonized over what to do. I loved working part-time: the campus was great, the people were great, my mornings of leisure were amazing, I was getting housework done in the morning, I was also getting most of my TV fix in the morning so I could do other things in the evening. Sometimes, I even exercised in the morning. I know. But this was the first part-time job I'd had since high school/college and I realized that it's different. You naturally aren't as plugged in with your co-workers. I mean, I would get about 3-5 emails in a day, on a busy day. You're not there all day, you don't get to go to all the meetings, and I found myself feeling sad about that. I wanted to feel more connected with people outside of me and Brian; especially in a new town. I loved my co-workers, there just wasn't as much time to get to know each other. Therefore, my desire to feel more included and the fact that benefits and paid time off would be awesome, I decided to apply for it. Oh, and the office is right across the street from our loft as opposed to 9 miles away.
Long story short, I got the job! You can stop reading here if you'd like because this is the meat of the plot. I'm now about to reflect on things...
I don't know if it's just that my life experience pocket is filling as I get older but I actually enjoyed the interview process. Well, not the nervous
Pigs. are. flying. The introvert had fun being interviewed by 7 strangers. One of which was over the phone.
For as excited I was about the position I was equally nervous. There are many things involved that I have not had first-hand experience with. Any confidence I feel comes from my trust that I'm a fast learner and can pick up on things quickly. I always refer myself back to when I worked in an eye doctor's office right after we got married.
flashback wavy lines ~ flashback wavy lines~ flashback wavy lines ~ flashback wavy lines...
On my first day, the other office assistants were teaching me 'eye stuff' and I was so overwhelmed that I sat in my car on my lunch break and just bawled. I just wanted to file things and remind patients about their appointments. I was not expecting to learn the Latin for the right eye/left eye, deal with insurance, learn how to fix glasses, cut lenses, fit frames to people, show kids how to put in contacts- in fact, I was still pretty terrified of putting in my own lenses- and how to use a giant machine to take pictures of the inside of eyeballs. It was waaaaay too many topics to learn all at once.
Side note: the eye doctor loved to show us examples of eye diseases. One day he called all of his office assistants into his office to show us a picture of the inside of a patient's eye that had some sort of degenerative disease. Then he showed us a computer animated graphic of the gradual progression of what happens to eyes with that disease, leading to blindness. If the phone hadn't rang, allowing me to jump up and leave the room, I know for a fact I would have passed out.
Anywho, by the end of my 6 month stint at that job I was giving the initial part of patient eye exams and cutting lenses like a pro. I should also mention that I was somehow designated the Spanish-speaker of the office due to having taken 3 years of the language in high school. P.S. that does NOT mean I can speak that language. I had to take all of the Spanish calls and Spanish-speaking patients and here's how that generally went down (and I had a cheat sheet of common eye doctor-ish Spanish words):
Patient on phone: Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish Spanish really fast Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): appointment?
Patient: Si Spanish Spanish Spanish really really fast Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday?
Patient: Lunes (Monday) more Spanish Spanish Spanish
Jaime (in Spanish): What hour?
Patient: Dos (two)
Jaime: Si. Ok, gracias. Adios!
And then I would put them on the calendar and hope they meant the same Monday I did and hope it was just for an annual exam.
If I can do that, I keep assuring myself I can learn just about anything.
Fade back to the present.
I've been in my new position for 2 weeks and they have kept me incredibly busy and I love it! I love the challenges and the sense of pride I get when I figure something out that I've never done before. I know "perspective" is a sneaky bugger that likes to change constantly but right now I feel set for life. I'm not switching jobs anymore.
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