What’s In a Name?
RIGHT NOW!
What’s On: “Have a Nice Day” Bon Jovi
Current Mood:
Well today starts my very first vacation of my current job. After 10 months, they were kind enough to give me a week off in the ssummer, even if its at the end of it. I’m not fussy. I like vacation with the rest of them, but it takes me several days usually to get the hang of it. I don’t like being idol and I’m not one for going away.
A typical vacation for me takes days for me to start enjoying.
This year has a little different feel to it. This week last year, my last job was ending and resulted in a 68 day unemployment which was a tense and less than enjoyable time for me. It was more time off than I ever had in my life and more than I wanted. Now what a difference a year makes.
I had been searching for a job not necessarily in my field because I didn’t know if I wanted to do this anymore. I had never enjoyed being a bracemaker, but I did enjoy doing foot related items. My last job had been all foot things and I had loved it. I knew it would never be that good again.
However after searching and searching for just what I was looking for, I knew I had to get something because we were running out of money. I was due to start a job almost an hour a way for pay that wasn’t great in a few weeks, but knew in my heart it wasn’t going to be the answer. It was going to cost me more in gas than the job was worth and winter also was coming. I couldn’t imagine those outrageous rides in all the snowstorms we get.
At a whim, I threw my resume in the fax machine to a bracing company about 15 mins from here. The paper was barely thru the fax machine and the phone was ringing. Either my luck had changed or totally run out. I was hired in a matter of days.
When I started this job, I feared I was in over my head. In my field, there is two governing bodies. One with an elite status and one without. While I happen to belong to both, I was bred into the lesser. I was always on the understanding I couldn’t make it with the others.
However I worked really hard for these people and have discovered while there is some differences, I knew enough to find a good role with them. They always did seem to be keeping an arms length from me, but they let me do all the foot related braces and I developed a certain niche with them.
The more things worked out, the more they seemed to trust me. It took months for them to give me a key to the office and even then it still didn’t seem like I belonged there.
But sometime over the summer, things started to get even better. I’ve always been taught when people play a joke on you, it means you are in with them. They now feel comfortable with you and want you to feel comfortable with them. They took a Red Sox World Championship cup and put it on my desk to see if I’d snap a gasket. I also learned to play a joke back. When someone is playing a joke on you, act like you don’t notice and the joke is returned. I worked all day with the cup there no matter how much it was eating me away!
We laughed about it later on.
As I was leaving yesterday for vacation, they told me how much they felt I deserved it the time off. Then as I was leaving by myself, I left the office, looked back and remembered the first day there last October and how scared I was. When I looked at it, I got a surprise I hadn’t noticed or realized was there. My name was listed on the wall with theirs. I don’t know when they did it, they had mentioned it once or twice.
I think it means I was one of them. Its a trivial little thing, but it makes you feel welcome and like you belong someplace.
As I walked away smiling to the elevator, I realized I was leaving MY office for a well deserved vacation.
I also realized I was never happier to see my name on a wall.
What’s On: “Have a Nice Day” Bon Jovi
Current Mood:
Well today starts my very first vacation of my current job. After 10 months, they were kind enough to give me a week off in the ssummer, even if its at the end of it. I’m not fussy. I like vacation with the rest of them, but it takes me several days usually to get the hang of it. I don’t like being idol and I’m not one for going away.
A typical vacation for me takes days for me to start enjoying.
This year has a little different feel to it. This week last year, my last job was ending and resulted in a 68 day unemployment which was a tense and less than enjoyable time for me. It was more time off than I ever had in my life and more than I wanted. Now what a difference a year makes.
I had been searching for a job not necessarily in my field because I didn’t know if I wanted to do this anymore. I had never enjoyed being a bracemaker, but I did enjoy doing foot related items. My last job had been all foot things and I had loved it. I knew it would never be that good again.
However after searching and searching for just what I was looking for, I knew I had to get something because we were running out of money. I was due to start a job almost an hour a way for pay that wasn’t great in a few weeks, but knew in my heart it wasn’t going to be the answer. It was going to cost me more in gas than the job was worth and winter also was coming. I couldn’t imagine those outrageous rides in all the snowstorms we get.
At a whim, I threw my resume in the fax machine to a bracing company about 15 mins from here. The paper was barely thru the fax machine and the phone was ringing. Either my luck had changed or totally run out. I was hired in a matter of days.
When I started this job, I feared I was in over my head. In my field, there is two governing bodies. One with an elite status and one without. While I happen to belong to both, I was bred into the lesser. I was always on the understanding I couldn’t make it with the others.
However I worked really hard for these people and have discovered while there is some differences, I knew enough to find a good role with them. They always did seem to be keeping an arms length from me, but they let me do all the foot related braces and I developed a certain niche with them.
The more things worked out, the more they seemed to trust me. It took months for them to give me a key to the office and even then it still didn’t seem like I belonged there.
But sometime over the summer, things started to get even better. I’ve always been taught when people play a joke on you, it means you are in with them. They now feel comfortable with you and want you to feel comfortable with them. They took a Red Sox World Championship cup and put it on my desk to see if I’d snap a gasket. I also learned to play a joke back. When someone is playing a joke on you, act like you don’t notice and the joke is returned. I worked all day with the cup there no matter how much it was eating me away!
We laughed about it later on.
As I was leaving yesterday for vacation, they told me how much they felt I deserved it the time off. Then as I was leaving by myself, I left the office, looked back and remembered the first day there last October and how scared I was. When I looked at it, I got a surprise I hadn’t noticed or realized was there. My name was listed on the wall with theirs. I don’t know when they did it, they had mentioned it once or twice.
I think it means I was one of them. Its a trivial little thing, but it makes you feel welcome and like you belong someplace.
As I walked away smiling to the elevator, I realized I was leaving MY office for a well deserved vacation.
I also realized I was never happier to see my name on a wall.
posted by CuzzinDave at 10:35 AM
1 Comments:
Hope you're enjoying your vacation!
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