Change it is a comin'
"Change always comes bearing gifts." -Price Pritchett
{via PaperTissue}
Last week was my last week at USAID. I was working for a contractor as an Admin Assistant so it wasn't like I left some posh government job or anything. In honor of my leaving the Federal Triangle area of DC (the first time since I moved to DC despite having 3 different jobs) I had lunch on Thursday, August 27 with some old co-workers from my first real job after college. We ate Asian food and it was great catching up.
On Friday, August 28 my fellow contractors threw me a going away breakfast party full of bagels, muffins (that I couldn't eat), and fruit (that I did eat). It was pretty laid back since most people were out of the office, it being a summer Friday and all. Once I found out that I could leave "whenever I was ready" I hurried and got my few tasks done and called Albert to come get me at 12:30. It was great.
On Friday, August 28 my fellow contractors threw me a going away breakfast party full of bagels, muffins (that I couldn't eat), and fruit (that I did eat). It was pretty laid back since most people were out of the office, it being a summer Friday and all. Once I found out that I could leave "whenever I was ready" I hurried and got my few tasks done and called Albert to come get me at 12:30. It was great.
We drove all the way to Wal-Mart only to realize that both of us left our wallets at home! We went home, picked up our money and went back to get the stuff we needed. While we were in the area we had lunch/dinner at UNO's Pizzeria. I had the gluten-free vegetarian which was a bit disappointing. There were very little toppings and it was kinda bland, which was unusual because when I've gotten sausage and mushroom in the past it was always good. Bad day I guess.
While we were waiting for the pizzas to cook we went to TJ Max and I found the best looking black dress for only $25! It's sort of glamorous and vintage. I justified it by taking back the dress from H&M that was too short.
That night we went to a TV Preview Screening. I got tickets from a co-worker who didn't want to go. It didn't take us long after watching a 90's era TV show that was totally lame that we figured out it was all a scam. It wasn't about the TV show at all. It was all about the commercials! They told us we would qualify to win prizes by filling out these forms and circling the products we wanted. After watching the two shows we filled out another form and noticed that a lot of the products in there were advertised on the commercials we watched. It was obvious that they wanted to see if we changed our minds on the good we chose after watching the advertisements. We got tired of filling out surveys and left. Waste of time!
On Sunday, August 30 we were a little late for church because my hair wasn't cooperating and it had to look good cuz I had my new dress on. All the lessons and talks were interesting. We found out that we have about 400 people coming to church every week and there are 55 babies in our congregation. Afterwards we had a church potluck that was good, but all the desserts were full of gluten which was disappointing.
While we were waiting for the pizzas to cook we went to TJ Max and I found the best looking black dress for only $25! It's sort of glamorous and vintage. I justified it by taking back the dress from H&M that was too short.
That night we went to a TV Preview Screening. I got tickets from a co-worker who didn't want to go. It didn't take us long after watching a 90's era TV show that was totally lame that we figured out it was all a scam. It wasn't about the TV show at all. It was all about the commercials! They told us we would qualify to win prizes by filling out these forms and circling the products we wanted. After watching the two shows we filled out another form and noticed that a lot of the products in there were advertised on the commercials we watched. It was obvious that they wanted to see if we changed our minds on the good we chose after watching the advertisements. We got tired of filling out surveys and left. Waste of time!
On Sunday, August 30 we were a little late for church because my hair wasn't cooperating and it had to look good cuz I had my new dress on. All the lessons and talks were interesting. We found out that we have about 400 people coming to church every week and there are 55 babies in our congregation. Afterwards we had a church potluck that was good, but all the desserts were full of gluten which was disappointing.
I finally got it together and made some gluten free low calorie cupcakes so I wouldn't feel so bad about missing out. I used Jules gf flour, which actually has less calories than regular flour, and cut the sugar to 1/2 cup. They turned out pretty good and they are only 62 calories. Next time I make them, I'm going to make them bigger. I tried to make low-calorie frosting, but it didn't really turn out.
Monday, August 31 was my first day here at my new job. I had a slew of orientation meetings all day and lunch with my mentor. It's nice to be all set up with an e-mail address and a desk. I'm actually going to get business cards and I get all the free herbal tea and sugar-free hot chocolate I want. The down side is that I'm not getting an office. Not yet anyway. I'm in this new non-renovated area on a different floor and I share a big open space with my 5 new best friends.
Monday, August 31 was my first day here at my new job. I had a slew of orientation meetings all day and lunch with my mentor. It's nice to be all set up with an e-mail address and a desk. I'm actually going to get business cards and I get all the free herbal tea and sugar-free hot chocolate I want. The down side is that I'm not getting an office. Not yet anyway. I'm in this new non-renovated area on a different floor and I share a big open space with my 5 new best friends.
The space was formerly rented out by a dot com company and the walls are painted with bright blue and yellow paint with motivational quotes and words along the top. My wall says success, excellent, tremendous, and fanatical. I'm thinking fanatical is a bad thing, maybe that's what led to their demise. Just remember, "success comes in a can, not a can't."
As far as actual work goes I haven't done any of that yet. Apparently my boss is super busy working on a proposal and so I'm waiting to hear back (I've already been up there a few times and sent her an email so I don't want to be a pest). Hopefully I don't have to wait too long. I'm still not sure what my hours are supposed to be. HR told me to come in at 9:00 for my orientation on Monday so I guess I'll just continue doing that until I hear otherwise.
As far as actual work goes I haven't done any of that yet. Apparently my boss is super busy working on a proposal and so I'm waiting to hear back (I've already been up there a few times and sent her an email so I don't want to be a pest). Hopefully I don't have to wait too long. I'm still not sure what my hours are supposed to be. HR told me to come in at 9:00 for my orientation on Monday so I guess I'll just continue doing that until I hear otherwise.
I've heard from numerous people that once I do start on some projects I'll won't be lacking for something to do so I guess I should enjoy the down time. I'm sure it would be more welcome if I hadn't spent the last 2 years surfing the internet. Everyone is really nice so far and friendly, which is a novelty for DC. Most people in DC are nice, but I wouldn't say they are particularly friendly. I'm not super extroverted either so I guess I fit in.
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