An overwhelming day at work

Today was my big "lunch with the girls" day at work. I was SUPPOSED to eat lunch with Michelle, Debby and Gabby. But, last minute, Michelle remembered that she had a meeting scheduled from 12:30-1:30, so I ended up having lunch with Gabby, Debby, Miriam, Tara and Alicia.

I was a little nervous going into the "meeting" but overall I was really excited to get to sit and talk with people besides the people whose desks are right next to mine. I was ready to breakaway (almost like the Kelly Clarkson song but a little more alto and a little less soprano).

Then, at 12:20 (T-10 minutes til I was supposed to meet Gabby in the lobby), my boss came and hassled me about getting access to her MS Outlook account. She wants me to be able to access all of her MS Outlook files so that I can respond to her e-mails (if need be), check her calendar and access files related to the National Conference which I'm helping her plan. But, for some reason, the IT people in the Rockville Centre office hadn't given me access to all of her files...and I kept calling this one IT guy trying to get him to officially authorize me to see my boss' Outlook files. And he wasn't responding.

So, my boss called Rockville Centre and told me I had to wait to get authorized and finish getting info. from this one list before I could go to lunch. And the phone was ringing off the hook AND all these different guests were coming into the building so I had to find out who they were there to see and get them where they needed to go. All at once. So, I had to call Gabby and tell her I was going to be late for lunch. Which, when you're trying to fit in and seem friendly, is the opposite of what you want to do.

But fine. I got authorized and met the girls downstairs in the building courtyard/patio for lunch. And it was really nice but overwhelming.

I learned: who's nice and who's not (according to them), who to talk to and who to ignore, about the staff conference (apparently there's an annual staff conference in the summer in New Jersey...) and how there was a giant slushie machine with tequila slushies and how the CEO got drunk and was saying inappropriate things to some of the younger employees, about the quarterly birthday parties in the office and how, since I'm the newest employee now, I'm going to be questioned at the next one in front of everyone about my work experience at JNF thus far, about how there are all these rumors about different people in the office having sex but 90% (this is a direct quote from Tara) aren't true, about how all the people in the office are BEST friends (also a direct quote. It's nice to know that everyone in the office is so close, and even moreso since I was invited to lunch and kind of 'initiated' into the group. But, it's also intimidating to know that everyone hangs out so often. I feel even more pressure to be liked and become BFF with everyone. !. Of course this internalized pressure is only to an extent because rationally I know that I can't MAKE anyone like me and that these people at work are either going to like me or not...and all I can do is be myself and hope for the best. I don't have time to worry about what they think of me), and how my BOSS is apparently "salty".

HM.


Even if my boss is "salty" (isn't that an interesting adjective? I don't think I've ever used it) she likes me and that's all that really matters. She can be bitchy to everyone in the office for all I care as long as she respects me and is fair in her interactions with me. I really like her and think she's cool.

After lunch I spent the afternoon formatting labels, speaking with guests that were visiting in the conference room next to my office, answering phone calls, trying to find Alicia so that she could give me a formatting sheet, and eating cake and pickles. I love leftover food! It doesn't make the food any less delicious to know that it wasn't ordered for me and is in fact left from someone else's meeting. Kosher deli pickles in New York City are the best!

I have tomorrow and Friday off for the festival of Sukkot. I'm going to: get my car jump-started, get my hair cut (not sure how yet), go to dinner with my nana, go to happy hour, sleep! and relax :)