Party Up

Once again, back after a multi-week absence. Where to start.... I feel it necessary to do a quick re-cap of my work holiday party.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures there.  I really am sorry about this because there was a lot going on.  I am also really sorry that it took me three weeks to finish writing this.  Since there are no pics related specifically to this, here's a picture of a Christmas tree:

A quick back story: I work for a very large firm with a reputation for throwing really killer holiday parties.  I'd heard about them from employees and a few lucky people who somehow were allowed to attend (this was the first year employees were allowed to bring dates) and L and I were excited to see what they were like firsthand.  (I especially was because this is the first time I've worked somewhere that actually hosted a holiday party.)  Because of the size of my firm, it would be logistically nearly impossible to have one holiday party for all of the employees in the national capital region to attend because there just wouldn't be a place big enough for everyone to gather, not to mention that we have employees coming from all over Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland.  As such, my firm hosted four holiday parties and allowed employees to decide which one they would attend.  My friends all managed to snag tickets to the event in DC, but by the time I logged in to get mine, there weren't any left.  So L and I decided to go to the event in Arlington in mid-December. 

Theme: General holiday festiveness

Attire: Cocktail/black tie (except I didn't believe this for some reason)

The party started at 6:30, but we had a busy day and didn't end up arriving til closer to 9:00 (semi-on purpose - who wants to be the very first person to the work party?? - and semi-accidentally... there was a big Cowboys game on that L wanted to see part of).  The party was in full swing and there was quite a show going on with regards to attire.  Sadly, I followed advice from a friend who went to the DC event that required a business casual attire, so L and I were on the more casual end of party-going attire.  Not inappropriately dressed, I just wished I'd worn one of my more fun dresses.  But oh well!  We saw everything- sequins, feathers, beads, lace, short dresses (like, too short for a conservative company's holiday party), long dresses, tight dresses, full dresses, tuxedos, suits, military dress uniforms... the works.  Seriously, there was some of everything.  Including a dress that wasn't fully zipped up.  And not one of that girl's friends said anything and I know they saw it, so that leads me to believe this girl was okay with her dress being partially unzipped and exposing her bra.  Or maybe the whole group was hammered.  Either is entirely likely.

Anyway, we rolled in to the hotel where the event was, checked in and got wristbands for the bar, and then entered the ballroom to scope out the scene.  The room basically looked like a wedding reception, just no cakes, bride, or groom.  There were food stations scattered around the perimeter of the room and there was a dance floor with a DJ in the center of the room, and instead of the bride and groom's monogram gobo projected on the dance floor, the company logo was projected onto the wall behind the DJ's platform.  Tables with seating were on each side of the dance floor.  When we walked in, no one was dancing and lots of people were sitting down eating.  At this point, I was surprised; there had been a lot of people at the bars, at the check-in table, and at the photo booth, but that number plus the number of people in the ballroom only maybe added up to about 400-500 people.  Not many considering a few thousand tickets were available for this event.  Confusing, but what do you do?  We grabbed food and seats and ate our dinner, all the while watching two middle-aged couples dance on the dance floor.  You know what's awkward?  Two middle-aged couples on the dance floor who are not slow-dancing. 

Eventually we grabbed more drinks and L went to check out the dessert selection.  We both were surprised by the number of people in the hallway and how loud it was out there (it was loud in the ballroom; they were not joking around with the speaker systems).  We decided it was about time to check out what else was going on.  GOOD THING WE DID. 

We walked down the hall and suddenly it opened up into lobby of sorts where there were seriously hundreds of people, all under the age of about 35, milling around talking and getting drinks from the bar stations set up in there.  And then we realized that there was another ballroom.  One where more people were.  One that was twice as big as the room where we'd eaten dinner.  We grabbed more drinks and made our way into the bigger ballroom and it was PACKED.  Every seat at every table was taken and you couldn't even see the dance floor because there were so many people dancing.  It just looked like a billion people packed together dancing and jumping around.  L's assessment: "This is where bad decisions will be made later this evening."  And I know he was so right.  It was the perfect setting for anyone to take action on an office crush.

The people-watching alone in this room was fantastic.  Quite a few tuxedos with ridiculous cummerbunds, military dress uniforms, and dresses that ranged from questionable to truly gorgeous.  The music was super fun - lots of party hits from college and high school, which means late 90s and early 2000s if you don't actually know me.  L almost spit his drink out when DMX's "Party Up" started.  His response upon recovering: "HOW IS THIS AT ALL APPROPRIATE FOR A WORK PARTY?"  A point well made.  My point: no one in that room didn't know that song.  L also was reminded of an important fact about me, which is that I know every word to Mo' Money, Mo' Problems and I'm not afraid to sing it, no matter where we are.  And now, a random picture of people dancing:

So that was my work Christmas party, aka, Stuff White People Like (holiday parties, buffet stations, DJs, cocktail/black tie dress codes, late 90s/early 2000s top 40 rap hits, and the list could keep going but I'll stop).  As white people, we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it and we're already looking forward to next year.

Working over time (work out)

Sooo... remember like a month ago when I was all, "Good things are coming!  Yea!"?  Well, that all panned out so I can actually share my fun exciting news with the interwebs: I am no longer contracting!  I got brought on full time and today was my first day.  I have a week of new hire orientation and then I'll go back to what I was doing before, just with benefits (hooray for 401Ks!), a pay increase (which will be negated by the aforementioned 401K to which I shall be aggressively contributing, what with the LACK of contributions for the last dozen months or so) and apparently a new wireless keyboard and possibly a bigger desk (still waiting for confirmation on that, but it's looking likely).  Woo hoo!  L and I are very excited about this.  It's so nice to have a job you like, where you feel inspired to work and give your very most at all times.  I know that I may not always feel that way, but I hope this feeling continues for a long time to come. It's great knowing that I am valued and that my contributions are noticed and appreciated. 

For those of you who are feeling burned out or frustrated by your work situations, I so encourage you all to take a leap of faith and apply for something that intrigues you or find a company you like and pursue it.  I decided on a whim over my first Christmas in Virginia that I really wanted to work at my current company.  I didn't know how I was going to make it happen or what position I might possibly ever be qualified for, but I knew I needed a change.  Since the very beginning of our relationship, I've seen L enjoy a great amount of professional success by pursuing new career opportunities (literally- he started a new joy a week after our first date and a year later, he was recruited back to his current company into the job that led us to VA).  I know I would have eventually left my last job on my own, but it took me seeing something like his experience to not question what I was doing.  So if you're feeling less than satisfied, I say look around and see what else is out there.  Maybe you'll find you are happy where you are, but maybe you'll also find something that makes you really happy and fulfilled.  Or at least content.  And that really does make a huge difference, at least for me! 

Little Black Backpack

I've been in the new job for 2 full months now.  It's going really well.  Love where I work; really enjoy what I do; great co-workers; an easy, unoffensive commute; and to top it all off, the company looks great on resumes.  Work life is good these days.

My company is large and so is the campus where my office is located.  This means lots of co-workers and lots of diversity.  Awesome, cool, whatever.  I've never worked in an office of this size or one that required suits on men most days (which is hands-down a great look on most men).  Women wear typical business casual attire, although it's definitely a step up from what my friends and I wore in Austin on a regular basis (see just about any post on Capital Hill Style).  Anyway, so everyone rolls in looking nice every day.  But what absolutely KILLS the look is when a co-worker passes you in the lobby and you see that they are wearing A BACKPACK. 

Seriously??  You have a job.  You're not a teenager.  You're not on your way to class.  You're on your way to your office.  WHY DO YOU HAVE A BACKPACK?? 

My team has a new-hire this week.  (I get to train her.  Do not be jealous.  Seriously.)  She arrived looking very nice in a dress... and then immediately she looked less professional because she had a black Jansport backpack with her (that ended up all over the place... tangled under my feet multiple times, caught up in computer cables... it was ridiculous.  The lesson here is DON'T BRING A FREAKING BACKPACK TO WORK.)  I don't care that she's riding a shuttle from another nearby state.  That's no excuse. 

I'm not saying we need to wander down the garden path of brief cases.  I think brief cases are a thing of the past.  Relics of days gone by when laptops weren't around (I can remember my dad's briefcase from when he had a portable computer- not a laptop, but a portable computer.  There's a difference.  It was not awesome) and you had to carry paper files around.  There are plenty of totes out there now that will hold a massive amount of crap- everything from laptops to notepads to magazines to books.  You can even fit clothes and snacks in them if you pack them right.  Totes not your style?  WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE MESSENGER BAG.  Where totes tend to be more feminine, messenger bags can have a mass appeal due to a variety of styles that allow them to run the gamut from sporty to chic.  And if it's a change of clothes that you require, for, say, an extra-curricular workout, just bring your freaking gym bag!  Just make sure it's in good shape and clean. 

All this is to say that I simply don't understand how people put in so much effort to look nice for work but then kill it with the backpack.  So if you're one of these people, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a nice, new bag that looks professional.  You don't have to spend an arm and a leg.  Go to Target.  Go to Marshall's.  Hit up sales at any store.  Whatever.  Find something you like and make the purchase.  People will take you more seriously.  I promise.


Stepping off my soapbox now.  Thankyouverymuch.

Workin' for a Livin'

Apparently my gut has on sense of intuition.  I got the job, which is a nice metaphoric ray of light breaking through my dark little rain cloud of a day.  This explains a little bit why I have never been particularly good at multiple choice tests.  If only I'd known years ago: just do the opposite of what it tells me the answer is.

My Baby's Got a Secret

And my secret is.... I'm resigning from my job today.  It's a long time in coming.  I don't have another job lined up yet, but I have some plans in place.  Am I crazy for quitting a job without another one in place??  If you were to ask my mom, when I first told her, she would say YES.  Her take was that any job was better than no job.  Then I reminded her of everything that has happened in the last 5 weeks (LOTS of drama in a very big way) and the number of times I've talked to her after a very bad day of work and ended up in tears over the last 2 years, and the fact that my company has gone back on promises made to me and actively reminds me that my employment is not a long-term situation (so at some point, I'll be out of a job anyway and my company is going to position it so that I'm resigning so that they don't have to pay me severance- AWESOME) and she started to change her mind.  L, on the other hand, has wanted me to quit pretty much since we got married.  And actually, longer than that, but we knew I needed to be working at least until we got married, if not a little longer.  The stress and general unhappiness I get from this job are just not worth the damper they have put on me for the past 6 months, let alone the past 2-ish years.  It's just become clearer and clearer that it's time for me to pursue something new and different.  Last week I was super excited about resigning, but this week I'm more nervous than anything else.  I am aiming to have the awkward, "I'm resigning" conversation with my boss after lunch.  I have a specific time limit in my mind that I HAVE to call her by.  I know this is the right thing to do, but it's scary and despite the general negative atmosphere I've been working in, it's hard to leave.  There are a lot of people at this org that I like and I know I'm good at what I do.  I also love the clients I work with.  But none of that can overpower the fact that I'm just not happy here.  It's not fair to L to have him continue to come home and wonder what kind of mood I'm going to be in.  Also,

L and I have a plan for how we're going to get by during my time of unemployment.  I know I'm so lucky to have him not only in my life, but to have him there to support me and encourage me with this decision.  Wish me luck in the next couple of hours...

Good Day Sunshine

Coming to you live from my backyard... the weather in the greater-D.C. area has been in the 60s and 70s for the last 2 weeks (mostly), so obviously I needed to celebrate by working outside.  Because I can do that.  This is my make-shift office/desk:

Except this pic was taken last week on the first day I worked from the backyard.  Since then, I've added in a TV tray as a working surface because I ended up with a farmer's tan on my legs from where my laptop was.  Not hot.  I also now have my ipod and docking station outside for auditory enjoyment.
And here's my one of my new co-workers:

Her name is Robin and she's been so friendly.  We had lunch together on the first day; she ate worms, I had a salad.  Since then, I've met some other co-workers; namely, a black squirrel (fyi- I'd never seen a black squirrel before) and some bees.  The bees are very into spring and all about celebrating by flying all over the place.  It's incredibly annoying, so it's kept me inside a couple of days.

My first day working outside also marked the first day my legs had seen direct sunlight SINCE MY HONEYMOON which was IN OCTOBER. 

Yeah.  Gross.  Hopefully this will add a little color to my life.  So far I've come in a little burned every day.  Yes, it's possible to burn from being outside for 1-2 hours in the afternoon in March.  I'm fair-skinned to start with, and since I haven't seen the sun in months, it only compounds the issue.