Welcome To Company Events

I went to my first company gathering (I'm not really sure what else to call it). I have been to trainings and have met a lot of people from various functions, but this was the first time I was able to see everyone in one place. It was pretty cool. I met a ton of people and was able to put a lot of faces to names. I got to find out what other people in my area do.

Going to this event was a bit nerve racking. I was always worried I would say the wrong thing or offend someone (or just make a fool of myself in general). There was alcohol served at the evening activities, so I made a point of setting limits for myself. I also made sure to drink plenty of water and eat a lot of food first. I can honestly say I very much appreciate the tutorials from college about drinking and socializing.

I was also sure that I got plenty of sleep I between socializing and getting work done (life doesn't stop for work events). Sleep is also important, otherwise it is difficult to follow along with what speakers are saying. I recommend not having an alcohol induced slumber, it causes terrible hangovers (observation from my coworkers).

The hotel I stayed in was cool. It was old and was a major part of Washington DC culture (at least according to the displays it was). It was close to the zoo. I had a great view of the Adams Morgan neighborhood from my baloney that was covered in four inches of snow. It was a huge room that I probably could have done gymnastics routines in. It was also supposedly haunted. One of the people at my conference even experienced one and had to change rooms. So I can cross off stay at haunted hotel off my list of things I need to do. It's unlikely I will ever do it again (one can only hope).

Overall I think the conference was cool (though the lighting was annoying). I enjoyed the events and don't think I embarrassed myself (too much, I still fall pray to standards of embarrassment). Here are a few things one should consider for their companies events especially their first one:

Do: Dress to impress - you never know who might see you and be careful of wardrobe malfunctions. They happen to everyone, but most people know which outfits are the safest to wear in good company.

Do: Socialize - it is important to talk to people and not lock yourself away. Yeah work is important and so is sleep, but if you are only going to see these people once a year you need to get to know them and find out what they do. You also never know what crazy stories you might hear or good pieces of advice you might learn. Also these can lead to some of the best friendships (or so I'm told).

Do: Pay attention - nothing will make you look more foolish than not paying attention and people will notice. Speakers can see the entire room and know when someone is really playing Angry Birds on their phone. Think you old college professor who would call on you after you zoned out for twenty minutes.

Do: Ask questions - you might not get another chance to. I like learning things and I find that asking questions leads to even better questions and learning experiences. Don't worry about looking stupid, most already know your new to the company anyway.

Do: Get some sleep - you'll look an feel like hell otherwise.

Don't: Overdo it - you'll regret it in the morning or six months later when that embarrassing photo who's up during a training session.

I hope someone found these pieces of advice helpful. I am now going to get ready to watch Sherlock. Please leave a comment if you think there is anything I missed.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please share it with your friends, family, or your worst enemy. I also love to hear back from my readers. I would especially like to thank Cupcake for all of her helpful advice and inspiring posts, Aunt Barb for making me smile, Mr. Bill for his words of wisdom, Abbesi for always being awesome, and to all my annonomous readers and commenters. I thought it was time I thanked you guys. Have a good week and until next Sunday.

Welcome To Long Distance

I accident forgot it was Sunday. Um, oops. This week has been pretty busy. I had a lot to do at work and I was invited back to help out at my old high school's MUN conference. The MUN conference was a lot of fun and I learned more about Star Wars than I ever thought I would. Coming back to my old high school reminded me that a lot of my friends and family are far away from where I live (true I have noticed this before, but it is really starting to hit me).

Most of my friends still live in Virginia and though I'm not too far away, with traffic it's still a long way off. One of my friends came into DC last week and wanted me to come for dinner. I was sad to say that it would have taken me a very long time to get there and getting back would not have been fun. I would have been cranky and tired by the time I got there too. I think some of my friends also don't realize quite how far away I actually live from them now.

I do try to visit my parents as often as I can (read when ever I'm too cheap to do laundry at a laundromat). They like it when I come home and I can see my friends in the area. My significant other is also on the way, so I usually stop by and visit him.

This brings me to my next big change. My significant other is on rotation right now. What does this mean for me? Well it means that I am now in a long distance relationship. He is traveling all over the place for school and I'm stuck where I've moved to. It's not like we lived all that close to each other to begin with (roughly 40 minutes), but now we'll be even farther away from each other most of the time. It's a little weird to say the least.

Thank goodness for Skype, Facebook, cell phones and other improvements I social media. My aunt had to write her future husband love letters. I at least have the ability for face to face contact through a pixilated screen and wifi. In fact Facebook, emIl and texting have been my two biggest methods of keeping in touch with people. Sure I guess I could move on to Twitter, but doesn't seem to suit my taste.

I guess what I am trying to articulate is that I am grateful for the technological improvements that allow me to more easily keep in touch with my friends and family. I also like getting snail mail (beats always opening the mailbox and finding another bill) and in person contact is always best, but it gets harder as you get older. No one has any time anymore, especially if you live almost over an hour away.

I am now going to watch Sherlock. I've missed this show and love it so. Until next weekend, I wish everyone a good week.

If you enjoyed this post or it really pissed you off please leave a comment or share it with your friends, family or worst enemy if you have one. If there are any topics you would like to hear about. Let me know. Starting out has been difficult and hard. Never shy away from asking for help.

Welcome To The Cold

When will it be spring again?

So I survived the Polar Vortex. It was not what I would call fun or ideal. In fact I kind of wish it hasn’t happened at all. My ideal temperature is 60 degrees F. I can’t quiet remember what that is in C, so sorry my non American friends who are reading. I like the fall, not snow. Maybe Queen Elsa decided to grace us with her gift (Did a congressman suggest that she couldn’t cool things down in DC?).  Whatever the case it was cold and my heater started to malfunction. 

Yes that’s right, in the middle of the coldest cold spell to hit the United States in planet only knows how many years, my heater decides die. It was cold; I was unhappy and somewhat panicky. Not having heat wouldn’t have been too bad (I actually prefer it colder in my apartment to warmer), but my mom had to tell me what happens in the winter if pipes freeze. Apparently they burst and spread chaos and destruction. I did not want that to happen. I called maintenance and they fixed it all in the same day (mainly because I wined and started crocodile tears and mentioned that is was lower than 60 degrees F). When I got home my apartment was once again at my favorite settings. There was a note that said the capacitor had needed replacing. It was a good thing they fixed it. 

I know I wasn’t the only one with heat woes. Someone I know at first did not have hot water, and then a pipe burst at his place and turned his street into a solid sheet of ice. So things could have been worse for me. I am grateful everyday that my apartment is still standing. I also now know that pipes bursting in my area is a real threat and that I should be prepared for such things happening. This is why I brought insurance. 

I also found it amusing all the people who claimed that this cold spell proved that global warming is a lie. Honestly some people just have their heads buried in the sand. Global warming is real due to humans and naturally occurring cycles. Maybe if we have a super volcanic eruption within the next ten years we won’t have to worry anymore. Not that global cooling would be a good thing either. Ice ages tend to cause bad tempers (see the little ice age on the History Channel).

Thankfully the cold spell has dissipated and things have gotten (marginally) warmer. I saw Frozen this weekend. I give it two thumbs up. I really enjoyed it and thought the “true love” aspect was perfect. I won’t give it away (spoilers) because I am already really bad about giving things away in TV shows. I highly recommend going to see it or renting / buying it when it comes out on DVD. I really like the song “Let It Go”. The transformation of Queen Elsa is incredible. 

I hope everyone is able to stay warm this week. I will hopefully finally take down my Christmas decorations. Spring can’t come fast enough.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please comment and / or share it. I love hearing back from people and it is always nice to know other people’s opinions.  Until my next post!

Welcome To Vacations

Happy year of the horse! Yep it’s the year of the horse! I spent New Year’s with my Japanese family in North Carolina. It was pretty awesome. They have a lot of different traditions that I don’t get to experience every year. My favorite part is the food. On New Year’s Eve we all eat soba noodles (buckwheat noodles) for longevity. There are also tons of other foods you eat on New Year’s Day. Unfortunately I had to leave on the 1^st of January to be back at work on the 2^nd. I ate a traditional New Year’s breakfast and then hit the road with a bento box of food you were supposed to eat during the day. It was a wonderful vacation and celebration. 

In fact, this was my first vacation since I had started work and it was the first vacation that I drove by myself further than two hours. The trip is roughly six and a half hours for me to do. This is including any pit stops I might make (except if I stop at my parent’s house for an hour that time is omitted). To be honest I was a little worried about pulling it off. There are lots of horror stories about young women disappearing while driving by themselves (alright I exaggerate, but you always hear about them). So I armed myself with my Kenyan war club (got it from my dad when I was sixteen, it is solid hard wood) and a GPS incase I take a wrong turn. For the most part I felt safe. 

My mom also made sure that I knew the facts of highway driving by myself. She said that if anyone (particularly an older male) starts madly signaling you and pointing at your car, it can mean that there is something wrong that you can’t see. If this happens you put on your hazards and either call Triple A (if you have it) or the local cops. If the person signaling you also tries to pull over and help, don’t get out of your car. Instead tell them you are calling the local dispatch for assistance and that they should leave. Never ever leave your car or unlock it if you think the person is a threat. I would also add to check to make sure that it is a cop approaching you and if you have any bad feelings to ask to call and verify who they are. It is sometimes worth it to be paranoid. 

My trip went smoothly. I made good time and was only startled once by a cop zooming past me to catch someone seriously speeding (or drunk driving I couldn’t really tell). My time in North Carolina was fun. I learned to do a lot more Japanese cooking and where to buy the ingredients I need. I was able to work on my (barely passable) Japanese. My family is trying to teach my baby cousin to be bilingual, so far it is working. I got to see family that I hadn’t in a very long time and I watched so much NHK (the Tokyo public TV station) that I already miss it. 

It feels weird to be home. I went to work on the 2^nd and then got snowed in on the 3^rd which only means that I work from my house instead of driving to my office. I finally figured out how to program my thermostat. That was important since my energy bill nearly doubled this past month (that was sticker shock if there ever was). 

I hope everyone else had lovely vacations if they were able to. It was nice to not have to worry about anything for a few days. I can’t wait to get back into the swing of work. I honestly do not do well with nothing to do (hence the cooking). Good luck to all my readers in the Year of the Horse!

If you enjoyed this post or it really pissed you off, please leave a comment or share the link. I always love hearing back from my readers and I hope they at least like reading what I write.