November 21, 2006

• Jobby Job

  Wednesday is day three of the new jobby job.

  Although the title is the same as my last position in Chicago (save for the British spelling of “Marketing Coordinator,” which is “Marketing Co-ordinator.”), my new job in Glasgow is much different. Instead of party planning, copy writing, and routing drafts, I am archiving, organizing mailings, and managing online forums. I’ll be doing web copy writing in the future, which will be cool. I’m digging the slower pace of this position, I have time to give proper attention to each task. My last Chicago position had me managing a million projects simultaneously; this time around I get to focus on a few set tasks for one project, a design festival in May.

  My new work place is structured very nicely; no one seems overly stressed or like they are living at work. No one has rings around their eyes. No one skips lunch to eat at his or her desk. No one forgoes their generous amount of vacation time (so far my favorite part of working in the UK) to “get things done in the office.” People are friendly to each other. Cubicles don’t exist–people just share rooms. Everyone knows your name and is eager to chat. It’s really nice.

  Another excellent thing about my new workplace is the dress code. Its artsy/casual, meaning: don’t look too grubby, but don’t wear a suit to work either. Yesterday I wore my black pencil skirt/boots combo; today my “good jeans” and a black blouse. Pretty much anything besides sweats, spandex, and ripped pants goes. Tomorrow I have a hair appointment after work to get my locks in shape again. What good is getting to dress cute every day without pretty hair to accompany the ensemble? Plus, my hair is getting grubby. It’s hard to look like you mean business with bangs in your eyes.

  Also tomorrow, I have an all-staff lunch to attend. These shindigs happen monthly. Everyone who works at the museum brings a dish and has a fun little potluck, no shoptalk allowed. I made oatmeal raisin cookies tonight and I’m looking forward to getting to know people (and hopefully make a lunch buddy) tomorrow. Although no one can replace my true lunch buddy in Chicago. (Hiya, Caitlin!)

  What else? Fiona! It wasn’t until working in Scotland that I realized how many people have the name Fiona here. Two alone are in my department and the visitor services staff have at least 3, as far as I can tell. Doing data entry today, I think at least a quarter of the women I entered were named Fiona. I like that fun, quirky differences can make even data entry intersting to me here.

  Overall (please forgive that wretched transitional phrase. I’m tired tonight, gentle readers.), I feel lucky to be working at all, let alone in a workplace that treats me like a human and pays me to advocate for something I beleive in. I can’t help but think how grateful I am to everyone who helped me to get to where I’m at. I nearly didn’t apply for this job because I figured it was such a shot in the dark. Warm encouragement from Shaun and my mom’s “what’s the worst that can happen?” philosophy is what got me to apply. I’m so thankful to have parents who taught me to be brave and a husband who values that bravery. I’m too young yet to be an expert or an authority. Most of what I do relies on moxie alone, and without it, I’d be stuck. And I’d probably not experience the world enough to learn what I need to know to ever be an authority or expert on anything when I’m older. So a big, blanket of thanks to everyone. I love you.
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  What is your favorite part of your job? How did you get there?

  • 4:53 pm
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