How does one sneak out of work?

So that phone interview I had this past Monday apparently went well, because I got called for a second interview! This time, the recruiter wants me to come into the office and meet with a few different people. She asked me for my availability and instructed me to "be flexible," as the interviews will take a total of 1 1/2 hours.

I told her I'm available any night after 4:30pm, thereby giving myself a way out of work (doctor's appointment) and a way to spend as much time at the interviews as I had to (who goes back to work after an appointment at 4:30?). The recruiter emailed me back and said the only time she can accommodate me is at 12:30pm on Tuesday.

Uh, how am I supposed to peace out of work for 3 hours? Let's not forget the half hour commute there AND back from the location. So we're looking at, minimum, two and a half hours out of the office in the middle of the day.

Any ideas?

Hi, Friday!!!

(Photo courtesy of greenvilledailyphoto.com)

Today officially sucked.

I'm ready to go home now. Let the soul searching begin promptly at 8:30am tomorrow morning.

FRUSTRATED.

My first day at this job, my boss asked me if there was anything that I didn't want to do while I was here. There were two projects that fell on my shoulders at my last job - projects that, for lack of a better word, I hated. I did them with a smile, and did them well, but when my boss asked me if there was anything I didn't want to do, I told her that I had done those two projects before, learned everything I could from them, and would rather not deal with them any longer. She agreed.

Fast forward six months and two employees on our staff are leaving. One of those said projects above has now been placed on my shoulders.

GET. ME. OUT. OF. HERE!!!!!

I love my bus!

Remember last week when I met a girl on my bus who worked at a financial company that I'd like to work for? Well, getting her name was phase 1. Today, I officially completed phase 2. I got her email address. Now, we're officially connected. Networking at it's best!

What boredom at work leads to...

The work is done. I'm bored again. Watch out, JCREW!

Work!

I actually have some today! YAY! My usual 9:30am Wednesday meeting provided me with a few things to do this afternoon. I know you can't see me, but I'm smiling at my desk right now :-)

I hate my nose sometimes.

Why must there be an amazing-smelling bakery right next to my office? Is it really necessary to tempt me every morning at 8am? My willpower isn't strong that early!

Hence the big fat cinnamon bun that's currently sitting on my desk. Not cool.

I've run out of websites to visit...

...so thankfully it's 5:30 and I'm leaving. GLEE tonight! And The Biggest Loser! Ahhh happy girl! Enjoy your night and I'll see you all tomorrow :-)

AMAZEBALLS.

I think this website was made especially for me...

Daily dose of boss.

[Boss]: I need help.
[Me]: What are you doing?
[Boss]: I'm trying to write a blurb on how health and wellness are important to our brand.
[Me]: Okay, well you could say...
[Boss]: That sounds great! Ya know, I'm just not good at writing blurbs. I'm great at writing bullet points.

Is it bad to eat the entire box?

I only have one thing to do today, work-wise, so I'm trying my best to space it out that way I'm not bored the entire day. Who am I kidding. Currently I'm snacking on a box of Puffins. I love puffins, both the cereal and the bird.

Being bored at work is a serious issue. It produces the need the eat constantly, all the time, as a way of filling the void of having nothing to do. So I eat and then eat some more. Luckily the entire box of Puffins is only 11 Weight Watcher points (I used to be on WW back in the day and still know the point value of some foods). This is reassuring, considering I have the feeling that this box will be finished by 5pm today. Oh man.

One interview down...

...and it went really well! Though I tend to hate phone interviews (who likes talking to a wall?), I think my personality came through. The woman I spoke with said she's going to send my resume to the hiring manager with a recommendation to move on in the interview process. Yay!

Side note: have any of you ever tried interviewing for another job while actually at your current job? Since the interview was at 8:30 this morning and most of my office doesn't get in until 9, I thought I could get away with doing the interview here. I sat myself down in one of our large conference rooms, closed the door, and realized my voice echoed. I freaked out, crawled underneath the conference table, and conducted my interview there. My back hurts from hunching over. But the worst part occurred when someone walked into the conference room and saw me crouching underneath the table. Talk about embarrassing. Thankfully it was 9 and the interview was five minutes from over.

What a way to end the day!

I just got ANOTHER interview! I've applied to so many jobs lately that it's impossible to remember them all. Apparently I applied for a marketing analyst position at a financial services company I've vaguely heard of. But hey, it's an interview, right?!

Things usually come in 3s. Does this mean I'm going to get another interview this week? One can only hope!

So bored.

Haven't done a single work-related thing all day, and the one time I've heard from my boss, she asked me what I was having for lunch. Maybe if she knew about this blog she'd have known that I ate the Lean Cuisine meal below. Oh man.

I searched for jobs on indeed.org for a good hour today and only found one that looked promising. Frustrated!

Lunch time in the office.

I'm a sucker for the frozen meal. Especially living in New York City, food is SUPER expensive. A chopped salad can run you upwards of $12. Even a Subway sandwhich (complete with chips and a drink) is in the $6 range.
I try not to eat processed foods every day, but I'll admit to having a frozen meal multiple times a week.

The above Lean Cuisine Five Cheese Rigatoni is my absolute favorite. Other winners include:

Smart Ones Fettucini Alfredo
Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara
Lean Cuisine Delux French Bread Pizza
Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans

I got an interview!

Be that, a phone interview, but still! I don't want to mention the company just yet, but I'm pretty excited. I had interview with said company after graduating from college and made it pretty far in the recruiting process, but ultimately didn't get the job.

Can't get too excited, though... last time I interviewed, I went through eight rounds! This is just the first preliminary round, hence me not saying where yet. But if I get any farther, you all will be the first to know!

Oh, Monday.

Aaaaand the weekend is officially over. Hope you all enjoyed yours! Mine
was wonderful. And then it was Monday.

Seriously, why is it that a Monday's commute is always the worst of the week? It's rainy and humid today in the Big Apple and of course that means my hair currently hates me. Frizz, much? And my buses decided not to operate on time this morning so I was standing outside, in the humidity,
for an extended period of time. Again, my hair hates me.

And as I traveled from bus #1 to bus #2, I thought to myself, when I get to work, I'm not going to have any emails or work waiting for me. Sure enough, I got to the office (after getting Starbucks, of course) to find that I only had one email in my Outlook inbox. Pathetic. It angers me that I had to commute all the way to the office on such a yucky day when I know I won't be doing anything today.

Time to look for jobs!!

5:03, I'm outta here!

The office is clearing out! Yay Friday! I have a busy, but fun weekend ahead...

-Seeing Disney's OCEANS in IMAX tonight
-Walking in the Parkinson's Unity Walk tomorrow
-Two out-of-town friends are coming to NYC, both of whom I can't wait to see!
-Errands, errands, errands, errands...

Hope you all enjoy your weekend!

Thank you for keeping me occupied today.

Please explain to me how this makes sense to you.

A few minutes ago I received the following email from a coworker. It was addressed to both my boss and I:

Do we have any stats/research on prestige makeup users? I don’t need anything formal – I just want to include an overview paragraph in my proposal.

A few seconds later, my boss sends me this email:

Can you submit a request. It falls under makeup: prestige. Thanks.

I never can understand why bosses do this. To submit this request would take a total of one minute. It literally would take you longer to email someone and tell them to do it than it would to actually complete it yourself. Is this a power thing? Does delgating make them feel more boss-like?

What does it mean when...

...you're having a conversation with your boss, and it goes like this...

[Boss] I'm tired.
[Me] I am too.
[Boss] I only have one thing to do today so I'm holding off...
[Me] Read a magazine!
[Boss] I think that'll just make me more tired. I'm going to lunch in a half hour, I'll just research wedding floral arrangements to pass the time.

Snoooooze.

The snooze button was my best friend this morning. I kinda, maybe, sorta, hit it 10 times and woke up a half hour later than I usually do. It's Friday, what can I say?!

My friend Jessica keeps yelling at me for getting into the office super early when a) I get in at least a half hour before the rest of the staff and b) I don't do anything all day. She makes a good point. Or two. But I'm still programmed from my last job to get in early and clear my head before the work starts. Only now, there is no work to be done.

She was proud of me this morning when I sat down at my desk at 8:48am.
I tried!

Cupcakes at work!

The one good thing that came out of my day! Gotta love when there's
a special occasion at the office. Never met a cupcake I didn't like. These amazing treats came from Magnolia Bakery.

Rant.

Feeling depressed. And I'm not a depressed-feeling person. Usually, I'm pretty upbeat and happy. But this feeling of career hopelessness day in and day out is really taking a toll on my emotions. I realize that I'm a "Type A," schedule and check-list, must know what I'm having for lunch kind of person. And I also realize that because I'm this way, it's a lot harder for me than it may be for some people to be so unsure of what I want to do in life. But, I am who I am. And as much as I try and force myself to realize that "everything will work out," I just can't grasp it. I can't accept it. And I can't get ahold of my emotions.

I feel like I'm wasting my time sitting at this desk every day. I am trying to learn, but there isn't much work being done. And I'm trying to enjoy myself, but there isn't much to enjoy. So I watch the days go by and wonder how I've been at my current job for six months. I didn't think I'd be here for one! I thought I'd look for jobs and find another one before I could even adjust to this office. And now, six months later, I'm still stuck at the same desk with no feasible job leads.

Seriously, when will this end? I'm getting sick of hearing myself complain about this and am fed up with feeling this way.

Happy Earth day!

I do small things throughout the year that make me feel like I'm bettering the planet (turn the water off while brushing my teeth, recycle, turn lights off as to not waste electricity). But Earth Day also gives me a chance to reflect on what ELSE I could be doing.

It also marks the premiere of Disney's OCEANS, the follow-up film to Disneynature's EARTH from last year. See OCEANS during opening week and Disneynature will make a donation in your honor to save our coral reefs. It's nice to know that while I'm getting ripped off at the theatre paying $12.50 to see this movie, I'm at least doing the planet good.

(And I have a small obsession with penguins)

500, but only a handful of options.

I just spent the past hour combing through Fortune's annual "Fortune 500" company list. And apparently, they're hiring!

Finding a job is a lot like finding a boyfriend. You search for the perfect one but many end up settling. I didn't settle with my boyfriend, and I don't plan on settling in my career. But most of Fortune's 500 list doesn't appeal to me! Maybe I'm being just a tad too picky. I'm going to make a conscious effort to broaden my horizons. Starting tomorrow.

212-555-5555

I remember when I was hunting for a job after I graduated. Any time a 212 number popped up on my caller ID, I'd freak. I'd think to myself, "What if someone's calling me about a job?" Then, I'd listen to the voice message, and nine times out of 10 it was my doctor confirming an appointment, or a friend calling from work, or...

The feelings I had back then have such a familiar feel these days, since I'm on the hunt yet again for a job. I just saw a missed call and voice message from a 212 number and got excited. I quickly found out that the message was an automated recording from my apartment building manager informing me that a contract had been reached and our doorman weren't going on strike. Yay for my doorman, boo for me.

Seriously?

Don't you love when meetings are cancelled?

Great start to my day. My 11am department meeting was cancelled! Now I have more time to do... nothing? Oh. Maybe that meeting wouldn't have been such a bad idea...