istanbul is constantinople

create, creating, creating opportunities, life, opportunities, school, semi-unemployed, work

I've been thinking recently about opportunities. How they come and the go. How I, we, come face to face with some and how we create others. It seems to me that some opportunities come because we used others.

I have a hard time saying that I took advantage of the opportunity. To me, taking advantage of something has the connotation of exploiting a weakness when really, you can't exploit an opportunity because it's there to be used in the first place.

So today, as I settle into my third day of summer and semi-unemployment, I'm thinking about how I can use of all the free time I have now and create some opportunities for myself.

And maybe another way of looking at it is, I have this opportunity of free time so how can I take advantage of it? Except my mind doesn't really work that way. This opportunity of free time didn't land in my lap by chance, I created it. So now I have to think on how I will use this free time to my advantage. Take advantage of having all this free time and make some headway, get some experience, do something useful. Exploit my free time? Hmm, maybe I really am taking advantage of it.

Either way, I contacted a mentor and lined up some experience for the summer. I've used one opportunity to create another which, hopefully, if I play my cards right, will get me more opportunities down the road.

The point is, if I did not take the chance in the first place and try my luck at one opportunity, the one or two, that I'll soon be up to my elbows in would not have become opportunities at all.

Which brings me to one of the things that frequently comes out of my mouth: If you don't ask, you'll never know.

Currently I'm sitting in a coffee shop. It's the middle of the afternoon, I've had lunch and I'm sucking the last bit of iced chai from between the ice cubes at the bottom of my cup. I'm reading some homework in prep for tomorrow. We May Be Giants is streaming through the too-warm air and it would take drastic measures to get me in a better mood right now. Thanks to a couple opportunities, I think this summer will shape up pretty nicely after all.

And I'm sure there's something to be said about opportunities and Constantinople becoming Istanbul, but I'm too indifferent about it to look it up.

things i’ve learned while working at pepsi

life, moving on, things i learned, things I learned while working, work

While cleaning up and cleaning out these past couple weeks I have thought of things that my workplace has taught me. Here they are, in no particular order.

-They don't make you pay for new nameplates when you change your name or department.

-The paper shredder demolishes name plates and security badges.

-The guys will use your lotion no matter how floral it smells.

-Keep a scrapbook of the thank yous and congratulations becuase there will be really crappy days and you'll need something to remind you of how valuble you really are.

-I enjoy the comfort of a warm beverage in the morning while sifting through an ungodly amount of email and voicemail.

-I really am capable of handling multiple things at once. Expecially if it was my mistake that started the chaos.

-I really hate making mistakes.

-The best time to laugh is all the time. Except in staff meetings.

-Always laugh in staff meetings.

-It really is possible to get out of bed at 5 am on a Sunday to go to work.

-Sometimes someone following up with you is a good thing.

-Don't leave your car unlocked in the front parking lot, someone will steal your radio. Especially on Santa Day.

-Truck drivers may be creepy and smell really bad, but they're just people too.

-You have to be willing to set your own boundaries. If you don't, they will. Which means you won't have any boundaries.

-No matter how much work you do, they will always give you more.

-Don't admit how much you actually know. Hold those cards close and wait for the opportune moment, Pirates of the Carribean style.

-It really is possible for tomorrow's plan to change 5 times today.

the last week

employment, life, quitting, work

This is the last week I'll work here.

That was my first thought this morning once I was coherent enough to have a thought. For seven and a half years I've gotten up every weekday, and some weekends, and come to work here.

I'm fighting the very strong urge to pack up my personal items and high tail it out.

This workplace has been such a security blanket. For a long time I thought I would never leave here, I didn't want to. But as life progressed and my perspective changed, I knew this wouldn't be my long term employment. But I kept plugging along, getting my work done and staying happy. I was grateful to have a job that supported me and didn't send me running home to mom and dad when things went south.

The time for me to jump ship has come. I've been able to create some amazing opportunities and to be able to take full advantage I have to move on from here.

Some people get emotional when the end comes. I saw a few people get emotional about the end of the school year, end of college, end of living in a certain place. I'm not feeling emotional about this. Surprisingly I feel just numb. There's nothing at all, just a shrug of the shoulders and a thought of “Alright, this is it. Here we go.” I'm pretty square with the decision to move on. It's time.

There's plenty to get done before I head out. I'll work my eight to five every day this week and go home to spend time with my snuggle dog and enjoy the sunshine.

And at some point during the week I'll get the satisfaction of clearing out my personal items and driving away in my car just the way I've wanted to for the last 2 years.

someone else’s schedule

adjustment, career, life, school, work

I'm back at work today. I'm working all day sitting at a desk and it just feels weird.

Getting up early didn't change when I started school. Thanks to a 7:30 morning class I was ready for the day and catching the bus at 7 a.m. But even then I was walking across campus in the cool morning air working my muscles and huffing my pants up the hill. During the god-send-breaks between my classes I spent the last couple weeks soaking in some sunshine and working on my tan lines.

I find that I'm getting restless about half way through the day, sitting behind a desk in a windowless office is taking its toll on my sanity. The decrease in my sanity level is happening a lot faster than it did before. I'm assuming there will be some sort of adjustment period and I'm hoping to get back in the groove of sitting on my sit bones all day sometime soon.

When I started school it felt very antisocial. I went to class and didn't talk to anyone, didn't make any friends, no reason to expel words from my mouth for the first month or so. It was one of those things where I knew I was supposed to be there but I didn't quite feel like I belonged there. Work had been such a security blanket and really, I had few friends outside of work.

As I got more involved at the Daily Utah Chronicle I developed new friends, built a fragile little home for myself and began having conversations throughout the day. Interviewing people for articles helped with that and I'm starting to feel brave about approaching people. Not totally all the time of course, but it's a work in progress.

Now that I'm back at work I find myself in the same position I was when school started in January. I know I'm supposed to be here, but I don't quite fit in anymore. So while I spend the next two weeks at work wrapping things up and getting my ducks in a row (quack), I'll work on stretching myself once again. I really enjoy the freedom and sporadic schedule that school offers me. I know that “normal” work hours are… well… normal and that eventually I'll have to go back out into the “real world” and work for The Man once again.

I'm just hoping The Man won't stick me behind a desk in a windowless office for 8 hours a day every day.

the sun gods

chores, I went outside, life, school, sleep, sun, sunshine, to-do, vacation, work

The sun gods are blessing us with loads of sunshine this weekend. It is my goal to get out and enjoy it.

Along with getting chores done. It's about time I did the laundry.

School starts next week. Already.

Working on Sunday.

It's halfway though May already, there are plenty of things on the to-do list to keep me hopping through the rest of it. And if I'd stop daydreaming I could actually get it done.

My nephew graduates high school next week. I cannot express to you how old this makes me feel.

Looking forward to my long weekend vacation in June. 6 weeks and counting.

AND I'm very much looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Have a cheery Friday.

Marjorie Clark

Mountains are Life

work