So I am taking you back to my first week or two in LA (dates 3/22-3/26/10) This is what I felt and what I wrote. Take it as you will. Sorry for the length ahead of time...
Small Steps, Small Questions
The next chapter has begun, and I am taking it slowly day by day. I have now been working for a week at the Walt Disney Studios, and it has gone by so fast. Sometimes, I feel like I am on top of the world and nothing can stop me, and others, I feel completely inadequate for the smallest tasks.
Making this move to LA, I have realized I have to approach it completely different than I have any other move. I actually have to take it day by day, and adjust slowly rather than dive into it and expect things to happen automatically. All my previous moves throughout the country were different than this move, I had family, or I had provided roommates and an environment with limited time experiences (semesters at school, abroad or WDW). This, unlike the others, has no "end date" and no given set of circumstances, I must make it on my own. So in order to get myself situated, I need to take my time and build my own world around me slowly and surely.
"Slowly and surely." I feel that has been my motto for everything that I say or do lately. At work, I say it for when people ask, "How are you adjusting?" or "How is is going?" I even say it to myself when I start to feel things click and I understand something new for the first time. It is a lot like that feeling in Math class when you are given a new equation and you finally "get it" and are able to solve the problem. It is with those small "clicks" I feel I am able to start adjusting.
I am trying to adjust to one new thing at a time. Right now, it is adjusting to the new work environment. Next week, it will be adjusting to the roads, and trying to find an apartment to move into. Then the week after that, I will move in, and then I can start looking for recreational activities, like joining a volleyball team. As you can see, it is one new aspect at a time. I cannot push it any faster than that. "Slowly but surely," I will make my adjustments.
However, as of now, I feel like it is coming along. I have not been able to blog at all because my life has become so regimented this week. Here is my routine: Wake 6am, leave for work 6:30am, arrive near 9am, work till 6:30pm, drive back through traffic, end back at family's house near 8:30pm, talk to family, dinner @ 9:15, ready for bed, in bed at 10:30pm, start all over!
For those of you who know me, I am NOT an early to bed, early to rise, but when I come back from work, I am sooo exhausted, by 9pm I can barely stay awake. I have not felt this tired in a really long time. I had no idea that sitting down all day would exhaust me that much. I think more so right now, I am more mentally exhausted, as I am trying to adjust to a lot of things. I know once I get the routine, it will be better. But the low point is the 2 hour commute through bad traffic, but for some reason, I feel strangely independent and grown up being a part of the adult commute. So, I actually do not mind it all the time. It's towards the 2+ hour mark when I get antsy to get out of the car.
Anyway, that was a tangent. I just wanted to talk about how work is going mainly, since that is what i came out here to do. Well, it is going really well. I think as some of you know, when you first meet me, I am really reserved and a bit shy, especially if I have the pressure of trying to impress someone in a professional environment. I am not naturally loud, and as I get used to the group dynamic, then I become more outgoing. That is where I am now. I am the most quiet of the group, but they are all nice. I want to make sure that I am understanding everything they tell me, and I do it correctly. So far, I am doing pretty well I think.
I am jumping right on into it. On my first day, I started planning meetings, organized the travel itineraries and "manned the phones." My boss' desk is quite busy, that's fine, but the part that I feel most insecure about is all the small tiny questions I need to ask regarding the small details I do not know.
For example, I do not know who the assistants are to what executives, I do not know who is priority person to talk to or meet with when 5 other people are trying to schedule a meeting at the same time. I do not know simple things, like the UPS packaging process as it is different for each company or the extensions to offices, where the copy machine is... the list goes on. The hardest part is not knowing who people are. I am now keeping a cheat sheet of what assistants go to what executives, and who does what. That I know will take time, and my boss will need patience with me as I also need it with myself.
Luckily, I have been well received by the other folks within the company. I am so surprised on how friendly everyone is here, which is not what I was expecting of LA. I have found an ally or two to ask the smallest questions, such as "what is the copier password? The fax number? Where is the kitchen? Supply room? How do you change this on the calendar?" etc...
I love the people I work with on the floor. I am neighboring the offices that create the billboards, ads, and movie posters for all of the Disney films coming out. Then on my other side, I have the guys who make and edit the movie trailers. So lately, I have heard the Sorcerer's Apprentice trailer and Miley Cyrus' Last Song trailer about 200 times. Although I am not doing anything creative yet, I am around people who are, and it is wonderful! I love the energy of the company and the work environment.
Like I said, there are days where I feel on top of the world and I cannot stop smiling walking in the Halls of Giants, but then there are others where I really feel out of place not knowing the necessary details; which is why, I need to take this adjustment one step at a time. Starting with the small questions, small "clicks", to small achievements. I look forward to what is coming next week. Until then, I hope everyone else at home is doing well! Miss you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment