So, in stark contrast to yesterday, my busy-lazy day, today I went to work. For nine hours, aahhhhhhhh. And the much much worse part? I got nothing done. I've been stressing out lately enough about normal school stuff-- it's the end of the semester and I have projects and papers and tests; but work is somehow even more brain-mush-inducing as of late.
Yesterday I wrote a ton of my big semester policy paper and cleaned and had fun... but today, when I was actually supposed to be working at OSU, I had nothing to do. Not for lack of asking either-- there's just not a lot going on in my office right now.
This isn't like in many of my past jobs (I have SEVEN years of coffee shop and food service experience) where when my boss asked me to do a menial task, such as cleaning a grease trap or wiping out the fan grates or taking out trash, I was glad to because 1) I am proud of what I see as my dedicated work ethic, 2) I saw how the task was helping the shop/cafe/job I worked for, and 3) they showed me how to DO all said menial tasks before I did them on my own.
No, this is a failure of scheduling and clear job duties. The student workers act as the face of our office-- they answer phones and do all kinds of super helpful things like put together mailings and keep track of prospective students in the computer programs (that I have no clue how to run). See, in other circumstances I would be more than happy to fill in for these lovely young people when their schedules cannot overlap properly to cover the entire 8am-5pm Monday through Friday window at the office... but I haven't been trained on any of the front desk or front computer practices and policies. I don't know where to direct people who come in the office and honestly? Phones that ring constantly and go on hold and patch through to various office people terrify me. Mostly because no one has EVER shown me how to use one.
So, when I ask my boss's boss for things to do (since I don't even technically have a job description and I've been flying by the seat of my pants so far, and lucking into some good work experience) and she tells me it would be helpful if I could cover for student workers, I find ways to say no. I found my line-in-the-sand at work. Hopefully next semester I can develop a better weekly schedule and find more to do/be trained in more areas that I'd actually like to be working, like student academic and career advising. Honestly, it's only the past week or so that I've been bored and listless, completing small-scale projects in half an hour or so and frying my brain and eyeballs on meaningless computer screen light in the meantime. I get home and want to stare at a wall.
*sigh*
I apologize for this vent-y post. Work and school and the future (i.e. job applications) to me right now are all very surreal. And days like today make me walk to my car kind of wanting to cry for reasons I cannot figure out; all I know is they're tied to work and a sense of purpose and self-confidence and career exploration... hey. We'll see. Everything will work out the way it's supposed to :)
In other news, today was ridiculously warm for December 3rd in central Ohio-- 67 degrees! And humid! Crazy. I wore my Urban Outfitters heels to work (sorry, no picture, I was in the middle of a career crisis ;)) that are super comfy and always make me feel a little more put together. Paired with a light chambray shirt and dark skinny jeans, I felt relaxed yet respectable, pretty yet professional.
I purposely did NO schoolwork tonight-- I think my 27-page paper deserves a night off so I can look at it with fresh eyes before I turn it in on Thursday. Also, I'm glad my mom is feeling better-- she had some kind of freak 24-hour flu she caught late Saturday, but she's on the upswing :) I keep sending out prayers and positivity that I don't get sick... I think running has really helped my immune system. Back at it tomorrow!
I'm about to wash my face, get comfy and watch Justified. Those Kentucky accents get me* every time.
*By "get me," I mean I speak in a Southern accent for at least 48 hours after watching this awesome show*
Don't judge, I've got roots in Southern Ohiah. Sort of.
Night!
--Sammie
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