Today marks exactly two months since my return to DC, and everything has finally fallen into place. I've officially completed two weeks at my dream job, and I can't wait until Barbara (my main boss) returns to the office this week. I've gotten a good handle on a number of things, but I'm ready to be exposed to it all. Although I'm a bit nervous that I'll be overwhelmed when she comes back and once Congress reconvenes, I am up for the challenge.
This week proved to be quite busy outside of the office. I had my very first visitors from back home since the beginning of my time in DC seven months ago. Crazy, I know! Much to their dismay, Mom and Jay were one day late to obtain *first visitor* status. The Steenhusen family came into DC from Delaware on Thursday, and I met up with them for lunch. They weren't the most prepared tourists (no maps, no umbrellas, no definite plans), but it was great seeing them. I think they had a good time when all was said and done.
Mom and Jay detoured from their NYC vacation into DC for the weekend. It was fun showing them my old house on The Hill and a few of my favorite spots along the Mall. The best part, however, was having them visit me at my office in downtown DC and getting to take them to my new apartment. That's right, I finally found a place to call home! I responded to a Craigslist posting last weekend, visited the place and met my potential roommate (plus her current roommate, who will be moving in with her boyfriend not too far away) on Monday night, and confirmed the deal after work on Wednesday. I'm quite positive it was meant to be, because they had someone else lined up that had to bow out at the last minute and it really was crunch time for me to lock in a residence. In order to get my first paycheck, I needed to fill out tax information including my address. As paydays are the 1st and 15th of each month, you could say I waited until the last possible minute. It's not like I wasn't trying, but I think holding out for the right place with the right roommate will pay off in the end.
As today is Labor Day, and everyone is enjoying an extra day off from work, I'm capitalizing on the perfect opportunity to move. My dear co-worker Elizabeth graciously offered her assistance and will be driving myself and my belongings to Bethesda this afternoon. Anne (whom I've been saying with for nearly a month now) is also helping me get settled in to the new apartment, and will likely be my most frequent visitor. It's weird thinking about not seeing her every single day, as I've grown very accustomed to doing so, but I couldn't be more excited about finally having my own place to call home!
Here's my new address...
4887 Battery Lane
Apartment #31
Bethesda, MD 20814
I hope you all had an enjoyable long weekend. After I get settled into my new apartment, I hope to do a better job at blogging more frequently. And if you haven't talked to me in what seems like forever, please don't hesitate to give me a call. My cell number is (712) 579-2528, and I'd love to hear from you :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Working Girl
I deeply apologize for my two week hiatus from the blogosphere.
Last week I started my new job with Barbara T. McCall Associates (aka Capital Edge), and I am happy to report that things have been going well thus far. However, I must place a disclaimer on this statement, as the office has been slow due to summer Congressional recess. During times of recess, members of the staff generally take personal vacations or made needed client visits. So, I have yet to work a day in the office with everyone there, and I will not get the chance to do so until late next week.
Many of you know that I came to DC looking for my *dream job* in the political sector, and I thought that this job was only missing one component--co-workers my age. Much to my surprise, on my first real day of work I met Elizabeth. She has essentially the same position as me with Chaney & Associates, our sister company and the other half of Capital Edge. Elizabeth is also a recent college grad who relocated to DC after doing a semester internship on The Hill. We are so similar in so many ways that it's unreal. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends, and quickly. With Elizabeth in the mix, my new job really does have all of the components I was looking for in my dream job. It's crazy to think that I really did it. I really found exactly what I was looking for...in six weeks time. Though it seemed like an eternity for me, especially while living a secluded life in Hyattsville, that's really quite an accomplishment for such a short time. No, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still just in shock that this is really my life now. Living the dream in DC!
Last week was extremely hectic for me with starting my job, making birthday plans, winning our second kickball game, and celebrating my birthday. Thank you to all of you who called, texted, or facebooked birthday wishes, and special thanks to those who sent cards. I thought my first DC birthday had the potential to be a bust, but it really went well. Once I find somewhere to live, everything will be on track for settling in to my new life in the nation's capital city. And speaking of, I must get on my way to go visit an apartment in Bethesda. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the one!
Last week I started my new job with Barbara T. McCall Associates (aka Capital Edge), and I am happy to report that things have been going well thus far. However, I must place a disclaimer on this statement, as the office has been slow due to summer Congressional recess. During times of recess, members of the staff generally take personal vacations or made needed client visits. So, I have yet to work a day in the office with everyone there, and I will not get the chance to do so until late next week.
Many of you know that I came to DC looking for my *dream job* in the political sector, and I thought that this job was only missing one component--co-workers my age. Much to my surprise, on my first real day of work I met Elizabeth. She has essentially the same position as me with Chaney & Associates, our sister company and the other half of Capital Edge. Elizabeth is also a recent college grad who relocated to DC after doing a semester internship on The Hill. We are so similar in so many ways that it's unreal. I have a feeling we are going to become great friends, and quickly. With Elizabeth in the mix, my new job really does have all of the components I was looking for in my dream job. It's crazy to think that I really did it. I really found exactly what I was looking for...in six weeks time. Though it seemed like an eternity for me, especially while living a secluded life in Hyattsville, that's really quite an accomplishment for such a short time. No, I'm not trying to brag, but I'm still just in shock that this is really my life now. Living the dream in DC!
Last week was extremely hectic for me with starting my job, making birthday plans, winning our second kickball game, and celebrating my birthday. Thank you to all of you who called, texted, or facebooked birthday wishes, and special thanks to those who sent cards. I thought my first DC birthday had the potential to be a bust, but it really went well. Once I find somewhere to live, everything will be on track for settling in to my new life in the nation's capital city. And speaking of, I must get on my way to go visit an apartment in Bethesda. Keep your fingers crossed that this is the one!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Search is Complete!
I am very happy to report that I am the newest employee of Capital Edge!!!
For my faithful readers who were keeping their fingers crossed over Interview 4, it payed off. I received the call on Friday morning and was offered the job on the spot, even though my boss has yet to speak with my references. My acceptance was less than formal to say the least. I believe my exact response to her saying that she would like to offer me the position was *All right!!!*...of which she took as a yes. Thoughts of negotiating any part of the offer were non-existent because I was so excited, but fortunately my offer did not require negotiations.
I'm not positive on the protocol for discussing job contracts, but as the only people who stumble upon this blog are friends and family, I'll just spell it all out! My official title is Legislative/Project Assistant. My hours are said to be 9 to 5 (37.5 hour work week), but I'm not positive that's how they will remain. We'll just wait and see on that one. I will be doing a variety of tasks because we are such a small office, including, but not limited to: researching grants and legislation, writing memos to clients and articles for a (monthly?) report, attending Congressional hearings (or watching online), collecting important press clips from client cities, assisting by bosses with anything and everything possible, and doing general administrative tasks like answering the phone, making copies, etc. Pretty much exactly what I wanted...current dream job status achieved!
As for my compensation, it is a salary position ($30k) with some awesome benefits...health insurance paid in full, $100 monthly Metro check, 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day automatic paid vacation, and 75% of a gym membership paid. For my first real job in the work force, I'd say that's not bad!
My current/temporary roommates and I had a wonderful celebratory weekend. We hit up a few bars on Friday night, laid out by the pool Saturday afternoon, went to a movie and a housewarming party on Saturday night, walked around the Chevy Chase shopping district Sunday afternoon, and attended an acoustic concert (see Chris Seefried, Jay Nash & Meiko if interested in hearing some new music) in Vienna Sunday night. Busy, but a lot fun :)
In random news: We met a family from Carroll, IA (wearing Tennessee shirts - where roommate Megan is from) on the Metro on our way to the concert and had quite a lengthy conversation (due to track work delays) with a handful of guys in our Metro car on the way home from the concert. Talking to strangers seemed to be a good idea yesterday!
For my faithful readers who were keeping their fingers crossed over Interview 4, it payed off. I received the call on Friday morning and was offered the job on the spot, even though my boss has yet to speak with my references. My acceptance was less than formal to say the least. I believe my exact response to her saying that she would like to offer me the position was *All right!!!*...of which she took as a yes. Thoughts of negotiating any part of the offer were non-existent because I was so excited, but fortunately my offer did not require negotiations.
I'm not positive on the protocol for discussing job contracts, but as the only people who stumble upon this blog are friends and family, I'll just spell it all out! My official title is Legislative/Project Assistant. My hours are said to be 9 to 5 (37.5 hour work week), but I'm not positive that's how they will remain. We'll just wait and see on that one. I will be doing a variety of tasks because we are such a small office, including, but not limited to: researching grants and legislation, writing memos to clients and articles for a (monthly?) report, attending Congressional hearings (or watching online), collecting important press clips from client cities, assisting by bosses with anything and everything possible, and doing general administrative tasks like answering the phone, making copies, etc. Pretty much exactly what I wanted...current dream job status achieved!
As for my compensation, it is a salary position ($30k) with some awesome benefits...health insurance paid in full, $100 monthly Metro check, 10 days paid sick leave, 10 days paid personal leave, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day automatic paid vacation, and 75% of a gym membership paid. For my first real job in the work force, I'd say that's not bad!
My current/temporary roommates and I had a wonderful celebratory weekend. We hit up a few bars on Friday night, laid out by the pool Saturday afternoon, went to a movie and a housewarming party on Saturday night, walked around the Chevy Chase shopping district Sunday afternoon, and attended an acoustic concert (see Chris Seefried, Jay Nash & Meiko if interested in hearing some new music) in Vienna Sunday night. Busy, but a lot fun :)
In random news: We met a family from Carroll, IA (wearing Tennessee shirts - where roommate Megan is from) on the Metro on our way to the concert and had quite a lengthy conversation (due to track work delays) with a handful of guys in our Metro car on the way home from the concert. Talking to strangers seemed to be a good idea yesterday!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Peace Out Hyattsville
To the delight of many, I will be moving out of my Hyattsville apartment this evening. You should all be happy to know that I will be leaving this diverse community unscathed, and none too soon. Earlier this week, gun shots were fired and a man was killed after a lengthy police standoff less than a mile down the street from me. Although I heard quite a number of sirens and woke up several times throughout the night feeling a little off, I didn't expect a story like this one (http://www.examiner.com/a-1523334~Hyattsville_man_fatally_shot_after_standoff_with_police.html) was behind it. Just remember, I'm only sharing this with you because you can find comfort in knowing that I will no longer be living in the area.
Because I have been so focused on my job search, I let the ball drop on finding somewhere new to live once my sublease was up. So, for now, I will be staying on Anne and Megan's couch. Although I feel a little guilty for not knowing how long I will need to crash there, I am excited to have roommates that will enjoy engaging in conversation with me!
As always, I will keep you posted if I find a new place to live. And I will let you know when I hear from my future employers next week that I got the job from Interview 4 (see previous post) earlier this week!
Because I have been so focused on my job search, I let the ball drop on finding somewhere new to live once my sublease was up. So, for now, I will be staying on Anne and Megan's couch. Although I feel a little guilty for not knowing how long I will need to crash there, I am excited to have roommates that will enjoy engaging in conversation with me!
As always, I will keep you posted if I find a new place to live. And I will let you know when I hear from my future employers next week that I got the job from Interview 4 (see previous post) earlier this week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)