Wait, I have to be professional??

Ah, yes, the holiday season....the food, the decorations, the cheer, the....networking? Oh yes, I am now among the millions of people who work in a field that requires obligatory appearances at functions that require forced small talk and schmoozing in an effort to make those connections with high-ranking administrators who might one day have some pull in advancing one's career, all under the guise of 'celebrating the holidays'. This is a little sad for me, as I've always been one to rebel against that kind of thing simply because I think 80% of the time, it's disingenuine, it makes me uncomfortable, and quite frankly, I can think of a million better things to do with my time.

[This might also have something to do with a lack of maturity on my part; something I think can reflect quite poorly on my professional life. It's either that, or just a lag in accepting these things as part of a career. But I digress...]

Anyway, so I was invited to three of these little shin-digs here at the university this week. Discomfort aside, the bottom line is that I'm just not good in these situations. But I went, to all three of them, and I survived. Not without some minor wounds to my self-confidence, mind you, but hey, it's a learning experience, right?

The first party was a reception thrown by the president of the university. Fortunately, my boss was also attending this one, and she has been endlessly understanding about how overwhelmed I tend to get with the sheer number of people on this campus I am expected to eventually know. This is still a little intimidating, only because she's been here for 10 years, I think, and knows just about everybody on campus. We can't walk anywhere, to any meeting, in any building on campus without stopping for her to talk to a dozen people on the way. I envy that, in some ways, because let's face it, it's nice to feel established in a place.

Anyway, so at the president's reception, my boss stuck close to me at first, but eventually she got caught up talking with someone and I was left to 'work the room' by myself. This is probably my least-favorite part of these things. I stood there for a moment, grateful for the cup I was holding so I wouldn't have to worry about what to do with my hands, looking around at all of these people involved in conversations with other people, and wondered if I couldn't just sneak out for the next 30 mintues. But, while there is a part of me that hates these things, there's another part of me that wants to get over my discomfort and impress my boss (excuse me while I hide my face in shame).

I moved to the outskirts of the crowd, tried to look like I was just observing, smiled at people who had to sqeeze past me (there wasn't a lot of room), and actually made an attempt to inch my way into a conversation, but I quickly realized the people talking were friends and I had absolutely nothing to add, so I resigned myself to trying to look like I was just as relaxed and laid back as could be, standing there by myself. I was admittedly (and probably visibly) relieved when Brian, the graphic designer I've been working with to re-design my program's applications, etc. walked in and made a bee-line for my corner. I think it's safe to say he's not one for these things, either. I asked him what he did over the weekend, he brightened and said, "Oh! I went to the 9:30 club to see Rusted Root." Hallelujah, now that is a conversation I can be a part of! Fortunately, by the time we were done commiserating on the virtues of Rusted Root and their undeniable ability to pull off a kick-butt live performance, I could leave feeling like I'd put in an acceptable amount of face time.

The last two functions weren't nearly as stressful, the second one being a sit-down luncheon for those of us who taught a UNIV course, and the third being the luncheon my program (meaning my boss and I) throw for the people in different offices who help us with fundraising, planning, etc. At the UNIV luncheon I actually met quite a few people who were easy to talk to, and not quite as intimidating. To be honest, it made me re-think my decision not to teach the course again. And our luncheon turned out to be a small group of 5 women and not one part of the conversation ever revolved around work. I daresay I enjoyed myself at the last two.

What have I learned from these soirees that are really just additional work functions? Several things:

• I think it's safe to say I am not a networking person, which is kind of ironic seeing as I encourage my students to do it as much as possible. I am a hypocrite.
• Remember the Myers-Briggs personality survey? Well, I'm an Introvert; I always have been. But this summer, when I had to take it again for the first time in years, I scored much closer to Extrovert. I was surprised--shocked even, but the moderator said all it meant was that I had picked up more Extrovert tendencies, probably because I had to for my career. This makes a heck of a lot of sense, and maybe learning how to negotiate these types of events is just an extension of those extroverted behaviors.
• These things will always require useless small talk ("That was some snowfall last week, wasn't it?"). Get over it.
• If nothing else, the food has consistently been good. And for someone who is on a tight budget at the moment, anything that is free and doesn't consist of either pasta, PB&J, or mac & cheese, is a damn good motivator.
• I do recognize that eventually, once I have been here longer and have established myself on campus, these things might become less about networking, and more about catching up with accquaintances I don't see as often as I'd like to.

Hey, at least it wasn't a 3-day conference. That's an entirely different set of career anxieties for another entry!

4 days left until my week long vacation (not that I'm counting down or anything).....

On the move.....(at some point, anyway)

My sometimes fickle personality has emerged once again. I've decided to start looking for a new place. Not because I don't like the one I have, but because I've started to notice just how much the commute to just about everything I do and everyone I see is starting to wear on me. The problem, is finding an affordable place in the D.C. area. I've already accepted that I'll more than likely have to live with a roommate, a prospect I once said I was finished with (not counting my future husband). I'm hoping that since I never had any notable roommate horror experiences and just enjoyed living by myself that adjusting to to going back to roommate(s) won't be so bad. I hope.

On the upside, I'm not necessarily in a hurry. I'm actively looking, yes, but since I still have a lease until next summer, if I don't find anything that screams "take me! I'm perfect!" I'll just keep looking. I looked at two places this past weekend, both of which were fine, but suffice it to say, I'm still looking. I also have to take into account all of my stuff. When I started living by myself, I didn't have much, but in the three years since, I've managed to accumulate an entire apartment's worth of furniture, etc. I suppose I should start getting rid of some of it now. I wonder how easy it would be to sell some of it for a few extra bucks?

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At the moment, I'm thoroughly enjoying not having any grad school work to do. It's guilt-free relaxation! I have a little over three weeks until one of my spring classes start (2 weeks earlier than the other 2). I was talking with a friend from high school tonight, and we were pondering why it didn't feel like Christmas, yet. There's less than 2 weeks left and I have yet to listen to any Christmas music (or should I say, 'Holiday' music? I can't really understand why people find a reason to bitch about anything, even the word 'christmas'), or do any Christmas shopping. At what point do all the warm & fuzzy feelings start?

My new job (is it still 'new' after 6 months?) comes along with several holiday luncheons and parties, the majority of which I'm assuming involve a great deal of networking and schmoozing. Tomorrow is the President's (of the University) holiday reception, Thursday is the luncheon for the UNIV instructors, and Friday is the luncheon my program throws for our allies on campus. That's a lot of schmoozing, something I not only dislike, I'm not that great at it. I tend to get bored fairly easily. So, my plan is to find a few 'talking points' to use if I get stuck. Current events, or campus news.....anything so that I don't end up standing around with my glass of wine, looking like I don't fit in (which, inevitably, is how I usually feel at these things). I often wonder why I have so much trouble adapting to this part of my work life, because no matter what I do, networking, schmoozing, etc. will be a part of it. I have a theory that it just means my personal life, my boyfriend, my family, my friends, are more important to me than my professional life. I'll give an update about the holiday soiree's at the end of the week. I'm expecting I'll have something humorous, most likely involving something I'll say, to write about.

I'm in a bad mood....

No, really, I'm in such a crappy mood, not even a fabulous email from E chould cheer me up. I'm guessing the stress of this past week (cramming to get all of my grad work done by last night. Note to self, procrastination is BAD.) has finally caught up with me. That, and the fact that after finishing my fall semester at 10:15 p.m. last night (yes! He kept us 15 minutes late for the last class! I'm sure that didn't do much for his evaluations), I don't feel that I should have to be here at work at all today (when everyone and their brother has a snow day). Yet here I am, trying make the day go faster. So far, it's not working.

In honor of my crappy mood, I believe it's time for me to share some of my biggest pet peeves. I should note that some of these would not normally bother me, however, today, I noticed every little thing is getting under my skin. Let's start with some grad school pet peeves....

• People who use power point for a presentation, and then read the power point word for word. This earns extra pet peeve points if the presenter has also handed out a copy of the power point for you to read along.
• People who make it extremely well known they want to get out of class early, and then proceed to roll their eyes or sigh loudly while you're presenting. Um, excuse me, but last week I had to sit through your twenty minute presentation, and I spent half the night finishing mine, so you'll damn well sit there until I'm done.
• People who walk down the middle of a staircase, so when you're trying to go up, there's no room on either side
• I get annoyed when the employees at the Starbucks in the union forget to put whipped cream on my gingerbread latte and then look at me like I'm asking for one of their kidneys when I ask to have it added.
• I mutter obscenities under my breath when I let someone in front of me in traffic and they fail to give a 'thank you' wave. That's just plain rude.
• Professors who keep me in class late, especially when the class doesn't end until 10:00 p.m.
• People who walk out of a door right in front of you and let it slam in your face.

I'm noticing a trend that all of these pet peeves have to do with people. Perhaps it's best if I isolate myself until I'm fit to be around others. I don't think my boss will go for that, though. Bah humbug.

I'm a Glutton for Punishment....

Today, I registered for 3 classes to take in the spring. That's right, THREE. That's nine credits, three nights a week, from January-May. Actually, one of the classes meets from January-March, so it could be worse, but still. 3 classes? I must be insane.

Along with this is my first class with my graduate school advisor. Let's just say her reputation precedes her. She's known as "The Grammar Nazi" and this strikes fear in my heart because I am fairly weak in grammar. Take my overuse of the comma, for example. If you pay attention to while you read these posts, I'm sure that one is painfully evident, along with other grammatical errors I tend to make on a regular basis. I suppose this is where I will benefit from The Boyfriend's profession. He doesn't know it yet, but my english-teaching love will be proof-reading everything for that class.

I'm also beginning to get worried about finishing grad school spring 2007. To do this, I will have to take the 3 classes this spring, 2 over the summer, and depending on how involved my internship will have to be, I may need to take 3 classes next fall, too. I do well under pressure, but I tend to lose it if that pressure is too great, too prolonged, or both. I will just have to keep reminding myself that the end is actually near, and my reward? A job that might actually give me the summers off. Yay.:)

I have finally come to terms with my procrastination in school. After years of berating myself for always waiting until the last moment to even begin assignments, I've finally accepted that this is probably just the best way for me to function in school. Of course I see the benefits of completing assignments early or at the very least in a timely fashion, and believe me, I start every semester with every intention of doing this, but it never ever happens. Never. I wait until the the week before its due and feverishly finish it, usually with only minutes to spare before I need to hop in the car and head to campus. Do I enjoy the stress this causes? Not really. Do my papers always turn out ok? Better than that; papers I write at the last moment are always 'A' papers. Always (at least in grad school, anyway). I don't why this is. Perhaps my brain just functions better under pressure, or maybe I'm just getting lucky with these papers, but quite frankly, as long as they're 'A's', I don't care. Now, if only I didn't feel like such a hypocrite when I preach to my students about how necessary it is for them to stop procrastinating. Do as I say, not as I do, kids!

Right now, I'm just killing time in between classes. Normally, I would be ecstatic when a class ends and hour early, but not when I have another class to wait around for. Ironically, this is the first time I've actually used the library at my grad school. I am such a poor role model.....