The Forgotten Disney Princess

I've been working for exactly one whole work week now and boy...oh boy.

My friend #small would tell say if I were any Disney Princess I'd be Mulan, ehem, #queenofracism. But I kind of feel like I best relate to Bambi, especially in this clip of her trying to walk on ice. At this point, Bambi has learned to walk, but never during winter and especially not on ice. Similarly, I'm young and while I've got a few years of school and interesting experience behind me, working in the agency world is a thing of its own, and there's nothing quite like experiencing it first hand.

Note: there are no Thumper-like characters show-boating at my work. But I, like Bambi, do admire the experts before me who operate with such confidence and ease.

And to be candid, being new and (unreasonably) slow, doesn't feel great. I haven't really been feeling myself - not as confident or secure in my abilities or ideas. Although, like many Gen Yers I know, little keeps our spirits down for long. We're creative, tech savvy, entrepreneurial, equate our work with our lives and most importantly, we will always go that extra mile.

While the learning curve appears unforgiving steep and I've had a few blips already, it's necessarily humbling. As Malik once told me, "You don't know what you don't know", which is somewhat frightening, mostly exciting and a great ego check. I also need to remember to be patient with myself, set realistic expectations, and feel comfortable asking questions - all of which are things I seem to be struggling with a little. Asking questions is for some reason extra awkward for me, but remembering that people would rather you bother them then do something wrong is the key.

Also, it's comforting to know that I'm not alone. Everyone is new at some point, and mistakes aren't great but are expected. I accidentally made a call to a client overseas, and @sharonya shared a similar story of her call to Egypt, "they were busy. #revolution" - Sharon. 

For now I'm going to simmer a little in this feeling of incompetence, which is completely melodramatic but motivating and will get me out of this funk! I can't wait till I'm good at something, anything!

 

 

The New Girl

As I joined the crowd of morning commuters wading through the thick summer air, I could feel the warm concrete beneath my worn Tods and all I could think was...

Welcome to the hottest day of the year... I believe it was about 33°C and felt like 44°C? Something like that.

Add the heat of my first day nervousness and I was starting to wish my specs came with a defogger. Luckily, I soon realized that while there was much work to be done, the agency really did appear to operate as a team, so I never felt alone for too long. As expected, I felt slightly awkward taking the first few steps on this agency learning curve. So I'm trying to keep in perspective that the first week/weeks of this new job will require some patience and the courage to ask questions if I have them.

And then after a tiring commute home I was excited to see a tweet from @Degroote with my convocation profile. Woot woot. My parents would be so proud. Check the article here: http://bitly.com/leannemarkdegrootegrad

Off to an early bed...I need to find a place in Toronto. Or I guess I need to make money first...

Your Hired

You know those people who think they're lives are worthy of a reality TV show (is that an oxymoron?)? Or even worse, people who visualize their lives, as they live it, with those TV-friendly shooting glances and dramatic faces, followed by commercial breaks? Yeah, I'm one of them.

It's fun and a little narcissistic. However, today was one of those days. I was expecting a call from Matchstick and I could just picture Donald Trump on the other end with the words "You're Hired". While The Donald didn't announce me as his newest apprentice, I did get a perfectly timed call from Matchstick offering me a position as an Account Coordinator!

Woot woot! Victory! Winning! etc. etc.

No but really, I'm in love with the position, the agency and the clients are wicked. I start work this Wednesday, so it's all happening fairly quickly, but I couldn't be more excited. Again, I had a reflective moment, and made sure to let my two highly influential references know how thankful I was to have their support and for them to share such kind words about me. #roots

I celebrated with my family this afternoon with a trip to the theatres (X-men and Hangover 2) and some Thai food for dinner. And now as I figure out what I want to do tomorrow, as my last day before I become a working girl, I have another visualization of myself in the re-adaptation of Working Girl, circa 1988. Or maybe just a parody of Carly Simon's, Let the River Run, which feels like a parody in itself with those permalicious doos.

Funemployment to Full Employment?

Just as I begin to drift off into a haze of laziness, I quit.

Being funemployed, it ain't all it's cracked up to be. Especially when you compare it to the opportunity to do what you love and get paid for it!

As per my previous post, I had a morning interview at Matchstick on Friday, and couldn't come out of it more excited to start life. I don't believe I'm the best interviewee, I can become awkward, especially when I feel like I have to act or really promote myself. However, this interview was like none other I'd had; the questions had purpose, were relevant and felt really easy to answer in depth. It was sort of like I was catching up with someone I hadn't see in a long time and wanted to impress with all my greatest accomplishments - thorough, comfortable and real! If all goes well, I'll have an exciting update in a few days!

After my interview Matchstick Co-Founder Patrick Thoburn pointed me towards a few cafe's and boutiques in the Liberty Village area just around the corner. I stopped by the first place I found, School; exposed red brick and doodled-in black chalkboard walls, a couple dozen round clock faces, and red apples decorated the place, capturing this theme. It was still early so I ordered a bowl of yogurt, fruit and granola with an iced coffee for the patio. You best buh-leave I was gettin deep into mah mind - thought about the interview (obvi), thought about what it would be like to work there, how I got to where I am, where I came from, what came first the chicken or the egg etc. etc. 

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Then as I went to meet up with my mom, bro and sis who were dying to go shopping in Toronto, I stopped by a Vintage boutique The Public Butter. And quickly realized there could be a few treasures in this store after finding old and well used Ferragamo shoes and a couple gigantic turquoise rings for only $10! They also do their own silk screening in the store, but the heat and that used clothes musk took over me, so I headed down to Bloor for Holt's summer sale (up to 50% off people!).

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After a few small purchases and some complimentary lemonade (frock yeah!), we headed to Queen St. and then went out for my uncle Danny's birthday with the whole Mark clan. Ze End.

 

Funemployment

I finished my last exam a bit over a month ago and my new job is absoshmutely vicked. I work for Fun and my boss is me. Bomb.

My responsibilities are:

• Make delicious breakfasts (with foodnetwork worthy commentary)
• Read all my old magazines and curate my favourite articles and images
• Pet my dog
• Do as many man push-ups as I can (I'm up to a solid 10 now)
• Watch new youtube videos from my subscriptions on time
• Take my dog for a leisurely morning walk
• Read the daily news via Twitter, Mashable and the Huffington post
• Go to the gym with the Groupon membership I purchased for the summer (#frockyeah)
• Play the piano, guitar or harmonica, as poorly and obnoxiously as possible
• Gchat or Skype with @sharonya in Dubai, and be jeal of her romcom of a life
• Online window shop for things I will be able to afford (I think I can, I think I can...)
• Get a groovy tan
• Be this song:

I've also been secretly looking for a new job, since this one is...well...unpaid.  *Gasps* I know it's like slave labour, not okay.

Additionally, I like to take breaks from my work to go shopping, be social and enjoy the start of patio season! Last weekend @miss_marsh, @lisawendyy and the rest of the #dpac clan celebrated the end of this season's dance season - holla!

Yesterday I visited a fellow funemployee #hellomynameissam! I hadn't seen her since study times at Stroud...correction study-less times at Stroud. We started with a breezy blade by the lake, tanned on the beach and pretended it was like Dominican times (until we realized the water was toxic, ehem Lake Ontario). Then we hopped over to Casa del Gelato for: Stracciatella, Fleur de Sel Caramel, Strawberry-Basil and Limonella gelato - delish. We concluded our adventures with a relaxing and story saturated dinner, crafted by Mr. Tony Pallotta himself! A hearty penne ai fruiti de mare tossed in a savory tomato sauce. He said it wasn't his best, but the pasta was perfectly al dente, and was ideal after a sunny day of adventure. 

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Before heading back to my house, we visited Sara at work, and among other blog-worthy things she shared, she mentioned she adopted a child with World Vision, Lopezo. Surprise, she's a mother! If only this was a surprise; she is the #gullableone who's much too warm and kind to deny any person or cause in need. I laugh, but I feel like the world would be a better place with more Sara's in the world. And a naked-er place if there were more #smallsams in the world. I kid, I kid.

Oh summer, I cannot wait to see what else is in store! I'm meeting with @matchstick tomorrow morning which I gotta get down for since it's Friday, Friday...had to. Anyway I'm nervous and excited so follow my twitter for updates on my day! Wish me luck!