Living Up to My Subtitle
I got the assignments done, took the exam, passed the classes, raised the GPA, took the e-seminar, drove cross-country, and have landed in Charlotte, NC for my summer internship. There. You now have the summary for the last month and a half.
The internship is off to a rocky start, from my perspective. The coordinators for the actual work portion of the program either aren't aware of the Orientation schedule or aren't being informed of changes. For instance, both I and my manager were informed that I had Orientation on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and would be available to start work on Thursday. On Thursday of LAST week, I was informed that Orientation would be Wednesday and Thursday, and that Tuesday would be only a reception. A time was given. No location.
Seriously? How hard is it to say, "and the reception will be at Bar X?" Or, how difficult is it to mention that the schedule you are handing out in the morning has a change?
I don't want sound completely whiny - I have had some good sessions, and of course, met some interesting people. I will end up starting on Thursday - but only because my office has a deployment on Friday evening, and no one will be in the office on Friday.
Said office also runs 8am - 5pm. Friday mornings are going to be rough.
The city is okay. The downtown kinda reminds me of Austin - there aren't many skyscrapers outside the immediate downtown area. Or Uptown, as it's called. It's clear the area's undergone a recent gentrification. Probably once I'm in a regular schedule of caffeine and work, things will settle down. And craziness around Orientation aside, the office I'll be in seems to be pretty laid-back and doing interesting work. I'm reserving judgment on the whole "post-internship employment" thing though. Need to experience more.
My week back East was totally worth it. Saw Fear Factory and caught up with family and friends. ladycoldfire presented me with a beautiful green amethyst bracelet with a lovely Celtic knot bead. I'm pretty sure it's recharged, so I think I may wear it tomorrow for our second day of Orientation.
The drive back and the drive down here were mostly uneventful. I had one stretch of panic, when I took a wrong turn in the mountains of East Tennessee and had to find my way back to I-85. Hubby was on the phone giving me directions, and then when he went to email me the way back, I lost cell service. So I hopped on Tennessee 66, which is 24 miles of switchbacks, and survived the fog, lack of guardrails, random animals, and native drivers. The yellow signs that say "25 MPH"? Not a suggestion. (If this sounds familiar, it's because I posted it on Google Buzz.) A little freaky - I kept waiting for someone to say "CUT! No no no...you are supposed to be the determined yet doomed co-ed driving across the mountains to meet up with friends when you are killed by an innocent-looking hitchhiker! Where is the drama?!?" Or something.
So there you are. Updated. I'm sure other inane things happened, like the fact that I neglected to pack both jeans and swimsuits, but they probably barely deserve a mention.
The internship is off to a rocky start, from my perspective. The coordinators for the actual work portion of the program either aren't aware of the Orientation schedule or aren't being informed of changes. For instance, both I and my manager were informed that I had Orientation on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and would be available to start work on Thursday. On Thursday of LAST week, I was informed that Orientation would be Wednesday and Thursday, and that Tuesday would be only a reception. A time was given. No location.
Seriously? How hard is it to say, "and the reception will be at Bar X?" Or, how difficult is it to mention that the schedule you are handing out in the morning has a change?
I don't want sound completely whiny - I have had some good sessions, and of course, met some interesting people. I will end up starting on Thursday - but only because my office has a deployment on Friday evening, and no one will be in the office on Friday.
Said office also runs 8am - 5pm. Friday mornings are going to be rough.
The city is okay. The downtown kinda reminds me of Austin - there aren't many skyscrapers outside the immediate downtown area. Or Uptown, as it's called. It's clear the area's undergone a recent gentrification. Probably once I'm in a regular schedule of caffeine and work, things will settle down. And craziness around Orientation aside, the office I'll be in seems to be pretty laid-back and doing interesting work. I'm reserving judgment on the whole "post-internship employment" thing though. Need to experience more.
My week back East was totally worth it. Saw Fear Factory and caught up with family and friends. ladycoldfire presented me with a beautiful green amethyst bracelet with a lovely Celtic knot bead. I'm pretty sure it's recharged, so I think I may wear it tomorrow for our second day of Orientation.
The drive back and the drive down here were mostly uneventful. I had one stretch of panic, when I took a wrong turn in the mountains of East Tennessee and had to find my way back to I-85. Hubby was on the phone giving me directions, and then when he went to email me the way back, I lost cell service. So I hopped on Tennessee 66, which is 24 miles of switchbacks, and survived the fog, lack of guardrails, random animals, and native drivers. The yellow signs that say "25 MPH"? Not a suggestion. (If this sounds familiar, it's because I posted it on Google Buzz.) A little freaky - I kept waiting for someone to say "CUT! No no no...you are supposed to be the determined yet doomed co-ed driving across the mountains to meet up with friends when you are killed by an innocent-looking hitchhiker! Where is the drama?!?" Or something.
So there you are. Updated. I'm sure other inane things happened, like the fact that I neglected to pack both jeans and swimsuits, but they probably barely deserve a mention.