best first day on the job EVER!!!!
ok, so today i started my first day at INALLIANCE (www.inallianceinc.com) a nonprofit agency in south Sacramento committed to ensuring that people with developmental disabilities participate fully and equally in society and to maximize their own quality of life. my position is an Employment Training Specialist in the second section of Community Training Program (CTP-2). just like Oberlin, INALLIANCE is all about them acronyms, so i gotta study up to keep up with the alphabet soup.
so i left at 7 AM this morning and got there by about 7:35 AM. traffic was light, i think, b/c of the schools being out. so i started by going to get a drug test. then i had an agency orientation with Michelle from HR. then i read the manual for a few hours. then i went to PARTAY at my supervisor Ruby's house. it was her annual Holiday Party. talk about a sweet-ass first day. i got paid to pay Pictionary, which was omg, SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun. it reminded me of being back in Church youth group (Bess will appreciate that comment). i get SOOO into games like that. so did most of the rest of the people, too. by the time i was done, it didn't even feel like i had been up since 6 AM. i was soo energized.
Mikeal, my ex-bf, told me that i'm gonna go places and have more adventures and my personal and professional life are gonna soar. i really appreciate hearing him say that, but i am skeptical. i mean, i'm still just in training mode. this is the honeymoon period. this job is gonna be hard. i'm gonna be working one on one with consumers in their job sites, but the people i work with seem really really cool so that makes it so much better. in a stressful job like that, it really helps to know that you can turn to your supervisor and/or co-worker for support. i know i'm gonna have a lot of questions. i mean, playing pictionary with my co-workers was exactly what i was lacking at PROVAIL, comraderie. i mean, maybe it was b/c i was in a small department or b/c i was "just an intern." i dunno, but i'm on level playing field with lots of other folk now. i mean, INALLIANCE is pretty diverse. this is kinda snobby but it makes me feel good to know that i have a similar position or the same position and make the same wage as people in their 30s. although i wish they made more since a lot of them have kids or are planning on having kids soon.
so yeah i hope the comraderie continues and i hang out with my co-workers on a regular basis. now that i have a job, my new priority is to be the best i can at this job, and hanging out with my co-workers outside of work will further advance that goal, b/c we'll talk about work stuff (i mean, i hope that's not all we talk about) but it'll give me more insight and more tips to help me do my job better.
so yay, my first professional position! i have my own voicemail box! and tomorrow i should get an INALLIANCE email. hopefully i can get a business card soon, too, but i dont want to sound greedy.
oh, and p.s., i was a little worried about INALLIANCE being a nonprofit that's like the bandaid effect where we provide services and we feel good about ourselves but we're not actively trying to stop oppression, but it sounds like INALLIANCE advocates for change in the system as well to better the lives of people with disabilities. also, it said in the manual that part of my job will be educating people, like the employers, about disability awareness which sounds cool and being able to do workshops and educate people, public speaking, etc. is a skill i'd really like to improve on. so yeah, this hefty binder and folder are gonna be my bedtime reading for the next few nights. then after that i'll probably still keep reading stuff on disability issues.
so i left at 7 AM this morning and got there by about 7:35 AM. traffic was light, i think, b/c of the schools being out. so i started by going to get a drug test. then i had an agency orientation with Michelle from HR. then i read the manual for a few hours. then i went to PARTAY at my supervisor Ruby's house. it was her annual Holiday Party. talk about a sweet-ass first day. i got paid to pay Pictionary, which was omg, SOOOOOOOOOOO much fun. it reminded me of being back in Church youth group (Bess will appreciate that comment). i get SOOO into games like that. so did most of the rest of the people, too. by the time i was done, it didn't even feel like i had been up since 6 AM. i was soo energized.
Mikeal, my ex-bf, told me that i'm gonna go places and have more adventures and my personal and professional life are gonna soar. i really appreciate hearing him say that, but i am skeptical. i mean, i'm still just in training mode. this is the honeymoon period. this job is gonna be hard. i'm gonna be working one on one with consumers in their job sites, but the people i work with seem really really cool so that makes it so much better. in a stressful job like that, it really helps to know that you can turn to your supervisor and/or co-worker for support. i know i'm gonna have a lot of questions. i mean, playing pictionary with my co-workers was exactly what i was lacking at PROVAIL, comraderie. i mean, maybe it was b/c i was in a small department or b/c i was "just an intern." i dunno, but i'm on level playing field with lots of other folk now. i mean, INALLIANCE is pretty diverse. this is kinda snobby but it makes me feel good to know that i have a similar position or the same position and make the same wage as people in their 30s. although i wish they made more since a lot of them have kids or are planning on having kids soon.
so yeah i hope the comraderie continues and i hang out with my co-workers on a regular basis. now that i have a job, my new priority is to be the best i can at this job, and hanging out with my co-workers outside of work will further advance that goal, b/c we'll talk about work stuff (i mean, i hope that's not all we talk about) but it'll give me more insight and more tips to help me do my job better.
so yay, my first professional position! i have my own voicemail box! and tomorrow i should get an INALLIANCE email. hopefully i can get a business card soon, too, but i dont want to sound greedy.
oh, and p.s., i was a little worried about INALLIANCE being a nonprofit that's like the bandaid effect where we provide services and we feel good about ourselves but we're not actively trying to stop oppression, but it sounds like INALLIANCE advocates for change in the system as well to better the lives of people with disabilities. also, it said in the manual that part of my job will be educating people, like the employers, about disability awareness which sounds cool and being able to do workshops and educate people, public speaking, etc. is a skill i'd really like to improve on. so yeah, this hefty binder and folder are gonna be my bedtime reading for the next few nights. then after that i'll probably still keep reading stuff on disability issues.