Life as it is right now...
Work- I work at a Geotechnical Consulting Firm. Yeah, I have no idea why they hired me either other than the fact that I brought a Stage Management book and showed off my organizational skills. But other than that, this job is really testing my learning curve. I don't really have to know anything about Geology or Engineering, but everyone else in my office does so I am learning new vocabulary as I go. My end of things deals with reception, filing, insurance, dealing with some permits, printing, folding and binding reports, data entry, marketing research and marketing in general. Marketing in a consulting firm is not like regular marketing. It is more of a networking prospect than an advertising one. Since we are specialists, we look for contracts that require our skills. We put together a marketing packet based on projects we have had that are similar to what the contracted project. Sounds simple enough so far, right? Well here is the tricky thing: These packets we build are based on Requests for Proposals or RFP's. These requests usually have a description of the project, the agency running the project, more acronyms than letters in the alphabet, a sample contract so you can see the terms, conditions and what kind of insurance the project needs AND a detailed list and explanations of what has to be in the packet you turn in to bid on this job (the marketing packet).
You with me so far? Good.
Usually the details the ask for are resumes of people who will be working on the project, descriptions of past project that we have completed that are similar to the project at hand, copies of certifications for the trade, completion of provided forms, a bio of the firm, and references of our clients. Billing terms and costs are usually separate from these submissions and are considered after a firm is picked for a project and becomes a point of negotiation. Sometimes the RFP's are very loose: we can just use existing versions of resumes of what we have and make a packet. Most of the bigger projects, however, ask for very particular formatting, enforce page limits on resumes and other informations and have an overall page limit of the packet including forms they provide for completion.
Formatting has been the biggest bane of my existence. I will work on a resume for a few hours and then the marketing director will call me in to her office and tell me the content is off. So I work on the content and then the Marketing Director will tell me the formatting is off. So I work on the formatting a bit more. Finally, the marketing director will take the item, edit it and tell me how much time she spent editing it which makes me feel incompetent. I am spending most of my job learning from my mistakes. I don't think most people are allowed to make this many mistakes on a job. I am very fortunate my boss has a lot of patience with me. I have a feeling this will all be way better when geotechnical babble starts to make sense in my head.
Recently, we had one of our contracting employees come in and my boss gushed about how "extremely organized and detail oriented" I am. I guess that is something. Although the skeptic in me keeps thinking that is code for something. For example, the compliment code for "you're fat" is "you have such a pretty face." That has been said to me way too many time when I was growing up.
TV watching/ Downtime- Mad Men Season 3 has started which makes Tanya a happy camper. I also purchased Arkham Asylum for Xbox 360. It is beautiful beyond words. This will be my life until theater takes it over again.
Theater and/or other artistic endeavors- I have volunteered to be crew for The Who's Tommy going up at the Victoria Theater in San Francisco. Yup, after 15 years, I am taking on a show for free. Crew is easy, though. I get to play backstage and don't have the worries or responsibilities of Stage Management. Plus, this is definitely one of the shows I want to do before I die.
Diet- I started counting calories again. It is always fun to see the numbers. I haven't really done much to change my diet yet. I wanted to see what my average intake was first. I am getting a better idea of where I can cut corners, though. I figure I should at least cut 500 calories out of my day. My average intake is 2700. Yeah, I know, pretty shameful for the most part. I need to stop comfort eating. I also eat more at night. Gotta stop snacking in front of the TV. There is also a great book called "Eat this not That" which will help with substitution of snacks so I can be a tad healthier.
Finding a New Place- The rent and other costs of living in my apartment with my boy is bleeding us dry. The bright idea we have is moving in with a couple of friends so this way we can share rent on something larger like a house and still pay less rent. Plus, we would really like a pet.We have talked with our potential housemates over dinner and are looking into Alameda. It will be nice and close to the City without getting obscenely hot or foggy. Plus there are nice parks and houses there. I am feeling a little hesitation from my friend, Ebonie because she will be moving out of San Francisco so she is going to end up paying for the commute and have less access to clubs and bars. I feel her pain, but most places in the city are two inches bigger than a shoe box and commuting from one side of the City to the other takes just as long as going in from the East Bay most days. Did I mention we want a pet as well? :D Our lease is up in February so house touring will begin in late November most likely.