Professional Development Day
So today at work is Professional Development Day which is apparently something the school must provide employees according to the union contracts. It's a day full of seminars on how to deal with stress and time management. Traditionally, I only taken advantage of the free lunch they offer and today was more of the same. But rather than grabbing grub and returning to my cubicle thingie, I decided to take a seat and people watch. Like many other institutions, our school is going through many changes because of the economy, budget cuts and our official name change/status to Bellevue College from Bellevue Community College. I was curious as to how morale was fairing in this atmosphere. So I took a seat and was joined by a gentleman whose name I didn't quite catch because of the crowd noise and his heavy accent. He was quite interesting and sweet, putting up with interruptions from old colleagues stopping by to congratulate me on my baby belly. We chatted a bit between bites and I realized that for all my cynicism and grumblings about work related issues, the college has been a fantastic place to work and I feel more a part of something larger than myself. I've gained some great acquaintances from richly diverse backgrounds that I think many other professions/companies might not have. It's been a learning and growing experience and I highly recommend working in such an atmosphere for at least a short amount of time. I must admit, I will actually miss this place once my job ends at the end of June. Of course if Hubby has his way, I may be back after our little lady is old enough to start school.