Here’s the Papers You Requested…..My second as an Executive

So, I met with a Staffing agency at the beginning of August, and after a couple of days they were able to place me as an “Administrative Assistant” at a Large Capital Management and Insurance Company.  After offering me the 2-week gig, the recruiter ask, “ You know photoshop and powerpoint right?” Crap, yeah I know them, I’ve used PP in school and I’ve opened up photoshop before and played with pictures, so I can use that stuff…right? I coolly replied to her, “ Oh, of course, my minor was Digital Media, so I’ve worked with both of the programs multiple  times.”.  A previous recruited I had met with from another agency, told me I was too humble for my qualifications and that I need to sell myself better, even if I’m not an expert at something.  Since she gave me permission, I’ve started to try and “sell” myself a little better. ( For those of you who are immature, stop giggling when I say “sell myself”, you and I both know it doesn’t mean prostitution).

I showed up to this beautiful 40 story building all owned by the company that I get to work for, for 2 weeks. Their name emblazoned on the wall, the marble floors, and all the security guards were there to greet me.  It took everyone a little while to figure out where I was going before they would let me up into the building ( I guess it gets confusing when you have 40 floors), But I finally arrived at the 9^th floor and shown my desk.  It was messy, and dusty, and there are soooo many papers everywhere, but whatever.  My supervisor who happens to be one of the Vice Presidents over Marketing briefed me on what I would be doing.

HIM:  So, basically what were gonna have you do is open up Illustrator……

ME: (Internally Thinking) whoa whoa whoa, Illustrator, I did not sell my self on Illustrator, WHY, cause I don’t remember how to use it. Crap, how will I fake this. Just keep smiling and nodding, close your eyes a little bit so they don’t look so big, you probably look surprised.

HIM: Fix it in Illustrator, make it look pretty, open it in photoshop flatten the image and then import that into the PowerPoint presentations.  Here’s some instructions, so you can work on that.

ME:  Ok, ya, totally ( sups professional I know).

So, I begin my experimenting in Illustrator with the chart images.  Come to find out, not that bad.  But as I’m cruising through my tasks, every file I open, I’m just waiting for it to be a mess and for me to have to actually do something to it. I finish everything quickly, and spend the rest 6 hours waiting for something to do. The next day is the same thing, I finish my tasks too quickly and just sit there.  I start snooping through the files ( naturally) to try and anticipate what my next assignment will be so I can get started on it early.  I figured out the assignment and then wrote down a list of things that were missing that I needed.

My boss came over to tell me I could begin on a new assignment and then looked at my screen when noticing I was doing it.  I let him know I was finished and gave him a list of missing files that I still needed.  He walked away quickly and came back in about 5 minutes.

HIM:  Here are the papers you requested.

ME: Thank you.

There it was.  My small moment of being a top dog over a Vice President.  For a split second he was working for me ( working for me, working for him, but whatever).  It felt good. 

Then I finished the project and waited for the next.  That’s where I find myself currently , just waiting, and writing to you guys ( or just myself, and probably my mom), and dreaming for the day that I request a lot more papers…..

-Lolo

Shout out to THE Church……Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

#OnSoapBox

I’ve never been one of those people to get up in testimony meeting and bare my testimony about my love for the ward and how I love everyone and its such a great family, blah blah blah, shut up, you don’t mean it.  ( Side note: I’ve never been one to get up and bare my testimony often at all, fear based reasons.)

Anywho, I’m starting to understand why people say that. Last year I made a choice on how active I wanted to be in church.  Did I just want to go to sacrament when it was convenient and I wasn’t too tired? Or did I want to really try and embrace the whole shebang?  I also had to make a decision on where I found my happiness, living a more party on lifestyle? or an FHE lifestyle?  I was content with my friends, we did fun things, I didn’t need anymore  friends.  But if I chose the FHE lifestyle I was going to have to really make friends with the Peter Priesthoods and Molly Mormons and I wasn’t ready for that.  One day, a girl from my ward, who I happened to know from my mission, reached out and invited me and another fellow missionary to dinner.  I knew it was a way of fellowshipping, but it didn’t seem to fake seeing as I knew these girls from the mission and we were already “ friends”.  We had a great dinner, and it really came at a great time for me because I was really in need of some girl time and to vent about the usual girl problems, so I was grateful for that. 

It made going to church easier being able to have a couple of girl I was comfortable with being awkward and following around church until I could get on my own two fit and stand alone.  It made all the difference.  I made a scary decision....GULP…to try out the FHE lifestyle…BIG GULP.  It started off getting to know my missionary sisters better and built up from there, as we shared each others lives and friends.  I was trying to immerse myself fully in church activities, pushing the barriers of my comfort zone.

I had the introductory Bishops interview….I didn’t hold anything back, if I was going to be all in then the Bishop needed to be aware of all my issues and my fear to pray in public, and give talks etc. ( But you were a missionary?  Yeah, I know, its still hard, I can’t help it, panic attacks ensue).  Then I was called in to the Bishops office again and given a calling!  A real  big girl calling, to be a Relief Society teacher…another BIG GULP.  I accepted hesitantly with the idea that I would only be teaching once like every other month ( NOT TRUE, that did not happen, it was all the time.)

I continued to hang out with “my girls” and getting to know them, going to activities and being awkward or even bored together.  Then we started incorporating hanging out with other people from our ward with trying out little game nights and what not.  Before long we had good group of friends from the ward who we would hang out with on a regular basis.  We had almost weekly bon fires and were just chill and silly together.  I started going to other little activities that people would host through out the week like girls movie night, or crepe night, FHE etc.  Slowly integrating myself into the ward. Then it happened.

Oh no, what happened you asked.  I became a wardie, BIG HUGE GARGANTUAN GULP.  I was a regular at ward and stake choir, I went to ward prayer most Sundays, I texted random members from my ward throughout the week, checked  the ward facebook page to see what was going on or who need help.  It happened, I became a part of the ward.  I found myself genuinely loving everyone, and happy to see them on Sunday, if we didn’t get to hangout during the week.  I found myself looking forward to game nights and movie nights and wanting to make them happen whenever they could.  Being around these awesome people and having fun and knowing that we all have the Gospel in common and that we can go from talking and doing the most ridiculous things to talking and teaching each other about the Gospel at the same time.  It was so comforting. 

I found myself loving my Relief Society sisters and wanting them to be happy.  Although teaching was hard and I usually cried or did something irreverent during one of my lessons, I truly wanted these sisters to be able to take away something that help them realize their worth in this world and in the ward.  Seeing the  Relief Society President, have so much  love and concern for all the sisters was inspiring, and it was completely genuine love, I know this cause she one of my besties and she told me so.

I found myself understanding why people get up and bare their testimonies about their wards being like families and how they love “ each and every one of you” in their wards.  When I was getting ready to leave for my adventure in NYC, I found that I was having these very same thoughts.  I was going to miss my ward family.

THEN

I moved.

I was nervous that I was going to have to do all the awkward ward immersion stuff all over again to try and have a new ward family while I was in NYC.  Not looking forward to starting the process over, and throwing myself into it.  But now I knew I was at least capable of making it work.  I was just hoping that my new ward would make it easy.  My first Sunday I went to the wrong ward but didn’t know it until later.  I wasn’t feeling it in this ward and that made me even more nervous, so when I found out I was in the wrong one I was relieved. 

I finally made it to the right one, almost an hour away from my Lower East Side dwelling all the way to 87^th street.  I soon as I was there I felt immediate comfort.  I met a senior couple who was also brand new to their mission and took me under their wing.  The Sisters were so friendly and not fake (Phew), not a whole lot of guys, but they seem nice.  I immediately started receiving leads for work from the sisters, that would later result in a well-paying 2-week temp job ( hopefully more to come).  Everyone is either in the same boat or has been in the same boat and is so willing and wanted to help you navigate NYC living. 

Even though I have to get up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to make it to 9am church (I don’t know why they do that to the YSA ward, there are only 2 other wards in the building, but whatever).  I always leave feeling uplifted and loved.  I know that this is hard, but I also know that Heavenly Father is blessing me as I reach out of my comfort zone to be who he knows I can be.  I’m so thankful that I have finally begun to understand the effect of Ward Families and that they are real.  These two wards have ruined me for the rest of my life, because I am going to expect every ward I’m in to be this great, which probably won’t happen, and that’s ok.  For now I am thankful that Heavenly Father is watching over me through his earthly angels in the form of ward families.  I hope to stay strong, and remember the blessings that I have received when I do the right things and have my eye single to the glory of God.  It makes the trials a lot easier to bare.  I love this Gospel and the knowledge and hope it brings even though it can be difficult sometimes. I love my friends who have been good examples to me and helped me when I almost wandered too far.  I love my Savior and know that he knows ME and what I NEED. 

I love YOU.

-Lolo

#OffSoapBox

Look for acts of kindness….Do acts of kindness

I’ve been looking for something that I can do anywhere without spending any money.  I decided to be more aware of my surroundings and look for acts of kindness.  I don’t listen to music as I explore NYC, but this requires you to unplug from technology to benefit from it most.  I really need to start brining a notepad a long to jot down thoughts so that I can remember the things I see. 

One of the things that I can do while looking for ways to help other is just being nice to the bus drivers.  I’ve noticed that they appreciate a “hello” so much.  I heard a bus driver tell one lady today that she could get on the bus early because she was nice to him and treated him as a actual person.  I bet it would get pretty annoying stopping for so many people all day and not hearing any kind words from them.  So, I am determined to be extra kind to my bus drivers, even when they’re grumpy.

I was on the bus, going my usual route to Union Square, when this stupid SUV decided to try and sneak pass the bus through a tiny little street with a car on the other side.  This girl was in trouble, she was right out my window and I was just watching her shaking my head and her stupidity that she thought she could get through.  I was also watching other people watch her, thinking the same thing.  Everyone just waiting to see the consequence of her choice and who’s vehicle was it going to affect.   She barely squeezed by the time warner truck when she reached a mini, this was gonna be the one she scratched for sure.  Then this tough looking guy, appeared right in front of the mini and flipped the drivers side door mirror in.  He proceeded to guide the lady through the tight squeeze and she got through with barely an inch to spare.  The lady stopped and shook hands with the guy who helped her before going on her way.  Everyone just went on as normal.  Beautiful act of kindness, I think it was the guys car too, I would have been freaking out.

Then a few stops later, we came to an intersection.  There was a blind lady with her walking stick standing at the curb waiting for the light to change so she could cross.  I was thinking to myself, “ how blind is she really if she can see the light change and the walking man come on”.  She couldn’t.  As the light changed a bunch of people started crossing and she just stood there.  I felt so bad, I wish I could be next to her to let her know it had changed.  But, never fear, a good pedestrian was near.  A disheveled looking man ( there are lots of disheveled looking people in NYC, I am one of them.) came up to her and offered to help her across.  He walked her across safely, and then turned around and walked back.  My first thought was, “ phew, I’m so glad someone helped her”.  My second was, “wow, that was nice of the man to take her across even though he wasn’t going that way.  He must work at that fruit cart on the corner.”  I watched the man walk as the bus turned.  He passed the fruit cart, he passed the next shop, and the next, and the next.  Holy crap where did this guy come from. Then finally he stopped, and I watched him get into a super nice Mercedes SUV! WHAT.  I don’t know how long the poor blind lady had been standing there, but apparently enough time for the rich man to observe and see a need and walk quite a ways to help her.  This made me smile so big, I kind of giggled out loud a little bit.  It was awesome. 

I was walking back from visiting the MET and I saw a couple walking ahead of me and the girl was wearing a shirt that said, “ AGGIES” on the back.  I was like “Aggies?, You guys from Utah?”  They were a little taken a back for a second.  But loosened up after I said I was from Provo.  They had just got in last night and didn’t even know how to travel around the city with a Metro card.  I walked with them for a half mile dishing out all the information and tips that I could.  They were so grateful and I was so excited that I could help them.  Their names were Karli and Paul from Idaho, I wish I would have got there number, we probably could have had fun.  Oh Well.  I was trying to pay the kindness forward.