I'm a Working Man

Week one of work is officially in the books. I spent the week trying my best to be a sponge. There is so much to learn, and it’s difficult to keep all of the details straight at some times. However, I’m two weeks ahead of the online training schedule, and I don’t think I made any mistakes today. Woo Friday! I can’t go into details on the training or daily work schedule, but suffice it to say that I’m trying to learn everything as fast as I can.

There is something extremely satisfying about having the same work schedule every week, having my own desk, obtaining business cards soon. Also, can I just say that it’s awesome to be able to look forward to “casual Fridays?” I guess I just like all of the business clichés. Next up … severe case of the “Mundays.” I love you Office Space.

I get my first paycheck next Friday, and I will be opening a bank account at one of the branches here. It turns out having your nearest bank location 1,000 miles away is not as convenient as you would think.  I’m also looking forward to making a more accurate budget once I can input an income. This excites  me … because I’m a dork. I’m okay with that though :D

My roommate called maintenance for the first time. There was some kind of slow water leak and we had some mildew growing under the carpet. I believe the problem was taken care of though, and they had a serviceman in our apartment within four hours of the call. Good work landlords!

The weather is finally starting to cool off. It’s about 60 degrees out with a nice breeze, and the leaves finally realized my birthday has come and gone so they started changing colors. Oh yeah! My birthday was Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who sent a card, texted, called, left a message on Facebook, or contacted me in any other fashion. It was great to hear from so many friends and loved ones.  I didn’t do anything special, but being able to go to work and make money was a pretty good birthday present as far as I’m concerned.

I don’t have any other updates for the moment. I believe I will be making it back to the hometown for Christmas weekend (sorry I was hoping for Thanksgiving, but the work schedule doesn’t allow for it) and I can’t wait to catch up with a lot of you. If you want to see me I’ll do my best to meet up with you while I’m home.

Oh, I do have a request. I’m finishing the epically long series, “The Sword of Truth” novels if anyone is interested, I have been working on for a long time within the month. I need a new project to work on! I’m open to any and all good reads. Give me some ideas por favor! Speaking of that, I’m also considering taking up Spanish again. It’s just a practical skill to have if I’m going to work in business. That’s right. For all business majors out there, pick up Spanish as a minor or second major! It will be incredibly useful when you are applying to jobs later. Trust me.

Until next time, stay happy and stay in touch.

Best Wishes,

Kory

Growing Up But Never Growing Old

So much has happened since my last entry. Where to begin? I suppose I should start with the most exciting news…I have a job! I will begin my career as a Senior Account Executive for OneMain Financial on Monday. The job title is a fancy way of saying full service loan officer, but it looks cool. I will have a salary, medical benefits, and vacation time. Now, more than ever, do I feel like a grown up.

The job search finally came to an end with a tally of nearly 80 applications, but the strategy that landed me this position was actually calling and talking to the branch manager rather than applying for open positions. Shocker right? Once I contacted Danny (my boss), he set up a phone interview with a recruiter for the company. This interview went well, but some of my answers were admittedly poor. I didn’t know what to expect, but Danny called me ten days later to schedule a face-to-face interview. This time I was much more comfortable and really clicked with Danny as we discussed my qualifications and questions. He liked me so much he decided to call the district manager and I immediately drove to meet her and seal the deal. I went from unemployed college graduate to real person in just a few hours.

The job offer was great, but the highlight of my time in Virginia was this past Wednesday. Lauren and I chose to have a date to celebrate my birthday a week early as she has to travel for her next employment opportunity. We went to Alexandria first, to a restaurant named Bilbo Baggins. The name alone sold me, but the establishment was charming and located in a beautiful part of town as well. They offered some great food as well as ~120 microbrews and 33 wines for your tasting pleasure. I tried some of exotic beers and even found a couple I would like to try again.

Link to the restaurant in case you are interested. http://www.bilbobaggins.net/

After dinner we hopped on the metro (I’m clueless about this process but getting better) to the National Mall. We spent the latter part of the evening walking amongst the iconic spots in DC. We visited the Washington Monument, The WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, and finally skirted the Washington Monument again on the way back to the metro. I won’t try to describe the feeling of sitting on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial while looking out over the reflecting pool and Washington Monument framed in the distance and thinking, I live here. It was one of the moments where everything seems to fall into place; and the struggle, the hard work, the fear of growing up is worth it.

I think that’s enough for now, I’ll have some updates more frequently as I have a schedule every week. Oh, I’ll be working 9-5 every day. This pleases me. I’ll end with a quote on the wall of Dr. King’s Memorial that I found fitting for this state of transition.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Until next time, stay safe and stay happy. I miss you all.

Best Wishes,

Kory