Week 2 in Portland

Second week in Portland... here it goes.

6am - I get up and get ready for work.

8am - I'm in the office.

5pm - I get out. (Only because it's not the busy season.)

9pm - I go to bed.

The view won't get old. I love the trees changing colors.

View from the 38th floor. (I take pictures during my lunch break.)

But I work on the 37th.

This is the view close to my cubicle on the 37th. Gloomy day, but still awesome.

Food I had during the week. Starting to get lazy taking pictures of my home-cooked meal haha.

Work-related social event was at Ecliptic Brewery and I took home a free bottle of beer. I'm not much of a drinker but I don't decline free stuff😅.

View from my apartment. That's the pink building.

Lovely day.

Going to corn maze with church people.

Philly steak sandwich. YUMM.

Extremely MUDDY.

Flying out to San Diego for training but... I have too much apple.

Okay I'm heading to the airport. (My laptop case looks larger than my luggage. )

PDX.

That sums up my week.

Here's more in details. If you don't like reading, then skip it and wait for next week's upload.

.

.

.

Remember, I was very nervous about the client work I was scheduled for. THANKFULLY, the work was postponed so I didn't have to do anything for it. I continued to work on my trainings. Then, the manager asked me to write an addendum. I didn't know what that was. He explained the big picture and gave me instructions - to follow the template. Whenever I'm given a task, I get nervous because everything's new to me. I asked few questions and DONE. Looking back, it wasn't too difficult.

On Tuesday, we had our regular scheduling meeting. I had lunch by myself on the 38th floor. That day, many thoughts went through my mind. Starting with how blessed and privileged I was to work for a great firm to wondering if I'll be able to adjust to the new environment or fit in to my work community. It's been more than a week and I still didn't make friends. This thought made me feel lonely and anxious. 

On Wednesday, my transitional coach invited me for lunch. She took me out to the street where there was food trucks. We both got food from the Portland Soup Company. I ordered a cup of soup and a half of sandwich. They were DELICIOUS. The tomato soup was creamy and flavorful. I'm definitely going back. I told my coach how I was adjusting to Portland and work. She gave me a lot of advices. In the afternoon, a senior asked me to work on the resource request (RR) in which I had to budget the work hours for a client. This project stressed me out because even though the senior walked me through it, I was overwhelmed. The system and terms used were all new to me. I asked few questions but I really have to take a look at it first. After absorbing the information, then I can formulate questions. When the senior left, I was confused but again thankfully another senior next to my cubicle offered to help. With his help, I got startedone and did my best to finish it. I sent it for a review but I wasn't sure if I did them correctly. It felt like a work left undone. By that time, the senior was out of the office so I had to wait for the next day. I went to bed early, but I woke up several times in the middle of the night. 

The next day, the senior wasn't in the office. So I was off the hook at least for that day. My performance management leader (PML) who helps with goal setting took me and another new hire out to Nel Centro. Food was average. I enjoyed getting to know her. I was also given a task to do a year-end clean-up. My transitional coach walked me though it in details. DONE. 

This week, I was looking forward to Thursday night because there was Ocktoberfest event for employees at Ecliptic Brewery. As I've mentioned earlier, I'm not a regular drinker but I enjoy the beer flight for tasting. We took the taxi to get there. Only few people from my practice (tax) went and majority was the auditors. I was introduced to some people. However, I felt awkward and didn't fit in. After grabbing some food, I wanted to leave early. Then, I ended up sitting with my team (tax people) and we talked and talked. I don't talk a lot when I'm with my co-workers. I'm a socialable person but when I feel uncomfortable, I don't know what to say. Overall, it was a good idea to attend this event but I'm not sure if I'd go for the next one. We ended up staying until the very end and got a free bottle of beer. Alcohol kept me awake at night because I felt it going through my blood stream all over my body like caffeine does. Hate that feeling. Yeah.. so that beer is still sitting in my fridge.

YES! Finally it's Friday. This morning I finished two projects. I redid the RR after getting clarifications. Then submitted the work for a review. The senior said, "Looks good." THANK YOU. I was so relieved. Then, I was given another project to estimate the tax liability for the fourth quarter. It's done on a spreadsheet and this was an easier project because the spreadsheet rolls over meaning that I can follow whatever is done from the third quarter. This task was time consuming but I enjoyed it. After completing these small projects, it's the best feeling. I felt like I've accomplished something and gave me the sense of worthiness. Afterall, the week ended really well! 👍

Friday night, I went to a Bible study. I didn't get actively involved in the conversation because I was tired from last night 😖. But, I like meeting these people. I feel welcomed and am comfortable around them. This is where I fit in.

I was looking forward to Saturday. It was such a beautiful day. With the church people, we went to the corn maze. I had a lot of fun getting to know them. It was definitely a memorable day.

Today, I am flying out to San Diego. Actually I'm already on my way. I am excited and hoping to meet great people and learn a lot. Portland, I will see you in 2 weeks. ✌