Well, I think it's about time I update, right?

Every since I've begin working at Educational Direct, life has been REALLY awesome. For starters, I actually begin to like the place more and more everyday. Every new person I meet, completely blows me away. Today I realize just how AMAZING some of the people I work with are.

The girl I met the day I did a walk in interview, Jeauvon, is great. Incredible style, sassy, black and an amazingly powerful singing voice. She's been so scared to really bust it out, so I didn't know if she was just saying she can sing for the sake of saying so. But let me tell you, she doesn't lie. What really took her to bring it out was this other new girl that works in my department. Michelle is a really eccentric type. Blue and black hair, obscure fashion sense, cereal box turned purse and crazy make up. Most striking about her is her talent. She has such a varied vocal style, wide taste in music and deep musical sense. Today they blew away about 40 new employees and a few higher ups when we were sitting in training killing time. They just went song after song in acapella stopping everyone in their tracks. It was great. I sat in between both of them and while I was so impressed, I felt overwhelmed with excitement and fear. I was happy because these two are fast becoming two of my best friends at work. I get to make music with these two! Excellent! However I'm scared because I am not nearly as talented as them. I mean, I have a wealth of ideas for music, but no real TALENT to perform it. I know rudimentary stuff, but I REALLY need to buckle down and begin teaching myself. Let's all cross our fingers and pray I can get my Macbook next week and begin super hard training EVERY day so I can catch up and all 3 of us can just amaze the world (or at least northern New Jersey.... for now!)

Speaking of training, this is what needs to happen. I really need to stick to a tight schedule of working 9 hours a day, 5 days a week and then spending the time after work relaxing for a bit, browsing the internet and then getting down to business. After I enjoy myself, I'll start working out. I have a few videos, texts and other things to start me off. I am starting a new work out. I am starting slow so I don't overdo it and then end up not wanting to do it anymore. For the time being, less is more. Technically, the more I do, the stronger I can become, but, I want this to become a life long routine. If it's too hard at first, I won't want to stick with it. For at least 2-3 weeks, I am going to keep the work out strenuous, but not too long. I need to get my body accustomed to working out at least 3-4 times a week, even if it's not ball busting hard. It's the fact that it's happening and must happen 3-4 times a week that's important for now. Afterwards, another little cool down and relax session. Maybe more internet, maybe a movie or video games and then off to music work. I have a good music theory book that I can read from daily as well as some really excellent perfect pitch training mp3s. This will be great to build my knowledge of how music is constructed and why. Once I really absorb the material and understand it, the second half becomes easier. Once I get the Macbook, I can physically train in music. Practicing chord progressions, scales and sheet music every day will also really speed up the process.

I really wouldn't mind if this was my daily weekday routine for the next few months. Work is only getting easier and more busy (which is good.) I am going to be training to do something new sometime next week which is really excellent. The more I know and the more I can do around the office, the better. I already am doing simple date entry updating in between taking calls. I am asked to update around 300 files a day while taking calls on my own now. My supervisor knows I really hate being idle, so this is good. She knows I like to work and keep active. The other day I stayed an extra hour to help ship off a few Fed Ex packages that needed to get out that night. I don't know whether or not it made a huge impact that I helped, but I handled everything extremely fast and the people responsible for the work were very appreciative.

I'm also pretty popular around my office. All the people in my department really like me a lot and I get to sass everybody which is a major plus. More often than not when people are being loud and talking, I am usually involved with it. Which is good because I can only imagine how boring that office was before I got there. It's just more positive attention towards me, which will always be at my benefit.

I am also helping redesign these... things for my company. I don't know what they are to be exact, but I'll try and explain. One day I was walking down the hallway and the cancellation manager, who is in my office, was walking down the hallway too. He had shirt that had a really interesting design on it. While passing I mentioned it was great and that I am really into design and yadda yadda. About two days later, he called me to his desk to show me some stuff. It's basically an information package we give to employees that would help diversify our company (read: "black people and shit." PS: My cancellation manager is black.) It's a few sheets of paper with some nonsense about the company, our goals and our services as well as a few sheets of paper, landscape orientation, that look like they really should just be Power Point slides. As far as the information goes, it's pretty well thought out however the way in which some things are worded are too fancy or unecessary. The design of them is also extremely poor. He asked me, since I "like design," if I wanted to try fixing them up. Just for kicks. Maybe hand it off to some of the higher ups to see what they think. As far as he explained, we really don't use these things anymore, however, it's just another thing that will speak highly of me and my skills and my inclination to do well within the company. Some of that positive attention.

As far as other cool events, let me explain one thing first. Some people follow religion. Some people believe in philosophies and the like. I believe in only two things to be true: fate and karma. Pardon this cheesy example, but, I was watching the special features for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children and I watched something that sort of fell in line with some things I believe. Without relating this to the mythos or story of FF7, one of the creators said life follows a stream. Where at certain times, your stream crosses the paths of others, intertwines and so on. While his belief was broader than that, it really does fit with a belief of mine. If you really live your life along the same track, things don't change. Eventually the track loops and there you are. Once you see new places, do new things, meet new people, the loop changes. It breaks apart, it moves to and fro. Orbits around others, bounces, reacts, etc. It's even like a Ven Diagram. You start off on your circle and if you intersect another circle, that means that circle intersects another and so on! In so many words, once you do new things, new things come to you. It's a union of fate and karma. Back to the story, I went to Starbucks with my friend to visit his girlfriend. Funny thing is, I didn't even want to go. Thankfully, I didn't get my way. I went into a tirade about how the couches smell like kitty litter and that prompted a nearby person to ask us a question. "Do you know how to get to the sports complex?" Why yes I do. Long story short, this man is a driver for famous people like Bon Jovi, Usher and the like. He proceeds to tell me he casts girls for music videos and gets paid to do so! (The girls get paid too.) Next thing I know it, we're exchaning numbers and I promise to call him because my job has tons of girls in it that would be great... And then I mention that we're soon becoming a bank too... And he has two friends that are bankers coming up to NYC looking for work... So I give him my job's number too. Did I mention I get paid to get girls into music videos? (Like $200-$500?) And did I mention you get a referral bonus for new employees after they reach their 90th day working there? ($500 ya'll)

Well shit. I think I've had a pretty good week and even better ones coming this way.

Did I mention I am now considered a "Senior Loan Specialist?" I know more about federal student loan consolidation that 97% of the country. Not that bad. (Even though the title is sort of BS, strictly speaking but hey, looks good on a resume!)