Day 11

Sorry, another three-day blog entry. But this should be the last time, seriously.

Today was my first day as an intern!

I got up bright and early and was ready for work way earlier than necessary. After choking down my breakfast, I headed to the Red Line. As was expected the train was packed and I had to wait for a second one to come along. I got on and three stops later I got off and walked to work. As planned, I was there plenty early. However, my workplace is very relaxed. They all came in with one minute to spare, wearing blue jeans and tennis shoes. One of the girls said to me, “You know, it really is okay to jeans. Not that you don’t look cute, but it is okay.”

I have my own desk with a computer, drawers, pens, paperclips, and telephone. It’s not even a cubicle; it’s more like large desktop areas separated by low walls. I like it because it feels wide open but you kind of have a little privacy in your work area. They put me to work right away updating data on the computer. It was kind of funny because I asked if there was a pencil in the place, jokingly, and they seriously had to look high and low for one. Apparently these people never make mistakes. Then I was given a more complex task that involved multiple data sheets and some calculations.

Since it was my first day, the four people I interviewed with took me out to lunch. It lasted over an hour and a half. They weren’t in any rush so I wasn’t either. Who am I to say that our lunch hour is up? The food was good and the company was even better. This was a nice way for me to become more comfortable with them. I will mostly be working with these four, and they are young and fun. MainStreet is definitely going to be a great place to learn.

After lunch, my supervisor told me there was a webcast that he wanted me to sit it on and take notes since he didn’t have time to do it. What? Like I’m going to understand all that financial jargon. Well, I listened and watched and got the gist of things for the most part. I did not think he’ll even ask me for the notes, it was just good practice for me.

Overall, it was a great day. I feel comfortable in the office. The employees are nice and welcoming. The work is fun and should succeed in teaching me lots of useful financial knowledge.

Happy 1: I’m so glad the first day is behind me! It wasn’t super stressful, just a lot to take in at one time.
Happy 2: The Comcast guy is here at this moment hooking up our Internet. Finally! It will be nice to easily check my email and update this extremely important blog. The man’s name is Ed. He is my new favorite.
Crappy: It came to my attention today that my ears pop on the elevator on my way to and from the 37th floor, where the office is located. What is that? You can drive across the state of Iowa and not have a significant enough change is altitude to make your ears pop. Something I will just have to get used to.