My Home Away from Home

Thought I’d give you all a tour of my office & an update on work! It’s really, really going well & I’m enjoying it a lot. So far in the last couple of weeks, I have ordered fishing licenses & made travel arrangements for the guys’ fishing trip to Louisiana in November. We have an Open House coming up in October & will be inviting about 150 people to tour our new office ( just moved in here a couple months ago), so I’m in charge of coordinating everything with the caterer. We just went to the caterer’s Holiday Open House last week, so I’ll share some pictures of that with you too in the next week or so. It was fun & tasty!

We are also doing headshots of all the executives & managers in the next couple of weeks, so I’m coordinating the times & all of that with the photographer who will come in the office.

My boss is an Auburn grad, so he gets season tickets to all the home Auburn games. Too bad it’s not Alabama, as my hubby would be all over that. I hear there are extra tickets available sometimes, but we won’t be using those, I’m afraid. I have found out since moving here that you are either on one side or the other…there is no middle ground. Some families are even divided over football! It’s really quite funny.

He’s also a season ticket holder for the Birmingham Broadway series. Extras are given to employees, so I’ve put my name in the hat to go & see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels in November. Not bad perks, don’t you think?

I’m also in charge of ordering all the coffee supplies for the office. We have unlimited coffee, soft drinks, bottled water, & assorted juices available in the fridge at all times, so it falls to me to keep things stocked with the guy who comes in every few weeks. When I found out there was no Diet Dr. Pepper (my fave!!), I asked if we could order that & she said, yes…order what you want! So, I got that & some French Vanilla creamers for the coffee drinkers. The Diet Dr. Pepper is already a popular item. I don’t take that for granted. Not every office treats their employees so well with an array of beverages handy.

We had a training class last week for 2 days, so since I’m in charge of getting lunches delivered, my rule is…whenever I order lunch for a group, I get to order one for me. Our HR manager totally agrees with that rule & gave me the thumbs up on that one!

So, go on a tour of the office with me….it’s a nice place to work! Above is the lobby as you walk in the front door. There’s some beautiful antique pieces in there, with antique rugs on the limestone tiled floors. Display cabinet & antique mirror in the lobby, beautiful antique rugs.
This is our Boardroom with limestone & cherry table. And check out the HUGE flatscreen TV above the credenza. We just got Direct TV installed so the guys could have football & sports handy. We also have another smaller conference room on my side with a nice flatscreen too. I can go in there & watch HGTV at lunch if I want to.
And here’s my office space & desk. I’m tucked in a nook right outside my boss’s office. I have 2 windows, so don’t feel closed in at all, but still have privacy. My boss travels & is out of the office a lot.
I was able to claim this lamp & really pretty oil painting for my space. There were extra things in an office & she told me to use what I wanted in there, so I got these & I love how homey it makes my area.
Other side of the wall is a wall of bookcases with some plants and a chair. I have a very nice area! Of course, I do some typing & administrative details too, but that’s easy for me. All of that comes naturally, since I’ve done it for so many years in the past. Oh, and I’m taking a class in October on Creative Newletters, so I look forward to that. I’ll be in charge of getting a newsletter going & keeping it updated & sent out. I think that will be fun! I do love to learn new software & enjoy working with graphics.

We just intereviewed & hired a plant company to bring plants in the office & take care of them, so we will be going out next week & shopping for nice planters for them. The HR Manager wants us to shop for them, as she really wants to bring in some nice looking ones. Looks like we are going to be shopping for pottery for our plants this week. Now that will be a fun assignment!

So, that’s an update on work. I don’t think I could have found anything better suited for me in the corporate world. This office is pretty laid back & not stressful as some situations & offices I’ve been in. Everyone has been so friendly & welcomed me. I think I’ll be happy here for quite some time. Thanks to all of you for asking about my new job. I’m loving it!