We will rock you!

I knew it would happen! I was given a project that will either be my triumph or undoing. I actually volunteered for it, but under the circumstances it was very clear that my boss would put it on my shoulders in no time - he was probably just figuring out what to do at the point, so I jumped a step ahead of him (not a very hard thing to do) and offered my services.

And the big boss said he was confident I could do it - after all I'm a smart girl - so nice to hear that I must admit (even if it was only said to give me a carrot - not sure whether that's the case).

Getting my mood back on track

In general I am a very positive person. My glass is half-full most of the time and I am finding positive things in any bad situations. I do! But now and then there are days that really crush you. And when things are that way, it feels way worse for me than for many others. I am not used to feeling down! I have no operation mode for that.

I was having a day like that today - the weather, my boss, an incredibly painful flu shot all came together at once and made me feel down.

But good thing about being a positive person is knowing how to fight these things off. It comes naturally - like, planning a gym visit and a shopping trip and starting looking forward to it. Or getting some annoying task over with - and feeling relief. Or receiving a response to a request you've submitted weeks ago after a reminder you just made to the guy without much hope of hearing back.

Silly tiny things like that do contribute to improving moods once you start noticing them. Oh, and green tea with mint - turns out I am crazy about it! Who would have thought!

My special thanks go to my friend Sairah for not giving up on my miserable whiny self and trying to improve my mood. It worked! ;)

Career choices

If I have enough courage, I will someday switch from cost department into revenue one. And here is why. The main purpose of any cost department is to cut its costs - either by increasing efficiencies and effectiveness or by paying the staff the bare minimum. Or both. There is certain praise for great performance for sure - to encourage the well-performing employee and their colleagues. However, it's usually not that generous - again, due to the main purpose of the cost department. No extra expenses are welcome - any of these require lots of approval and undergo scrutiny.

Now turn to revenue generating departments. They can use all means as long as they bring in money. They get moderate-to huge bonuses for performing and over-performing. No one really cares whether the person knows the most efficient way of using the available tools as long as he or she generates cash. Because cash is the King and everyone is well aware of it. There is a Russian saying "grass is always greener on the neighbor's lawn" - maybe it's true and I know perfectly well how much stress salespeople and alike are under to meet their quota. However, their reward is definitely greater than ours.

Things I learned today

I went for a very cool interview today - the best interview I've been to so far - and I had a few by now.

 But this post isn't about it. It's what I suddenly realized afterwards. There are two things.

First, arrogance brings success. Not lots of it, but a healthy portion - once you demonstrate that you are confident, others believe that too. Moreover, you start believing it yourself - and believing in one's success is halfway to the success itself.

 Secondly, I finally got over my attitude "I am nothing special - just average". Attitude is probably not the right word though - maybe fear. Anyway, now (yeah, about time) I know I am not. I am special and I am not average - I am above average. Where exactly - not at the top where "the best of the best" reside, but somewhere above average for sure. My attitude to life, my character, my skills, my experience, my intelligence, my abilities - all this together makes me that.

 To sum it up - it's been a helluva good day!

Being a cost centre

Working in finance means being a cost centre in most cases (accounting services companies are exception to this rule).

Got my second promotion in Canada!

Two promotions in less than two years with the company - not bad, not bad at all, eh? :)

Summer dress code

When I started in my current job I was provided with the detailed instructions on the dress code and what a business casual outfit should look like. Not willing to appear a hypocrite, I am hereby declaring that the clothes some ladies wear at work in summer time cannot be called business casual. As a matter of fact they can hardly be called clothes at all.

Would you wear flip flops and pajama-like looking shorts with a sleeveles top to work? Some outfits look really not suitable - even for gardening in your backyard I would say. Even though dressing comfortable is a good habit, there are some limits to what should be acceptable for office wear.

un italiano vero

I do speak three languages, but Italian is not one of them. Despite this fact I've spent some time over the last two days translating parts of a contract in Italian, whereas I had to manually type the whole thing into the translator - it's saved as pdf picture and I cannot copy and paste the text. It's fascinating to some extent - where I can guess meaning of certain words. I also noticed that the typing speed increased over time. :)

My work

The longer I work for my company, the more I like it here. My new position is quite challenging, but that's what makes it interesting. I also really like people I work with - both peers and senior staff. I am also really grateful that the company decided to give me a chance to prove who I was despite of my lack of the mysterious Canadian experience.

I've been with the company for over a year - which is actually pretty impressive for me - the longest I've been employed by the same company was 1.5 years. :) I hope I will beat this record this time.