Week one down
Feb. 8th, 2008 09:00 pmSo I made it though my first week of employment again.
Lots of stuff to learn. There is more sales aspects to my job than I expected. We shall see how that turns out.
Today was the last day of work for the News Director there. So I got to be the one to order the deli tray for lunch for everyone. It took me forever to get the people at the supermarket to grasp the whole "No pork products" thing. See... I work for a Muslim run company. I and 4 others out of 25 people who work there are not Muslim. This means, food that comes in does not contain pork products. I had to also explain to the lady at the grocery store that pork meant Ham, Salami, Bologna, Pepperoni and so on. We wanted a tray of Turkey, Roast Beef and Cheese. I finally had to say it was due to food allergies to get the woman grasp the seriousness of the request. My big boss seemed impressed that I knew about the pork thing without needing to be told. Of course having just turkey and roast beef put a limit on what the two Catholics could eat on a Friday of Lent. I shrugged and told them they could make a cheese sandwich. I guess I should be grateful that there are no Hindi working there or the roast beef would have been a bust too.
It has been and will be a culture shock for me in a lot of ways. But in other ways it's been no big deal. I mean, I was an anthropology major. Minor in religion (Though with all the religion I took I never once had to read the Qu'ran. I should remedy that.) I've also worked closely with Muslims before so it's not like I'm not totally igmo in regards to the culture. OF course I couldn't tell you what the Muslim holidays are and when, but I will learn that eventually.
Come summer if I want to wear skirts for coolness/comfort, I will need to invest in some longer skirts. While I do not have to wear head covering as part of the dress code, skirts are to be no more than 2 inches above the ankles. I foresee mostly pants in my business clothing. OR maybe look into getting a couple of the really pretty dresses I've seen muslim women wear.
Today though caused my office-mate/supervisor to give me the double blink. Just before I left for the day I decided that I was going to treat myself for dinner for surviving my first week of work. I called for Indian take out. My office-mate is from Pakistan. He seemed surprised that the little caucasian girl likes food from his neck of the world.
I also was talking today with one of the Owners. She's actually the company's General Manager and the wife of my Big Boss. She said on days where it's going to be just me in the office (for example on Muslim holidays if I want to work them and use the time elsewhere as a floating holiday) I can bring Grimm in to keep me company. Especially because he's small and paper-trained.
All in all I was a good week. Tomorrow the puppies have a vet appointment for their final Distemper shots and I will make the appointment to get Grimm "tutored". I also need to get to an art store and get more paper for scrolls. I can't find any of my pads and I have a scroll to do for C3R.
Lots of stuff to learn. There is more sales aspects to my job than I expected. We shall see how that turns out.
Today was the last day of work for the News Director there. So I got to be the one to order the deli tray for lunch for everyone. It took me forever to get the people at the supermarket to grasp the whole "No pork products" thing. See... I work for a Muslim run company. I and 4 others out of 25 people who work there are not Muslim. This means, food that comes in does not contain pork products. I had to also explain to the lady at the grocery store that pork meant Ham, Salami, Bologna, Pepperoni and so on. We wanted a tray of Turkey, Roast Beef and Cheese. I finally had to say it was due to food allergies to get the woman grasp the seriousness of the request. My big boss seemed impressed that I knew about the pork thing without needing to be told. Of course having just turkey and roast beef put a limit on what the two Catholics could eat on a Friday of Lent. I shrugged and told them they could make a cheese sandwich. I guess I should be grateful that there are no Hindi working there or the roast beef would have been a bust too.
It has been and will be a culture shock for me in a lot of ways. But in other ways it's been no big deal. I mean, I was an anthropology major. Minor in religion (Though with all the religion I took I never once had to read the Qu'ran. I should remedy that.) I've also worked closely with Muslims before so it's not like I'm not totally igmo in regards to the culture. OF course I couldn't tell you what the Muslim holidays are and when, but I will learn that eventually.
Come summer if I want to wear skirts for coolness/comfort, I will need to invest in some longer skirts. While I do not have to wear head covering as part of the dress code, skirts are to be no more than 2 inches above the ankles. I foresee mostly pants in my business clothing. OR maybe look into getting a couple of the really pretty dresses I've seen muslim women wear.
Today though caused my office-mate/supervisor to give me the double blink. Just before I left for the day I decided that I was going to treat myself for dinner for surviving my first week of work. I called for Indian take out. My office-mate is from Pakistan. He seemed surprised that the little caucasian girl likes food from his neck of the world.
I also was talking today with one of the Owners. She's actually the company's General Manager and the wife of my Big Boss. She said on days where it's going to be just me in the office (for example on Muslim holidays if I want to work them and use the time elsewhere as a floating holiday) I can bring Grimm in to keep me company. Especially because he's small and paper-trained.
All in all I was a good week. Tomorrow the puppies have a vet appointment for their final Distemper shots and I will make the appointment to get Grimm "tutored". I also need to get to an art store and get more paper for scrolls. I can't find any of my pads and I have a scroll to do for C3R.