A 5 day work week! How do people survive these??
My first full work week in months and I was happy to see Friday arrive and come to a workday close. Today at work we had an "All Hands Meeting" which was a 3 hour company lunch that was outside and started with a speech from our CEO, CFO and COO. Yesterday our 2009 Q4 #'s were released and they were quite impressive and everyone is in a good mood with double digit sales increase. Today was the first time I saw all 3 chief officers together in person. On my way to training the other day I cut off the COO in the hallway, oops! The CFO reminds me of Anthony Bourdain and those of you who know my obsession with No Reservations...I will do my best to behave appropriately. There was a team building activity that involved each table of people, all mixed up from different departments, to create a story about Deckers incorporating about 10 printed images. Each table had the same envelope of pictures and it was very entertaining to listen to each story created and presented. It was cool to get a sense of the size of the company and to see the true hams come up to 'present' their stories.
This company has a lot of employees that have been there for 3 years or less. Those that have been employed for more than a year are 'veterans'. There are a group that have been there for 10 years or plus, my boss being one of them, but it's interesting the percentage that have not been there that long. At my table of 10 people only 3 people had been there for more than a year.
On Wednesday night there was a get together at a local bar that one of the VP's owns. It was nice of her to invite a bunch of us out and to host us at her and her husband's establishment. It was good to get out in a social setting and meet a few more people from the 'team' and get to know them a bit more personally.
On Thursday I had lunch with my 'buddy'. Deckers has a somewhat new (within the past 2-3 years) policy of pairing new employees up with longer standing employees. They take you out to lunch early on in your start. It was a beautiful day (the only really nice day this week) and we had lunch at the Beach Cafe on the beach in Goleta. Perfection! Lunch outside, everyone knows how I love to eat al fresco, on the beach!!! Going back to work was quite a test of self discipline.
A few notes to reply to comments, correct errors, and some observations.
* It was Neptune's Net not Neptune Ned's that I ate at with T, I, C, & V last Sunday in Malibu. I stand corrected.
* I did drive Deckers Canyon which made me a bit car sick! Crazy, crazy road. But, coming around one curve and seeing the Pacific out in front of me was almost worth it. Next time I do that drive a car with a bigger engine would be nice. It was quite a chore for the Honda to keep up with T's Audi.
* @ Kev - I am doing product development for Ugg handbags. I work in conjuction with the designer to ensure the bags are made as she wants. In this position product development is more #'s driven. I have more responsiblity for pricing and schedule than I have in the past. This is a new product category for the company and there is a lot of support and excitement to get a solid line produced. But, being a former business owner I am still surprised by what ground work appears to not have been done.
* as T. commented - We saw Woody Harrelson on our hike last Sunday. T's dog got in a minor altercation with another dog and Woody and 2 women stopped to discuss what happened and offer their sympathies. I completely did not notice him and when we were heading into the parking lot he was leaving and he waved. Woody and I waved to each other, how funny!
* It is true! My b.i.l, Rich told me once he was in SoCal for work and the office he was at all left early because it was raining. Today I got an email from someone letting me know he would get back to me Monday because his 'office was closing early because of the rain and flooding'. Apparently, rain is serious weather out here. I know all of you in the NorthEast dealing with yet another Nor'easter are LYAO.
* I saw a guy in the grocery store wearing webbed surfer socks.
* I saw a guy riding a bike with a parrot on his shoulder.
* Almost every restaurant/cafe you go to has drinking water for free. I haven't inquired yet to find out of this is a state law.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
New Temporary Digs
I moved into a furnished apartment last night for a short term lease. It's in the downtown area of SB. It's an old house, built around the turn of last century, that has been split into 3 apartments. I'm on the ground floor. I saw it the first weekend I was here as a possibility for a long term rental. When it was showed to me it was fully furnished and I asked if they have rented it for temporary stays furnished. The answer was yes and as I let a few other options slip through my fingers and grew tired of the Extended Stay I contacted the owner about moving in until the end of March, fully furnished. I made an offer for a specific amount for the rest of February and all of March and they counter-offered and I agreed. I was proud of myself, negotiating what I thought was a good deal. Well, my negotiating skills are not what I imagined them to be and I spent some time beating myself up last night as I signed a lease for the amount I agreed to + pro-rated amount for the remainder of February. I made a lame attempt at arguing it and in hindsight know exactly where I went wrong. Why is it so hard to stand up for yourself? If I had been negotiating for someon else or for work I would have stood my ground longer.
As I sat through a Project Management Training workshop today (day 1 of 2 1/2 days) I decided to stop beating myself up about not sticking to my guns and learn from it and be better at it next time around. Easier said then done. Negotiating money related issues; salary, rent, sales agreements, compensation is definitely something that should not be taken personally but for whatever reason I take it that way.
So, back to my new temporary digs. I have a side entrance with a little front porch (charming), you enter into the living room which has a bay window, seating, desk, table, closet. From the living room you walk into the bedroom, the bathroom is off the bedroom, continuing walking from the living room through the bedroom into the kitchen. Kitchen is well equipped with plenty of counter space. The layout is odd, reminds me of railroad apartments in NYC, but the rooms aren't narrow, just the fact that there is no hallway and if you have anyone over they have to go into the bedroom to use the bathroom and through the bedroom to get to the kitchen.
To get off my Starbucks 'addiction' at work I bought coffee last night and made a pot of coffee at 'home' today. I think this may have been my first successful pot of coffee ever! It wasn't half bad if I do say so myself and it was a Starbucks free day today! I have enjoyed cooking dinner the last 2 nights. Nothing so exciting to write about, but nice to have a variety of dishes, cutlery, and pots and pans to choose from.
I also enjoyed the vast quantity of cable channels available on the T.V in this apartment and watched "It Happened One Night" last night on TCM. Love the banter between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. I also have wifi at this apartment which I appreciate.
I hope to use the time here effectively to explore downtown and see if I do indeed want to live in downtown and check out the different 'neighborhoods'.
As I sat through a Project Management Training workshop today (day 1 of 2 1/2 days) I decided to stop beating myself up about not sticking to my guns and learn from it and be better at it next time around. Easier said then done. Negotiating money related issues; salary, rent, sales agreements, compensation is definitely something that should not be taken personally but for whatever reason I take it that way.
So, back to my new temporary digs. I have a side entrance with a little front porch (charming), you enter into the living room which has a bay window, seating, desk, table, closet. From the living room you walk into the bedroom, the bathroom is off the bedroom, continuing walking from the living room through the bedroom into the kitchen. Kitchen is well equipped with plenty of counter space. The layout is odd, reminds me of railroad apartments in NYC, but the rooms aren't narrow, just the fact that there is no hallway and if you have anyone over they have to go into the bedroom to use the bathroom and through the bedroom to get to the kitchen.
To get off my Starbucks 'addiction' at work I bought coffee last night and made a pot of coffee at 'home' today. I think this may have been my first successful pot of coffee ever! It wasn't half bad if I do say so myself and it was a Starbucks free day today! I have enjoyed cooking dinner the last 2 nights. Nothing so exciting to write about, but nice to have a variety of dishes, cutlery, and pots and pans to choose from.
I also enjoyed the vast quantity of cable channels available on the T.V in this apartment and watched "It Happened One Night" last night on TCM. Love the banter between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. I also have wifi at this apartment which I appreciate.
I hope to use the time here effectively to explore downtown and see if I do indeed want to live in downtown and check out the different 'neighborhoods'.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Weekend Away
Last night I headed out of town to Simi Valley to hang with Theresa. We went out for dinner at Tuscany, rumored to be owned by Tom Selleck, yes Magnum P.I. We didn't see him there, not sure that rumor is true, but it sounds good right? It was great to catch up in person with Theresa. She's been a great support and full of information during my transition out here. I got a most rested night of sleep in her wonderful guest room. It was perfectly quite and cool. We were old ladies though and were in bed before 11pm. I think I am still on East Coast time as I have been going to sleep by 11 most nights and up at 6:30 (except for today). For those of you who have lived with me, I know I don't get up at 6:30 ever, voluntarily or happily, but it's been happening. We'll see how long that happens.
Today we went for a hike with one of Theresa & Clark's dogs. After showering we headed to Malibu to meet Ingrid and 2 of her very good friends C & V for lunch at a place called Neptune Ned's. I'm not sure that's the name. Super casual, fastfood seafood. Order your food, sit outside at picnic-like tables with a view of the Pacific Ocean, not too shabby.
After we ate we went down to the beach, very rocky and windy! My drive back to SB was mostly along the coast, awesome view!
I took a little detour through Montecito, didn't see any famous people, but my car was by far the cheapest car driving around. As I was pulling onto the freeway to head back to SB the car in front of me had a license plate that read:
I 'heart' Salad (the heart symbol, is there a key I can hit to get that symbol to pop up).
Only in California!
Today we went for a hike with one of Theresa & Clark's dogs. After showering we headed to Malibu to meet Ingrid and 2 of her very good friends C & V for lunch at a place called Neptune Ned's. I'm not sure that's the name. Super casual, fastfood seafood. Order your food, sit outside at picnic-like tables with a view of the Pacific Ocean, not too shabby.
After we ate we went down to the beach, very rocky and windy! My drive back to SB was mostly along the coast, awesome view!
I took a little detour through Montecito, didn't see any famous people, but my car was by far the cheapest car driving around. As I was pulling onto the freeway to head back to SB the car in front of me had a license plate that read:
I 'heart' Salad (the heart symbol, is there a key I can hit to get that symbol to pop up).
Only in California!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
It's Official!
I'm officially starting a blog! It probably won't be as informative as my cousin Lauren's was and it will definitely not be as witty or funny as cousin Kevin's, but I hope it will let me feel a bit connected with my friends and family allover, but mostly on the East Coast.
I've been in Santa Barbara, CA for 1 week now. I started my new job at Deckers and it has been over 10 years since I started a new job! I think my first days at Pakcepts were less of the 'new kid at school' feeling. I wasn't too worried there if someone didn't like me or didn't want to each lunch with me, the boss liked me so that took the anxiety out of it. I wasn't nervous on my first day, but it felt a bit surreal.
I had a 4 day work week. By Friday I was feeling mildly less awkward. I am sharing an office with the product manager/designer and the product coordinator. We have an office with a HUGE window, the entire front of our office is a window. The designer and I sit back to back with our left sides to the window. It was cool to start a job and be given a box of NEW office supplies, get a brand new computer, new desk, new chair. That is a luxury I've never had before. My current boss is spread pretty thin and was in training most of this past week so I was pretty much left to my own devices. I will have a 'new' boss next month, when my 'new' boss starts. That should be interesting. Stay tuned to see how that goes. The company and brand are growing so rapidly that they are adding another level of heirarchy in between my level and my current boss's (VP) level.
There are some conveniences set up at work which is quite cool; dry cleaning pick up and drop off, car wash/detail on site, coffee and pastry cart in the parking lot in the mornings, product truck once a week (though that didn't happen this past week), chair massages - $5/15 minutes, free drip Starbucks coffee, discount on product....
I have my first massage on Monday, I'll report back how it compares to Uncle Leo and my A-town shiatsu masseuse Stacy.
I've been drinking way too much Starbucks coffee. As most of you know I hate Starbucks coffee and have never in the past let an opportunity pass me by to make a few snarky comments about it. Well, I'm cheap and it's free so I've been imbibing, but it still tastes awful. I am looking forward to my own place with my stuff so I can drink proper coffee again.
My stuff has arrived but it's in storage, except my car! I got my car on Thursday. I so missed my car and was so happy to see it and drive it. Snow and salt residue and all it's a great car. Happy to have my automatic windows and doors and satellite radio, boy did I miss all those conveniences while driving the Hyundai Accent around. Remember the days of leaning across to the passenger side to roll down or up the window and adjust the side view mirror!?! Not as fun as you may remember.
Today I saw about 10 apartments. I'm hard to please and SB is a bit pricey. One place was a block from the beach, so cool. But, a bit small in the kitchen area and no place for my grill!!!
Another place was gorgeous, craftsman cottage with a deluxe kitchen, very similar to K&J's kitchen in Silver Spring. But, a bit pricey. I'll do some number crunching tonight and see if I can afford it. It's in downtown which is cool, so I could walk to restaurants, stores, movies.... Too hard to decide. I am coming from A-town where my rent was 1/2 of what I'm looking at here and was bigger and with every amenity. I know I have to resign myself to not having everything for a price I can afford, but a girl can hope right?
This morning before the apartment hunting I went to the SB farmer's market. Fresh, organic produce. Did you know there are like 5 varieties of avocados?? Wow, I bought a few different ones so I can do some taste comparison. Fresh strawberries, purple carrots, lettuces, tomatoes. This was great and made me anxious to find a place with a kitchen so I could start preparing proper meals again.
I think I'll sign off for now and look at Craigslist again to see if there are any other apartments that popped up that I should see......
Hope everyone is well!
I've been in Santa Barbara, CA for 1 week now. I started my new job at Deckers and it has been over 10 years since I started a new job! I think my first days at Pakcepts were less of the 'new kid at school' feeling. I wasn't too worried there if someone didn't like me or didn't want to each lunch with me, the boss liked me so that took the anxiety out of it. I wasn't nervous on my first day, but it felt a bit surreal.
I had a 4 day work week. By Friday I was feeling mildly less awkward. I am sharing an office with the product manager/designer and the product coordinator. We have an office with a HUGE window, the entire front of our office is a window. The designer and I sit back to back with our left sides to the window. It was cool to start a job and be given a box of NEW office supplies, get a brand new computer, new desk, new chair. That is a luxury I've never had before. My current boss is spread pretty thin and was in training most of this past week so I was pretty much left to my own devices. I will have a 'new' boss next month, when my 'new' boss starts. That should be interesting. Stay tuned to see how that goes. The company and brand are growing so rapidly that they are adding another level of heirarchy in between my level and my current boss's (VP) level.
There are some conveniences set up at work which is quite cool; dry cleaning pick up and drop off, car wash/detail on site, coffee and pastry cart in the parking lot in the mornings, product truck once a week (though that didn't happen this past week), chair massages - $5/15 minutes, free drip Starbucks coffee, discount on product....
I have my first massage on Monday, I'll report back how it compares to Uncle Leo and my A-town shiatsu masseuse Stacy.
I've been drinking way too much Starbucks coffee. As most of you know I hate Starbucks coffee and have never in the past let an opportunity pass me by to make a few snarky comments about it. Well, I'm cheap and it's free so I've been imbibing, but it still tastes awful. I am looking forward to my own place with my stuff so I can drink proper coffee again.
My stuff has arrived but it's in storage, except my car! I got my car on Thursday. I so missed my car and was so happy to see it and drive it. Snow and salt residue and all it's a great car. Happy to have my automatic windows and doors and satellite radio, boy did I miss all those conveniences while driving the Hyundai Accent around. Remember the days of leaning across to the passenger side to roll down or up the window and adjust the side view mirror!?! Not as fun as you may remember.
Today I saw about 10 apartments. I'm hard to please and SB is a bit pricey. One place was a block from the beach, so cool. But, a bit small in the kitchen area and no place for my grill!!!
Another place was gorgeous, craftsman cottage with a deluxe kitchen, very similar to K&J's kitchen in Silver Spring. But, a bit pricey. I'll do some number crunching tonight and see if I can afford it. It's in downtown which is cool, so I could walk to restaurants, stores, movies.... Too hard to decide. I am coming from A-town where my rent was 1/2 of what I'm looking at here and was bigger and with every amenity. I know I have to resign myself to not having everything for a price I can afford, but a girl can hope right?
This morning before the apartment hunting I went to the SB farmer's market. Fresh, organic produce. Did you know there are like 5 varieties of avocados?? Wow, I bought a few different ones so I can do some taste comparison. Fresh strawberries, purple carrots, lettuces, tomatoes. This was great and made me anxious to find a place with a kitchen so I could start preparing proper meals again.
I think I'll sign off for now and look at Craigslist again to see if there are any other apartments that popped up that I should see......
Hope everyone is well!
Setup
I moved to Santa Barbara, CA on February 13th. It was weird to get on a plane with a few bags to move permanently! I made this move for a job as product developer at Deckers Outdoor Corp. I am mostly excited and happy about my new adventure and new path my life is on. A goal I have is to have a balanced life or work and play. I believe being in SB will help me reach that goal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
