Alive and Having Fun!

I am alive! Corporate America has kept me away from my blog but here I am. This year has been the most eventful of my life. It was scary and stressful but worth every nervous breakdown. In a short period of time, we have made San Francisco ‘home’. There are no words to express how much I love this city. It’s young, vibrant, and entirely fulfills my urbanite needs. We eat out way too much. We drink way too much. We don’t sleep enough. But we are having fun!

Despite my heavy workload, we do manage to have a fun social life. We have a group of friends who enjoy wine, travel, and politics as much as we do. Funny enough, we have more friends in SF than we did in Ottawa! Demographically speaking, it’s much easier to find people ‘like us’. Most of our friends are single and it’s very refreshing to hang out with people who don’t care about un-matching dishware and furniture!

San Francisco feels much smaller than it used to. I don’t even need a map anymore! I feel like I am in Sex and the City every time I flag a cab when I get off work late.

My job is extremely demanding. However, I discovered that I really thrive in that kind of fast-paced environment. As crazy as it may sound, I heart deadlines! I enjoy seeing that my work is valued and used in a concrete way. My bubbliness even led to a comparison with the one and only Mary Poppins. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and SNAP! The job’s a game!” I have identified many differences between working in Canada compared to the US:

Outsourcing: The amount of outsourcing done in the US is insane. Account Executives get mad when we process a job in the US if it can be done in India for much cheaper.

Time Zones: My company has offices in multiple states and over 70 countries. This means that I have to deal with at least 5 different time zones every day (including India). As a result, I get in around 6:30am. I also have to check my emails before going to bed to make sure everyone is set and the job will get done throughout the night (India, for example).

The rudeness. I am trying hard not to take nasty emails personal. “Did you choose those colours cuz they’re horrible I am gonna change them”. Euh, how hard is it to say “Do you mind if I change the colours, I’d prefer them lighter”. People on the East coast are the rudeness. Blame it on my Canadianess, I am polite.

Impact: Some of the biggest companies in the world are among our clients. It’s so exciting to know that the CEO of a large retail chain is using my report!

Workload: Oye. I get in around 6:30am and leave… Well, whenever I can. It’s usually around 5pm. If I do leave earlier, that means I’ll have to work from home later.

This is me in a nutshell. We’re off to Morocco at the end of the week and will celebrate the New Year in Marrakesh. What do we have in store for 2008? Honestly, I’d be happy with status quo. I am so very content right now! We’re hoping to spend a month in Africa in the fall. We’re considering buying a condo but that will depend on the credit/real estate mess the US is currently experiencing. I want to finish the certificate I started for ‘fun’ last year. I have to say that my idea of ‘fun’ has evolved dramatically and studying while working over 50 hours/week no longer qualifies as ‘fun’!

Happy new year everyone!