March 13-18

Tuesday, March 13

My first real day on the job as a receptionist at Vision Manawatu started at 8:30. It's an economic development agency for the Manawatu (not a tourism agency as it was billed to me). They provide free services like business training courses to improve and increase business in the Manawatu region. Here's what I do: answer phones, make some photocopies, create some informational folders. Easy enough.

I was able to park at the rear of the building which is awesome since it's so close to the office. Originally thought I might have to pay for meter parking on the street which would have added up quickly.

The girl whose place I'm taking, Kate, showed me how to do a few things but primarily focused on training one of the secretaries who already works there. Kate wears sneakers, black pants, and a fleece jacket everyday....apparently, I'm overdressed as the receptionist but it's what I like to wear. A group went out for tea/coffee at a cafe down the road at 10:00.

Not much to say about the position. It's a job for which I'm "over qualified" (which is how Janine, the lady who hired me, introduced me around the office...asking if people had read my CV). Being "over qualified" doesn't prevent you from making mistakes, however, as I arranged an appointment for a walk-in visitor with one of the staff for a time the staff member was unavailable. Oh well, it got worked out.

Angela with Palmerston North Personnel called at the end of the day to see how I was getting on in the job. I told her I liked it. Josh has asked me if the job is fun and if I like it and I say, no, not really. But, I don't like being at home with nothing to do either. And at least the people are nice and I'm making some travel money.

Wednesday, March 14

Today, I learned how to sort the mail....a new task! I spent part of the day filing which was also a new task. A younger group of us went out for morning tea today. Somehow, it turned to talk about America (nothing heated) but one of the girls, Hannah, said, "Oh, let's talk about something else like...religion and Christianity." Funny...but I didn't think we were going down any controversial paths by talking about America.

Later in the afternoon, Kate showed me how to set up the meeting rooms for training sessions that are held there. I didn't realize I'd be doing some catering type duties like making coffee (never done that before), setting out "biscuits," organizing different glasses (juice, water, coffee/tea, wine) on a table, getting alcohol set up.

When Kate looked in the mini fridge and there were at least 6 bottles of wine and some beers she said, "That's not enough alcohol." I found that humorous. We got some more drinks to chill (glad I'm not anti-drinking of I wouldn't be able to perform my job duties). I was scheduled to stay until 5:30 that night to meet with the real catering company who would be bringing the dinner to the company. Remember, everything is free to people who take these training courses...the class, the dinner, and the drinks.

Thursday, March 15

I came in at 9 this morning after having stayed "late" the night before. Found it funny that I has this flexibility in this job whereas in other positions where you're salaried, like Admissions, you're lucky if you only worked 30 minutes late and still came in at the usual time in the morning.

At lunch, Josh called the Tui brewery to schedule a tour for this Saturday.

Didn't go out for coffee this morning. Same thing with work: phones, copies, etc. I told Angela at Palmerston North Personnel that I was taking off from April 27-May 27. That means six more weeks of working unless they cut me loose first. Then, big South Island trip.

Josh and I attended the Rotary club meeting tonight. The meeting was on Deaf Communication~last year was the first year that NZ sign languge was recognized as an official language in New Zealand. It was interesting and dinner was really good! It was rice with a beef stew sauce. The Verdict cafe has done really well with catering.

Friday, March 16

Cara, the other secretary, is gone for the day. Hope I can manage.

Staff meeting. I'm supposed to take minutes but I can't understand these people's accents (a problem I have on the phone sometimes too). Fortunately, I was bailed out of the minute taking this week, however, next Friday I'm sure it will be inevitable (wish me luck).

Everyone went out for coffee after the meeting, however, as the receptionist with Cara gone, I had to stay behind and man the phones/watch the empty office. The shoe is definitely on the other foot here folks as in the past I've been the one who gets to go out for coffee/lunches. A humbling experience perhaps, but no one likes to feel this way.

Low point of the day for me: the CEO had an appointment with someone in the office and he asked for me to bring the two of them a glass of water in his office. I've never been a waitress in my life...I know this is what receptionists do sometimes, however, I literally felt sick to my stomach for 30 minutes after getting these guys water. Is that weird? I just didn't like the feeling of doing that.

I will no longer have my primo parking space at the back of the building now that Kate is leaving. She has a spot in the parking garage about 5 minutes walk away. Great to still have free parking but apparently I've been spoiled with the good parking this first week.

It turned out to be a quiet afternoon in the office and I figured out what all that crazy stage stuff set up in the Rose Gardens was all about. Hannah, the data entry gal, is also a student/actress. She is performing in a modern interpretation of Hamlet that occurs in the Rose Garden during good weather and the Hokowhitu Auditorium. The show is running this weekend so Josh and I may go since it only costs about $1 each to attend.

At home on Friday night we watched American Idol and I looked at flights to Nelson on the South Island. Josh's parents called to say they will be visiting Australia for a week and then coming to New Zealand for a week in August. Awesome!

Saturday, March 17

St. Patrick's Day. When I woke up this morning, I checked the Air New Zealand website to see if there were any deals I'd be interested in. Imagine my surprise when I saw the exact tickets I was looking at the night before (Palmerston North to Nelson on April 29) had dropped from $89 NZD/person to $49 NZD/person.

Josh was still in bed but I ran in the other room to tell him I was going to book those tickets because it was such a good deal. I ran and got my wallet...you have to be quick with these fares because they go fast. Example: there were only 7 PN - Nelson flights left at $49. Quickly, I booked the tickets so Josh and I are set to go to Nelson on the upper South Island at the end of April...AWESOME.

Josh and I had planned to visit the Tui brewery today, however, after clarifying things with Fleetwood (RAS Mississippi) his club is going with the visiting Group Study Exchange (GSE) from New York State next weekend. We changed our reservation to coincide with that tour.

Later in the day, Josh and I took a walk to feed the ducks at the duck pond in the Esplanade. When we came home, we picked a restaurant out of the phonebook and ordered "take away." We picked Bangkok Thai not knowing what to expect. We went and picked up the food from the restaurant which is directly across the street from Rosie O'Grady's Irish Pub, which, as you can imagine, was swelling with people.

We had heaps of food and made it back to the house right at 7:00 to watch the girls perform on American Idol. They are so much better than the boys! The Thai food was soooo good. I had a sweet and sour chicken (which was more like BBQ) and Josh had a curry beef thing. Add on some rice, spring rolls, and "curry puffs" and we were set. It was $29.50 NZD for all that food so not a bad deal.

We realized after dinner we didn't have any dessert in the house, however, we didn't want to drive back to town with all the St. Patrick's drinkers out....Rosie O'Grady's is also right next to the Pak N Save. So, we just watched a couple of Angel's before going to bed.

Sunday, March 18

Rainy, rainy day (again). Josh and I may watch Hannah's performance in the "Ode to Hamlet" show tonight. No other plans except for trying to plan out the South Island itinerary.