a new job...

after one year at my job, i decided to make a change. was i actively looking for a new job or even slightly considering moving? nope. a few weeks ago, my one boss called me into her office (i work for 3 partners). well, let me back up. it was a thursday and my boss asked me if she could take me out for lunch because i had been doing so well. i was honest with her and told her that i have had really bad anxiety for quite a while and haven't actually been able to eat out at a restaurant since late summer (that's a whole 'nother story). she was totally cool about it and said we could just grab lunch in her office the next day. 

the next day came and when we were in her office she told me that after 17 years with the firm, she had decided to move to a smaller firm and wanted to know if i would like to go with her. i was in total shock. she explained everything would be the same in terms of benefits, there would be a generous raise, the probation period would be waived and i would go right to permanent, and i had the weekend to think about it. i was completely flattered and knew it wouldn't be an easy decision. i work for and with some of the nicest people. i became pretty close to the girls in the section and i knew it would be tough to leave them. plus, i'm a creature of habit and i basically hate change. add in the fact that my anxiety has been really bad and hard to manage lately; was it really the best move?

i talked it over with dylan and we both agreed that it was a great opportunity. i'm going from a firm with 200+ lawyers and 6.5 floors, to approximately 60 lawyers and 1.5 floors. i'm leaving the heart of the financial district and working on bay street, and moving just a few blocks away. lucky for me, it's still totally walkable from home.

fun fact for those of you who watch the show suits: you know the main lobby that they film in? that's where i worked the last year (bay adelaide centre). we see them filming in and around the area quite often and i always get so excited. lucky for me, they also film around the office i'm moving to. 

well, today is my first day and in the words of ruby sue from christmas vacation, i'm shittin' bricks.

1 year...

it's hard to believe that i just celebrated a year at my job. i figured my anniversary was coming up, but i couldn't quite remember the day. then one day last week, i saw my name on the homepage with a small congrats. a year! i remember walking into my first day of co-op and basically wanting to throw up from nerves. well, here i am. a year in and still learning something new every day.

i got home from work yesterday, checked the mail, picked up a small package and figured dylan had ordered himself something online. turns out it was a little surprise for me! an adorable little stapler necklace to celebrate 365 days. a perfect fit (since i do a lot of stapling during the day ;)).

please note dylan still sleeping in the background this morning.

now on to the next 365 days.

ps. happy long weekend! 

permanent...

back in mid-november, i was moved from my 'overflow' position at work to a new area of law working for 3 partners. since my co-op ended in september, i've been on a 4 month contract. my contract is coming to an end at the end of next week, but i had a feeling that i would be safe since one of the assistants in my grouping has gone back to school (she was a co-op student for 4 months) and the other goes on mat leave in 2 weeks. i had heard from many people who work there that it's now common for people to go through two 4 month contracts before becoming permanent. i mean, that was fine; while i would like vacation time, i figured i could wait another 4 months to find out.

while working away yesterday morning, i got an email from hr to go visit when i had a chance. i thought, 'oh good, no more waiting, i'll finally know i have another contract!' but nope, they surprised me by skipping the second contract and making me permanent!

so let's hear it for 2 weeks paid vacation and 10 paid sick/personal days! i feel pretty lucky to have a job i like (legal assistant), working for and with awesome people, and being able to secure this job at a big downtown firm right from school. it certainly wasn't a short road to get here, but i finally made it and that's what matters!

i did it...

the 4 weeks of my co-op have come to an end with today being my last day. all week i've been waiting with bated breath to see if i would be hired on. earlier in the week, i went to hr to bring my evaluation forms and she told me they "had a plan for me", but that she couldn't say more at the time. finally, yesterday at 4pm, i received a call to head down to her office. i crossed my fingers and made my way down. she presented me an offer for a 4 month contract, which is how they start everyone out, which will likely turn to permanent afterwards. i took it back upstairs to read over before i signed it, though i really didn't even have to think about it, i knew i would accept it! i'm absolutely thrilled that i finally have a career job, and it certainly doesn't hurt that the amount they offered me is a good chunk more than i was expecting!

currently, i'm not working for any particular lawyer and haven't been for my whole co-op. i'm going to stay put for now as 'overflow' in corporate law, but i'll likely be moved in the next few weeks. the options are either working for a new associate, or a really busy partner, but the choice isn't mine so i'll just have to wait and see.

i'm just thrilled that school has finally paid off and i was lucky enough that i was placed at a fantastic firm that was able to keep me on.

here's to being a working woman and bringing in an income! our life is about to get even better, and my life is becoming more like suits ;)

quittin' time...

just over 2 weeks ago, i quit this job and gave my notice. during the busy period of november and december, i was working crazy long days, working 50  hours a week, and taking pictures of kids and families all day long. come january, i had 3 shifts in a month. then in february, i had ONE shift. enough was enough and it was just a waste of my time. plus, there was enough that was going on within the workplace was BS.  i still have my office/social media job, which i quite like and often enough, it's a lot of fun, i just wish the pay was better ;)

via

c'est la vie. i'll find the right job for me at some point. 

a new job...

i mentioned at the end of my post on friday that i had an interview. um, talk about the easiest interview ever.  i was *this close* to calling and changing the time because of how terrible i was feeling, but the cramps started going away and i figured i would just go and get it out of the way. i got there and she told me a little bit about the company and the only question she asked me was, "where do you see yourself down the road?" after that, she said she was really impressed with the work i had done for an event (talked a little about that here) and she said originally, the job was for answering phones and admin stuff, but overall, she felt i could do more. i was hired on the spot.

so where is it? well, i won't say exactly; i don't like to get too specific on here regarding jobs. but i will say it's at a portrait studio, and after 10 days of training, i'll probably slowly start taking passport photos, family photos, and kids portraits. a little random, but hopefully it'll be fun. the best part is that it's full time for november/december. after that, the hours will probably go down because this is the busy season, but there's the option of being hired on full time. so we'll see where things go :) dylan will start making his big bucks in january or february, so if the hours really do dwindle for me, or i decide i absolutely hate it for some reason, it'll be ok.

yay!

in addition to this new job (which i start today!), i'll also be keeping the part time job i have now. i do a lot of work from home (i run a facebook page and twitter for an organization), and only go into the office 2x a week usually at 4hrs a pop. so i should be able to manage keeping it. it'll just give us that extra bit of bonus money, which will be nice.

wish me luck! (luck on the fact that it's my first day and i'll be working 9 hour shifts for a while. whoa)

barista life...

yesterday was 'partner appreciation day' at work. we all got t-shirts to wear, we get an extra discount for the week, there was pizza, candy and all that jazz. and truth be told, i'm glad i was able to score a free shirt before i left (final shift friday!).

new t-shirt =new shirt to wear to bed.

a mug i picked up to remember my time there ;)

who likes those darn frappuccinos? i personally find them way to sweet, so i'll only drink the espresso or coffee frappuccino the odd time. but, this girl came in yesterday and asked for the weirdest combination. it was dead, so we were all looking at the cup and thinking "oh dear, that's disgusting". of course, we had to make a little extra for ourselves to try ;) anyways, it was milk up to the first line on the cup (yes, those lines serve a purpose to us), apple juice to the second line (yeah, apple juice and milk. barf), caramel syrup, cinnamon dolce syrup, ice and the cream base. blend that baby up. i was the guinea pig and they made me try it first. i felt like i was on fear factor and i was wincing at the thought of trying apple juice and milk together. also note, i do not drink milk and haven't since i was 2 or 3. with the exception of latte's and in coffee, and what not. basically, i just won't drink a glass of milk. so, i take the smallest sip, and i'm all, "THIS TASTES LIKE APPLE PIE!" then everyone else went to pour themselves a taste and we all kind of flabbergasted. it was bang on. turns out, when the girl ordered it, she called it an apple pie frappuccino. so, if you care to try it, now you know. i still would never drink more than a few sips, though.

you know what else has bothered me the whole 8 months i've been there? we can't wear nail polish! i've gotten over the ugly shoes, the dressing in black, and wearing my hair back and everything else, but i have not gotten over the nail polish ban. the only way i don't bite my nails is when they're painted, so you do the math. if i had more than 1 day off in a row, you can bet my nails were painted. plus, i have such tiny nails that they just look better painted. as of friday, i can again wear nail polish as much as i want. all day. every day. it really is the little things.

week 1 down...

it's finally friday. my first week of work is finally winding down. by 7pm tonight, i'll have put in my 40 hours for the week. but man, working is hard. shocker, i know.
but how did it go? what are my thoughts? the one word that comes to mind is overwhelming. i was basically on the verge of tears the third morning. i was thinking that i'm never going to catch on, and i don't want to wait 8 weeks for it to 'click' like they say it probably will take. i also had awful cramps that day, and i'm sure you can put two and two together and assume what that means, and i'm also sure that had something to do with my emotions. but, as the day went on, it got a lot better and slowly (very slowly) i'm catching on.
the people seem pretty awesome, which is great because that can definitely make or break a job, and i'm sure i will end up having fun there.
hopefully today will be better than the last 4 and that's the direction it will keep going in. i know there will be some days where it feels like i'm taking a step back, but that's to be expected. lets hear it for the weekend! me and dyl are going apple picking bright and early tomorrow morning (like 8am) because he works at 12 and that's what we gotta do if we want to go apple picking this month. so lets also hear it for morning dates!

sad but true. via

or in my case, enough to pay rent and loans. oh joy. via

enjoy the (long) weekend.

and happy thanksgiving to the canadians!!

gobble gobble.

no longer jobless!

this is really exciting to say...

i got a job!!!!

i got the call yesterday. is it what i pictured myself doing 5 months post grad? no. a carrer job? no. but that's ok. i have a full time job, i'll get to meet people, hopefully have some fun, and make money!! because that's the important part ;) it was getting prettttyyyy close to me having to leave toronto because i couldn't find anything. so this was perfect timing. it's also my first job in 2 years!! what?!? crazy. what matters is that i can pay my rent + pay off my loans every month. at this point, my parents still pay for my cell phone, internet, cable and food (i know, i'm very lucky and grateful), so those are the 2 things i have to focus on. 

i'm not going to say where it is because 1) i don't know you people and i don't want stalkers!! ;)

2) i don't need this blog coming up in searches for that company. considering my friends/family still don't know about this blog, i don't need my workplace knowing either. again, not that i ever use this to say anything bad, it's just my journal and somewhat personal. ya know?

of course i'll still be looking for a career job (although at this point i still have no idea what i want that to be), but this takes a huge stressor off me. and, about an hour before i got the call, i was taking a look around my apartment and picturing myself telling my landlord i was going to have to leave. it was sad.

 thumbs up for no longer being unemployed! i start next monday :)

-miss yesterday's post? yep, you're at the right blog, i'm now part of the brunette club!

the beginnings of a work wordrobe...

since i'm finally going to be getting out there to hand out my resume and hopefully get interviews, i needed some new clothes. off i went to the mall with my mom. we went to rw&co because well, they have nice stuff, but it also fits petite people without any altering. and that's huge. 'adult' clothes that fit me?! yes. (i'm 5'2"; and i love my height, i would never change it!). basically everything i tried on, i loved. and now i'm that more ready to be hired somewhere..(someone please hire me!!)

i put a few outfits together the next day and took some pictures, mostly to send to dylan. i have other shoes (obviously) but for the convenience of it, i kept the same ones on. also, ignore the terrible angle and me looking kind of down, thus resulting in the lovely double chin. and me not looking terribly happy. i told my mom not to get my head. she didn't listen.

 love this jacket. it's so soft and flowy and i can't wait to wear it with jeans and shorts too

 for the purple top, i would put a black cami under it, instead of the beige. but again, convenience, i didn't change it. and a more casual outfit on the right.

 love this white jacket too, and the top ;P

and this is all i came home with. pretty much everything can be mixed and matched. i felt like i was on what not to wear! lol i got 2 jackets, 3 pair of pants, 3 dressy shirts, 2 camisoles, and 3 't-shirts' that either have ruching or frills or something to 'fancy' it up a bit, but more casual than the blouse-y shirts.

and at home, i already had straight leg black pants that are full length, a black blazer, and the fuchsia dress i wore to my cousins shower..so, that's that!

now lets hope i get a job...or at least interviews. sigh.

*a fashion blogger, i am not.