The Blonde Diaries

In just 2 hours and 45 minutes my temporarily long-term vacation will come to an end.  I accepted a job 2 weeks ago and all the paperwork, background checks, reference checks, and drug tests have cleared.  I filled out my initial New Hire forms this afternoon and am all set up to report to work at 9am tomorrow.  I’m excited and looking forward to rejoining the work force.  We’ll see what I think in a few weeks though. LOL

So my new position is going to be a brain challenge day in and day out.  I’ll be reviewing contracts looking for the derivatives and then completing a memo on how to account for said derivatives.  For those that don’t know about derivatives you can think of it, as my dad said the other night, as gambling. Kinda Sorta.  Basically it works like this: A barrel of oil is selling for $80 in January.  Since people aren’t really traveling in January, let’s assume the price is low.  In the future, say July, people will be going here, there, and yonder since school is out, summer sports and tournaments are in full swing, and summer vacation has finally arrived.  So the expectation is that gas will be $100 in July.  So what happens is a company will enter into a contract with an Oil Production company in January for the current selling price of $80 but the company isn’t on the hook for buying the specified barrels until a later day like July or August.  So both companies are hedging what they think the price will do. One thinks it will be more expensive in the future and locks in the current price and the other thinks that maybe it will go down so they lock in the current price.  So when the contract is settled in July the companies will settle the contract, deliver the oil, and one will be a “winner” with a price savings or a “loser” if the price drops.

So that is it in a nutshell. Vacation has ended and back to work I go.  Lord knows my American Express needs a higher paycheck.

I know that sounds totally random as Christmas was over a month and a half ago, but yes, I am still doing my Christmas shopping for Christmas 2010. Said friend mentioned in the Houston/Continental post a few posts back and I exchange gifts every year but with her traveling for work and me dealing with this move, we have not been able to meet up to exchange our gifts. So I have to admit I only bought one thing from her Christmas list in December and I’ve been waiting until we have a date planned to get together since we live 4 hours away to buy the rest of her presents. Luckily nothing too big or too specialized on her list as I bought the hardest one early. All I have left is a few DVDs and one or two usb drives at her request and I should be good. I’ll probably try to come up with something not on her list so I’ll be shopping pretty heavily next week as time is passing super quickly. Fingers crossed that she gets the job she’s interviewing for on Monday and I can get her a few cute things to go in her work office.

I enjoy living in Houston because it is beautiful down here even though it is hot as hell in the summer. In fact this week we are in the 70s and it feels great. I also appreciate how business friendly the city and the state are. New companies are setting up shop every year. It is a pretty neat atmosphere for job seekers.

Unfortunately, while new companies are arriving, some old standbys are disappearing. Continental merged with United and job layoffs were announced for a minimum of 500 people. Dynergy is about to go under so that will mean even more job seekers flooding the market. That makes now the best time to find jobs in Houston. Before everything is finalized and before everyone hits the job market. I keep trying to convince my last friend in public accounting to get out now but she is torn in the middle. I remember having that same predicament last year and all I can say is that I’m glad I found a new job. No more eating dinner at my desk, no more lunches at my desk, and no more people under me to direct with poor attitudes.

My thoughts exactly. WTF?! Who plans a happy hour on a Monday? Mondays are like the worst day of the week to make it through at work. You have just come back from having 2 days off and now you have to start the week back at work. Mondays always seem to drag out the longest and seem to be the most hectic.

Luckily, today was not terrible. I made it through my 9am meeting and then ran to the grocery store at lunch and picked up everything we needed for this week and the beginning of next week. That run to the grocery store made such a huge difference when it came to leaving work and heading to happy hour. I didn’t have to worry about going and leaving really early so I could make it to Kroger. Instead, I was able to relax, have a large Diet Pepsi with a splash of rum and a few appetizers before coming home and working on dinner for later this week. So all in all, Happy Hour Monday was not the FAIL I thought it would be. It was actually a nice way to get out and chat with coworkers.

So when I first started my new job I had an office to myself for all of a week. It is an interior office and I’m bunking up with another girl that works here.  It has been pretty cool and helpful in learning the ropes around here and how to do things.  Plus the celebrity gossip is kept up-to-date.  Late last week, construction started for our office expansion and all I knew at the time was that I was moving offices and getting an office of my own but I wasn’t sure what it was going to look like or if it would be an interior or exterior office.

Today it was confirmed that I get my own office with a view of downtown Houston! I am super excited as it has been years since I had a window in any office that I worked in – shared or otherwise.  I think we are officially moving in at the end of the month but it depends on how long it takes to get everything wired, painted, and set up as we are also getting new furniture.   I am feeling very spoiled right now let me tell you.