Things at work have been crazy. I've moved 'up' in the small world that is my office by being asked to move downstairs. It sounds silly, but it was actually a bit of an honor to have my boss ask me to take the desk that two of the most important producers of the company used when they were here. I was a bit hesitant at first, only because I really enjoyed the camaraderie the upstairs part of our office had, but realized that if I declined the change in location, my boss would probably interpret that as me not wanting to change my role within the business. I actually really enjoy my new location; my 'roommate' is awesome, and for the most part, its much quieter… probably because I'm no longer dealing with ADHD Co-Worker and New Kid.
You might remember
New Kid and ADHD Co-Worker… well, both of them are still here, and now we have a New Guy (not to be confused with New KID). However, unlike the other two, New Guy is actually proving himself useful. He was hired as an Operations Manager and has been working to make the team more efficient, processes more streamlined, and the business more profitable. He's basically a new boss, but unlike the owner, he knows how to keep a cool head. He's a decent guy, and as far as I can tell, has been a great help in steering the company in the right direction.
And although I can't get my hopes up, that direction seems to be steering AWAY from ADHD Co-Worker. Since one of New Guy's tasks is to make sure the business is profitable, he's spent a lot of time going over time sheets and productivity… and has noticed the disparity between ADHD's time spent on something and the quality of it. Recently, ADHD threw the biggest hissy fit at him, because he switched around the upstairs room… making it so that ADHD's computer screen could be seen by anyone walking by. No more video games or movies? What is ADHD going to spend his day doing? Unlike the boss, New Guy has seen through ADHD's bullshit, and is ready/willing to document any future issues, so that they can be used as justification to let ADHD go, if that's what it comes down to. And documentation is now needed, because the last time the boss dared to threaten ADHD's job, ADHD played the race card. He's such a classy guy.
As for New Kid, although he's far from ideal, he's improved. Back in January, he was in a SERIOUS car accident that put him in the hospital for a couple months. One of his legs was completely crushed… but he's lucky that that was all (remember, he drives a SMART Car… well, drove one). He's been back since April, still walks around with a cane. He's moved on from licking the boss' shoes to idolizing New Guy… and it's actually made him a bit more tolerable. Of course, I'm sure it helps that I don't need to share a room with him anymore.
As for me, I'm at the very end of my most recent major project, with a really short breather before the next one kicks off. I expect this next project will be a bit more of a challenge than the others. The client as already proven to be a bit difficult (we get him a piece for review on Monday afternoon, he waits until Friday morning to get us his changes, knowing full well that the deadline in the system is noon on Friday), and its a product launch, which means major publicity, both within the company and externally.
Its been a wild ride the last year or so… it was probably about this time that I received my first project as a producer. It was a small thing… a couple of curriculum guides. Since then, I've been the producer on several other small projects, a major training event consisting of three national brands that ended in New Orleans, and am just finishing up a five-workshop training event for another client. Now I'm about to start a project for a new drug indication that will be broken up into two parts over the next six months; the PI Launch will take place in Miami in October, and the Promo Launch in Vegas in January.
I tell you what… this isn't want I planned on doing when I was in college. But I'll be damned if I'm not loving the path my career has taken.
