Reason #763 . . .

 . . . why I love my job:
This morning, all the new people working at the corporate offices of my company were invited to a "Welcome Aboard Breakfast" in the executive dining room.

ALL the upper management were there, including the company's president, who gave a nice speech and made us all feel valued. It wasn't a stuffy affair: actually, the new people were the most dressed-up. Most of the others were wearing what passes for business casual here--khaki's & a collared shirt--button-down, polo, etc. Lots of comfortable shoes, too.

The company president stressed the fact that we're a "first name" company--no Mr. This or That.

Our supervisors introduced us all by name and gave a short background on all of us and of course there was the usual group photo op at the end with the president. We were all cracking up in the photo, it was that relaxed.

This is a company I want to be a part of for a LONG time. I finally found out what I want to do with my life.

Better late than never!

True Story

Booked a cruise for Myrna Loy last week.

I wonder if she'll be bringing William Powell & Asta along . . .

Awwww . . .

A friend at work was going through a shoebox of mementos to put together a scrapbook for her youngest daughter (we find creative ways to pass the time in between calls. I knit).

This is a note Lexie had Mommy write for her.

Priceless.

Fun call o' the day

Spoke to a caller today who was Mark Harmon's hand double for 3 years on NCIS. Apparently this job (and other small acting/doubling gigs) paid well enough that now he's semi-retired at 63 and spends a lot of time travelling with his wife.

I wondered if Mark Harmon's hands were actually that gnarly that he needed a double, but turns out it's less expensive to pay a double to film the close-up stuff than it is to pay Mark to come in and do it.

Nice guy. Interesting to talk to. Love my job!

Hoo-ray for Hollywood . . .

. . . EXCEPT for when a production company, filming locally, decides the VERY BEST place to put the crew restrooms is right outside the entrance to my office building.

Not cool, dudes.

(other than that, had a good day selling cruises!)

*and it just occurred to me that I seem to have a bathroom theme going on here. SO not cool . . . :D

One of life's little ironies . . .

is REALLY having to pee while telling someone that yes, her toddler DOES have to be potty-trained in order to be admitted to the kids' club . . .

New Post. Just Sayin'.

Okay, okay, okay.

Sheesh.

Take a week or 12 off and people get testy . . .

So I'm still working at the cruise line, still loving the job, yay! I'm getting better at it, call by call, bit by bit. We have a new system in place that allows me to give callers my extension if they want to work exclusively with me on their bookings. I'm slowly building a clientele, something I expected to do much later on, not this soon. But it's all working out quite well. I guess. If not, I'm sure I'll get a memo at some point . . .

By the way, the picture was taken in December on one of our ships. She was in port on a turnaround day and shoreside employees got to do a visit for lunch and a show. Did I manage to put enough cruise jargon in that sentence? Don't even get me started on fore & aft, port & starboard, traditional or anytime dining, etc., etc., etc.

While I like working in a group again (as opposed to working at home), it's been a bit of an adjustment getting used to a corporate society. My husband and I can't just say, "We're going on vacation" or "We're going away for the weekend" on a whim anymore. And I can't just say to my boss, "Hey can I have the week of ______ off?" Apparently I have to submit a request through the computer system to Staffing and they'll let me know, presumably through the same system. I'd rather just go find this mysterious "Staffing" and find out what's available--I'm flexible; I have no set dates in mind yet for a week off this summer. Why go through the process of trying to figure out a week and then probably being told I can't have it?! I'm one the of the newest employees, thus bottom of the totem pole. I'm fine with seniority; I just don't want to waste my precious free time on a possibly futile endeavor.

But, since I tend to roll with the punches these days, I'm fairly certain things will work out one way or another.

Otherwise, no complaints. I'm glad I'm on the team I'm on and I'm glad my station is where it is. There's a LOT of gossip and hearsay and wrong information being bandied about on "the other side" of the office--it's an open-plan space, but divided by the stairwells, elevators, restrooms, etc. We get snippets of it from our classmates who sit over there, and while we eat it up, we're glad WE don't have to be in the middle of it all day long! The 3 people from my class that I work next to are all funny and easy to get along with--and none of us really "participate" in office politics. We're all happy to have jobs and are there to make money--and of course, have fun doing it, if at all possible!

Working on the computer all day and taking with people on the phone all day means I've cut down drastically on my online time at home! I check in with emails and facebook nearly every day, but don't spend hours at it any more. Maybe if I had a smartphone and could keep up with fb at work between calls, I'd have more comments to make, but I don't miss it that much. I think I keep up with what's important and the rest will work itself out without my participation. As it should!

So that's been my main focus these last weeks and I'm sorry for not posting sooner! I'll try to post more often, maybe start a "Funny Stuff People Said on the Phone Today" or "Another Question Someone Asked About Something That Wouldn't Even Occur To A Reasonable Person . . ."

Until then, Bon Voyage!

Just gotta say . . .

I really REALLY like my job!

I'm working at a major cruise line in the call center. Basically, I get paid to sit around and talk about cruises all day!

I get to help people make their once-in-a-lifetime vacation a reality.

I get to help people cross another item off their bucket list.

I get to help people celebrate an anniversary, a birthday, a Spring Break, a honeymoon, a Babymoon, or a "just because we deserve this" occasion.

Every single call I take is an opportunity to make someone's day, to learn more about the world, to expand not just my own horizons, but those of whoever is on the other end of the line.

I get to talk to people from all walks of life--the affluent, to whom cost is not a big concern; the middle, to whom cost counts but this is a special occasion so let's pull out all the stops within reason anyways; and the yearning traveler, to whom cost is big concern, but seeing new things means a lot and I'll just be in my cabin to shower & sleep so give me a place to lay my head and I'll be happy.

They're all special and interesting to me. I want to help them all have the best experience they can.

Humbling. And so satisfying.

Thanks, God.