I'm cool with it because it makes the day fly by, and it makes me a better worker and all that blah blah.
But what I'm having the most trouble adjusting to is all the phone talking I gotta do. In a relatively quiet office area. Surrounded by other cubicles.
1. I'm not a conversation leader.
2. I'm not a phone person.
3. I hate people listening to my conversations.
So it's all bad when a big part of my job is to carry 30-45 minute conversations with websites about their ad placements, all within earshot of about 10 strangers who I assume--whether correctly or not--are critiquing my every word. It's freakin nerve wrecking, man.
After the really tough conversations where I know I've struggled, I'm seriously wiping the sweat off my brow and flapping the bottom of my shirt to cool the perspiration on my nipples.
And I haven't even gotten to negotiating with the websites yet. That may start as soon as tomorrow.
4. I never negotiate. That shit is awkward.
To calm myself tonight, I've been thinking of the little Viet-dictorian at Lance's graduation, whose speech theme was "Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone." This dude who had never left his home in Vietnam, upped and left at the age of 18 to come to America and attend UCI. With some broke ass English and a whole lot of courage, he graduated Valedictorian of the engineering school.
So tomorrow, here's hoping that I hop out of bed, apply an extra layer of deodorant, and keep from dying of awkwardness during my phone calls. Because really, I speak good English and am not living that far away from home. And although negotiating can be tough if you're not a natural, by no means is it engineering.
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