A Whole New World

I started my new job this week. So far, I feel good about it. Here are the highlights thus far:

• I sit next to a window that overlooks a street that has always felt like home to me.
• The staff is culturally diverse and people seem very down-to-earth. They make a point, as part of their external and internal mission, to treat everyone thoughtfully and respectfully - caring about how people are feeling - being aware of others on a very human level.
• The org structure is largely flat, with everybody helping with everything. I mean...everyone answers the phone. Whoever can answer it, answers it. Everyone. No receptionists/secretaries.
• Did I mention that my commute is like 4 minutes? In the summer I will most definitely be riding my bike to work.

Not too surprisingly, nobody really knows what my job looks like at this point - I don't have specific tasks and thus it is a somewhat awkward transition into the organization. I'm just learning, helping with whatever I can, and likely I'll keep loading my plate until it is full - then the balancing act will start. Most staff are swamped, so I know that I will be highly utilized and be greatly valued.

Anyway, enough job updating. It is too soon to say much about it at this point.

I want to recommend a documentary, if you haven't seen it yet -- Miss Representation (2011). It is streaming on Netflix. The film powerfully tells the story of just how underrepresented women are in positions of power and influence in America, and the role of the media in perpetuating demeaning images of women (and men). Watch it. It helped me gain perspective on these prevalent and frankly horrifying problems and how to be part of the solution.