Ode to the insurance job

Around this time, two years ago, I was preparing to leave my job as a Financial Operations Associate at an Insurance company to venture out into the unknown, with the hopes of landing a job in the sciences.

Let's first back track and talk about why after receiving a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry I took a job at an insurance company. The short and sweet of it is that we got married while Graham was still in school, we lived in rural southwest Virginia, and we really needed the money. There are only a handful of Biotech companies out that way and a zillion of recent graduates from Va Tech. So there I was. And I hated it. In the first few months of working there I would come home a few times a week crying. I felt stuck and unchallenged (They were pretty impressed with my ability to subtract a negative number--I guess they had former/current employees that had trouble with that). I was miserable and I acted miserable. Luckily, my good friend Cara, who is the BEST at speaking the truth to me in love said "Niki, you are not fun to be around any more. You need to quit your job, or change your attitude about it". I'm quite certain that if any body else said that to me I would have been seriously hurt, but when Cara says it I just obey. So I changed my attitude. I'm not exactly sure how and I still had some bad days, but I tried to find ways to challenge myself and after I got my work done I'd go to my boss and ask for more things until I was actually busy for 40hrs. a week. (Before I would run out of things to do, be super bored, and would literally start crying from being so bored. If you don't have anything for me to do, why don't you continue to pay me but just let me go home!!) So here are some valuable things I learned from working the insurance job:
1) I can now 10-key (the number pad) like a pro. Which has come in handy at my new job with I have data I need to enter into a spreadsheet.
2) I don't have a good memory. I need to write down all operating procedures or else I will ask you over and over and over again how to do something that you've already taught me.
3) I need to stay busy to have any sort of job satisfaction.
4) I understand our insurance policies better.

I think I appreciate my current job (in science) so much more now, because of my insurance job. I love that I don't have to dress up to go to work. Jeans and a sweatshirt are absolutely acceptable. I love that I don't have to sit at a computer all day but that I get to make solutions, go outside in the greenhouse and tend to my plants, take pictures under a microscope, run gels, extract dna and rna. I do so many different things that my job rarely gets boring. I even don't mind the tedious tasks so much. I can only take so much tissue grinding and seed tube labeling at one time, but at least I have other things going on to mix it up a bit. I love that I can sometimes chat while doing my work or I could listen to my ipod all day if I wanted to. I love our Friday seminars where I can learn more about what other people are researching. I love constantly learning. Maybe there is another job out there that is a more perfect fit for me, but I have to say this one is pretty darn close.

Belated Birthdays

As many of you were so thoughtful to remember, I turned 26 this year. It was my "golden birthday" which many have claimed I made up. Regardless, I turned 26 on the 26th this year. Sadly this is the first year that I have felt not so excited about getting older. The only "fun" milestones to look forward to are ones which are usually accompanied by "Over the Hill" decorations and I'm not quite ready for that. Enough boo-hooing about getting older (which I'm sure some of you sympathize with and others of you are rolling your eyes at me) and on to the pictures!

It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend before my birthday (which was on a Monday :( boo hoo) so we enjoyed a picnic at the park with some of our small group friends!

Playing with our friend's baby boy! You know I love the babies!

With Polly and Yasmin

Yasmin's mom Amy

Me and Amanda.

This was probably our largest small group gathering. Usually a husband or two is missing due to classes or work!

Graham also had a birthday recently. But he turned the fun age of 25! Now we can rent a car under his name with out an increased fee! For his birthday he bought this
Apple ipod touch
And I'm jealous.