Work, play, and the like

This week was my first week at GE as an intern. Truly, I couldn't tell you what I expected this job to be like...because frankly, I had never had a real job before. You know, the kind where you go in at 8 with your briefcase, take an hour long lunch break, leave at 5, and repeat the next day. I was incredibly nervous my first day, as anyone would be. And I have to tell you, that whatever it was that I expected, it wasn't this at all.

My first day, I did nothing at all. The person I was told to report to had no idea I was coming, so she set me up in my real manager's office to stare at ceiling tiles until he came back. When he did, he did nothing but give me some things to read...about how to matinence and assemble a truck...whoo hoo! Waking up at 6am and working for 8 hours, surprisingly, makes you incredibly tired. I think I was in bed by 10 every night this week, but because of my mind going crazy about trying to figure out this job, I could never fall asleep until 2am.

The people I work with are all from different countries, so it is very difficult for me to understand what they tell me to do. And, I am generally told to do something that I have no idea how to complete the task. I mean, it's great that they want me to measure the copper rod that they're using in that experiment thing next week...it makes me feel useful...much better than reading anyway. Though they forgot to tell me where the copper rod is, or how big it actually is supposed to be, or what instruments I have to use to measure it. And when I asked Martha the questions I had, she took me down to the shop and we talked to a contractor about tiny details of a truck they were putting together for like, an hour. Not helpful. I was told to take pictures, and when I asked the lady who had the camera to borrow it, she asked me if I had a camera pass. Well, no, was my obvious answer, it was only my second day. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, I have no idea why Joseph told me to take them. He was probably just looking for something to give me to do, so I would stop bugging him in his cubicle.

Communication is key in any situation. In school, it is up to the teacher to communicate the concepts to you. At work, it is up to your manager to communicate exactly what is expected of you. You cannot maintain any type of friendship without some type of communication. Your parents have to communicate with you when you are young, so you know how to live a fullfilling life once you are on your own.

I feel like there is a huge loss of communication between me and everyone in my office right now. I could come into work, sit on my computer and surf the internet all day, and go home without anybody noticing. And I would still get paid. But I hate that, I like to feel like I have actually made a difference at the end of the day. I can't feel like I am doing something unless I am aware of what expectations people have of me. I am not going to go down to the shop willy-nilly and get my arm chopped off in some big machine because I thought the copper rod was somewhere around there, and I am not going to be escorted off the premisis because security thought I was taking illegal pictures in order to steal their engineering ideas. I need help and guidance, in a serious way. And I am not getting it as much as I had hoped.

I think this is what this internship is going to teach me. If I am not in an ideal situation, how do I handle it? I have become a lot more patient this week when dealing with my coworkers. And yesterday, I took it upon myself to walk down to the security office, get a stinking camera pass, and go take those pictures that I was told to take on Tuesday, without any help from anybody, except the other intern, who told me where to get a camera pass form. I don't even think I was missed for the 2 hours I was gone from that little cubicle I've been placed in, but I felt like I did something, which, at the end of the day, made me feel much better than I had the past 4 days at that job.

Maybe, later on in the summer, I will be able to do that every day, without even checking in with those around me, because they don't seem to care if I am there or not. I am one of 300 interns at that plant, one of 5 interns in that particular office space, who is eagar to do new things, but the real employees don't know what to do with me. It's truly frustrating. But I have asked in the past for patience from God, and I think He is giving me the challenge this summer. They say be careful what you wish for. Overall, though, I think it will be good for me. I am frustrated at the moment. But I often learn the most when I struggle with it.

Peace :-)