Diary of a Young Professional (Volume 1)

6.22.2017

Dear Diary,

This week has been about one thing: kicking ass and taking names.  In other words, my life is akin to the emergence of a new burning hot sun.

With the news of my incoming puppy, I've been daydreaming about what a fantastic life I'm about to begin.  Just imagine it: long walks in the evening, fetch in the dog park, a silent companion to sit outside with me at coffee shops while I read, and glorious social media fandom from adorable dog pictures.  A puppy really is a girl's best friend!

I also had a full social calendar this week: date night with David, cocktails with Sierra's coworkers, my new work friend lunches, and two Zumba classes to meet other fitness junkies. For just a moment right now, I feel that same rush of adrenaline and socialite energy that I had in college!

I suppose I should begin my debrief session with some discussion of my job. I'm still slow at developing production schedules, but my accuracy seems to be improving. Holly is noticing my work ethic - and the fact that I'm coming in thirty minutes early to dive into my work.

She even offered to set up a meeting time with me tomorrow so I can ask her questions on my production area, since my assignment is the same as her first production line. I didn't realize that I have such big shoes to fill – metaphorically speaking, of course.  Regardless, Holly approached me this time; if I play this right, I'll walk out of our meeting with a new friendship.  

The recon mission for this meeting is to see how Holly got to a place where she is dangerously close to becoming our top Planner and going on this year's end-of-year Asian tour. If I can learn anything from her about how to smooth out my learning curve and become an even bigger rock star than she is, I'll be thrilled.  Plus, if I can relate with her on any of her interests she'll be more likely to trust me.  Let the (not hostile) takeover begin: top Planner spot, I'm coming!

I think my quasi-obsession with Holly Clark came through to Kyle during our second lunch session this week. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself...my first lunch with him was really fun! He told me that he was like me: he got a job offer without having to do much work at all. Apparently, his mother works in the Purchasing department and has enough pull to get her son his first job out of college.

When he told me that he was a legacy employee (of sorts), his cheeks glowed a dusted rose color – a difficult feat for someone with creamy caramel skin - and he made significant effort not to make eye contact. I felt obligated to tell him that I didn't have to interview either, if only to make him feel less awkward about being related to a manager. After that sharing session our friendship was solidified, and so we decided to make weekday lunch (aside from my department Friday lunch adventures) a regular event.

Kyle even joined the most recent bi-weekly cocktail group that Sierra and her coworkers established for stress relief.  Sierra quickly had hearts for eyes when she saw him...and to be fair, I can't blame her. Kyle is cute.

His dark hair has subtle waves in it that glisten even in a bar's dim lighting - and his eyes are such a velvety, chocolate brown that any girl would get lost in them for a few hours. Plus, his teeth are perfectly straight and vividly white (a personal prerequisite for me, but to each her own).

All throughout the evening, Sierra kept texting me to ask what Kyle's story was and whether he's single. I don't mind playing matchmaker for her, but she's going to have to give me a little time.  I mean, I haven't even added him on social media yet!

Sierra's work friends seem great; I'm really happy for her that she's growing her friend network and that we are sharing our social wins during our post-college transition. Once everyone got their work blues out, our table turned into a riot of laughter and energetic debates.  We compared notes on favorite television shows and movies before bashing the recent musical pop flops of summer.

A few of the girls that Sierra works with seem to be close to our age; Sierra admitted to me later that night that a couple of them were going shopping with her over the weekend. I don't think that my work BFF Kyle would be down for pedicures and handbags...but I'm happy with my first work friend choice.

I just hope Sierra doesn't forget that Sunday shoe shopping is our tradition.

David thinks that I'm getting too caught up in what he calls the "drama" in life, but I don't think that's true. He just laughed when I told him about Sierra's obsession over my new work friend on Wednesday night, commenting sarcastically on my social butterfly tendencies and ending the conversation with a quick kiss.

In all of my ramblings from the second he arrived to my apartment, I hadn't realized that he brought over wine and chocolate-covered strawberries for our date night.

My boyfriend is perhaps the most unpredictable, surprisingly romantic guy I've ever known.  One day he seems aloof and uninterested in the nuanced details of my new life, but then he shows me how much he actually has been paying attention to my stress and uncertainties with these romantic date nights. After a couple of hours of thanking him properly - courtesy of my third glass of wine - he invited me to go on vacation with his family in August.

Beach trip right before picking up my new puppy? I think so!

To be honest, I'm feeling a bit insecure about how I'm going to stay connected with David once he moves into his new job. We still have one more week until he starts his night shift routine, but I worry that we won't be able to stay in touch like I want. Weeknight date nights are certainly out of the question, a fact that I haven't bothered to bring up in conversation. Why start a debate with him over something that's just a pure fact?

But I want to be the adoring, thoughtful girlfriend that I am to show him just how much I support him starting a real career. He must really love me if he's willing to give up all of his comfortable lazy days of youth to take on the borderline sleeping disorder that comes with working nights. And it is a relief to be able to tell my coworkers (who have only recently started to ask) that my boyfriend is working in data security – which just sounds so adult!

Not that it matters what other people think, right? I'm proud of him and that's what counts.

One of the great things that comes as an unexpected bonus of having weeknights to myself will be the additional gym time that I can accrue. In college, we walked everywhere: to and from classes, to the gym, to the dining hall, to work.  Now I feel like a sluggish paper pusher who doesn't get enough fresh air and movement.

I already weigh myself every morning since I started feeling bloated at the end of workweeks.  In my senior year, I lost forty pounds. Not in the unhealthy and skin-and-bones way, either...I actually needed to lose the forty.

My entire life, I've always been bigger compared to the skinny, popular kids. It wasn't so bad that I ever needed to go on one of those weight loss TV shows or something equally dramatic, but I always have had a slower metabolism and an affinity for sweets.

I've maintained my sandy red hair and sky-blue eyes without hair dyes or colored contact lenses - and I've never been able to get a tan (freckles only). My sense of style isn't horrible, but now my clothes are fitting a little more nicely and my curves are more fab than flab. Now that I look better than I ever have I just...don't know what to do about it. I'm not used to having guys smile at me while I'm out shopping or being the "pretty" one in a group of friends. Shopping is more fun than it is mortifying when trying on clothes – but buying new clothes all the time is getting a bit pricey. It's all a little new to me.

Gaining back the weight is not an option.  I just got my youthful, curvy body and there are no exchanges or refunds allowed!

Speaking of exchanges, I need to go and finish up my thoughts for tomorrow's one-on-one meeting with Holly.

If I impress her, I'll be on my personal fast track to success.

~Kelsey