I am done my job!
Six months working at CIBC was not what I was expecting. I guess going into it, I was somewhat naive. Having never had a real job before, I somehow thought that in six months I could accomplish something, get noticed and move up in the company. None of this actually happened. I accomplished small things every day, but since they were more clerical and administrative, they were not really accomplishments to be proud of. I don't know if I got noticed, but I do know that I quickly learned that I should avoid getting noticed. In an office like that, it is best not to stand out too much. On the other hand, I did learn a lot. This being my first job, I learned the basics of working. Showing up every day, fulfilling a role, working with others, etc... I also got to see the incomes and occupations of many people and I got a good sense of the property markets throughout western Canada. Even if this information is not immidiately useful, it has certainly been interesting.
In my last week I trained my replacement Rebecca. She is a nice woman from England who is just re-entering the workforce after having a child. The thing I learned most from the experience of training her in everything I do was that I do a lot of different things in my job. Until that week I had always found the job dreadfully boring, but when it came time to explain everything, I started to see how interesting and varied my job is, compared to what it could be. It also became clear that a very big part of the job is managing my relationships with the underwriters and tailoring my work to meet their preferences and expectations. Of course, this probably just goes with the territory for any "support" job. I am sure that Rebecca will pick everything up quite quickly and proceed to get bored with the job, like I did.
Quitting the job, I realised that my departure date is nearing. Six months in Vancouver have passed so quickly, I hardly realised it was happening. Working a routine job really blurs the days, weeks and months together until you can't remember if something happened yesterday or last month...
This time, unlike every other time, I will be leaving Vancouver indefinately. This time, also unlike every other time, I will not be having a going away party. These two things fill me with regret. I know that I want to come back to Vancouver and that I will find a way to make it happen eventually, but everything I know about the job market and the Canadian economy tells me that I should work in Toronto after I graduate. Once that happens, who knows how long I will stay there or where else besides Vancouver I might end up. I guess having my parents and family here makes it feel like I am not really leaving for good so I have not gotten as nostalgic as I might otherwise get. Of course, I will miss 1215 for its great Japanese food and izakaya atmosphere and I will miss the natural beauty of the place.
The people are something that I should miss more, but since most have already left, I don't associate them with Vancouver anymore anyway. Noah left on friday, my sister and Ashley left on sunday, Milan left a year ago, Gabe left a year ago, Paul left a few months ago, and many other of my friends have left at various times in the last few years to persue other things in the East or overseas. All this gives me the feeling that Vancouver is as much of a city to leave as it is a city to come to...
I saw Carolynn tonight. She is doing well and has found a job that is quite interesting and very responsible. We had a good evening together, it had been a long time. At her apartment she showed me a book about the Tiananmen square protests in 1989. Looking at the pictures, I got the sense that it was such a hopeful movement with optimism and idealism for the future of their country. It was also a movement that sought to bring some humanity back after four decades of crushing communism. Seeing the book made me sad. Not sad for those who died in the protest, or those who's dreams were crushed by the tanks sent in by the government, but sad because these qualities which were present in this generation of students and others are not present in the generations going through their university system now. Carolynn wanted to give me the book because she is "over China", but I can't take it as I am leaving town soon. I am very happy to have seen here and of course happy that she has found a job that is a stepping stone on the career path she wants.
I bought a digital camera yesterday. This purchase was long overdue as I had been relying on Rae's camera to record my life... Maybe I will start posting pictures on my blog in the future...
Two more days until San Francisco... I should probably do some research...
Six months working at CIBC was not what I was expecting. I guess going into it, I was somewhat naive. Having never had a real job before, I somehow thought that in six months I could accomplish something, get noticed and move up in the company. None of this actually happened. I accomplished small things every day, but since they were more clerical and administrative, they were not really accomplishments to be proud of. I don't know if I got noticed, but I do know that I quickly learned that I should avoid getting noticed. In an office like that, it is best not to stand out too much. On the other hand, I did learn a lot. This being my first job, I learned the basics of working. Showing up every day, fulfilling a role, working with others, etc... I also got to see the incomes and occupations of many people and I got a good sense of the property markets throughout western Canada. Even if this information is not immidiately useful, it has certainly been interesting.
In my last week I trained my replacement Rebecca. She is a nice woman from England who is just re-entering the workforce after having a child. The thing I learned most from the experience of training her in everything I do was that I do a lot of different things in my job. Until that week I had always found the job dreadfully boring, but when it came time to explain everything, I started to see how interesting and varied my job is, compared to what it could be. It also became clear that a very big part of the job is managing my relationships with the underwriters and tailoring my work to meet their preferences and expectations. Of course, this probably just goes with the territory for any "support" job. I am sure that Rebecca will pick everything up quite quickly and proceed to get bored with the job, like I did.
Quitting the job, I realised that my departure date is nearing. Six months in Vancouver have passed so quickly, I hardly realised it was happening. Working a routine job really blurs the days, weeks and months together until you can't remember if something happened yesterday or last month...
This time, unlike every other time, I will be leaving Vancouver indefinately. This time, also unlike every other time, I will not be having a going away party. These two things fill me with regret. I know that I want to come back to Vancouver and that I will find a way to make it happen eventually, but everything I know about the job market and the Canadian economy tells me that I should work in Toronto after I graduate. Once that happens, who knows how long I will stay there or where else besides Vancouver I might end up. I guess having my parents and family here makes it feel like I am not really leaving for good so I have not gotten as nostalgic as I might otherwise get. Of course, I will miss 1215 for its great Japanese food and izakaya atmosphere and I will miss the natural beauty of the place.
The people are something that I should miss more, but since most have already left, I don't associate them with Vancouver anymore anyway. Noah left on friday, my sister and Ashley left on sunday, Milan left a year ago, Gabe left a year ago, Paul left a few months ago, and many other of my friends have left at various times in the last few years to persue other things in the East or overseas. All this gives me the feeling that Vancouver is as much of a city to leave as it is a city to come to...
I saw Carolynn tonight. She is doing well and has found a job that is quite interesting and very responsible. We had a good evening together, it had been a long time. At her apartment she showed me a book about the Tiananmen square protests in 1989. Looking at the pictures, I got the sense that it was such a hopeful movement with optimism and idealism for the future of their country. It was also a movement that sought to bring some humanity back after four decades of crushing communism. Seeing the book made me sad. Not sad for those who died in the protest, or those who's dreams were crushed by the tanks sent in by the government, but sad because these qualities which were present in this generation of students and others are not present in the generations going through their university system now. Carolynn wanted to give me the book because she is "over China", but I can't take it as I am leaving town soon. I am very happy to have seen here and of course happy that she has found a job that is a stepping stone on the career path she wants.
I bought a digital camera yesterday. This purchase was long overdue as I had been relying on Rae's camera to record my life... Maybe I will start posting pictures on my blog in the future...
Two more days until San Francisco... I should probably do some research...
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