Receptionist

WARNING: severe wordage and no pictures ahead! proceed at your own risk
(in other words, this is a boring post)

My first day at my new job as a receptionist Kim (the office manager who is training me) got sick at lunch. She went in her office, turned the lights off, and told me to ask her if I had any questions about anything. I had roughly four hours of training. I had a million questions! The next day Kim didn't even make it in to work and I was left with my four hours of training to run the entire office. On top of Kim being sick, Whitney (the second assistant) was also sick.  Sheena (the healthy assistant) was phenomenal as she did the work of two assistants and still found time to help me up front. That was an intense day, to say the least.

Last Friday, Kim was gone again. This time, however, it was a completely different experience. Sheena only had to help me a few times, people were asking me how to do things, and even more impressive, I was actually able to be helpful! There were still a few things that I saved for Kim, but for the most part I was able to handle everything that came at me. It was good for me to see how much I really could do!

Now I find myself wondering, "Is this really what I want to be doing?"

For thee past four years I had the incredible experience of working as an orthodontics assistant. I loved working with patients, assisting with a variety of appointments, and constantly being busy. I love the energy and the adrenaline rush of a busy afternoon and trying to manage three appointments at once.

Being a receptionist is a very different world. I knew it would be, and I wanted that different world. Whenever we had downtime at the orthodontist, I would always be up front wanting to do receptionist things while Tenille would be a good assistant and clean up the back or set up for the next appointment. I loved scheduling appointments, taking payments, and being able to help people on the phone. Now that I actually have that position though, I miss the energy and activity of the back. I am left to wonder if being a receptionist is really what I want. 

Saturday, I was reminded why I wanted to be in the front, rather than the back. We had a wisdom tooth that we ended up having to refer out to a specialist. You could feel the tension through the whole office. I was stressed and I wasn't even working on it! 

I remembered all those times when I had to take eight impressions before one was good enough to use, or I couldn't get a wire to fit, or my legs would literally be shaking for fear that my patient was going to throw up as I tried to keep the rest of my body still and appear calm, or I just did something stupid in the back. I would have that horrible sinking in my stomach and it would stay for the rest of the night and even continue to the following days. 

The great thing about Saturday was that I left work with no sinking feeling! I felt bad, but it wasn't the same as actually being involved first handed. I still get fulfillment when I am able to make appointments, take payments and help people on the phone. I love being able to interact with the public and being "the face of the office." It is definitely different, and I definitely miss working in the back, but at this point in my life, the front is exactly where I want to be. 

New season, new position. Both are good, just different.  

:)

Eight Great Happenings of Logan

Life is good! Here are a few of the happenings as of late, in no particular order:

1.  Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband!

Katelyn, Brittany and I went to this little concert put on by the Institute. We were excited to have an activity to fill our night with!

2.  The first Sunday in Logan I was making an effort to be social so I wanted to go to Ward Prayer. I had never been to a Ward Prayer before and all I knew was that I could meet people there. Katelyn and Brittany had no desire to go, but after some persuading Katelyn was a good friend and went to humor me. I wish she hadn't because the Bishop (whom I have never met before!) ended up setting me up on a date with this random kid and made us exchange phone numbers in front of half the ward! I was ticked! I was so mad. Needless to say, I will not be going back to Ward Prayer again. This is not a good beginning for my bishop and me. For all the talk that the 12th ward bishopric had on getting me out on a date, they have nothing on this new bishop! I miss the 12th ward bishopric. They're the best  :)


3.  Puzzles!

We are in the process of making friends and finding things to do in Logan. Winter is hard because it is cold and miserable. So to pass the time until summer comes, Brittany and I have taken up doing puzzles! Brittany even went out and got us a little card table that is specifically designated to the puzzle building cause.

4.  Work! I am liking it a lot! We're all (except the Dr and hygienist) between the ages of 20 and 22 so we're all at the same place in our lives and it makes it really fun. We go out to lunch together or bring lunch from home and eat together at the office. One of the girls is setting me up with a "crazy millionaire dairy farmer" so we'll see how that goes. She informed me that he is tall, which is a nice change for me, but I have no expectations whatsoever. Apparently blind dates are the favorite pass-time in Logan. I don't think I'm a huge fan.


5.  Manicures

I spend a lot of time "updating my nails." I have to "update" them frequently because I have cheap nail polish that flakes off on a regular basis. I don't mind though, because it's a good time passer.

6.  Aunt Susan and Uncle Fred had my roommates and me over for dinner! It was so fun to get to spend time with them and get to know them better, and the food was delicious! I wish I would have taken a picture. It is so nice to have them near by. 

7.  My mom requested to have a picture of my haircut. 

As you can see, it is a drastic change (note sarcasm)

8.  You know the phrase that is said in just about every prayer "please bless that we can go about our day in safety...." or something to that effect? Well, I am a believer in prayer!

My car died today.

I guess I don't freak out much about things that I probably should, but I think that's a good thing. I was coming home from getting my hair cut and I noticed that my blinker was weird. Then I saw (or rather, didn't see) that my my time/radio station lights, etc weren't showing up. I stopped at a stop sign, wondering what was going on and hoping it wasn't anything too serious. When I started moving again  my car stalled and I had just enough time to pull over on the curb before my car completely died. my thoughts: "huh, I guess this is what it's like when your car dies." It was very anti-climactic. 

My next thoughts were how blessed I had been to have died when and where I did. I had been driving on busy streets all day, but I had died literally right across the street from my apartment. (If you click on the picture, you can see where I labeled my apartment) It was also on a Monday, the day that I don't work, so that was a blessing too. I walked home and told Katelyn my car had died so she generously gave me her van so that I could get my car to the mechanic and taken care of. On a normal day, Katelyn would be at work, but she had woken up sick and decided not to go (not good for her, but I am thankful for her poor health today) One of the girls I work with lives in the building across from me, so I should be able to get a ride to and from work with her without any problem at all. I processed all these things in a split second and didn't even have time to worry or get stressed about the situation.

My third thought was that if all else fails, I now have an excuse to get the Prius that I had found for Katelyn, but which she had rejected  :)

Anyway, I called my dad and everything is getting taken care of. I got my car towed for only $50 which I think is incredible, because I have had to pay $100 on three separate occasions when my car was towed in Rexburg.

They finished fixing it the same day and Brittany drove me down to pick it up. That was our "exciting" event of the night because I couldn't remember where it was so we had to drive around for about 15min before we found it.


So, that's what I've been up to! I think I'll go paint my nails now  :)

Welcome to Logan!

I have been so antsy to get out of Rexburg and now I am finally in Logan! Here is a quick review of this week's events:

-  I moved into my apartment!

Don't mind my appearance.

Brittany, Katelyn and me

-  We unclogged the shower!

This was very exciting for us

-  Kandace, Krista and Cherise came!

It was so fun to have a little roommate reunion! I have been looking forward to this for the past week and a half!

-  Ice skating!

Against the odds, we never fell once!

We stayed entertained with all the characters sharing the ice with us - the fearless little girl who was just learning to ice skate; mohawk kid (fearless little girl's brother); The kids in the middle of the rink playing chicken. One boy would lay down in the fetal position and the other would see how close he could get to him and spray ice in his face. Looked dangerous to me; the talented old man who's signature move was to jump and spin backwards and then continue to skate backwards with some fancy footwork; the twins who Katelyn and I (probably more me) decided we would marry so that we can be in the same family; and stalker boy, who was always nearby to flirt with us (he took the above picture)

-  Once Upon a Time

I have never been one to get into the TV series, but Kandace got me hooked on this one. It sounds kind of weird, but it is SO good! 

-  I got a job!

These are the people I will be working with and I already love them! I went in Friday to shadow and Dr. Gordon was sitting on the floor just chatting with the hygenist, office manager, and assistant. Everyone is  really young and really close to each other.

I will be the receptionist, but Tuesday nights I will get to dress in scrubs and assist the hygenist, Kim (second from the right) I'm really excited that I will still be able to assist a little. I think this job will be perfect for me!

I feel so blessed that I was able to find such a good job and that I was able to find it so quickly. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. Now you can pray that I can learn this receptionist job quickly  :)

-  I'm still loving PhotoShop 

Hopefully you're not too scarred by this picture. I think my editing is pretty good  :)