Appreciation

I had a really good week at work.

First off there was the Christmas party last Tuesday.  We had our annual company meeting where the President and the VP recognized those that had worked for the company for over 5 years - including myself.  I received a really nice card enclosed with a $100 gift certificate to Future Shop.

Then we did our white elephant gift exchange.  I was #1 - so I picked first - but in our rules, at the end of the game, the person with #1 gets to go back and exchange their gift (if they want) for anything anyone else received (even if it was stolen 3 times and became "dead").  I chose a night out at the movies (2 tickets, 2 drinks and a large popcorn).  I am thinking that I am actually going to give it to my brother's girlfriend for Christmas.

My desk is fairly clean and organized right now.  I worked hard last week on dealing with all the paperwork that had been piling up.  I also got the US & International copies of Alberta Venture and Alberta Oil mailed out - and it's always great when I get those sent earlier in the month.

Yesterday the President called me into her office at the end of the day and gave my a card with a nice little monetary present.  I have never received a Christmas bonus before, and it felt really good to be appreciated for all the work I have done over the past year.

It's been a bit crazy with my co-worker Jen being off work for most of 2014.  It has helped that we outsourced the fulfillment of the subscriptions to a company in Halifax, which took place in September.

Being recognized by my company has made me realize that I was not appreciated by my ex husband. All the little things I would do for him each day, just because I loved him, and he would very rarely reciprocate.  It didn't start out that way in our relationship, but I can look back and see that I was always more willing to compromise and do things to make his life easier.  It feels great now to put myself first.

On top of the reward, I was also told that before Christmas the President wants to do a job review.  I had one at three months, but nothing since then.  It will also include a look at my salary.  When I agreed to take this new position in Edmonton, the letter of employment mentioned that there was a possibility of a raise at six months.  The past year has been tough for the company, mostly because we are on our fourth controller since October of 2013.  We also have had three different editors for Alberta Oil along with two event coordinators.  Now that we have good people in place, we hope that 2015 will be a much better year.  A year that would include increases in salary.

So I had fun with my co-workers and I have been recognized for my efforts.  That definitely means it was a good week at work in my books.