I just got a new job. Funny thing is, it’s the same job I’ve been doing for about a year now. I have the same responsibilities working on the same project, I have the same boss even, only now I technically work for a different company: The Green Building Initiative (GBI). I don’t even have to leave the comfort of my bed if I don’t want to – and believe me there are some days where I’m running a conference call propped up on my pillows with a teddy bear under one arm.
I won’t get into too much detail about what it is that I do at GBI, it’s mostly technical writing, editing, and pestering people to get their assignments in to me. I also do a lot of scheduling and polling and setting up of meetings, as well as running conference calls and webinars. It amuses me to no end that a primary function of my job is on the phone, because I have this unfounded terror of phone calls.
I’m being completely serious. Unless I’m calling somebody I know well and I know with absolute certainty, beyond all doubt that I have the correct number for them, I get butterflies in my stomach and my gorge begins to rise before every phone call. I have no reasonable explanation for this fear, other than I don’t know who will pick up, or I might have dialed the wrong number, or I might be pestering somebody, or I might be making a complete fool of myself. Maybe it’s because I’m not the greatest verbal articulator. I’m best at expressing what I mean to say when I’m writing. Words seem to flow much more fluidly from my fingers than they do from my lips.
What’s even more interesting (to me at least, I’m sure some of you are finding this perfectly boring), is that this fear does not seem to apply to internet calls. If I use my computer to make a call, I’m fine: no fear, no butterflies, no anxiety, no shakes. I don’t have to give myself a pep talk or rehearse what I’m going to say in my head. I’m just able to make the call.
This job has helped me build my confidence quite a lot. It’s also helped to validate my life choices thus far. When I was in high school I planned to go to college, then upon graduation find a job doing technical writing while I worked on my novel writing. I’ve managed to do just what I planned without finishing college. Granted, someday I might want to go back to college and finish my degree. I might want to go beyond that and get a masters, but for now I’ve proven to myself that I don’t need to.
Oh, and before anyone asks, I’m not moving to Portland, Oregon. Like I said, I can do this job in bed if I want to.
(If you’d like to learn more about GBI, you can visit their website: www.thegbi.org)
Thank you for Reading!
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