My new job...

So, my new job is going pretty well. Last week was orientation and training. I sat next to a more experienced employee and listened while they were on the phone, so I could hear how they handled calls. On Wednesday afternoon, I started taking the calls and the experienced employee listened as I talked to the customers. Yesterday was my first day by myself at my own desk. I liked it sooo much better than the training, which was a little frustrating because my trainer would be talking to me while I was trying to talk to the customers. I'm so glad I'm on my own now!

I don't actually have my own desk yet...they haven't figured out where everyone is going yet. So, I'm borrowing a desk from a girl that's in training this week. I'm hoping to get my own desk next week. I also don't have email access set up yet...I've had about 4 calls into the IT department, which has gotten me nowhere. So, it's hard to know what's going on in the company without access to any emails. We had a little team meeting this afternoon and they informed us that we are not to go on the internet or use our cell phone at any time during working hours, unless we're on break or lunch. It's a little weird because there's not much to do in between calls. Who cares if we check our email or look at yahoo news?? Apparently, my new company does...oh, well.

Basically, my job is to set up new gas connections. A customer calls in wanting a new gas connection to their property. If it's a brand new home, we just send them an application by fax or email. If it's an existing property, we fill out an application over the phone. That gets sent to the distributor who actually coordinates the whole job from there. The whole process takes about 6-8 weeks for the actual connection.

And, that's it. We also get enquiries (the Australian spelling for inquiry) on the status of the customer's connection, but that's pretty much it. I'm not sure at this point if this is something I'll do long term or not, but for now it gets me out of the house and keeps me busy during the week :) It's supposed to be a 3-4 month contract, so we'll see how it goes.

For those of you that don't know, Anthony is in the States for training right now. He left on Thursday morning and went to Portland for the weekend. He just got to Chicago today - he'll be there until Friday afternoon, but he won't be home until Sunday morning with the time difference. This is the longest (and farthest) we've been apart since his 2-week training in Chicago a month after we got married. He'll be gone for a total of 10 nights. I'm lonely here without him and I miss him so much. I am glad I have a job that is keeping me busy during the days...I'd be going crazy without it! Anthony has had a bit of a rocky trip so far, but I'll let him blog about that when he gets home (he's a better storyteller than me). He has enjoyed spending time with our families though. I wish I could've gone home with him, but it would have cost about $4000 for me to go, so it wasn't really worth it. I do miss our family though and can't wait to see everyone at Christmas. I'm excited because Anthony's bringing me some essentials from the USA...crystal light, make-up, advil, captain crunch...YAH! :)

We're still waiting for our weather to warm up a little...we've heard that it should start getting nicer by September. I hope so!! I'm really tired of the cold, windy, raining weather...can't wait for the sun! I hope you're all enjoying your summer - I've heard it's been super hot at home!