New Production Guy Needs Help

It looks like I'm going to be relatively busy since being named as the all-around production/creative guy. Yesterday, I revised the text of an existing letter in Spanish. I had no idea how Rob did it, but it sure was difficult adjusting the tracking. Then there were several online banners to proof in English and French.

Today, I had to do a rush job for a print ad. The task was easy, but Wendy and I were under time pressure. We also had to figure out how to convert a graphic into the required 85 lines per inch, which I eventually found out minutes after sending the files to the press. I hope there weren't any mistakes, copy- and layout-wise.

The recent stress made me rethink of my options and of my accepting this new responsibility. I wonder how I will fare when I do a client's flyer next week. Hmmm ...

Production Guy — for Now

I spent most of last Thursday and Friday getting some video training in InDesign CS3. I guessed my desire to learn this version of the software prompted Wendy to ask me how comfortable I was with my InDesign skills. She said that instead of getting some freelancer to do the job, I could do it myself. I replied that I'd give it a shot. Besides, I needed the experience.

So, Wendy announced it in the WIP this morning that I was the go-to guy for production and technical stuff. Is there a pay increase in the works? I hope so, but I still have to prove my mettle in this field.

Rush, Rush

The morning was very hectic. There were lots of printer proofs and PDFs to check, I didn't know which ones to begin with. They were so many, I thought that the printer proofs' copy were the same as the PDFs' Aileen sent me very early in the morning. I thought wrong; so, I had to proof them in a hurry.

Thank God, I caught the glaring mistakes! Otherwise, I would do lots of explaining.

I also did the small print ad that I mentioned yesterday. It was just a matter of placing the picture on the ad, but it required lots of Photoshop work. Needless to say, Wendy was impressed.

Then there was Nina's request to make PDFs of some old online banners again. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to accommodate her request because of the last-minute proofreading. However, I was able to make it up to her in the afternoon even though it wasn't billable.

I was busy all right, but my total billable time for today was four hours only. All that trouble for 240 minutes only!

Some Video Training

I just couldn't stand another unproductive day; so, I asked Wendy first thing in the morning if I could charge the time spent watching tutorial videos from lynda.com as training. She said yes.

Now, she wanted me to help her do the layout of a small print ad, which I was looking forward to do. Unfortunately, we couldn't connect to our servers, which were located in Minnesota.

Then there were some posters and online banners from Aileen in Toronto needing some proofreading work. I was busy for a change.

Two Weeks of Boredom

I attended my first WIP as the lone male in the office this morning, and I heard from Jim of the Toronto office that it would be quiet for the next two weeks for the creative department. This meant only one thing for me: 10 working days of absolute boredom.

I just hope that within those days, something resembling work will come along. Otherwise, these are going to be slow days for me.

The Week Will Be Over Soon

Finally, it's Friday.

In a matter of hours, the work week will be over. It's been quiet in terms of work and conversation. As always, I take the down time to do my job search or tweak my résumé for online submission. In fact, I'm eyeing two editorial positions, one in a publishing firm and one for a website.

I just hope I land one of them because it's no longer fun working here. I don't like spending the entire day in ennui. I'd rather spend it productively.

Home Early

I've got nothing to do here; so, I'm going home early.

Bye!

The Last Man Standing

That's what I am, now that I'm the lone male worker in the office, but I don't know if I won anything or lost everything. Rob told me to put up Playboy posters around my workstation to continue to establish my masculinity. Wendy told me that I should be wearing a skirt soon, but I had to shave my legs for that. So, she suggested that a leotard would do.

But seriously, I feel lonely. No male co-worker to bond with or, at least, talk to during lunch. Man, this feels awkward. Fortunately, I did some proofing this morning, helping me temporarily forget that I was all alone here.

Rob's Last Day

It's the big guy's season finale. So, I'm taking him to lunch at this all-you-can-eat sushi place for good times' sake.

I don't know him that much even though we have worked side by side in the last few months. I was even having second thoughts on inviting him for lunch because we don't have a lot in common. However, I'll take the time to build up camaraderie. He will be useful in my job search and networking.

Me Worry

I don't know what the future has in store for me here. I haven't heard anything whether they're getting a replacement for Rob. I don't know what will happen on Wednesday, my first day here alone.

So far, the only action I've seen from the higher-ups is a closed-door meeting.

I better start getting serious with my job hunting.

One-hour Overtime

Yesterday, Jennifer had Rob and me working on her team's research. We were asked to look for pictures, which was fairly easy; but knowing her, it wasn't.

I ended up working an extra hour (and I was almost on my way out when she called me to look for more stock photos). Lucky Rob; he had already left.

Pizza and Beer

That's what we had for lunch today, courtesy of Julita, who was kind enough to remember her idea weeks ago to buy pizza for everyone. I only had two slices, one with chorizo and mushrooms; the other, capers, garlic and tomatoes. The latter was better tasting than I expected.

Now I am bloated even though I didn't have beer. I had one on Monday and that was my quota for this month.

E-mail Server Down

The e-mail server was down for at least four hours since this morning. The Internet wasn't, so I was still able to surf and visit my favourite websites. The irony of it all was that no one couldn't e-mail our IT guys who were based in New York.

It was a good thing there wasn't much to do; otherwise, there'd be lots of fur flying.

Charlene's Day

Tuesday was declared Charlene's day.

No, she wasn't resigning — not just yet — but Wendy noticed yesterday afternoon that no one seemed to be working at all. So, she decided to name the day after Charlene and made everyone take the rest of the day off.

Good idea.

Beer and Wine on a Monday?

Yes, that what we had yesterday afternoon, which was highly unusual because we normally have alcohol Friday afternoons. In my 12 months here, that never happened until yesterday.

And since the workload was easy for all, Jennifer named the day in honour of Rob who was leaving next week, and told everyone to take the rest the day off. So, I was out of the office by 4 p.m.

Today, I had Rob do PDFs of various projects for the office's future reference. This would make my job easier when I proofread something that's questionable, especially that he wouldn't be around when I'd need a PDF of a recent project. Good job, Rob!

And I've been printing his PDFs and compiling them since this morning. At least, I made Rob and myself busy.

And We're Back

After being away from the office since June 28, I'm not happy to be back at work.

First of all, Rob handed his resignation last week (his last day is on July 15). When he leaves the company for good next week, I will become the last man standing — literally (for the rest of my co-workers are women). It's bad because I've never been the lone male in an office before. I'm sure it will feel awkward.

This just makes me wish I had gone for the jugular during my interview at LDB. If I did, then I probably would have started working with them early this month. And Rob should be the one left by his lonesome here (well, at least for a few days) instead of me. Now, I'm stuck here waiting for the right opportunity to come along again.

Second, with me the only person in the production/creative department, there's a possibility that they will move the department to Toronto and lay me off. And that will suck big time. Unless, of course, they find a replacement for Rob who will work with me side by side. Otherwise, I will be doubly pressured to look for a new job or line of work.

Third, there's nothing to do again (although I did lots on Friday before I went on holiday, such as screen grabs and Nina's translation files).

Enough said.