Becoming acclimated to the office environment and dynamic has been a
major challenge for me. I love being outdoors whether it is on the boat, the
beach, or just in the backyard on a sunny day. Watching sunny days pass by from
my desk has been difficult and probably won’t get any easier from here on
out. I get my tan on the weekends,
provided it’s nice out, and it gradually fades during the week. I’ve learned
from my co-workers that it takes little things to keep your sanity in the
summer. You’d be surprised how far an hour lunch break goes! It’s as simple as
rolling up your sleeves, kicking your feet up, and closing your eyes. For a
moment, it’s almost like you’re at the beach (keyword: ALMOST).
In school, I have always been tentative to ask for help. It
may be because I don’t realize that I’m not understanding the material until I
sit down to take an exam and have that, “Oh, God!” moment, but that’s a
different story for a different time. Naturally, this transitioned to the
workplace. When I’m given a project, I do it to the best of my abilities. If
something goes wrong, I try to figure it out myself. Unfortunately, I realized
that a good deal of material was going to go over my head. I know much more
about insurance than when I started, but I still don’t know very much.
Therefore, I have had to ask for help and have found that my coworkers are
generally very approachable and are willing to offer their knowledge. In this
regard, having an internship has been humbling. I may have thought so a month
ago, but I don’t know everything.
The central focus of the week has been efficiency and how
technology can either promote or impede it. At the agency, we have the most
up-to-date software, dual monitors, cloud computing, scanners to enforce paperless, computers and other
hardware that promote efficiency. My perspective is purely subjective, taking into
account what I have grown up knowing and my personal preferences. It seems that
every time you being to get used to software, the company releases a more
up-to-date version. It seems counteractive to change software when you have
finally reached maximum efficiency in one version. After watching my father as
I’ve grown older, I tend to shy away from ditching efficient technology from
new software. The software my father uses to track oil deliveries is as old as
I am. In fact, it probably peaked before I was born. Yet, I don’t find this to
be a bad thing. There have been times where he has thought about updating, but
spending thousands of dollars on software that will be out of date by the time
he is able to operate it at the same efficiency as before seems to be a
frivolous endeavor.
This week there was a security breach in the company that
offers our cloud computing services. This brought work to a screeching halt, as
our storage drives were shut down completely and employees lost access to their
work in progress. At times, I wonder what the benefit of cloud computing is for
a company with only two locations. Would we have encountered the same problems
if we had privately held servers? I’m in
no position to answer that question, but it is an interesting one to
contemplate. To me, efficiency means tasks are completed in a timely, cost
effective manner. If cloud computing allows us to complete tasks faster, and at
a lower opportunity cost, then servers being out of commission for a few hours
is forgivable.
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