first week down

So dispite how utterly terrified I was, the first week went pretty well I would say. Two other women started with me. They're both associates out of business school and the three of us had orientation all day monday. I thought that I would be staffed on a project right away but they didn't really have work for any of us. So really I've been doing my own thing all week. There are about 45 people based out of the new york office but almost all of them are staffed at any one time, so this week there were probably about 8 people around because they were between projects. It seems like a pretty social office. Everyone goes out and gets lunch together and then brings it back to eat in the conference room. I brought lunch cause I'm a cheap bastard and I make good sandwiches.

As expected, I didn't buy what I needed to wear. I bought suits and knit shells to wear under them but the women mostly wear button downs, but not ugly ones. They're pretty stylish people in a Brooks Brothers type way. There are also a lot of women in the office which is nice and lots of them are young.

So what did I do all week? Whatever I wanted. But what I wanted was to learn all the shit I'm going to need soon enough. So I brushed up on my excel and powerpoint skills, did a little random internet research for people, and spent a lot of time researching business concepts. Everyone has an MBA and I feel really behind. What do I know about balance sheet or porter's five forces? But wikipedia is a glorious thing. Friday there was a strategy training session from 4 to 8 and then a happy hour. The strategy thing was so interesting. I'll write more about actual consulting later.

I guess I'm most proud of the pure number of people I've talked to this week. That sounds silly but to me any social interaction with strangers is an effort and I made the effort over and over again. And I didn't cry once.