Financial Programs

So far I have worked for three different accounting/finance departments. Every time I get the run through of their financial programs, everyone always tells me that the program is not perfect, but it is the best there is. Each program I have used, such as QuickBooks, IBM’s AS 400, MBS, and HOST, seem to have their own quirks, but since I do not extensively use these programs, I have not had a problem with any of them. I actually think Quicken Books is an easy and straight forward way to pay off accounts, but at the City of Mesa, I have yet another chance to use another financial program because we are in the works of getting a new financial system. We do not know yet which program they will choose, but my boss has been going to many meetings with clients to see which program will be the best fit for the City of Mesa. Even though I am only a rookie with the old program, I am excited to see how this new program will make my life easier. I just hope the program will not be a black and green screen because even though my computer is brand new, this screen type makes me feel like I am in the 90’s.

Wii and Netflix

This past Christmas, I received a Wii from my parents. I was really excited about it because who doesn't enjoy playing video games, especially interactive ones? About a month ago, my girlfriend was on The Consumerist (which is a neat website if anyone has time to check it out) and noticed a posting about Netflix developing a disc for the Wii so customers would be able to stream instant movies through the console. We thought it was an awesome idea and immediately signed up for it. The disc was free, and I just received it this past Friday. Let me just tell you that this is the best thing ever. Before, I had to constantly connect, disconnect, and reconnect my computer to the tv, switch all sorts of settings, and use several cords and adapters just to utilize Netflix's Instant feature. Now, I just put the Netflix disc into the Wii and BAM! there is my Netflix Instant queue. I have probably watched at least 6 movies since I have gotten the disc. So if anyone has a Wii and Netflix account, I suggest you should get this disc.

Career Fair

On Wednesday, I was able to make the downtown career fair. Compared to the Tempe campus’s career fair, the downtown one is about two to three times smaller. So going into it I did not think it would be useful for me. I ended up getting to the building around 12:30, and the event was packed with people. So I sat down and mapped out who I was going to see, and how the event was set up. I was able to meet with people from the IRS, Social Security Administration, FBI, Target, and the Census Bureau. My biggest success came from the Census Bureau. After meeting with the recruiter, she wanted to set up an interview with me, and we scheduled it for after the fair at 2. I was excited yet nervous because going into the event I was not thinking I would be engaging in interviews.

After the career fair ended, I helped the recruiter from the Census Bureau clean up, and shortly after we sat down outside and began talking. The interview was pretty straight forward with questions like what three characteristics should a leader have. I smiled at this question because for 509 we recently talked about Good to Great for a while. After the interview she was very enthusiastic about me, and she said I was exactly who she was looking for to fill these positions. I left excited at the thought of moving to DC and thought it was a fitting birthday present.

Cubicle Communication

I work on the second floor of the transportation building in Mesa. The second floor is fairly large and about 15 people work on it. I work in a spacious 5x10 cubicle. At my previous job, we had about 5 employees in a small, open room where the atmosphere was very sociable. Since coming to the City of Mesa, I have been surrounded by finance and planning employees, but I still have not figured out how to properly communicate with my co-workers. Inside the cubicle, I feel confined. I cannot simply turn around and talk to someone because there are so many walls enclosing people. To add to this, I work in finance, so when I see people working, they look very into their work, and I would not want to disrupt them.

To combat this problem, I have gotten lucky, and I have enjoyed lunch with a few of my co-workers. Outside of the cubicles, it is a lot easier for me to interact with all of them. Recently, I have not been able to bring my lunch to work and I have felt like I have missed out on a lot of engagement time with my co-workers. This is an on-going process for me to communicate with everyone better, so if anyone has any suggestions I am open to hearing your thoughts.