OLSON--Week 9

For my amusing story of the week, I am going to take one I was a little too embarrassed about to write about in a previous blog. :) Here at OLSON, the desks are positioned in a manner that promotes community. A.k.a, I have a guy that sits right across from me, so we share a desk space of sorts. Aside from "accidentally" kicking me under the desk from time to time, he is not a bad work neighbor. In fact, the first time I was told I would be sitting there, I noticed that he had giant set of hulk fists on top of our shared desk space. They are the kind that makes hulk noises if you punch something with them.

Well, I found this pretty humorous, not simply because this was quite a random piece of furniture to be greeted by, but more so because upon moving into the house I am in now, I had found a set of these! Needless to say, I told him that I would be bringing them in. About a month and a half went by, and I had still not brought them in. He was convinced they did not exist, which made me even more amused at the thought of having them randomly one day appear.

One fine summer morning, the day had come. I brought them in, placed them on his desk, and camped out, waiting for him to come into work. He did not come right away, so I went to get some cereal (did I mention we get that here?). He ended up coming in right as I was heading back up the stairs. I walked right behind him, creating small talk, honestly feeling like a little kid about to pull a prank. We were just out of sight of the green fists when three things happened. First, he realized that he needed coffee. Second, I realized that I was walking too closely behind him to anticipate his stopping. Third, he turned on his heels and my cereal took the brunt of the motion. Ha. The expression on his face said, “Wow, you were following me really closely…” This was even more awkward, because he did not know why I was following so closely behind him. When he returned from his coffee break, he discovered the fists. It was worth it, spilled milk and all.

On a completely different and more serious note, every once in a while in life, you get an opportunity that stretches you, challenges you, causes you to become humble, but also brings you the excitement of knowing that you are developing a skill set that can be utilized in the future for many kinds of experiences. Much like the stretching of a muscle, so it the testing of your ability in situations that are new to you. This is what I am experiencing here. Tip of the week: Enjoy the stretching. Rather than complaining about your challenges, think of what they are preparing you for.