Day 1 - Had a hard time sleeping being nervous and excited. Still nervous and excited. I went into work meeting a few of my fellow coworkers and hanging out with my supervisor. We got coffee (well, I didn't because I'm not that fond of it), tried to get my ID badge (they didn't start operations until a bit later), and tried to set me up at my computer until lunch time. I actually spent most of my day communicating with IT trying to iron out the details. I went to Rush Street with my main supervisor and his co-manager and I had a dry aged beef burger and it was delicious (comparable to Father's Office and Hole in the Wall). After talking with IT a bit more, with 3 hours left in the day, everyone in my office went to watch a pre-screening of Money Ball with Brad Pitt. Entertaining if you're into baseball or maybe if you live(d) in Oakland (it's about the A's). First day of work, plain and simple. Went to a potluck at T's (er... MAS's) after work and saw lots of familiar friendly faces. Kind of sad that everyone is moving on with life soon though.
Day 2 - Started allocation training and I'm getting the hang of it. I had an hour long discrimination and harassment training today with an animated lawyer giving the presentation. Still had a hard time staying awake. I gathered my energy back as soon as I got some lunch (and thank goodness the vending machine in the pantry provides free soda, though, I don't really drink much of that anymore). More allocation training! I'm starting to feel more comfortable with work, but I know there's a lot more. Lots of meetings and more difficult templates to be completed later. I had more interaction with IT, and they are just really nice. I'm starting to feel right at home.
I apologize for my very plain tone of voice, but I'm so exhausted and wee bit hungry. Once I get into the routine, there will be better entries.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Roll out the red carpet...
I got the electronic paper work. Here's the picture welcoming me to Sony:
I'm a huge fan of cheese.
I'm seriously so excited that I've read every word of each document twice over.
There are some perks with being a Sony employee and here's a short list of things I was able to gather browsing through the new employee site:
-Free movie screenings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday evenings for me and a guest.
-Access to the Athletic Club, plus free fitness classes
-A child development center for my children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
-Employee discounts at the Family Center Store online and at the Studio Lot.
They also encourage sustainability, incentives for going green, and volunteerism!
I am legally bound not to disclose pretty much everything else about the company, so I'm repurposing my blog to document my life with work, minus the details about work. I, Samuel Lim, hereby claim not to be a representative of Sony and all statements made by me are not the opinions and views expressed by Sony. I accept responsibility for any damages or harm on the good name of Sony caused by me on this blog. This applies to everything written and/or shared in this blog.
Anyway, I've been working on my budget and looking over information regarding health benefits, and I can honestly say that I feel good about how life is going right now. I don't understand everything yet, but I have two weeks to research. Afterwards, I will sit quietly and twiddle my thumbs until my first day.
I'm a huge fan of cheese.
I'm seriously so excited that I've read every word of each document twice over.
There are some perks with being a Sony employee and here's a short list of things I was able to gather browsing through the new employee site:
-Free movie screenings Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday evenings for me and a guest.
-Access to the Athletic Club, plus free fitness classes
-A child development center for my children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years old.
-Employee discounts at the Family Center Store online and at the Studio Lot.
They also encourage sustainability, incentives for going green, and volunteerism!
I am legally bound not to disclose pretty much everything else about the company, so I'm repurposing my blog to document my life with work, minus the details about work. I, Samuel Lim, hereby claim not to be a representative of Sony and all statements made by me are not the opinions and views expressed by Sony. I accept responsibility for any damages or harm on the good name of Sony caused by me on this blog. This applies to everything written and/or shared in this blog.
Anyway, I've been working on my budget and looking over information regarding health benefits, and I can honestly say that I feel good about how life is going right now. I don't understand everything yet, but I have two weeks to research. Afterwards, I will sit quietly and twiddle my thumbs until my first day.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tired of castles in the air...
A brief introduction: this blog was created to document my life as a (fairly) recent graduate finally employed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Hooray!
It has been over a year since I graduated UCLA in 2010, but I never really left. For a whole year, I did research for the math department living day by day in what seemed like my life on pause. It seemed like I was waiting for destiny to knock on my door and I waited too patiently. When the end of the academic year came about and my advising professor announced that he was leaving permanently, motivation finally caught up with me and along with it came anxiety and a lot of regret. Thank goodness for the friends I have.
Luck, divine intervention, a series of cosmic events that shifted things in my favor... I really am the luckiest person I know. I have a friend who worked in the position I'm now in and they asked for her recommendation (out of the darkness, a ray of light)! They gave me an interview and the rest is history...
Actually, during the interview they asked me a simple riddle about fruits in mislabeled boxes to test my analysis abilities. I was so nervous that I completely misinterpreted the question. I got it eventually, but it was an embarrassingly slow process. Still, whatever it is they see in me, I'm glad that they see it.
Until they made their decision and could call me back, I spent over a month unemployed, listlessly going between places I thought I could escape the issue at hand. There was an occasional background check or interview offer from another company but nothing soothed the aching pain in my chest (I guess I should eat better and exercise). On a slight tangent, careerbuilder and monster were not as useful as I thought they would be. I called Sony occasionally to check up, but they kept pushing back the decision date because of the many interviews they had to conduct. Everything is slower in corporate they said, but that just meant more anxiety for me. Turns out to be true. I finally get a call on Friday, July 22nd. They have made their decision, but can't release it! HR still has to complete the background check. Still, my employer drops a vaguely hopeful hint stating that I will be the first to know their decision.
At 11:49 AM yesterday, I received a call from HR with an offer for the position. Almost without any hesitation I accepted. I spent noon spreading the good news, which is something I don't think I've ever done before. I've never been so appreciative of the people in my life as I have at that very moment. My life simply wouldn't be the same. Cliches for everyone! I do believe cliches have merit even if not in literature.
Celebrations were to be had! I went to a bar with some close friends and like the lightweight I am I had one drink. I know my limits. One-and-done. In constructing a budget, alcohol isn't something I'll have to worry about. I'm so excited about financial responsibility! Now to open up that Roth IRA...
Look forward to my next post either when I get the paperwork I have to fill out before working or my first day!
In case you're curious, here are details on what I'm going to do: http://www.sonypicscareers.com/stelprdwcm1/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1151&ssSourceNodeId=1151
tl;dr - Received a call at 11:49 AM today. I was offered a position at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in Culver City as an allocation analyst. I accepted almost without hesitation. Life is good.
EDIT - my dad also called me yesterday to congratulate me and gave me a brief pep talk. This has only ever happened twice in the history of my life. Thanks, dad.
It has been over a year since I graduated UCLA in 2010, but I never really left. For a whole year, I did research for the math department living day by day in what seemed like my life on pause. It seemed like I was waiting for destiny to knock on my door and I waited too patiently. When the end of the academic year came about and my advising professor announced that he was leaving permanently, motivation finally caught up with me and along with it came anxiety and a lot of regret. Thank goodness for the friends I have.
Luck, divine intervention, a series of cosmic events that shifted things in my favor... I really am the luckiest person I know. I have a friend who worked in the position I'm now in and they asked for her recommendation (out of the darkness, a ray of light)! They gave me an interview and the rest is history...
Actually, during the interview they asked me a simple riddle about fruits in mislabeled boxes to test my analysis abilities. I was so nervous that I completely misinterpreted the question. I got it eventually, but it was an embarrassingly slow process. Still, whatever it is they see in me, I'm glad that they see it.
Until they made their decision and could call me back, I spent over a month unemployed, listlessly going between places I thought I could escape the issue at hand. There was an occasional background check or interview offer from another company but nothing soothed the aching pain in my chest (I guess I should eat better and exercise). On a slight tangent, careerbuilder and monster were not as useful as I thought they would be. I called Sony occasionally to check up, but they kept pushing back the decision date because of the many interviews they had to conduct. Everything is slower in corporate they said, but that just meant more anxiety for me. Turns out to be true. I finally get a call on Friday, July 22nd. They have made their decision, but can't release it! HR still has to complete the background check. Still, my employer drops a vaguely hopeful hint stating that I will be the first to know their decision.
At 11:49 AM yesterday, I received a call from HR with an offer for the position. Almost without any hesitation I accepted. I spent noon spreading the good news, which is something I don't think I've ever done before. I've never been so appreciative of the people in my life as I have at that very moment. My life simply wouldn't be the same. Cliches for everyone! I do believe cliches have merit even if not in literature.
Celebrations were to be had! I went to a bar with some close friends and like the lightweight I am I had one drink. I know my limits. One-and-done. In constructing a budget, alcohol isn't something I'll have to worry about. I'm so excited about financial responsibility! Now to open up that Roth IRA...
Look forward to my next post either when I get the paperwork I have to fill out before working or my first day!
In case you're curious, here are details on what I'm going to do: http://www.sonypicscareers.com/stelprdwcm1/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=1151&ssSourceNodeId=1151
tl;dr - Received a call at 11:49 AM today. I was offered a position at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in Culver City as an allocation analyst. I accepted almost without hesitation. Life is good.
EDIT - my dad also called me yesterday to congratulate me and gave me a brief pep talk. This has only ever happened twice in the history of my life. Thanks, dad.
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