When Did I Become a Type A?

About two weeks ago it was a normal day at work for me. I was sitting at my cube, most likely creating quotes or playing on the interweb (I would go with the latter). My manager, whose cube is directly in front of me (we share the same wall), says, “Kim, have you seen the e-mail from Vance* (VP of HR)?” I reply, “No, why do I still have a job?”

My e-mail server is slow and I’m on a 15-30 second delay so I still hadn’t even gotten notified that I had a new e-mail. All of the sudden I am getting instant messages from co-workers on our office communicator, all of them saying, “Congratulations!”

Finally I get the new message pop-up and click my inbox to see that I was one of employees awarded with “Employee of the Quarter.” I honestly was not expecting that at all. It was such a shock and completely gratifying. I worked my ass off in Q3 and I was able to close two regions at 100% and had an overall renewal rate of 97%. On top of that, I was also able to close out a majority of my outstanding General Motors renewals, some going as far back as June 2006.

I am really happy that my hard work has been recognized. I don’t know if other people are this way, while I am extremely pleased to have won this, my second thought was, crap, now the pressure is on to do even better next quarter, especially now that I have the highest generating revenue region. My moment of glory only lasted a half second before I cursed myself for being an over-achiever. I know, I’m insane. I have some major anxiety issues and really should just be happy for this huge accomplishment.

But now I’m gunning for two stellar quarters in a row. I have to keep pushing; it’s who I am. Perhaps if I win again next quarter, this will at least put me in the running for President’s Club, which includes a vacation to someplace tropical.

*Names have been changed to protect people’s identity.

Restless Nights

I have been feeling a bit anxious about this whole process of buying a new home. I met with my realtor on Thursday, and she is freaking awesome! Best Friend Ever used her when she was in the market for a new home and had nothing but great things to say about her. So when I met with Wendy (my realtor) I felt very positive and was looking forward to view some condos on Sunday.

Sunday rolls around and I was tired and hungover from the night before (I was out till 5am partying it up. Man, that's three weekends in a row that I have been partying my ass off. Yay me!). We were able to fit in a bunch of different places in Rockville and Gaithersburg. There were at least 4-5 properties that caught my eye and I could really envision myself living there.

I know its only been my first weekend of looking and that it can take a person months to find the right place, but I really don't want this to be a drawn out process. I would prefer to be in my new home before the onset of cold weather. So I'm hoping to find a condo within the next few weeks. I'm just ready to be out of my apartment, but I need to find a home first.

My biggest decision is whether I want to continue living in Rockville or move up to Gaithersburg. I've been living in Rockville for the past three years and I love it. I'm 20 minutes from Virginia and DC and I feel like Rockville is a great center point. But my choices are limited in Rockville about what I can afford, and I need to be realistic. In Gaithersburg I could afford a two-bedroom/two-bath condo for the same amount of a one-bedroom in Rockville. So do I go for a bigger unit with more square footage or an area that resells well and closer in to the city?

My preference would be to stay in Rockville, but only if its a great unit that is affordable and in a good neighborhood. I'm so wishy-washy, going back and forth over the pros and cons of each city. I keep reminding myself that this is only my first weekend of looking, so I don't need to make any drastic decisions just yet, but I'm antsy and feeling restless over it all.

I'm trying to enjoy this process and not fast forward to the end, but its hard for me. I'm stil bitter about losing the first place so its making me very weary of this whole experience. I've been up all night stressing about this. I need to not take it so seriously.

Ugh, le sigh. End of pity party.