Someone to Share My Cookies

One of my previous posts talks about a guy who sat next to  me at work and how I realized he liked donuts....just before he left the company.  It took me a few months to get to know him after I was displaced & moved into the cube next to him.  But, I no sooner recognized that kindred spirit and he was gone.

This week, a friend of mine from work found out she got his old job!  I am so excited!  For many reasons...

It's not my department, but it is my division.  I used to work in the same department with her, years ago, so I know what she can do....well, she can do much more now....

I actually applied for a different position in that same department - it just happened to open soon after that one.  Oh, I was so hopeful that we would both land those positions and be working together again.  I mean, as "not easy" as my acclimation was to the team I worked in with her years ago, she and I really ended up having a great working relationship, and more.  Turns out, I didn't even get an interview for the other position, but it doesn't even matter.  I'm just as excited that she'll be (probably) sitting next to me.  And, of course, I know that department just added an excellent person to their team.

It's funny.  We're working in a world where remote teams and diverse geographic locations are the norm in business.  Work gets done - we have the technology.  And for those who really put forth the effort, it really is possible to form "personal" relationships with people miles and miles away.  I don't care what anyone says.  Where there's a will, there's a way.

And don't mistake "personal" for romantic or inappropriate.  I really mean it in the way that forms the connections that make work life more human.  The things the classes tell you you're supposed to do - find out what motivates people, what matters to them - find common ground.  I have formed those types of relationships with people I work with across the miles, and it really does work.

And, yet, there is still something special about being able to peek around a cubicle wall and smile.  Or greet in the morning, or walk with to the cafeteria.

I really have tried to do those things with the people who sit near me already...even though I really don't work with them.  It's slow.  Everybody's too busy.  Or too absorbed.  And, honestly, it's been pretty lonely. I sit in my cube and work and eat.  I pack my lunch and snacks to last the whole day long. 

Connections are important.

I'm excited.  I'll soon have someone to share my cookies...