Katie's "On the road again..."

After we got home from our long weekend getaway to Vegas, it was back to the daily grind (booo!). Monday was my last day at my old job; Tuesday began the adventure of my new position as Sales Support for the Los Angeles area. After 2.5 years in the Documentation department, having learned all I could & having been frustrated by management issues, it was high time for a change, and I was especially excited to find out a couple of weeks ago that my new position would begin with a business trip to LA!

Having never been to LA (or on a business trip for that matter!), I was very excited to head down there, especially since it was on the company's dime! My travelling companions consisted of my new supervisor, along with 2 other team members; the 4 of us come from non-sales backgrounds, and therefore needed some training in the basics. One other team member travelled on his own to Seattle for training, as he'll be covering the Pacific Northwest region. We left Boise on Tuesday morning, landed in LA after a 2 hour flight (uneventful but loud, since the plane was a little puddlejumper with propellors, and we happened to be sitting right behind them!).

We spent our days in Torrance (the area of LA where NYK's sales office is located) training and learning the accounts we'll be covering. I expected that this might be a little awkward, since we were being trained by the people we'll be replacing, but they were all very nice & extremely helpful. Luckily there was no animosity! On the first evening (Tuesday), we were taken out for dinner to the Yard House by our supervisor's boss and the Vice President of Sales for all of North America. This was an intimidating prospect, but they're both very nice, very genuine people, and the VP of Sales was very interested in learning about us and what we thought of all the changes taking place. This restaurant was right on the Long Beach Marina, so we had a beautiful view, and the food was amazing. They're also home of the World's Largest Beer List, which WAS ridiculously long! I abstained from beer, but was blown away by the sheer volume of choices...Zach & I will have to go to this restaurant if we ever get to LA/Long Beach. I had the Ahi Crunchy Salad, which was very yummy...I figured I should take advantage of the fresh seafood while in LA!

The next night, after a solid day of traning, we were taken out for dinner by one of the area Sales Reps, to Panama Joe's. Similar to the night before, I knew I wanted more fresh seafood, so I had their "world-famous" grilled fish tacos, which were amazing. The fish was Mahi-Mahi, and it was perfectly cooked. The combination of fresh flour tortillas, grilled fish, cabbage slaw & lemony guacamole was excellent; this is another place I would definitely recommend if anyone's in the LA area looking for fresh Mexican food.

We flew back to Boise on Thursday night, full of ridiculous amounts of information! It was a great trip, but after a long weekend in Vegas, a day of recovery and whirlwind trip to LA, it was definitely nice to be home! I wish we'd had a chance to do more sight-seeing in LA & Long Beach, but at least we got out for some good meals and good company. Plus, I bonded with my new team members and my (very cool) supervisor - she's maybe a few years older than me, and very nice. Plus, she doesn't believe in micro-managing, which is a refreshing change!
I'm very excited about this new position, and am 100% certain that I made the right decision in applying for and accepting it. I was so burnt out in my old position and knew that it wasn't going anywhere and wouldn't be getting any less annoying, so I really think it was high time for a change. I'm definitely nervous about how "visible" all this will be, since many people in corporate positions will be watching to see how this transition from LA to Boise unfolds, but I'm confident that our team brings a lot of diverse knowledge & differing perspectives to the table and I have no doubt that we'll be able to handle it!
Sorry for the ridiculously long post! I guess I had a lot to report on! Have a great week!
Love,
Katie