A: A lot.

[UPDATED to add: I'm just going to go ahead and admit that I got up in the middle of writing this post to stuff my face with two big gummy things from a coworker's desk.]

At the beginning of every internship or job I start, I tap my foot through the mundane details of orientation, waiting not-so-patiently to ask The Question: Where’s the fridge?

I’m slightly obsessed with food. Not like I always have to have it in my mouth, or that I eat five pizzas when I’m stressed. Not that I eat a ton of food or bad-for-me-food or even ultra-good-for-me food (I try). But any friend or family member can tell you that I’m not happy unless I know what I get to eat next and when I get to eat it.

So starting a new job with a new schedule and a new office culture obviously messes with my Food Plan. And here are the problems:

The candy jar knows my name – and is calling it. One could consider me lucky for sitting in direct sight of a desk with two fully stocked candy jars (and usually a package of some kind of treat). But really, it’s torture. Especially at about 3:00 every afternoon.

My lunchbox is working overtime (but I’m not). In an attempt to live on an intern salary and relatively healthily, I’m a big lunch-packer. But I’m an even bigger people-person, so I’ve definitely been known to bring a lunch then save it for a day or two when better lunch plans come up. Who can turn down heading out with a group of interns or a good chat with a supervisor – especially for a Lean Cuisine?

Sharing with coworkers is good. Sharing with oneself is better. It’s a fact of work life: Office dwellers love treats, and whatever anyone brings in and puts in the break room will disappear. And the bringer of the treats gets major points. I brought in a loaf of banana bread the other day, 1) because The Intern could always stand to impress some people, and 2) because I didn’t want to eat the whole thing myself. Lo and behold, just because I made it didn’t stop me from getting sucked into the treats-in-the-kitchen excitement. I sat there and ate a big slice. And then another one. And realized I should have left the thing at home.

Anyone else have any office food challenges?

Do you cave to the candy dish every afternoon?

Do you trade in your cheap, healthy chow for a networking lunch out?

Do you have any good, um, self-control tips for a hungry, social foodie who’s a health nut (with a major sweet tooth) at heart?

Interesting article in the Wall St. Journal on prelancing. What's prelancing, you ask (don't be embarrassed, I asked)?

Prelancing probably ought to be called freelancing, but that's taken already (blame those knights of old). It's an arrangement in which you -- smart, talented, and looking for work -- agree to work a limited number hours a week (5-10, usually) for a company for free, especially a company with no paying jobs available, but a need for somebody to help get some work done.

In return, you gain some additional work experience, some possibility of additional work references, and -- a longshot -- some chance of a job if and when the company does start hiring.

Yes, at 5 hours a week, you could probably take on a couple of "prelance" jobs, and still have plenty of time left over for actual job hunting (the article brings up Unemployment Assistance rules, but that's another issue). So I guess I have mixed feelings about it as a strategy.

It gets you out of the house, it potentially has the ability to accomplish some great things (meeting people, gaining experience and references, etc.). It does mean that you're essentially donating your time to help somebody else's business (I'm fine with volunteering for non-profits, of course, but this is different). Are you being taken advantage of, or are you being smart?

Anybody else know the answer? Or have a different answer?

Seems like the surveys keep rolling out proclaiming Gen Y the sole owners of Facebook and Baby Boomers (or at least early Gen Xers) the Twitterers. Carol Phillips, a marketing prof at Notre Dame, joined the conversation when she listed "Three Reasons Gen Y Doesn't Get Twitter"

The reasons? Twitter is unnecessary, they say -- FB, text messaging fill all the gaps, plus FB enables messaging updates, calendars, contact books, videos, photos, etc., all in one place. What's the point of Twitter, Phillips quotes.

I certainly can't speak for Gen Y, but I can speak to what's the point. Twitter works for some of us on a whole variety of other levels, not really approached by FB. Anybody ever watch TV and see a stream of headlines and updates crawl across the bottom of the screen? Anybody ever listen to news being broadcast live from an event. For that matter, anybody ever see a quick reference to an interesting or funny story/blog/article/news update? I have, and always appreciated them. And now I see all of those every day on Twitter.

And that's not even counting the number of new "friends" I've made on this marvelous new network. Yes, most of them are professional contacts, rather then buddies, but a network is priceless (as people in the careers business always say).

If I were to give advice (which I hate to do) to anybody wondering "What's The Point", I'd say try this: Start keeping a Twitter track of things you do that are interesting, funny, sad, serious. Not just "I hate getting up for work in the morning". Things that you do and see and think about are what make you unique.

Then go to Twitter and start following a lot of diverse people. Not just college friends and not just Ashton or Oprah (who will never follow you back), but different people. Do a search on a topic, and then follow some of the people who have commented on a topic. Then do the same thing for a different topic, and then another. Build your custom network, and keep pushing out your own Tweets all the while.

So do I really care if you use Twitter versus Facebook? No, not really. Is it an age thing? No, not really. What I do care about is that you find more ways to stretch your network, and help you become a more diverse person, and eventually, be more prepared to have a successful career.

In the meantime, follow us at ExperienceLive.

At almost 24, I barely remember the days of not having a computer at home – so while I do have some fuzzy memories of that sad, sad time, I more or less consider myself a digital native.

Wait – who am I anyway? I’m a student, an intern, a runner and a dedicated dog mom with about a buffet’s worth of stuff on my plate at any given time. A joint master’s (public health and health journalism/communications) student at the University of Minnesota, I dabble in a little of this and a little of that, mostly in the health and do-gooder arenas. I just moved over to 3Gen from Experience’s health care blog, Health Nuts, which describes me fairly well if I do say so myself.

And, as I said, a digital native, which I increasingly embrace. Especially when it comes to working with those who are not.

This summer, I’m working full time as an intern at a large state government agency where 42 percent of employees are over the age of 50. Nearly 70 percent are over 40. Needless to say, communicating electronically is not natural to many of them, and trust me, they’re still learning.

I’ve worked, volunteered and interned at quite a few organizations, and they all have different cultures in general, which extends to email etiquette. But, forgive me, this place is just weird. And it seems to me that many of its oddities have to do with these digital aliens.

We have some written rules, some unwritten, many spoken, a few you just have to figure out. But the rules are a little strange to a blogging, Twittering, Facebooking student who will panic if she doesn’t check her email at least hourly (and that’s pushing it).

Rule 1: Thou Shalt Not Let An Email Go Unrequited.
Really, I was told this. I’m hyper-sensitive to email overload, so I’m not used to sending a “Thank you,” “Will do” or “Rock on” response to every single email I get. I think it’s fair, in this technological age, to assume that one received an email unless you hear otherwise. That being said, I must reply to all emails here, which you can imagine gets a little awkward when both parties have been told to always reply. Typical email exchange:

Me: Thanks for the information, Bob. I will look it over.
Bob: Great. Thank you for reading it.
Me: Yes, I will read it. Thank you again for sending it.
Bob: Sure. I’m happy to provide it.
Me: Thank you.
Bob: No, thank you.
Me: Have a great weekend.
Bob: You too.
Me: What’s your favorite kind of pizza?

You get the idea. But if you don’t reply, even to an FYI-type message, many people default to thinking it must have disappeared somewhere in that darn cyberspace and just have to send another or call to follow up.

Rule 2: Thou Must Make A Follow-up Call (But I Will Have To Call You Back).
Speaking of following up, I think it’s necessary in many cases – especially when someone breaks the reply-to-everything-rule. I’ve been told phone calls are best in any situation. And also that they’re only good for follow-up. So I started with the phone, but most people who answered seemed frazzled to be interrupted. So I switched to email, with a consequent phone call if no response:

[ring, ring]
Me: Hi, Bob, just wanted to follow up on that email I sent on Friday.
Bob: Oh, you sent me an email?
Me: Yes, I sent it on Friday morning. It was about X, Y and Z.
Bob: Hmm. [clicking]
Me: Well, it said—
Bob: Oh, I see it. You sent me an email! On Friday! It’s right here!
Me: Yes.
Bob: Hold on, let me read it. [reading out loud] Oh, yes I did read this on Friday.
Me: Great, I just wanted to—
Bob: I did read this! I have no idea why I didn’t send you an email back.
Me: It’s no problem. Maybe we could talk—
Bob: Can I call you back? I need to read this again.
Me: [head to palm]

Rule 3: Thou Must Use All Tools At Your Disposal. And The Tools Rule.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Outlook meeting invites as much as the next cubicle dweller, I’ve just always had the idea that one should at least discuss the fact that a meeting might happen before sending out a meet-me-at-this-time email. But here, people use meeting invites as the entire message.

Bob: Date: Wednesday, June 24 / Time: 10:30-11:30 / Meet with Kate
Me: ???

I may or may not know Bob, and we probably haven’t even discussed the need for a meeting. But if the time in my calendar doesn’t have anything else on it, it’s free game – and considered semi-rude to decline a meeting request when there’s not a conflicting appointment on one’s calendar. So I find myself blocking out lunch, work time for specific projects, pretty soon bathroom breaks.

It seems people get so excited that they are able to see my calendar and send me a meeting invitation that will go directly to their calendar, the actual content of the meeting is a total second (if ever) thought.

I know it’s rough to learn this stuff from scratch. Especially in an agency with fabulous people who get along well and would just as soon hang over each other’s cubicles and chat like they have for years.

As a champion Chatty Cathy, I sympathize. I suck it up. I play by the rules.

But I still think it’s weird.


Thanks to Flickr's summitcheese for the great photo!

Motivation is always a downer -- it always infers that somebody (else) needs to be more motivated to do something (work harder, play harder, lose weight, drop the price on their house, whatever) than they currently are.

The word popped up in several commentaries and a few editorials I've seen over the past couple of weeks, all pointing at how the current crop of college grads needs to be more motivated to become successful.

OK, I have a few problems with this. First, when I graduated, the school officials and guest speakers were all gushing about how we were the hope for the future, and entrusted us to be able to translate ideas and ideals into great deeds.

So what happened -- are today's grads just chopped liver? Are things different, and the new crew can't be trusted?

Second, let's look at those folks making these harsh, negative judgments. Are they doing so well with the economy and ethics and world peace and the environment that they can spot losers from a mile away?

Sorry about being skeptical, but I'm just not motivated to see it their way. Are you?