Hi my name's Courtney and I work at The Coca-Cola Company!

My sabbatical came to an official end on August 29th when I had my first day of work with The Coca-Cola Company.  It was quite a momentous day for me.  Leaving PKM had been a very emotional and difficult thing for me to do.  Some of my very closest friends work there, and I knew I would be giving up being able to work with people who mean the world to me, but I knew the trade-off would be worth it.  I knew I could take the friendships with me, but I couldn't get the type of work-life balance that I needed in public accounting. So, I packed up my bags and moved over to Coke.  

Needless to say the night before I started work my nerves began to get the best of me and I worried if it would really be everything I hoped it would be.  My fears were quickly put to rest when I showed up bright and early (to the world headquarters of THE Coca-Cola Company) on Monday morning.  The day was full of orientation and training, along with meeting about 50 people (and only remembering about 1/3 of their names - true to Courtney fashion).  Everyone was very nice, and I learned that not only do I like my new company, but I'll like the work I'll be doing, and the people I'll be working with.  Don't get me wrong, it doesn't have the same culture as PKM (that could never be recreated), but I am going to be able to have social interaction at work (whew)!! 

I've now been there one full week (and one holiday day), and I still am very happy with my decision.  It's definitely a change for me, but I'm excited about the challenges I'll face and how they will help me grow in my career.  Just learning the corporate structure is going to be quite the accomplishment in and of itself.  The opportunities at Coke seem to be limitless, and the way they treat their employees is nothing short of impressive.  I'm proud to call myself an employee (technically a Senior Auditor with the Domestic Corporate Audit Department, but who's keeping tabs here?).  Oh, and in case you were wondering - I only drink Coca-Cola products now.  :)

Back to my first day.....staying true to myself (and by request of my mother-in-law) I had Bryan take a few pictures of me before my first day of work.  That's right - I am totally going to be on of those moms.  I'm okay with that.  

My first day as an employee of The Coca-Cola Company! :)

As I was posing for this picture, Bailey decided he needed to be in it too.  I love the look of total seriousness on his face.

A little love for Bailey before I head out.