Week 59: ICANN do it!

Week 59: February 11th-17th, 2024

I started my new job this week! I've felt a mix of emotions over the past few months being (f)unemployed, and it was really nice to take a break from working all the time. Now, though, I must return to the workforce... I unfortunately must be ready to get shit done and make some money.

My new role is a Business Process Specialist for the Global Service Delivery Team at ICANN. I'll admit, I had no idea what ICANN was or what they did until I applied for this position back in early January. I'll try to summarize it as best I can for you.

ICANN, or the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, is a non-profit organization that maintains and implements procedures and databases relating to the Internet. Their mission is to ensure a stable, accessible and secure Internet globally.

Here is a video on the history of ICANN and how important the work they do is. There are also many available sites online where folks have put together helpful resources like this infographic, to explain ICANN's mission and role in our society today.

Now that you have a general idea of the new world I will be living and working in, I can tell you more about what I will be working on specifically as a Business Process Specialist. The first wave of top-level domains (such as .com and .org) were what the barebones of the Internet first ran on, and then in 2012, thousands more were established. Now, in what ICANN is calling the "Next Round" (very creative naming, I know) there are processes and procedures that need to be created, tested and implemented for new domains to go live. I will mainly be working on these processes and testing the systems used for this Next Round of domain names.

My first day was on Friday, the 16th (yes, a first day being on a Friday is strange, but blame HR and payroll schedules) and I am happy to report it went well. Earlier last week, ICANN sent me my work laptop (a very nice midnight blue Macbook air) and a welcome package with a t-shirt and ICANN swag. After an introductory call with someone from the IT department, I got access to my laptop first thing on Friday morning. My initial thoughts as I began my day: more excited than nervous. It felt good to be back in a routine, with a set schedule, but I am an early riser and my start time wasn't until 9am. I sat around and twiddled my thumbs (actually I made an entire batch of pasta and vodka sauce at 7am) until my first meeting. Hopefully I will get to start my work days earlier (and end earlier) as time goes on!

I was booked in back-to-back meetings throughout my entire first day after my initial meeting with IT. I met with HR and went over benefits and paperwork (and found out I must go into the LA office ASAP to submit I-9 authorization documents in person.... sigh), and met my team lead and ICANN ambassador. Everyone was incredibly helpful and nice, and hopefully that lasts through my first couple months. My boss seems very nice and chill, and I hope he is half as amazing as Zeph (my first boss at my last company before he got laid off) was. I don't mean to toot my own horn (Oh, what the heck, toot, toot!) but I really think I will thrive in this position. I know I will be really good at this job. I'm a little sad that I won't be (f)unemployed anymore, especially because I can't spend entire days playing Sims or Planet Zoo... but it feels good to have a part in something as important as the Internet and I'm excited about this new chapter in my life.

And I'm excited that I'll be making money again. That was tough.

See you next week.

P.S. I just realized Something New Every Week can be referred to as SNEW, and it has drastically changed the appearance of my to-do lists.