New Job....

After 9 weeks of being unemployed (by choice) I started my new job today. During the night I woke up on 3 separate occasions worried that I either didn't set my alarm properly or had slept through it. Needless to say I was a tad paranoid about being on time. When I finally woke 20 minutes before the alarm it was from a nightmare involving improperly making risotto. Instead of trying to scramble for 20 minutes more of sleep - I wrestled with the cat for more of the blanket for about 15 minutes before giving up and making coffee. ( I am unsure how a 12lb cat can be such a blanket hog. My wrist is bearing the teeth and rear claw scrapes that this blanket battle produced.)

Why on earth was I so worried? Have I ever been late to work? No - I am more likely to be 30-20 minutes early to work than I am to be on time, let alone late. After getting ready and drinking 2 large mugs of coffee I discover that it snowed..... Having just spent the last seven winters in Michigan, I knew that my driving in the snow would be more than adequate. Since I spent the previous ~27 years in Indiana - I remembered that most people who would be out driving at 7am would have less than adequate winter driving skills.

The trip into work was uneventful other than people who sped past me on the Expressway, when all the lanes were drenched in close to an inch of slush. Parking at the federal installation, where I was to be sworn in as an employee and traversing across the pitch black and slush covered parking lot was fun. After passing all the items I carried in through the x-ray machine (including a bottle of water w/ a slice of Meyer lemon), walking through a metal detector, and producing 3 forms of identification I was allowed to proceed to a small room for orientation.

5.5 hours later I was finally sworn in as a federal employee, had an identification badge, and collected a parking permit. Of the 30 people in the training - I happened to pick a seat right across from the only other person who was starting in the same branch and same position as I was. Luckily she was nice to chit chat with and she seemed to appreciate my dry sense of humor. We were sent off to our actual work location (the federal institution in question is over 1 square mile in size) and then promptly told to go to lunch. After wolfing down my Kashi - Honey Toasted 7 Grain granola bar it was time to report back to my job.

I was lucky and met one of the people who will be reporting to me. I remembered her from over ten years ago, having previously worked at this federal installation. She is a federal lifer, completely knowledgeable about who is who, friendly, and interested in doing good work (not to mention prefers to be busy at work). The main activity for the rest of the day was locating garbage baskets - I needed one at my desk, as did the rest of the desks in my unit. Thankfully the two of us managed to rustle up enough garbage baskets and place them under desks, so that when everyone else shows up on Feb. 6th they will have a place to put their trash.

Tomorrow I am going to sort through all the health insurance choices and figure out which one is best for me..... Apparently it will take several days (maybe a week) to get all the computer account information set up so that I can actually log onto the system, let alone learn how to do my job.

So what was the most exciting part of my day? The most exciting thing did not happen at work! I went to my parents house after work to give a report on my day and mooch dinner. (My first pay check won't come until 2/14.) I was spooning some soup into a bowl when Mom dropped a heavy soup/cereal bowl on my head. That damn bowl was heavy and it landed with a thud before falling into the soup and splattering it over the counter. While it was funny it also hurt. In fact it still hurts and there is a bump on the top of my head.

So I am now home and resting from such a strenuous and stressful first day of work. More importantly I am looking forward to heading back into work tomorrow. I sure do hope it is not snowy out in the morning. Oh did I mention that my casual outfit that I spent hours deliberating on last night - was actually a little too dressy for work? Tomorrow I am breaking out the tennis shoes and jeans.

Until the next time.... be well!
-Cyb