Punching the time card

So I started my new job yesterday. I probably could have posted about my first day on the job but I thought that I would give it a little more time to settle in. Also, my travel schedule has been a bit of a mess as in this is what I am doing this week. I flew to Philly on Monday, picked up the keys to my new apartment, checked into a hotel, worked Tuesday and Wednesday, flew back to KC tonight, will finish packing my apartment tomorrow, put everything on a moving van on Friday, drive off on Saturday and at some indeterminate point receive my stuff in Delaware. So I’ve been a bit busy. Still, here are some of my first thoughts.

1) One of the first things I had to do was get my ID badge. Since I am a rehire not only did they have my old ID number but they actually decided to reuse my old ID picture. One that was taken, and I kid you not, in 1995. Yes, my ID has a picture of dorky, 21 year old EC. What is more amazing is that seven years after I left they still had my picture on file. But then again, it is me we are talking about here. No one could ever dare toss out a picture of moi.
2) Like everyone starting a new job I am in a bit of a mess in terms of forms and documents and computer access. I was just happy that my computer worked and I was able to use my phone. That is usually your only goal for the first week at a place. It’s not like you are going to be useful.
3) I do find it incredibly funny that I start a new job, work two days, and then immediately take several off. But that is the only way to deal with all of the relocation issues that I am faced with. Plus, my teleporter just isn’t working as well as it used to.
4) The five month layoff is going to be a little tough to overcome. For one, I am really not used to working eight hours a day. Even on my biggest job search days I only put in four. By late afternoon all I want to do is take a nap. It doesn’t help that I will need to be in the office by eight if not earlier. I’m certain that I will be able to adjust my body clock to the new schedule but it is going to be a rough couple of weeks.
5) The biggest thing is that I am excited to be doing the job. Today I recalled a lot of information that I had not thought about for seven years. That is huge for me. For one, I know that all of that knowledge is sitting in my brain and that all I need to do is bring it to the forefront. But more importantly, I was amped to be in the environment and having questions about transmission limits posed to me. It has been a long time since I was that excited to be in an office.

That is it for tonight as I really need to go to sleep. Way too much work to do tomorrow. In my next entry: birthday musings and a farewell note to Kansas City. You won’t want to miss it.

Early mornings ahead

As my first day of work quickly approaches one major thought crosses my mind: how in the world am I going to switch to being a morning person? This is a rather non-trivial question. Remember that I have not worked for five months now and given that I handed in my notice of accepting the separation package in January it has been more like eight months since I had a definite care about my work performance. You can't fire someone who is quitting. So, waking up in the morning hasn't been a big concern for me for pretty much all of 2008.

That is going to have to change and change quickly. Partly this is due to the need to make a good first impression. I need to show myself as the good employee and hard worker that I am. That is not really a problem. I also will have the benefit of a whole new office and new challenges so at least getting up in the morning should not be that large of a challenge. But still it is going to be a major change of pace for me. No more staying up to one in the morning every night. Now I will need to be in bed by a reasonable hour and be in the office bright and chipper in the morning.

It's going to be a massive change, that is for sure. There will probably be a few groggy afternoons in the mix (especially due to the relocation nightmare that I am currently enduring and will rant about in detail at a later date) but I expect to get up to speed rather quickly. It's just that I am already thinking that the rest of this year is going to turn out to be a complete blur. By the time I find myself settled in the year will be over. And this has been a great year for me and I just don't want it to be over just yet.

More stories tomorrow. I'm off to watch the convention.

Some small concerns...

It’s late and I’m tired so I’ll write quick tonight. Here are some things that worry me about starting work again. I’ll go into more detail on some of these later.

· Having to get up at a reasonable hour after months of sleeping in until ten
· The need to relearn a computer system I last touched seven years ago, though I did spend six years of my life using it
· Walking into an office in which I know all of two peoples’ names.
· Moving to a town in which I do not know a single soul
· Working on a trading floor as opposed to a cube. No cube walls to hide behind any more
· Not knowing whether or not I will be allowed to wear headphones while working
· Fear that I will spend the first day trying to explain to people, “No, really, do you have any decaf coffee lying around”?
· Whether I can spend eight hours at a computer and not surf pop culture websites
· What am I going to do for lunch?
· Will they be nice to me?

Discussions to follow. Nap time now.