First days on new jobs can be overwhelming. This one was no exception.
The initial part of the job was not even the job itself, but was shuttling The Ravishing Mrs. TB back to the airport, turning in the car, and then renting a new car and heading back in the direction we had been staying. Which meant that I got to experience the joys of morning rush hour traffic, or at least the starting elements of them. Important safety point: Living in the city proper is not an ideal outcome, and my desire for long commutes has pretty much dropped to zero.
First days on the job are an odd mix of the one time events and things that will become actual activities, but not right away. The one time events - security badges, parking passes, computer issuance - are things that are both the same and ever so slightly different no matter where you go. Without replicating a process, somehow within the first two hours or so you have all of the basics of operation, even though you may lack context to operate those things.
The context comes in the second bucket of items, the things that will become actual activities.
These, generally, come in the form of meetings that one is brought into. There is a certain sense of being hurled out of the plane at 10,000 feet: terminology that makes only the vaguest of sense, acronyms that have no basis yet in reality (Ah, acronyms. The bane of every corporation), and ongoing discussions about items for which you have absolutely no idea what background for.
The worst part, of course, is when your opinion is solicited for something on which you have literally no idea about the overall impact.
All of that said, it was a good day. My coworkers seem friendly and interested. The problems that are being discussed, at least as much of them as I can understand, are no different than the sorts of problems I have dealt with elsewhere. And I have a ton to learn.
My evening was mostly checking into my hotel, which will become my temporary home for the next three weeks. Other than not really having a kitchenette to speak of and thus curtailing a bit my food preparation, it seems very serviceable. It has a small gym and laundry facilities, which are my real needs at this point.
On the longer term front, we did get acknowledgement that our lease application had been received and we were asked to provide a bit more information. If all goes well, we will get things locked in well before the move in date at the end of April, which would be pretty amazing. The next step would be to arrange the move of stuff.
All in all, a very successful first day.
Fingers are crossed.
ReplyDeleteAcronyms.
AATR (Another Acronym To Remember)
WTMFA (Way Too Many Freaking Acronyms)
The circumstances of living temporarily in a hotel make healthy eating much more challenging. Do the best you can.
Thanks John - They have an entire wiki dedicated to the acronyms. They are rather famous in the industry for the depths of these things; we will see how deep the hole goes.
DeleteIt does make eating more challenging. Fortunately they have a reasonable breakfast bar. That and a trip to the grocery store for some staples and limiting my intake should be helpful.
Aha, a new daily routine, new faces, all new faces (glub). Settle in at the hotel, good thing there's the laundry and gym, relieve that stress!
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - My ability to master names, never good in any circumstances, will get a run for its money.
DeleteA small microwave and single burner electric cooktop can do a of heating foods in the room. Just keep your cooking vessel small and away from wall and smoke detector.
ReplyDeleteAnon- Sadly, only the microwave. But I think I can make do eating similarly to when I do at The Ranch: simply foods, packaged greens, and fruit.
DeleteMay God richly bless you. I don't envy you at the new place. Hopefully the societal shock won't be very big. New Home 1 and New Home 2 seem to be in similar places.... as far as outlook goes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I moved to south Texas from Houston, it took a few months before the moss on my back and between my toes dried up and fell off. It was / is nice to be human again...
Thanks STxAR.
DeleteSo interestingly, I think both places do have a similar outlook. That said, I did not go downtown often in New Home and likely will not do so here, more from simply not enjoying the urban environment. Here, I am something like 10 minutes away from small farming communities and 1.5 hours from the coast, which is much more interesting.
This post reminds me of a lot of things I have forgotten over the last 20 years, the last time I changed jobs. It sounds like things haven't changed much in that time. As an engineer, that first week or two was always the worst because there was a lot of down time as I waiting to get some sort of project to work on and learn all the stuff necessary to do the job. I much more enjoyed it when I was always busy and the days flew by so much more quickly.
ReplyDeleteEd, I suspect the overall process has not changed in 20 years in any significant detail.
DeleteOne thing that was unexpected was that I have a 2.5 day training (Site wide, as it turns out). That will delay the true "start" of things.
Sounds like things are progressing well, TB.
ReplyDeleteYou all be safe and God bless.
Thank you Linda. They really are.
DeleteSounds overwhelming, but that probably wasn't a surprise and it sounds like you handled it well. I suspect you'll settle in pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it was not terribly overwhelming and relatively expected. This things are mostly the same. Learning the new "system" and processes will be the most challenging, as they always are.
DeleteCongrats! You only get to see a place with new eyes once, so write down your experiences and thoughts daily.
ReplyDeleteThanks John! I am journaling daily. It is interesting starting over as essentially a "beginner" again.
DeleteTB, I'm looking forward to following along as you settle in (to your job and new home) and as all that is new becomes your new normal. Peace just exudes from your posts right now.
ReplyDelete