I got an email asking for an update on my first week at work. I had made the decision not to talk about work on my blog anymore, but I’ll go ahead and post some general thoughts.
1) Everyone seems to be VERY VERY nice – which is what my hunch was during my interviews. Everyone is so happy to have me there – you’d think theyd didn’t have the other admin in the department in which I work. That admin has been there for 20 years or so, and must not do much given the level of excitement they have about my being there.
2) Not to toot my own horn, but what did these people do before I got there? They know NOTHING about computers. I asked my boss today if she wanted me to have access to her calendar and contacts, and she asked like I had asked her if the spaceship needed a tuneup. Seriously. I showed her how to do it in Outlook and she was thrilled to pieces about it. About Outlook calendar sharing. Yes. I know. And that’s just one small sample of the “kids in a candy store” reaction I’ve gotten to some of the things I’ve done this week.
3) The commute has been nice. I work 8a – 4:30p and I’ve been getting there early all this week just to make sure I know what I’m doing. I’ve been leaving at 7:10 a.m. every morning and have pulled into the parking garage at 7:40 a.m. It then takes ten minutes to walk to my cubicle. So if I leave at 7:20 a.m. I should be able to get there right at 8 a.m. I’ll be testing that theory on Monday (tomorrow I have training off-site, so I can’t test it tomorrow).
4) The cafeteria in the company is surprisingly good. I didn’t expect that. The last time I worked for a company that had it’s own cafeteria the options were extremely limited and not very tasty. This time around, with this company, they know what they are doing and the lunch has failed to disappoint all three days. However, it is expensive, so beginning next week it’ll be a once-a-week treat to eat in the cafeteria. The rest of the time I’ll be brown-bagging it.
5) I found out today the admin who has been there 20 years shares my exact title and rating. Poor dear. To work for 20 years and only just now earn what I got offered? I feel bad for her. On the other hand, she knows how the department runs like the back of her hand, so she has that advantage on me. But when it comes to computers? I win. And I have a sneaking suspicion that I may have just started a job wherein I do all the work, and she does nothing. I’m hoping beyond hope that isn’t true, but I suspect it might be. Which would suck.
6) The kids have enjoyed their new after-school program this week and have adjusted well. They certainly are getting their exercise – especially CootieBoy. Each day this week he’s come to me all sweaty from exertion in the gym or on the playground when I pick him up. He’s been sleeping very well this week! *lol*
7) My freelance has suffered greatly this week. I’ve been able to get only a little bit of transcription done and I’ve totally left my part-time office boss in the lurch this week. I need to email him and apologize for the lack of work on a couple projects he gave me. But by the time I get home with the kids it’s about time for Denis to arrive home and get dinner on the table, and next thing I know it’s time to put the kids to bed, and then I just want to veg out – I don’t want to work. I’m hoping this malaise about freelance ends soon because I need to finish those projects. I plan on working exclusively on those two projects on Saturday – I’m not going ANYwhere on Saturday, so that I can make some headway on those projects.
And that’s about it. Unless something CRAZY happens (like I get a raise after 90 days of service), you won’t see me talking about the new job that much. But at least you have an idea of how the first week went.
Thanks for the update. Glad the Cooties are doing well after school. Have had you all my mind this week. Love you.
So, Jaynee, I’m curious. Do you think that your blogging and mentioning work was detrimental to you? I don’t recall seeing anything that you wrote that would be offensive.
LOL – Thank you !!!
Bev – no, not at all. No one at my old job knew about the blog. I’ve blogged about work for the entire lifetime of the blog. In total, about 20-25 people were laid off from my old company over a 3-4 month timespan. So my blogging had nothing to do with it. However, after getting laid off, I decided it was time to STOP writing about work – both good and bad. I mean, I’ll certainly post if I get a good review and a raise, or a promotion. But I won’t be blogging about the day-to-day stuff anymore.
Understand! I hope everything goes well, sounds like your initial experience shows that you’ll shine brightly!