Sunday, July 27, 2014

One Day at a Time...

I started a new job this week and it's great! I'm working with my former coworker and friend Sunny and it's in an exciting area to work in. I chronicled my days on Facebook and I decided to cut and paste them over here so they are all in one place and can be read in order.


Day One:


Well, the first day is done! I am sooo freaking tired. I made the big mistake of wearing a new pair of flats today. By the end of the day my ankles were in so much pain I was limping off the Metro while biting back my whimpers. But other than that it was an awesome day! I got to shadow my friend and coworker (again) Sunny, who made me feel right at home and showed me around the area. Our office lo...oks over at some high rise condos and we are just waiting to see an ugly naked guy.

Then when I got home this evening, my mom had cake and ice cream from her and my doggie friends congratulating me on my new job and my first day. I still haven't ate dinner, but I did have cake and ice cream! That's a good night if you ask me!

All in all, an awesome, but exhausting day! Now if someone could get me new feet, I can do it again tomorrow!
 
 
Day Two:
 
 
Day 2: I still don't have a computer, but I'm shadowing Sunny and we share a computer...and a brain sometimes! Today we set up my voicemail and when I wasn't sure what to use for a greeting, she just recorded it for me. If you call my work number that's not me. Yes, I Milli Vanilli'd my voicemail.

I also wore tennis shoes to walk in and comfortable flats for work. I wore black trouser socks too.... With shorts. Ha! No. But that would be a good work look. Maybe tomorrow? I could rock that look I'm sure.

Other than getting stuck in traffic this morning and a weird case of vertigo where I thought the building was falling (yeah, that was weird), it was a good day!
 

Black socks with sandals and shorts? Hmm...
 
 
Day Three:
 
 
I don't think the subway is for me. Because there are people on it. On the way home today I let so many over-crowded trains go by me that I almost became a mole person living in the tunnels under Virginia. If I ever go missing start your search in the tunnels under the Rosslyn station. I will be living there with a few rats I call my cats.

For lunch I went with Sunny while she picked up a ...salad at Chop't. I had a salad from Mel't. Aka... My house. Mine wasn't as fun as hers! Nobody chopped mine!

One the way back we got some crepes from a man who sits in a little food cart on the corner. Just like they do in France! We were feeling French today. Très bon.

Still no computer, but we had meetings and teleconferences and I made calls! Tomorrow she's leaving me to go to another site and I will have her computer all to myself. But I will be lonely because there will be no female companionship. And no lunchtime adventures looking for donuts and fries!

Two more days and my first week will be over! A wonderful yet loooooooong week. Thanks for coming along for the ride!
 
Day Four:
 
 
I got my computer today! A loaner, but it's a computer. And Sunny's appointment got cancelled so I had my work buddy. Yay!

For lunch we went to get some gyro's and I had a great moment where I forgot the word gyro. The walls were plastered with pictures of pita's and gyros and I just blanked out while the lady stared at me impatiently. It's like going to McDonald's and forgetting the word ...hamburger. Or Mc anything. McGyro. That would be awesome!

I think I mentioned earlier that I keep feeling like the building is falling. We are on the 11th floor and even though that's not high in the high rise world, it didn't stop me from experiencing a weird vertigo feeling all week. It's gotten better except in the ladies room. It's so small and the floor uneven, that I feel like Sandy and Danny in the Funhouse scene from Grease. (Tell me about it...stud). If it doesn't get better I'm going to have to take Dramamine just to go to work! The building was built in the 60's so maybe it's just the ghost of all the chain-smoking, whiskey drinking workers messing with me. Probably pissed we are no longer secretaries getting them coffee while they cop a feel when we walk by.

Then when I got off the Metro I tried to add money to my Smartrip card (the Metro system drops off the second "T". It's very smar of them.) and it stole my $5. When I started this job, I imagined myself getting robbed many times in the city, but not by the Metro itself. I had the station manager help me add the $5 back, but then when I went to use it for parking it told me there was an error. Yes, I now have Stupidtrip card. Fingers crossed I can use it tomorrow!

One more day! ONE MORE DAY. I'm glad it will be Friday, but not because it's been a bad week. Just because my feet still need to heal from my bad choice in flats and all the walking. I just need sleep. This waking up at 5 makes me feel like a farmer. A farmer with five tomato plants, some sunflowers and a herd of cats. I miss my cats! I need quality cat and Scooter time.

Until tomorrow!
 
 
Day Five:
 
 
I made it! One week of work! It's such an awesome feeling being employed again. Being unemployed for awhile makes your doubt your skills. But I got mad skillz yo! Sorry. I'm so very tired.

I miss shadowing Sunny but it's good she gets her desk back and I can learn at my own desk. That doesn't mean she loses her shadow for good though! I've still only been there a week. I need to shadow any...one I can! I'm much like a groundhog that way.

We decide to head over the bridge to Georgetown for lunch. It's a pretty area! We see the cupcake shop from the DC Cupcakes show. Mmm... Cupcakes. We don't stop, but it's on the list! Long line and all. Oh and there's a Benetton! I didn't know that store still existed. Actually, there are a lot of stores we didn't think made it pass the 80's. I figure this is where the 80's stores went to retire. If we looked around more, we'd probably find a Jordache jeans store. We have an awesome lunch at Chadwicks, which has a beautiful view of the Kennedy Center and a homeless man sleeping in the middle of the road. Ahh... DC.

We check out the waterfront real quick and head back. Even though we are like five minutes from Gtown (the cool people call it that), the traffic is crazy. Sunny figures we'll just swim across the Potomac next time since it would be faster. I think it's the Potomac River. Well, we will swim across the blue(esh) wet stuff surrounding us. Whatever it's called.

Something happens with a whiteboard, but it's too long to tell and you kind of had to be there. But it's a funny story involving elevators, a delivery man, a whiteboard the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and a man carrying a sleeping bag. I'm pretty sure we are one of the few people who have a funny white board story. That is what this job is like! You just never know what will happen!

I'm sure there's more I wanted to tell, but I'm blanking at the moment. I just know that this has been a wonderful, scary, sometimes confusing but awesome week! I love being employed and I love working with my friend Sunny. I owe her more than I can say both professionally and personally. She rocks at being a friend and coworker!

Well, I probably won't bore you with stories past this first week and eventually I'll get into a routines that will not be as fun for you to hear about. I'm sure you don't want to know when I make copies or send emails. But since we will still be in the city, I'm sure I'll still have a few!

Thanks again for being my cheering squad now that I'm employed, but especially when I wasn't. Having all this support helped motivate me to go to interview after interview even when I didn't want to. Now I'm going to go pass out for about 10 hours... Night-night!
 
***
 
It's hard to believe that tomorrow I have to do this all again. Everything is so much faster in the city and you get tired fast! Tomorrow I plan on driving to see what that will be like. That should be an adventure!
 
Wish me luck!