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first days
First day at the new job with Asia Society! Well, unofficially -- I'm on contract for 2-4 January while I get settled and set up, with an official start date on 14 January. This allows me to take my vacation next week in Japan without using PTO days, which I am all for.
So it was nice, because the office was only half-full after the holidays and everyone I met was familiar as I'd encountered them previously as a volunteer. Everyone was gracious and kind, but as with all first days, there is still an element of discomfort and displacement where you just don't know anything and don't yet have the rapport or the routines. It'll come, naturally, but the first few days and weeks are definitely in that awkward adjustment period. It is exciting to have a cubicle though; I'll be able to bring in some things to decorate and leave water bottles without fear they're encroaching on someone else's space. I can bring tea and eventually some office plants. The trade off is of course that it's an interior cubicle near the back; I will miss AIG's giant glass windows and natural light. But I won't have to do shift work! Ah, but that shift differential pay was nice... As with all things, there are pros and there are cons. I will adjust and embrace the things I like.
Tomorrow, more backreading and settling in, and I'll get to join in on a meeting at the Indian Consulate. We have a lot of exciting programming coming up, all of which I find really interesting. And that is, of course, a good sign that I will be invested in this new job.
I find myself exhausted after coming home though, but it is a lot of emotional and mental stress, plus the tail end of a cold as well as the first day of my period. My body wants a lot of water and rest, so I guess I'll try to get some things ready for tomorrow and then head to bed. I will probably try to read and fail, but I have at least 2 ebooks and 2 physical library books lined up for my trip to Japan. Do I have enough space? We'll see.
So it was nice, because the office was only half-full after the holidays and everyone I met was familiar as I'd encountered them previously as a volunteer. Everyone was gracious and kind, but as with all first days, there is still an element of discomfort and displacement where you just don't know anything and don't yet have the rapport or the routines. It'll come, naturally, but the first few days and weeks are definitely in that awkward adjustment period. It is exciting to have a cubicle though; I'll be able to bring in some things to decorate and leave water bottles without fear they're encroaching on someone else's space. I can bring tea and eventually some office plants. The trade off is of course that it's an interior cubicle near the back; I will miss AIG's giant glass windows and natural light. But I won't have to do shift work! Ah, but that shift differential pay was nice... As with all things, there are pros and there are cons. I will adjust and embrace the things I like.
Tomorrow, more backreading and settling in, and I'll get to join in on a meeting at the Indian Consulate. We have a lot of exciting programming coming up, all of which I find really interesting. And that is, of course, a good sign that I will be invested in this new job.
I find myself exhausted after coming home though, but it is a lot of emotional and mental stress, plus the tail end of a cold as well as the first day of my period. My body wants a lot of water and rest, so I guess I'll try to get some things ready for tomorrow and then head to bed. I will probably try to read and fail, but I have at least 2 ebooks and 2 physical library books lined up for my trip to Japan. Do I have enough space? We'll see.