"So, Dichroic, how was your first day back at work after 6 months?"
"Um, well....a little boring, actually."
That wasn't
anyone's fault; it's just that I don't have a computer yet and don't have a phone
yet and can't really do any work. And the people who can give me some training are
insanely busy. So this will get much better within the week. Since I'm a
contractor and get paid hourly, I think they'll be more than happy to see me for
well under 40 hours this week ... which is fine with me, since I realized
somewhere around lunch time that I had already earned as much as I would have for
a whole week on unemployment. Today I got to leave at 2:30 to go get drug-tested,
neatly avoiding the afternoon traffic.
Morning traffic wasn't bad,
either. I left rowing at 6:30, which meant by the time we got our quad all
together and adjusted, we got to do about half a lap before I had to come in.
Boatyard to gym (to shower) to work, about an hour and 10 minutes. Not too bad.
Also, of course, today I was primping a good bit more than usual because of it
being the first day and all, so I'll be able to cut a little off that time.
Tomorrow I think I'll shower at the gym after lifting weights instead of coming
home -- that will save 15 minutes or so and get me on the roads a touch earlier,
while traffic is a smidgen lighter.
Bizarrely, it was almost nice to
be back in a grey cubicle in an aerospace company wearing a badge and having to
log my time to an insane exactitude. This is a world I understand, having spent 8
and a half years in it. The previous employer, an Internet company, gave us free
sodas and cookies and I could wear shorts to work. All of this is fun, but on the
other hand, that company is now probably going out of business. The aerospace
companies may be anal, but they're still providing jobs. There's something to be
said for that. (But though I didn't get free cookies, I did get a sandwich, fries,
and a 20-oz Coke for $3.75, so there's at least a little nurturing going on
there.)
I'm also pleased to see they have the best set of orientation
documentation I've seen: a very specific, reasonable dress code; a
nondiscrimination policy that specifically bars making employment decisions based
on everything from pregnancy to "affectional and/or sexual orientation", and a
sane Internet policy (basically, you can use the web at work for private stuff
occasionally, but don't abuse it and don't be downloading porn.
So,
so far, so good, I guess.