First Day on the Job!

Today was my very first day at my NEW job.  It is different than any job I could have imagined myself in a year ago, but I really think I am going to like it there. 

 Although the job isn't what I could have imagined for myself- it is exactly what I figured working in a Seattle office building would be like.  The big big boss has a golden retriever named Cody who loyally follows him around.  Our conference room looks out onto Elliot Bay, the important people's offices look back at the Space Needle.  Seriously, I am down the hall from the Associate Press of Seattle. 

There are about 10 people in our office, with desks and computers and stuff in the office.  Now I am one of these people with a desk, two monitors and even a phone. We've got a break room that is stocked with tea and coffee and leftover Halloween candy.  My manager suggested I might enjoy eating my lunch on the patio (with the unreal view of the bay).  I actually can enjoy part of that vista from my sorta cubicle.  Not exactly 4 walled cubicles, we have long, stair shaped desks that probably could accommodate a dozen extra people.  I don't really feel like I "share" this with anyone, but there are two other people in my bay, I suppose you would call it.Tragically, I have no walls to call my own to hang any time of commemorative anything more substantial that a postcard.  I'm totally willing to give this up for the view.

And the work just picked up where we left off on Friday, which was cool.  I'm diving into some newer stuff (very superficial xml), and being able to call upon the people around me to help out is a real boon.  We are at the very early stages of a product cycle (starting a new class), so I can get the feel for my coworkers before things really heat up.  I've never worked in an office setting before, and I was struck that everyone talked like librarians, very hush hush (I am sure this is magnified by a factor of Seattle).

The downside.... oh, the downside... was the commute.  It took me about an hour to get in this morning.  I left around the time Matt did and easily made it in before 8 am.  But, I wasn't supposed to meet anyone there until 8:45, so I went and sat in a coffee shop full of vintage furniture and sipped tea in the grey Seattle morning light and listened to my podcasts.  I felt very urban.  On the way home, I left just after dark, waited for buses a bit longer than I should have and ended up getting home just before 7.  This is a long day, but really the only part that is stressful is the transfer.  Otherwise I was checking my email, listening to podcasts, playing on my phone... the bus ride was easy.  If I can get an elegant bus route lined up I don't think I will mind so much.  By the time I got home I felt.... excited.  And energized.  I don't think grad school ever made me feel like that, I'm hoping I can hang on to that momentum through the roughness of the winter commutes and/or still enjoy it during the long summer days.