Project Coordinator: Day One

Let me start off by saying that while I am an early bird, 5:45am is just insane. I had a fitful night's sleep due to being A) excited about the first day of work B) afraid that I would oversleep and C) in a bed to which I'm not accustomed. Despite these issues, I still had a hard time getting up at 5:45am. To my frustration, I walked into the kitchen to find my mom already awake and asking a million questions about whether or not I'm ready for my first day, am I awake yet, what do I want to eat, etc. I realize it's nice of her to wake up with me and try to help me do things, and I really wish I could take her help graciously, but I am not that kind of person. At 5:45am, I want to make myself coffee and get ready without talking to anyone. I also have a severe problem with accepting her help with anything, I'm not sure why, but I get very anxious when she does things for me without asking. Instead of thanking her, I get upset.

 Traffic at 6:30am

Anyway, I leave from my mom's house at 6:30am and proceed to drive down I-45 to Sam Houston Toll to I-10 (kind of missed the exit, but this is the route I should have gone) to HWY 6. I had to go a roundabout way today because I have mush for brains this early in the morning and I missed the exit for I-10, which, by the way, is kind of hard to miss. I get to work just before 8am, get handed a stack of paperwork to fill out and then get introduced to about 15 people, and I can now tell you maybe what 3 of their names are.

I spent most of the day reading over the employee manual (about as exciting as it sounds), another manual about what I'll be doing (overwhelming) and training with my manager, Olga. Olga! She's from Russia, and there's another lady from Russia in the office with whom she frequently speaks Russian...it's very distracting because I want to understand what they're saying and I hear familiar words every now and then. The office (shared by everyone in the Translating Division) is large and I get my own L-shaped desk, complete with two monitors that go to the computer, a telephone (which rings incessantly) and a view of the vultures (wtf?) out in the parking lot. Not a bad setup.

Some highlights from the day: Olga seemed very impressed when I could answer her questions about what I'd learned (hooray for a pretty decent cramming memory) and I didn't cry on the drive home! Also, my "first day on the job" outfit was pretty great.

Note the subtle gray/black zebra printing on the skirt

Playing Tetris with my Belongings

Tomorrow is the big day: Moving Day. Being a procrastinator, I still have a lot to do, but I seem to work well under pressure, so I'm not too worried. I managed to fit the entire contents of my closet into the trunk of my Honda Accord, still on the hangers for optimal ease of unpacking (hopefully). With my closest barren, I realize that this is really happening. I am moving to Houston and starting a new job in mere days! I have been ignoring the obvious for at least a week now, keeping my mind busy with day to day things so that I would not freak out. I am feeling some panic right now, but it's probably only temporary. I have so much left to do that I don't have time to panic.

Moving has got to be one of the worst things in life. The only upside is that I have purged a LOT of stuff (either because I didn't want to pack it or because if I haven't even seen it in a year, it's of no use to me) and I will hopefully learn to not purchase frivolous things anymore. Or at least not as much. One can dream.

Yesterday was my last day at work and the ladies got me a cookie cake. I thought it was really sweet of them and wish I had thought to take a picture before everyone got a piece of it. They also had everyone meet for Happy Hour at Botticelli's on South Congress and we had a lot of fun! They had me take a shot and wished me well with my new job in Houston.

Speaking of procrastinating, I suppose I had better get back to packing so that I can do some more celebrating tonight. I am looking forward to seeing how much stuff I can fit into my car...