First Day

It's been forever since I started a new job. Last time I did, Ted Kaczynski was still the 'Unabomber.' And Oklahoma City was the worst domestic terrorism in U.S. history; TWA Flight 800 was a theoretical second.

O.J. Simpson was on trial.

Yeah, it's bet awhile.

So far, really great. I like the people, I like the work. There's plenty to learn but there's also lots of stuff I can just apply to the task at hand.

I worried a bit about the commute, but it's not so bad. I think living around the corner from work had me thinking any kind of drive was undoable. But I had a longer commute my first year of that job.

No way I was going to be late. The boss said 'by Eight A.M. Monday.' I figured if it was 8:02, I might as well see if I can get those cancelled interviews back on. I'd made the drive there for interviews in half an hour, twice. But with it being morning, I left an hour. It took me 45 minutes.

Since finding myself in the job market, sleep has gotten erratic. I'll wake up at 1:00, 3:15, 4:30, inevitably thinking the alarm as gone off and I have to get moving. Wondering why I'm so tired until I realize I've only been in bed for two hours.

Being unemployed, I always thought about what I was going to do. Or what I was going to do after that didn't work.

So now, with new employment underway, I slept...not a lick better.

I woke up at least four times in the night, basically imagining scenarios where my new boss would get a day or two into this and say, 'Whoah. You gotta go. What was I thinking?'

But it was fun. The work is doable, though I need to bone up on my Quark keyboard shortcuts. And maybe learn more about networking Macs. And fitting in with a relatively small but veteran crew.

A guy I know from my last job, a guy who left before I did, told me 'There's life after ______, and it's good.' Today I got my first inkling that maybe he was right about that....