dianaschnuth

Everyone keeps asking me how I like my new job so far. Honestly, I think I’m still too new in the position to really have an opinion of the job yet. The novelty of some of the new changes has begun to wear off: I’m growing accustomed to a half-hour drive to work again; parking in the parking garage is no big deal; I’m becoming more familiar with everyone’s different accents, and can understand people’s speech more easily; not clocking in and out every day doesn’t seem so weird; and the glass-walled elevator ride isn’t quite so spectacular as it once seemed.

That said, there are some things that are still cool, and there are some things I’ve come to miss. I’m still taken by the view from the 12th floor, especially when I find myself in one of the conference rooms, staring out across the Maumee River (currently frozen and snow-covered) into the distance beyond. I still feel like I hit the lottery every time I get a paycheck; Aaron and I are working on evening out our bill-paying habits, now that I make more, but I still feel mighty WTF at my checking account balance most of the time (especially since we’ve paid off the Kia! w00t!). I still enjoy my daily walks down the Maumee, although I do miss walking in a more wooded setting, under a canopy of leaves (or at least branches) and on a dirt trail instead of pavement.

At the top of the list of things I miss, though, are my work friends. I miss them individually — James, Heather, Rob, Scott, and others — but I also miss just *having* work friends. Finally, after almost three months, I’m starting to get a little more than a “How are you?” from people in the pantry/kitchen area, but I still don’t feel like there’s anyone I really connect with. It’ll take time.

Other things I miss: Having a window right by my cube. Squirrel-watching. Being ten or fifteen minutes from home. Being five minutes from my OB-GYN’s office. Doing a slightly different job every two weeks. Having a grasp on my job and knowing just about everything I need to know to do it properly and efficiently. Generally knowing what I’m doing.

One thing I’m not sure if I’ll like or not is business travel. I’ll be traveling for software training twice in February, and probably more in the second quarter and beyond. I usually only get fifteen minutes of quality time with my husband every evening, between the time I get home and the time he leaves, and I’m not too keen on giving up those precious few minutes. I also don’t have a wifi laptop (OK, I don’t have a laptop at all), so unless I hang out in the hotel’s Business Center for an hour or more every evening, I am *so* going to have internet withdrawal. I’m also just generally not cool with traveling solo; I prefer to have a partner in crime, just in case I lose my way or don’t know what I’m doing or whatever. However… I might like it, especially since it’ll be relatively infrequent. Change of scenery. Learn some stuff. See some friends (Columbus and Chicago in February! Locals, touch base with me and we’ll meet up). We’ll see.

So, that’s a relatively neutral view on how the job is going so far. In a nutshell, I’m pretty ambivalent about it right now, but it has potential. I need time and knowledge in order to grow into the job, I think. It’ll come. It’ll click. I just need time, and the right attitude.