Monday, March 28, 2005

Working 9-5 (OK - 8:30 to 5 with a half-hour lunch)

The Good:
So, I have actual paying work for the next month. Whee! The commute is the best I've ever had - 1/2 hour from door to door at peak rush hour. The people are friendly, and from what I can see so far - drama free. There's much more freedom of movement than I've been accustomed to in the past, which is a huge relief. (i.e. no more 'Teacher, can I go to the bathroom!?')

My supervisor seems really relaxed & down to earth - I feel really comfortable being myself and letting my sense of humor come through, and so far it's fine. What I found really rewarding was letting her know (when she wanted to begin reviewing upcoming projects with me 15 minutes after I was supposed to leave) that going forward, I would not be able to work overtime without advance notice. She said that overtime is rarely required, and when necessary, would be scheduled in advance. Score one: me.

There's a cafeteria on-site (expensive, but hella convenient), and I have the option of taking a half-hour lunch break & leaving early, which I'm all over. The grounds are lovely, and there's validated parking right across from my office. The work itself is not challenging in the least, and I'm actually ok with that for the moment. It's a real treat just to be in a place where work doesn't automatically mean massive amounts of stress. Not to mention it's good to have the income.

The Bad:
The office I'm working in used to be an X-Ray vault. Really. (Goodbye window view!) So my cell phone doesn't work at ALL during the day, including receiving or sending text messages. I'm still waiting for the IT department to set my computer up, and I won't be able to download IM until they've done that. So I'm feeling really, really cut off from the world. I know it's temporary, but Jeezy Creezy, technology is my friend. Then there's the nature of the work itself... (although it's more of a trade-off then a bad thing, really) Lower Pay = Monkey Work. It's wonderful not to feel so utterly responsible all the time, but I feel bad for every temp worker to whom I ever delegated filing. My payback has begun in earnest.

And last, but by no means least - a fellow cave dweller (of which there are 3) listens to, heaven help me, 'lite jazz'. Let's see Sars review of the musical genre, shall we? Yeah. Damn.

The Ugly:
You mean, I'm not on vacation anymore?!