So this is Christmas…

I have now been at my new job for three weeks. I am still feeling very overwhelmed, but not nearly as much as when I started. I am now understanding what people are telling me, and the multitude of acronyms are actually making sense now. It is an odd sensation to not completely know what I’m doing day in & day out. While I am certainly getting more comfortable in the position, there is still a lot to learn. I no longer feel panicky or nervous when driving to work, so I’m obviously more comfortable. I also didn’t ever have the near total panick attack I had from the job I resigned from so that I could interview for this one.

Thus far, Carlile seems to be an excellent place to work. The company is larger than I’m used to, but I am slowly adjusting. I never realized how much I depend on people’s actions, or account information and the like just to remember a name. I remember them and meeting them, but I find that I have a very difficult time with actually attaching a name to them. I can tell you where they sit in the building, what department they work for, what paperwork they will most likely hand me, but I only can match a name to about 10% of them. Maybe 15%.  I also find that I need to use my memory very differently in this job than I did at Pacific Rim.  This is more memorization of rules than the need to remember situations. At least at this point. As I think about it, PRP was similar at first, but there was more time to learn things, and they were added much more gradually. After 13 years I just didn’t really notice anymore. Both positions are similar in that there are rules, and there are exceptions to the rules, and 90% of the things that come in are exceptions. As Debra used to say, “in a perfect world this is what you would do, but…” I may still be feeling a bit overwhelmed, I am still glad I got/took the position, at this point I would not switch jobs unless it was a very significant pay increase, at least double.  Even then…

This will be Melissa’s first Christmas away from her family. It is going to be rough for her I am sure. It is just compounding more emotional baggage in the overhead bins. You know, the necessities you have to take with you. The stuff that requires a larger bag, the longer you will be gone. I think we’re at the point that we are trying to stuff a full suitcase under the airplane seat. With the house still up in the air, still being crammed into the basement level apartment, me starting on swing shift, everything still pretty much packed up, it’s hard to properly pack. I think it best for now that we just put shit in the aisle and hope the plane doesn’t crash causing people to trip over our luggage.