Day Two: Able to Summon a Few More Words

Only two weeks between jobs, and I am finding the return to working life extremely tiring. Note to self: for the love of Pete, remember to buy a lottery ticket! It will lend an air of verisimilitude to your oft-voiced desire to win the lottery.

Now, on to an early-days version of What I've Learned:

• The work I'm doing is pretty much the same as the last time I was a proofreader. I have to get used to new products and a new style guide, but it's very comforting to know what to do, and it makes the strain of a new job somewhat less.
• The number of times I will bash my knee on something that is unexpectedly (and inexplicably) under my desk is: two. Under my desk on one side is the computer tower, and another tower and monitor. No, I don't know why the second computer is there. All I know is, I had a laptop at work for the last 18 months, and before that I had an iMac, which has no tower. My knee was not expecting anything to be there. Ow. (The second smash broke the skin, for heaven's sake!) I believe I cursed under my breath, but it wasn't very much under.
  
• I have monitor envy. At first I was pleased with mine, because hey after a laptop it's huge. But it seems like everyone else's is even bigger...
  
• Also I hate the mouse on the work computer. It barely moves, so I have to move it (scrape it, really) over and over to get it where I need it. (Not having a mouse pad probably doesn't help.) Then when I get home, I send the mouse flying everywhere because whoa! it moves so fast!
  
• So far, the people in my group seem nice, but not in a seek-me-out-and-make-me-feel-welcome way. Which isn't the end of the world. All I mean is that everyone's nice to talk to, but no one asked me what I was going to do for lunch. Yesterday morning, my boss introduced me to the people who were at their desks at the time, and she had someone take me to security to get my badge which resulted in a slight tour, but that's it. Not that I expect hand-holding, it's just ... I had to ask someone where the ladies room was, because no one thought to tell me. Maybe it's because it's a really big company, and I've been working for smaller ones. Not bad, just different.
• There was a farmer's market at Copley Square today. Turns out that they're there every Tuesday and Friday, score! Not too much produce yet, but lots of bakery temptations and I had to restrain myself from buying a pot of basil just to keep on my desk. I'll be happy to go back to that this summer.
  
• Today I ate lunch on a bench in Copley Square, and people-watched, and though it was a little chilly it was still fun. Tomorrow is supposed to be much the same, with rain, but after that some 70s are on the way, which will be excellent lunch weather. Tomorrow perhaps I'll try out the "winter garden" area inside the building. And sometime I should look into the cafeteria, though if I'm buying lunch there are a million options in the area.
  
• Speaking of the area, I love the architecture of the Back Bay. Love it! You will probably see a lot of pictures this summer.
  
• I can take an hour lunch, so I've been taking my lunch to eat outside, then walking around the rest of the time. I'm hoping this will help provide some of the exercise my life's been lacking.
• So far (all two days) I've ignored the temptation to shop, though there is much nearby. I may have to go into the BPL some days, though. Or maybe I'll go after work, and keep walking at lunch ... we'll see.
  
• Even the five-minute walks from the house to the bus and the T to the office add up. That's 20 minutes more exercise a day than I was getting before! Plus, seriously, standing up on a bus or subway and trying not to fall over from the jerky motion has to count as exercise. That is a workout.

Well, I don't think there's much coherence to this, but at least I managed some content before my brain started to turn to mush. I need to take chicken out of the freezer, and think about what to wear tomorrow (work clothes! and shoes! deserve their own post after a year and a half of jeans), and pet the kitty. And so to bed.