ANA Y4 D331

Silence.

Well I did it. I made it through my first day. It was a long day. I was up at 4:30, left the house around 6:15 and got there a couple minutes after 7. I feel like I am living back in California and have a standard commute again. Thanks, I hate it. It wasnt bad, just long. But if we do it short term, fine. Regardless, I got there in one piece and stopped first at the grocery store to get some snacks and a drink. Went in to HR around 8:45. I didn't do full HR orientation as they do that on Tuesdays. I will do all that today. I just got my i9 information verfied and got my badge. Around 9, I went over to my building and from there spent the rest of the day with my new boss being given the firehose of information. I am officially part of the "Control Engineering" group. There are roughly 15 of us on this team. I spent the entire day learning more than I ever wanted or needed to know about the business. Honestly so much of what was dumped on me is stuff that really is irrelevant to my actual job but was still interesting to know. It does give me context for things, but it was a lot. See he is out the rest of this week and I think he wanted to just give as much info as he could. I did learn things about him which will help with knowing how to work with him and what his expectations are. I learned he is autistic and that most of the people in our group are neurodivergent. In other words, my kind of people. He did take me to lunch with other folks on the team. He has 4 direct reports including me, one of whom is a manager with 9 direct reports. So right now I am technically 2 down from the top of the chain. He reports into the EVP and I report into him. I don't have any "manager" level in between me and leadership essentially. That makes me happy because it means my voice will be heard by actual decision makers. It also means I am very exposed and have to give my best. Lunch was okay. We went to a mexican place that we also have near us so I knew what to expect. Again, it was okay. I am not a huge fan but it worked. I headed out around 4:30pm and got to the hotel around 4:45. From there I ordered pizza for dinner. I will be bringing some to the office today for lunch. I need to figure out where a fridge is this morning. Today after HR and all day tomorrow, he has scheduled meetings for me with other department heads so I can introduce myself and learn about their needs.

I will say I think I will enjoy it here. It's just the commute that's going to kill me. 

ANA Y4 D330

Well here it is. My first day back in an office. My head is screaming and I am anxious. But let's do this! I have to shower, load up the car and get rolling. I am axcited and scared all at the same time. I didn't do much of anything yesterday. Just enjoyed my last day off. Let's see how this goes. This is going to be my place of work hopefully for the next 10 years. This is going to change things. A new adventure awaits!

ANA Y4 D329

This is it. My last day. My head is back which surprises me a bit to be honest. I was expecting it to stay gone. Interesting.

Did laundry, towels, sheets. Packed for this week. Friend dropped by unplanned ended up staying for dinner. Not much else going on. 

ANA Y4 D328

Silence.What if all this was job and stress related? What if it goes away now that I am starting this new job? How messed up is that?

 Had therapy yesterday. Got to share my happy news. Managed to get a walk in before it started raining. Went to have pizza with a friend to celebrate my new job but sadly the place was packed with a line out the door. Ended up at one of our favorite ramen places instead. Had a good time.

Standard Saturday chores today. With the added bonus of packing for next week. Only two more days!! 

ANA Y4 D327

Mostly silent. A little residual but nothing unbearable.

Paid all the bills last night. That was it. We would not have made it any longer. I have $1k coming from unemployment to help me on the 8th when I only get a half check, but I need a paycheck coming in. This was down to the wire. But we did it. We didn't argue. We didn't freak out either.

I was just having the weirdest dream. Elevators, schools, being late, cars - all recurring themes in my dreams. Anxiety about starting a new job? Anxiety about everything? Maybe. Desire to change? Probably. Desire to be free? Definitely.

Last three days of being irresponsible. Woo. 

ANA Y4 D326

As expected, silence. Hit yesterday. This is what keeping track of data allows - pattern recognition. If I can see the pattern I can learn to live with it? Maybe?

Dog of course stopped limping. She was fine all day because why wouldn't she be? I also learned yesterday that when a new hire starts it triggers a bunch of automated emails. So people already know about me and are asking questions. But the upside is I found out I am getting an office!! I was prepared for cubicle life, but nope, I get an office with a small window! On the negative, apparently new hires pictures and bios are put on TVs all around the different buildings. I am less thrilled about that. They're only supposed to stay up for like a month but some stay up longer if there's nothing new to bump them off. I do not want to walk around and see my face everywhere. I am used to being invisible. The name spoken in whispers. Now? Front and damn center. Okay. We will make it work.

I also did some deep dive research yesterday on what to do with my lease. Bottom line? I am keeping my car. I am going to put a ton of miles on it in the next six months but then nothing. But the real issue is there is nothing comparable in my price range that makes it worth it. No hybrid big enough. No crossover with the same features cheap enough. The only one that comes close is a Volvo which doesn't get that much better gas mileage AND prices out to $62k. For a Volvo!! I will just keep mine for the next 10 years and be happy. Smart thing to do.

I mowed the front yard yesterday morning. We're the only house in the immediate section with a fresh mow. Ha! Everyone else looks raggedy except ours. Take that neighbords! Might do the back today. Spent a good deal of time outside too. Just sitting in the sun. Oh how I have missed you sun. 

ANA Y4 D325

Head is still screaming, dog is still limping. Not happy. I took her to the vet yesterday and got an all clear but then she started limping again in the evening. I left a message at the vet. We shall see. Five more days and I start my new job!

ANA Y4 D324

Still screaming. I had expected it to break today. Hmm. The pattern is one day off. Interesting.

Got my final confirmation of hire yesterday. I am officially an employee! My new boss is also putting a blurb about me in the "Engineering Newsletter". WTF? There are so many things I am going to have to get used to again working in office and in a real company. No more just being a whispered name in the dark. People will like want to talk to me. Ew. I sent my no thank you emails to two other companies yesterday. That felt pretty good. No thanks, I have a job! Take that suckers!

Did laundry. Made vet appointment for her paws. Dealt with work. Made salmon for dinner. Few more days of peace then it's back to the grind for 3650 days of my life. 

ANA Y4 D323

Been up and going at it for a while now. New boss sent me email over weekend apologizing for not getting back sooner. He confiirmed a few things and I am glad I read it. There's a discrepancy in the start date. HR wants Tuesday 4/28, he wants Monday 4/27. He will get back to me soon. He also told me they are getting me a 27" 4k monitor, a work phone, and they offer a $150 shoe credit for the floor through Grainger!! I sent off a reply to him, turned down the other two interviews, and am now waiting for a week. 

Took doggo outside. She isn't limping any more but I still want vet to check her. Waiting for their phone call. They don't open until 9am sadly. 

I just quickly looked at Grainger's site. Holy crap! So many choices of cute work boots and shoes!! I am so excited.

New pans will be here by Wednesday. This should be a good week. Head still screaming though. Oh well. 

ANA Y4 D322

Scream. Pattern holding.

Quiet day. C is working ALL weekend so we didn't do much. Add to it that it's raining and well, not much going on. Doggo is still hurt. I called the vet to see her this week. Did laundry. Cleaned. Played games.