hooray!
My background check came through on Wednesday. The job recruiter called and asked whether I wanted to start work on Thursday or Monday. I didn't even think; I blurted out, "TOMORROW" rather emphatically! I got the link to the timecard system, who to report to, and what time and all that.
Part of my motivation for starting work asap was to get a paycheck this coming Friday, even if it's rather small. The more I can chuck towards rent this weekend, the less I'll have to pay in late fees when I pay the remainder. And it was nice to start a job on a day when everyone was already in their groove and more relaxed, rather than having the stressful MONDAY energy people often have at high-pressure jobs.
This is certainly higher pressure than I've dealt with in over a dozen years, but I welcome it. I learned enough about the phones on Thursday and Friday that I was able to handle a few calls on Friday without having to ask my supervisor what to do. I let her handle the phones for the most part on Friday, but I want to leap for the phones this week, because the only way I'm going to understand how to direct and handle calls by myself is to handle and direct calls.
Aside: I am awful at the phone calls. I met everyone in the department on Thursday, but I don't remember who does what. Directing calls is difficult when I don't know to whom I should direct them, or even if our department is supposed to get that call in the first place. I'm frustrated by my incompetence, but I only realized yesterday that I'm so ticked off about it because I spent the last twelve years of my thirteen-year job being incredibly competent and knowing everything that needed to be done ahead of time. Being back to square one with a new organization, even when I have excellent customer service skills, is infuriating. I know that's irrational, but there it is.
My other main task for now is a massive amount of data entry into a computer program that has to do with traffic collisions. I take the information from written reports by the police and enter it into the computer. It's time consuming, but I like it. (They don't have a problem with me listening to my iPod while I do this, so long as I can hear the phone ring and answer it.) My supervisor said on Friday that this is the main computer system that is used for traffic collisions across the country, and if I know even some of it, I will be more valuable when it comes to finding a job elsewhere.
And I'm already faster. It took me an hour to enter four police reports into the system on Thursday. By Friday afternoon, I had doubled my speed. Eight an hour isn't great, but I'll continue to get faster as time progresses.
Yeah, this isn't a permanent position. I have a set number of hours -- fewer than a thousand -- and then I'm out. Full-time, and the hourly rate is almost as much as what I earned at the law school, but there is an expiration on this. So I need to work my patookus off in that time and learn as much as I can about the system. If I'm allowed to do so, I'll spend any down time I may have exploring other parts of the system, too. The more you know, right?
So that's what has taken up my brain for the last four days. That, and realizing that time not spent at work is suddenly less plentiful, so I have a to-do list a mile long for this weekend. I did a few things last night, and I have more work today (already started laundry). I'll get the necessaries done, and maybe a few less-than-necessaries, too, but I'll be ready to go back to work tomorrow with clean clothes, coming from a cleaner apartment, and leaving Mom in comfort while I'm gone.
Once I stepped up the job hunt in earnest, I put my foot down with Mom. I've been fetching and carrying and doing pretty much everything for her since I got laid off. I'm more able bodied, and I'm here all the time, so why not? It lets her muscles atrophy even more, is why not. So I told her during the Christmas holidays that I don't want her to ask me to do anything she can do for herself. Even if it will take a third of the time for me to get a glass of water than it will take her, she is to do it. In a month, she is noticeably stronger, so it has worked. I'm less grumpy, too, so win-win.
One major win with this job is that there are stairs. Fifteen floors of stairs! I get winded after one full floor, so I have work to do, and my knees aren't happy about this. (I wasn't in pain, just aching a little. Descending is harder on my knees than climbing, to be honest!) But I can get up once an hour and climb a flight to get the blood flowing, then go back to my desk and resume work. I want to build up my endurance so I can do multiple floors without stopping to gasp for breath. I'll take it slow, of course, since I want to improve my health and not damage myself!
Time to move laundry along. Happy Sunday.
Part of my motivation for starting work asap was to get a paycheck this coming Friday, even if it's rather small. The more I can chuck towards rent this weekend, the less I'll have to pay in late fees when I pay the remainder. And it was nice to start a job on a day when everyone was already in their groove and more relaxed, rather than having the stressful MONDAY energy people often have at high-pressure jobs.
This is certainly higher pressure than I've dealt with in over a dozen years, but I welcome it. I learned enough about the phones on Thursday and Friday that I was able to handle a few calls on Friday without having to ask my supervisor what to do. I let her handle the phones for the most part on Friday, but I want to leap for the phones this week, because the only way I'm going to understand how to direct and handle calls by myself is to handle and direct calls.
Aside: I am awful at the phone calls. I met everyone in the department on Thursday, but I don't remember who does what. Directing calls is difficult when I don't know to whom I should direct them, or even if our department is supposed to get that call in the first place. I'm frustrated by my incompetence, but I only realized yesterday that I'm so ticked off about it because I spent the last twelve years of my thirteen-year job being incredibly competent and knowing everything that needed to be done ahead of time. Being back to square one with a new organization, even when I have excellent customer service skills, is infuriating. I know that's irrational, but there it is.
My other main task for now is a massive amount of data entry into a computer program that has to do with traffic collisions. I take the information from written reports by the police and enter it into the computer. It's time consuming, but I like it. (They don't have a problem with me listening to my iPod while I do this, so long as I can hear the phone ring and answer it.) My supervisor said on Friday that this is the main computer system that is used for traffic collisions across the country, and if I know even some of it, I will be more valuable when it comes to finding a job elsewhere.
And I'm already faster. It took me an hour to enter four police reports into the system on Thursday. By Friday afternoon, I had doubled my speed. Eight an hour isn't great, but I'll continue to get faster as time progresses.
Yeah, this isn't a permanent position. I have a set number of hours -- fewer than a thousand -- and then I'm out. Full-time, and the hourly rate is almost as much as what I earned at the law school, but there is an expiration on this. So I need to work my patookus off in that time and learn as much as I can about the system. If I'm allowed to do so, I'll spend any down time I may have exploring other parts of the system, too. The more you know, right?
So that's what has taken up my brain for the last four days. That, and realizing that time not spent at work is suddenly less plentiful, so I have a to-do list a mile long for this weekend. I did a few things last night, and I have more work today (already started laundry). I'll get the necessaries done, and maybe a few less-than-necessaries, too, but I'll be ready to go back to work tomorrow with clean clothes, coming from a cleaner apartment, and leaving Mom in comfort while I'm gone.
Once I stepped up the job hunt in earnest, I put my foot down with Mom. I've been fetching and carrying and doing pretty much everything for her since I got laid off. I'm more able bodied, and I'm here all the time, so why not? It lets her muscles atrophy even more, is why not. So I told her during the Christmas holidays that I don't want her to ask me to do anything she can do for herself. Even if it will take a third of the time for me to get a glass of water than it will take her, she is to do it. In a month, she is noticeably stronger, so it has worked. I'm less grumpy, too, so win-win.
One major win with this job is that there are stairs. Fifteen floors of stairs! I get winded after one full floor, so I have work to do, and my knees aren't happy about this. (I wasn't in pain, just aching a little. Descending is harder on my knees than climbing, to be honest!) But I can get up once an hour and climb a flight to get the blood flowing, then go back to my desk and resume work. I want to build up my endurance so I can do multiple floors without stopping to gasp for breath. I'll take it slow, of course, since I want to improve my health and not damage myself!
Time to move laundry along. Happy Sunday.
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