I’m trying something different with my writing this week, something that I hope will become my new habit. At my last job, I would often end up writing after I got off work. This wasn’t that much of an issue, since I was getting up so early and getting home by early afternoon. With the new job, however, that wouldn’t work as well. So I’m going to try writing before work every morning.

So far, this is going quite well. I’m still in the habit of getting up early, and the time change has me getting up even earlier. It also means that I can have my evening completely free. Let’s just say I’m not exactly used to “Small Midwest Business” levels of hospitality; the office has taken me out to dinner the past two nights and, while the food was tasty, I’ve found myself longing for the quiet of my hotel room and computer after a couple hours. But being the guest of honor, of course, I haven’t known how to politely extricate myself. After all, it’s not like I can make the excuse of wanting to sample the hopping nightlife scene, right?

Anyway, you’re probably less interested in my griping than how my first day was. Well, too bad: this is my blog, I do what I want!

…Alright, fine. My first day was pretty good. Lots of new information to take in; “drink from the firehose” levels of information. Not in the least of which was everyone’s names. But as I got into things, it started to make sense. It’s nice to be working in AutoCAD again, and the day went pretty quickly. They’ve got me set up in the conference room, where I’m using the wall-mounted HDTV as a monitor. That’s been interesting, as I get to crane my neck up all day, and I occasionally find myself leaning in to try and get a better look.

The CAD work is pretty rote, but can also be kinda fun. I had to take a site survey (pics and dimensions) and generate a floor plan. Inevitably, there were times that the dimensions didn’t match up, but I’m quite proud of myself with how little I let that bother me. It’s been kind of fun, like solving a puzzle when all you have is a series of close-up photos of the box and someone’s sketch of the finished product.

There are some potential negatives, of course. I’m not as fast as I’d like to be, but I figure slow and steady is better while I’m learning the company’s methods and systems. I can see how this work would get tedious and repetitive, but I’m trying to stay positive about it. I’m finally working in my chosen field, and that counts for a lot. And sure, it’s different than school was, but that’s to be expected. No schooling can really prepare you for the real world of using your skills, unless all your training is on-the-job.

Anyway, that may have been a bit rambling. I’d like to say more, but it’s time to go to work. Maybe if I have a few more spoons left at the end of the day (so that I don’t just come back to the hotel and play computer games until it’s past time to sleep) I’ll have something more thoughtful to say tomorrow.