The new J-O-B

So I finished up my first week yesterday. It had its ups and downs, but overall I think it was a good first week. It's a little weird to find myself doing something I had never imagined, but I guess that's life: "uno pone, y Dios dispone." To give you a brief background, there are two girls in the admin office, one receptionist, an attorney, another guy who I think is in charge of general office administration (still not sure exactly sure what his role is), one new girl that started on Thursday, and then 7 guys that do all the grunt work.

First of all, I've always hated the learning curve at any new job. You start working somewhere you know nothing about, you don't know how they do things, what their system is, who does what, what you're supposed to be doing, etc., etc., etc. And on the other hand you're having a ton of information thrown your way, which makes things a little overwhelming. This place has been good about the latter, they're training me a bit slow, which I guess I should be gracious for! It's just frustrating not knowing how to do things, and seeing everyone else around me busy while I'm trying to figure out how to do one simple task. I'm looking forward to the next month or so being done, when I finally know what I'm doing and I don't have to be asking someone a question every five minutes....because I'm sure that's getting annoying.... :)

As to the other new girl that started on Thursday, I have a confession to make. I was a little upset she was stealing my "new girl in the office" title so soon after I started (on Tuesday). I was basking in all the glory of being the only girl in the back office and getting to know everyone, and then another new girl comes along! Silly, I know. But here's one thing I've learned throughout the years: I'm never the only one who feels a certain way, we're just too embarrassed or afraid to admit to things. So I'll admit it, I was jealous of the second-new-girl. But it turns out she pretty much keeps to herself, so I guess there was nothing to worry about...

Which brings me to the final point of this blog: I really like the people I'm working with. I'm still unsure about the actual job, but the people so far are great. They're all super mellow, joking around with each other and such. I'm still weighing where I fit in to the picture, but I can tell they're getting more comfortable around me by seeing how they're interacting with each other: the first couple days were a little quiet, but by Thursday they were back to their normal shenanigans. The other thing I love is that everyone (except for the main attorney) speaks Spanish, and I had forgotten how much I missed being around that. Growing up I've always had friends around me who spoke Spanish and I could relate to on a cultural level. After I graduate college and moved back home, I didn't have that connection anymore. It's been great to be able to speak Spanglish, listen to the guys make fun of each other in Spanish, and be able to use all the Spanish phrases in the book. I think this will help at home too, since I'll be in Spanish-mode all day, and maybe I'll be better about teaching Jeff some Spanish :)

So overall, it's been a good week.