Over the past week or so, I've had to go for a few different training sessions. The sessions are really informal, one on one meetings which I've booked with colleagues which will help bring me up to speed on some of the unfamiliar aspects of my new job.
On Thursday, I went for a session at our central office. This office contains a lot of the support services folks and it's a place I visit several times a week to drop off documents and financial stuff. I usually hit it at the end of the day, on my way home so it's a quick dash in and out. Thursday morning, I had some time to wander the building a bit and say hello to some folks. The reaction was very sweet and warm. Honestly, you'd have thought that I'd been away in Siberia for a year. Lots of hugs and smiles and words of encouragement and support for me in my new role. These folks are genuinely sweet and caring and just incredibly kind.
Today, I went for another session about some of our financial reporting processes. This time, I was in my old building. It was the first time I'd been back in their since I dropped my keys off during the holidays. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel a little strange. The place is so familiar and yet, I no longer have a corner of it to call mine. I don't miss it though, it's a busy building, bustling I guess you could say. Lots of folks everywhere, lots of equipment, it's a hive of activity and at times, a flurry of stress (if stress can be flurried).
After my session, I had to go see one of my current co-workers about a work-related matter. She's splitting her time between our office (in the sweet cottage) and the central office. Along the way, I got to say hello to a friend of mine who I miss a lot (probably one of three folks I miss most) for a minute. On my way out, I stopped by my old area. My old boss was on her phone with her back to the door when I walked by her office so I didn't stop in for a hello. I was able to have a little visit with my two close work buddies (the other two folks I miss the most). It was the first time I'd seen them since the holidays and it felt really nice to see them face to face. We had a quick natter (we've been keeping up via phone) and while it made me realize that I do miss them, I don't miss working over there like I thought I might.
My new job is so different from what I was doing before. The environment is less frantic but the work is just as challenging. I actually feel like I have a little bit of time to absorb everything I'm doing. Toward the end of my old position, I was feeling a little bit like I was on auto-pilot. I never had time to stop and reflect or review what I'd been doing. That's not a good feeling, jumping from one thing to the next willie-nillie. I mean, more often than not, it was juggling multiple big projects at the same time so there was not a lot of wiggle room for days off or getting sick.
The one amusing (to me anyway) common thing I keep running into since I've moved on, is the counting. The first week, everyone I'd talk to would be "so, is this day three?" and after that it was all "so, week 2 huh?" It feels a little like when someone has a baby and for the first little while they are "so many days old" and then that gets upgraded to "weeks" until they are a couple of months old. I guess I'm still in the infancy of this new job and folks are counting along for me. It's encouraging for sure but I can't help but smile a little about it too. It's cute.
