Transitioning from near-joblessness to full time work is a
wonderful kind of crazy. I don’t know how to organize this hodgepodge of a post
with any sort of throughline other than that. This is going to be random.
So this week I started the new job, picked out a 401k,
insurances, other things. I got to carpool with wife since she works not too
far from me. We even had lunch together for two days. That sort of thing has
been very helpful in the transition. It’s hard to go from being available for
her 24/7 and able to drop what I’m working on to help her, to having to limit
our contact to a text or two, a brief phone call, maybe a short email, during
the day. Maybe we were co-dependent, but it was a good kind of co-dependent. We
work well together.
The new job is my first time writing for the corporate
world. I’ve worked retail before, but my writing background is steeped in
newspapers and academia. I’m learning new aspects of marketing, like eblasts,
and writing press releases like a fiend. I’m watching training videos and
learning all the different products the company makes, starting to pick up the
business-speak shorthand like EOD. I filled out a personality survey that
everyone is doing to figure out how to work with each other as a team. I got
perfectionist, which is better than finding out you’re an asshole I guess. Maybe
they’re the same thing.
The people I work with are great. The office is a supportive
environment. Everyone gets along. My last job I found out on day one that there
were definitely lines of tension to avoid between certain people. I haven’t
gotten that this time. That’s why they said they were very careful during the
hiring process. They were looking for even-tempered, no-drama people. Depite
what is posted here, that’s me in work life. And everyone seems to be glad to
have me on board, which is just awesome. Validation is a nice thing.
The eco-friendly office is also very nicely settled in between some major
roads, yet also buffered by a forresty area. Every day we see turkeys, deer and
other wildlife out the windows. One day there was a coyote rambling around out
there to remind me that working late and alone at night will not be an option.
This week, for the first time in my life, I’ve been waking
up between 6 and 6:30 without an alarm and feeling fully rested and ready for
the day. I’ve become an annoying morning person, which is like Captain America
suddenly deciding that communists aren’t so bad. I crash at 9 at night. I’m
hoping this changes and I go back to being human soon.
And in the middle of all this, wife decided to take control
of the family situation and email my parents a detailed account of why we haven’t
spoken to them since Christmas, and what needs to be done to figure out a way
to coexist in the future, a path to healing the wounds. Apparently we can't exist for a week without five life stressors on the burner. That was two days ago,
and nothing back yet.
Last night, we went to WITS, with Paul F. Tompkins and Aimee Mann and hosted by the charming John Moe. We
bought the tickets months ago, and it turned out to be my new job celebration
event. It would have been a different evening altogether if I was still
looking. Wife was not up so much on either entertainer, but I’m hugely into
Tompkins, and Aimee Mann as a kicker on that just blew my fucking mind. Once we
settled in and the show started, wife began to enjoy things as well, and she
could see why I was psyched to go. Then out of nowhere, Neil fucking Gaiman
walks out and reads some lines for several skits. What the hell! Wife asked
what my favorite part was during the drive home. I said, “Every part. Every
single thing was awesome.” And Aimee
Mann is surprisingly very funny!
We're driving out of the parking garage next to the Fitzgerald theater and waiting to turn onto the road, when Neil Fucking Gaiman drives up next to us on the right, also waiting to turn onto the road. Wife freaks out, for some reason surprised that he drives rather than takes some sort of portal he makes with his mind. He turns and drives off into the night. We do the same.
So now we’re going to see Paul F Tompkins tonight for his
standup act, something I wouldn’t have done without a job. We’ve been waiting
in the wings of the Twin Cities for so long, going to the occassional free
thing, but passing up on opportunities to see great entertainers because of the
whole broke thing. Now we’ll get to catch our heroes when they come through
town on tour. We’ll get to see plays, and check out the best places to get
(fill in food item here). I’m looking forward to it.
Enjoy some Aimee Mann!
and go here for a wonderful video clip of Tompkins talking about being broke, which seems appropriate for this blog.
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