“If you want to be successful in this world, you have to follow your passion, not a paycheck.” ~ Jen Welter, NFL’s first female coach

Starting a new job is always nerve-wracking, at least for me.

Day 1 – met my boss @ the guard shack and successfully avoided puking on his shoes. He asked if I got moved down okay and I replied that it doesn’t take much to move a bar stool and an air mattress. That garnered me a side glance. So I went on, “but next week I get a hot water heater and my mattress and box springs.” He stopped mid-stride and with a look of awe asked, “Girl! You ain’t got hot water?!?!” With some eye-rolling, I shot back, “Sure I do. I put it in pans and boil it. It’s like camping. But in a house. I call it ‘glamping’.”

Day 2 – after getting set up with a cubicle and no CPU, I was stuck in a general location with a computer to finish my ‘death by PowerPoint’ introductory stuff that comes with all new jobs. On my arrival, I dropped my wallet in the parking lot where it remained for 20 minutes and realized that I had put my shirt on backwards. Goooo me!!!

Day 3 — I had to report early to another secure location on the complex. Because I didn’t have my security badge or parking pass, I had to follow another instructor who could verify my ‘kosherness’ to be allowed past the gates. In the process, I created a line of 5 cars waiting to get in stacked behind me while security verified my information. Gooooo me!! (How to make friends and influence people who are now your co-workers — do not make them late.)

Day 4 — Back to the office where my clearance came through to secure a real badge and parking pass. Woo hoo!! Moving along rapidly (which is my usual speed but appears to be warp speed for others) I ran out of things to do and had to fill my time. A co-worker showed me how to ransack empty cubicles for goodies left behind — like pens, pencils, post-it notes, clips. (Did I say ransack? I meant it more as a search-and-recover operation — not really ransacking.)

Day 5 — back to the secure facility where I made myself available to do all types of grunt work and housekeeping duties. Much like the rookie at the fire department tasked with making the coffee, being the low man on the totem pole puts me in line for the mundane jobs. But you know what! He who can be content in little will be content with much.

By Friday night, I was exhausted. But I spent the evening with my neighbor watching Netflix and visiting.

All in all a successful first week.