Still Alive

Sorry about that. I didn't mean to be all, "OmigodIhaveanewjobwoohoo!" and then take off for weeks at a time. I do appreciate ALL the comments you guys left for me on my last post. I replied to everyone who I could find email addresses for, so THANK YOU to those of you I wasn't able to reach. It's been...busy around here, as you can imagine. I started my job a week and a half ago and it's been a bit crazy since then.

Work has been fine. Not really stressful, because like I said I'm pretty much doing the same things I was doing back in Minnesota, but with different people and different proprietary software programs to learn. I always hate the first few weeks at a new job, when you're spending so much time trying to remember peoples' names and what they do and who to call when you need help figuring out how to order office supplies, or where to drop off time cards. Working only 20 hours a week is not a benefit in this case. My to-do list grows daily--every time I cross something off, I add two or three more things. I still don't have access yet to most of the websites and programs I need, so that limits how much I can do. Why did I have to start at the busiest time of year for academic offices? In addition to the normal day-to-day stuff to deal with, I also have to help plan all the commencement activities this department is putting on, and let's just say that they do A LOT OF STUFF at the end of the year.

Note to anyone out there thinking about working in academia: start in the summer. The campus is a ghost town and you get nearly a year to get up to speed before having to plan for the graduation hoopla. Don't start mid-April when the office is fielding calls from students frantic about whether or not the bookstore is handing out the wrong color tassels for their major, and the faculty is trying to decide on how many cookies vs. bottles of water to order for their commencement reception.

The good news is that everyone I work with has been great so far and I'm confident that as I learn my way around the bureaucracy, my to-do list will shrink. I'm not as confident that this Mac girl can learn her way around Windows Vista as quickly. Seriously! They moved everything around! I feel like I'm learning how to use everything all over again. :-/

As for knitting? Well...my knitting time has dropped off dramatically. Even though I am only working 20 hours a week the amount of time I spend preparing my clothes, packing lunch, showering and blow-drying, commuting, and all the millions of other little things you do to prepare for work is the same as for a full-time job. It would almost be easier just to stay at work for the full 8 hours than to leave after 5. But I do get Fridays off, so I can't really complain about that. :)

Sorry for the long, photo-free post. I'll try to have something more interesting for next time, but I just wanted to pop in and give an update.