Feeling Like It's the First Day of School Tomorrow...

I'm hoping I'm blogging this on the evening of the beginning of something wonderful. Tomorrow, I start my new job. I'm going to move from being in the exciting world of software testing and documentation (sarcasm intended) to being an IT recruiter. This means I'll be working at actually helping people find jobs and doing a little career counseling. I'm excited. I've long been frustrated in my old job because I stared at a computer screen and only got to interact with other employees. Now I get to work with real live people and do something that feels like it will be a little more fulfilling.

I'm nervous, I must admit. Just like the first day of school, the first day at a new job is nervewracking. I'm going to be the new kid on the block. I don't yet even know where the bathroom is. To me, that's one of the vital things about any new location. Whenever I've dealt with new employees or coworkers, the very first thing I do is show them where the bathroom is. Not only is this a vital need to human beings but it also gives them a place to run to if they get so stressed out they need a moment alone. This is not to say I expect that to happen tomorrow but, on the off chance it does, it's rather nice to know where I can run to when I need to decompress for a few minutes.

Still, I'm sure I'll find out when I get there. At least I know where my own office is going to be. I already have my clothes picked out. I need to pack my bag. There are a few vital office supplies I need. I put all my office stuff from my old job in a reusable grocery tote but I think I'll give it a couple of days in the new office before I completely move in. I have a lot of toys and silly stuff. It's not that I don't think I'll be staying but I like to at least feel like I know how the office works before I bring out my Green Day International Superhero action figures. However, my Harry Potter calendar, collection pencils- currently Halloween themed- and my box of tissues are musts for my desk. These are what I consider to be vital. Yes...I'm odd. Yet it's the items like these that can make even a cubicle feel like my own.

It was strange packing up the last of my stuff from my old job on Friday. I have to say, it was the oddest last day at a job I've had. When I left my job in California, I was taken out to lunch three seperate times by different groups. I recieved goodbye and good luck cards. When I left the job prior to that one, I even got flowers from my coworkers. I didn't expect any of that stuff but I expected...something. Instead, I got a free lunch at IHOP because my coworker had a buy-one-get-one-free coupon. I know- it's the thought that counts. It was just...pretty unsurprising.

I ended up having to do two exit interviews. One with our HR manager and one with the HR manager of the company with whom we've merged. Surprisingly, our HR lady was very good. Originally, upon resigning, I had planned to say very little other than the fact I was leaving for a new opportunity. However, given how painful the past two weeks have been, primarily due to the fact that my boss has acted like a jilted ex, I decided to be pretty honest. It was pretty therapeutic. I didn't hang my boss out to dry but I was blunt as to many of the reasons I felt he was a poor manager. Our HR manager actually ended up using our interview as a way to vent her own frustrations and it turned out, they were the same as mine. Since she's in the position to do something about it, being a manager, I'm hoping she gets to stand firm and try to make a change.

The other exit interview was decent. It was much more structuralized than the other one. There were questions that had to be answered. Since I was completely honest, I'm sure I sounded like a whiny brat but I said what I really thought. I don't think I burned any bridges in doing so but even if I did, nothing I said hasn't been whispered loudly between my other coworkers as they, too, have had the same frustrations in their own ways.

When I left, it was...anticlimactic. My boss politely shook my hand and that was it. I didn't expect anything else but I wanted something more. I wanted some kind of appreciation for the fact that while I did resign, I gave that job some solid effort and did a lot in my two years. I didn't get it and when I left the building for the final time, it was far more bitterness and regret than I meant to have.

I did, however, sing "Born Free," loudly and off key as I drove home, per my good friend Ms. P. down in Texas. She was kind enough to provide me with the lyrics earlier in the week and I took the liberty of printing them to remind myself that I was glad to be out of there.

It was harder than I thought though. It meant change and change is never easy. Change means new and unfamiliar things and I, being the creature of habit I am, prefer not to have much change.

Still, tomorrow will bring change. It will bring new hours, new coworkers, new challenges and new experiences. I am both nervous and excited. I'm just glad I don't have to ride the schoolbus with a bunch of unfamiliar kids as I would have to do if it was the first day of school. I will, however, be clutching my new pencils, using them as my safety blanket.

I'm sure it will be fine.

As long as I can find the bathroom.

Wish me luck!

Thanks for reading and Happy Monday!