Perks & Pain

Today I finish out my first month at the new job, and I must say I love it. I really enjoy the perks here and there's nothing like free food to cheer anyone's mood. The department meeting included cake (for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), small candy bars, and free soft drinks. For the employee orientation, they went one better and had both breakfast and lunch, with the latter including steak, chicken, and shrimp. The last meeting I attended was a training session that included milk and cookies, and it's hard to resist the soft, chewy Pecan Toffee Crunch cookies! And then there's the fresh fruit baskets at least weekly next to the coffee machines. Not all the best bits are free, but still appreciated. I haven't taken advantage of the car washes, but you can get a detailing for $25 while your car's in the parking garage. And being in the garage is great, since your car isn't scalding hot at the end of the day nor do you get wet on rainy days.

Of course to balance out the perks is a little bit of pain. The new environment is vastly more complex than my previous job, and there's so much I need to learn and learn quickly in order to be a full contributor. I'm finally beginning to gain traction and I've been able to be helpful in a few key incidents such as getting the Hawaiian payroll running after encountering some bad data. But it's not the technology that's the hard part, but learning the corporate environment and processes. Recently I was reading through some interface code and understanding the "what" wasn't the issue but the "why." I didn't feel too bad, though. After showing some the mysterious bits to some co-workers they were just as puzzled as well, so at least in that situation we were on equal footing. I feel like the moments where it's like drinking from a firehouse are beginning to diminish.

This month also included a birthday, and I began the celebrations by allowing myself to hit the snooze button when the alarm clock sounded. The down side was I only had time for a granola bar for breakfast. So to make up for that, at lunch I added a Pecan Toffee Crunch cookie to my plate, although it raised the price to $8.19. Most days lunch is under $7.00, so it's not too much of an extravagance. Even though the cafeteria is also run by Sodexho, the quality (and price) are higher than the last job, but I prefer quality so it's still a win.

For my birthday I'd planned on leaving on time instead of working late (I put in about 10 hours a day normally), but work conspired against me and I didn't head out for dinner until after 7PM. I headed first for the big computer store in Marietta so I could do some shopping before it closed. I was looking for a mousing platform, a small extension that clamps onto a desk when the desk is too small to also include room for the mouse. Although they have a big inventory, my hunt was in vain. About 9PM I headed for the final bit of celebration at the nearby Pappadeux's. I started with a small cup of crawfish bisque and then had my favorite: the shrimp brochette. It's blackened jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon and stuffed with pepper-jack cheese and a scallion, served on a bed of dirty rice, and a cup of frothy lemon butter.

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