It's been about three weeks since I started, and I don't think we've really ramped up on the work I'm expected to do, but so far, I really like my job.
As I've always said, much of whether or not I'm satisfied with my job has to do with the people I work with and for. Right now, they're great, all of them. My supervisors, both of them (in different departments) have been really nice. One of them has been really patient with me when I ask her questions, of which there are a lot. There's more to it; we have not gotten as much work as I believe they think there should be up to this point, so there has been a lot of downtown. I mean, like, a lot. Instances where I was able to leave work early, like I did Friday, probably won't be available for the rest of my time there, I reckon. Then again, I thought we would be swamped with work by now, and we haven't yet. Meanwhile, the reason I haven't spent a lot of time with my supervisors (especially my main one) is because they are swamped with stuff.
There's a push-pull when I guess I expected a smooth, unceasing flow of work by now. It'll happen, soon, but until then I get to sit and play around on the Internet and listen to satellite radio. That's one of the really great things about working there; I have means to relax and get through the day. It's not often where I can do both things, let alone one. So that'll help me when I presumably get a huge pile of work that might take more than eight hours a day to get through, and it occupies my time if work gets slow.
The two people I work with now are really good. Both of them started before me; one of them is a veteran. I like them both, thank God. They've been cool to talk to when we're shooting the bull, and they too have been very patient with my dumb questions. I can't do the work without them, their expertise, and their personality. I harken back to last year, when most of the people who worked under me were incompetent or backtalkers. Some of them were good; some of them I couldn't friggin' stand. But here, cross your fingers, so far I have no complaints working with anyone.
I've also realized how it is to work for a private company. I understand, and believe, the yeoman's work of a community non-profit, how they have to keep costs low in order to be lean while providing for the public good as well as possible. But frankly, when there's a profit motive, and you are flush with money from people who need health insurance, there is a lot of largesse that can be passed onto a company's employees, and I can see it as soon as I step inside the building.
Geez, this place is huge and, by workplace standards, opulent. There's half a floor for the cafeteria. The security doors are very, well, secure. Computer systems, both intranet for work and Internet for play, haven't crashed, unlike the flu biller place. Got office supplies up the ying-yang. And every day there seems to be either food available for a donation or food given out for free. Literally. A couple days last week I tossed in two bucks for soup and ice cream. Someone brought donuts for the entire floor last week -- two bleepin' huge cases of it. Donations were requested for those who wanted to eat it, but my supervisor (the one who's been busy) threw in enough cash for all the temps -- two days in a row! In short, everything we need, and everything we would want, we have here. I don't see any instance where this place has to cut corners. And I think that's why everybody seems to be so happy here.
I have only two drawbacks, at least for now. One is the commute. On the best days it takes me 40 minutes to get there; on bad days, more than an hour. And evening rush going back is so bad that I just decide to go to the Megamall and wait it out. I don't care if that means that I'm coming home around 6:30 or 7, meaning I am out of the house for up to 12 hours; I can't stand the 60, 65 minutes of start-and-stop traffic I would have to face if I decide to immediately drive into the teeth of the highway. The other drawback is a smaller one: These guys use thermoses for their coffee. I liked the old place because they used coffee pots, where you can see how much coffee is left and whether there are any coffee grounds you could pour down the sink. With these thermoses I have to pump and pump, hoping there's enough coffee and hoping I don't get any solids that I'll choke up in once I finish my coffee. That's annoying.
But overall my quibbles are few compared to the advantages. I really can't complain. Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind if and when work picks up, or once more temps are hired on.
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