New job

Goodness! There is so much to write. Today was my first day at my new job, and I'm exhausted but happy. I've discovered that two people in my office are relatively serious bloggers, and that both the blogosphere and social networking websites are regarded by the company as important vehicles for communication. I was even urged not to feel shy about logging into facebook while at work, as that is part of being in touch with the media culture that we're working with. Soon my coworkers and I will be friends on facebook (that is compulsory, I think) and my blog will be discovered, though I doubt it will hold much interest for my coworkers, who write cultural commentaries with much more universal appeal. I wonder if it's time for me to remove the link to my blog from facebook, or if, perhaps, I should be more discreet entirely.

I've broken my rule about not writing about work on my blog, and I should probably clam up on that front now, but I can't help offering a few more details about my day. The company put so much attention into making me feel welcome, and just thinking about it makes me smile. Having wet my feet in the corporate world, I know that most HR offices are eager to greet new employees and make a warm first impression, but today's efforts just felt so genuine. Everyone was remarkably nice, and my favorite detail was what awaited me at my desk: when I was shown to my workspace, there was a pink gift bag on the desk full on chocolates and granola bars and snacks, and also a welcome letter and an arrangement of diet coke bottles. It's funny how something so simple like that can feel so nice.

Today was wonderful, but I have to admit privately (well, nestled into the middle of a lengthy blog entry, at which point I'm sure I've lost a few readers) that it was also overwhelming. I guess the first day at new job is always overwhelming, with meeting a dizzying amount of people and learning new passwords and discovering the lay of a new office. What was most overwhelming, though, was a feeling of doubt that I would be able to master what seem to be a complex set of skills, and an accompanying dread for the inevitable moments in the coming weeks when I will make mistakes, or need help with things that are basic to anyone who's been at the company for a little while. I guess that is a temporary, forgivable incompetence that is allowed as you adjust to a new job, but goodness...It makes me envy people who spend most of their adult lives at one company -- I envy them for the joy of finding a place they like to work, but also for the comfort of not having to undergo a transition like this one. I think day two will feel better, and then day three and day four...Baby steps.

In other news, today I also received this email from a college classmate, soliciting news in the following manner for the alumni magazine:

Classmates:

For those of you who have waited four years and nine months since leaving Amherst to truly blossom, now is the time to send in your Class Notes updates. Please let me know of any news which might interest the rest of us or make us deeply, deeply jealous. The deadline for updates is Tuesday, February 26th. And please don't forget that reunion sign-up is available online at XXX and that reunion is just around the corner.

Thanks,

XXX

I haven't sent any updates at all for the class notes, for a combination of reasons: indifference, worry that I don't have anything sufficiently interesting to report, satisfaction with the amount of contact I have with classmates through my college blog. Nevertheless, I always read the updates of others in the class notes with some degree of interest, even updates that don't say more than "so-and-so ran into so-and-so in New York." There is my job to write about now, I guess, but I don't suppose I'll submit anything.