Yes, it's off to work I goed!

(Sorry about that.)

Today was my first day (of eight) of training.

On the one hand, I haven't had the luxury of getting a job where there was anyone available to train me in...must have been a decade or so. It's an unusual experience any more.

On the other hand, I really hate being trained. I usually do well enough if just left alone with a software program (I have four new ones to learn for this job) and whatever manual is available.

But, back to the first hand, after today, I barely understand what the job is. Oh, I understand vaguely that I'll be helping to prep stuff for conferences and bulk e-mails (opt-in only) and electronic newsletters. But I don't understand the stuff you have to do to get to the point where you arrive at a conference or send the e-mail/newsletter. (A lot of that is where the four s/w programs come into play.)

I keep telling myself to look upon it as an adventure, not as a sign that I'm getting old and feeble-minded and unfit to be in the job force any longer.

Sigh.

But! Paychecks will again begin to arrive on a regular basis! I can get behind that concept. I can pay for Escapade! (I can shop on Amazon! I can buy...stuff!)

If I can find them, I can buy my previous shampoo and crème rinse and throw away this garbage I bought when I was trying to be "frugal." Turns out that cheap hair products were a false economy, judging by the mass of dried-out straw currently covering my head.

I can buy the other twelve books in the series I just started reading. (Not all at once, of course.)

Second sigh.

Although...I finished a new book yesterday and took it to my room to shelve it. Three hours later, I had two boxes of books stacked in the bedroom floor that I'm getting rid of but don't know what to do with (I've taken to many to the local library that they're giving me dirty looks when I walk in with a box full. I may have to drive to other libraries.) I also have a handful of MYSA-AS books I bought that turned out to be mistakes (for my taste). I may take those to Escapade and drop them onto the swap table. Someone might want them.

And I didn't (back to the beginning of that last paragraph) really clear out that much space on the shelves, either. I might be able to fit another carton or three of books in storage. I guess that's my only other option, until I find a larger place to live.

But. I was going to talk about the new job, wasn't I?

I have a deadline for learning everything. Early in May I have to attend a conference in San Francisco. All of the now-daunting and mysterious software programs and projects will be required to prepare for this. So, I have sixty days to learn to do a lot of things I've never done before.

I could swear that when they offered me this job, it sounded a lot more like the sort of thing I've been doing for twenty years, but it's not really looking like that.

Which reminds me...I brought home 160 pages worth of instruction manuals. I should be reading them.