Plank Beneath My Feet
One of the categories for this blog is “I Never Thought I’d Be In This Situation.” This is how I feel tonight, because I, the cold weather-loving man, have reached the point where I said to Mrs. Orr, “I am tired of wearing all these layers of clothes. I am tired of hurting because of the weather. I’m tired of winter. I’m looking forward to the springtime. I’m looking forward to being warm again.
And these are all true statements. How did I come to this point? I don’t know.
I know that once the sun swings around and the earth warms and I hear the noise and busyness of warm weather, I will long for the long nights and cold silence. I am a son of Adam, which means that I am fickle and inconstant, and I will experience the chagrin that attends admitting that I spoke in haste. But for now…..oh, come, springtime. Come, warm sun.
Tomorrow morning I start training for my new job. The path since my last day at my old job has not been smooth. I have experienced equipment and software issues since the very beginning, and as of this writing, there are soooooooo many unresolved issues. But as usual, Mrs. Orr has provided me with valuable perspective through her wisdom, and I am feeling better as bedtime before Day One approaches. I am trying to heed her admonitions that I am not in competition for this job, that I have already been hired, and that I don’t need to swing into gladiatorial combat in order to secure my position with this company. My sources of stress are all technical/computer-oriented, and my new company has massive resources dedicated to helping employees with these very sorts of problems. So I am reciting her words to me, and trying to remember that I don’t have to blow all the other new hires into the dust and crush them beneath the spinning treads of my competitive tank.
But you know…what really feels good is that I am NOT going back to that hellhole of a job tomorrow. I will be training for my new job from my own home. Surrounded by dogs and peace and familiarity.
This is how blessed looks to me.
~ S.K. Orr
4 Comments
Carol
Well, I imagine you are tuckered out here at the end of your first day on the new job…
I just want to send my best wishes and a suggestion:
When it gets stressful, take the deepest breath you can, and as you slowly let it out, think to yourself,
“The first week of a new job is always the hardest, but with each day it gets easier and easier.”.
God bless!
admin
Thank you so much, Carol.
Yes, I am pretty tired. Just a case of information overload…my brain can’t hold another factoid until tomorrow.
I really appreciate your kind wishes, and your suggestion is a good one. I literally did a deep breathing exercise three times during the day today, and it helped. My kendo sensei used to say that the breath is always key to accomplishment.
It was definitely stressful, but most of the stress was self-inflicted, my competitiveness, etc. But I felt good at the end of the day and don’t feel as overwhelmed as I thought I would have. A little glass of wine and a handful of pork skins and I’ll be tip top.
Thank you again, sister.
James
Your wife is quite right and you are wise to listen.
The company you are starting with invested quite a bit in filling the position you now hold and rest assured they will not expect you to know everything about the software they use.
When I worked from home I had it a bit easier because I was remoting in to my computer at work. If I had a problem with software I called the IT folks are they remoted into my work computer and took care of the issue there.
Not the same as your situation I know, but if they didn’t want to invest the time in you, you would not be employed there.
admin
Well, it’s a challenge, James, ‘cos I sure ain’t no tech wizard. But I think I can do this.
Plus, the commute is really nice….
Thanks for stopping by, brother.