Slow Start

I began my new job today. It wasn't like they were ready for me. It started on Tuesday when I was supposed to conference call with my new boss, but she never joined the conference. Never mind that, I thought, I'll show up tomorrow and get things sorted out.

I, of course, arrived in Woburn about 30 minutes early. I mean, you never know how it will go on your new commute and I didn't want to be late. After killing some time, I walked into the office at about 5 minutes before 8 a.m. I was the third person in what turned out to be a very small office. I introduced myself to the other two guys and asked them if they had my boss's phone number. One of them looked her up in the directory. When I called her, she apologized for missing the phone call - she's in Bermuda on business (yes, that's where the home office is) and got very busy. She asked me who was in and when I told her, she had me hand the phone to one of the guys. He talked with her for a minute or two and then hung up. She had given him instructions on where I should sit and how to set me up.

He lead me to a desk - it is a small office so I got one of the 16 desks that were there outside the two enclosed offices. He got me signed on and I began to poke around. After looking at various documents on their intranet, I got an instant message from my boss. Apparently she was going to have another one of the project managers show me the ropes, but the woman was out sick. So she sent me a long document describing the systems and how the companies use them and left me on my own. Ultimately, at the peak, there were a total of 11 people in the office that day, including a very nice admin who showed me around a bit (supplies, copier, etc).

At the end of the day, I sent my boss a note telling her what I had done and asking for more direction. As I checked my home email account, I saw that she sent me instructions on how to get in through the VPN, and then I checked my work email to find more direction. So I think I'll be a bit busier tomorrow.

And the commute? Not too bad - 50 minutes going in and 55 coming home (in snow). Of course it's a holiday week in MA so the traffic was probably at its best. Updates later when I have time. It's late and I need to sleep.