Observations on Day 1 of work

I was given a whopping day to get used to being here and switch my body to 9 hours time difference. I spent that time mostly sleeping with the aid of Ambian... my new favorite pill. I did wake up sometime last night for dinner and I watched a movie on my laptop in my room, but because they have 220 power here, until I buy a converter, that will be the only thing I watch for a while.

My room smells like whatever man-smell permeates the entire trailer. I guess I don't understand how my house back home doesn't smell like this since I am a man and apparently this smell follows men where they go. It is a mixture of feet, wet dog and ass. Just being in my room makes me feel like I've got athlete's foot on every patch of exposed skin.

The whole top-bunk thing isn't going to work for very long. Thank god my roommate isn't going to be here but for another month, because I'm moving downstairs the second he is gone. I know I'm only 29, but climbing up there in the middle of the night is near impossible. Last night I about broke my neck with the stupid foldy chair I used to hike myself up... I've decided that my neck is more important than my roommate's wishes to not step on his bed... I won't be using that foldy chair as a ladder again.

So far, the guy I'm replacing, John... has done a great job of taking me around and showing me the ropes. Everybody I meet though, including an old college buddy I bumped into downstairs, feels sorry for me being in my office here. Apparently not everybody in my small organization is well liked. I guess that is the benefit to having such high turn over... I'll only have to work with these folks for a short time. So far though, I've not seen anything bad.

I got my first piece of mail today... a card and letter from my mom. That was nice... although since the mail takes 2 weeks, I've heard just about everything in the letter she said to me already, but to get a piece of mail with a note made me feel a little closer to home.

I don't remember if my last posting (since they block blogger.com) mentioned my man purse and disco belt... these are 2 pieces of clothing everybody has to have here. The man-purse is your ID holder, but it has a couple zipper pockets to carry your crap around in. I find it incredibly convienent. The manly-men wear arm bands around their "guns." Being that I don't have a "gun" aka huge bicep, mine would fall off... plus, the man purse can hold all my necessaries... you know -- lipstick, eyeshadow etc. lol. The disco belt is a reflective belt for at night... I just like the name.

The only thing so far that I can't stand... its not the smelly room, it isn't the dust everywhere (and I mean everywhere... thick layers on computers, chairs, inside the car... everywhere), it isn't the time difference or being away from home or the inconvienences and prospective long hours... it is the complete lack of indoor plumbing. I have to pee right now, but to do so, I have to walk downstairs, outside and to the cadillac... Last night when I was watching the movie... I had to treck out twice... such a bother. I mean you have to wait till you REALLY have to go to make a cadillac run. That's what they call the bathrooms. I don't know why, because those toilet seats are not covered in leather. But they do smell better than my room.

So far, the most I can make out of my real job is that I'll basically be doing the same kind of thing I do at home... a little more logistics and a little less bureacracy. Shouldn't be too difficult.

Well, that's it for day 1 of work... Tonight, we are going to the "Muff" which is the Brit bar here for some beers and bonding. Oh joy... That's one sucky thing about arriving so much earlier than everybody else... I'm meeting all these people who will leave in a week or month...

Cheers,
d