Day 438: So Many Thoughts

So first weekend of work in 14 months is in the books. I wound up putting in about 38 hours in a four-day stretch, not including the cumulative three hours of round-trip it takes to get there and back.

Throw in the fact that the mornings require 3:45 a.m. wakeups and the evenings require finding a way to adjust to getting off work at 5 a.m. Later this week I'll do the zombie shift 6 straight nights... off at 5 a.m., with the commute, I'll have 11 hours between starting over again and I'll have to fit in at least 6+ hours of sleep if I want to have a chance to be sensible.

It's a new world, and I'm going to have to adjust. I slept about 12 hours last night. Hard sleep, too. But weird... I might have slept longer except that I was having a dream where a bunch of people kept telling me how great and how nice Cher was.

(Now playing on iTunes: "War Begun" by My Morning Jacket. YES!)

Yesterday at work we had a bit of an issue late in the day. We handled it and it required some adjustments that should be implemented going forward. I was worried because I want to do a good job, and I am learning as I go. But twice in interactions with my supervisor as the situation unfolded and was resolved, he told me "Good job."

In a lot of jobs I've had, praise like that never came. I do not feel that I did *not* do a good job, so not only should I have heard that I did a good job, but it would have been inspirational and encouraging to hear about it. But some folks have the Machiavellian idea that praise is the absence of criticism.

Those people suck, and are terrible bosses. I had a feeling on first meeting that my new boss was a quality guy. So far, he's completely validated that feeling. It's nice.

(Now playing on iTunes: "Time The Avenger" by The Pretenders.)

Naturally, it seems like being back in the workforce is a sure-fire way to open the job floodgates. So of course a moment ago I saw a plum position open with people I have interacted with before and who showed interest in a previous situation. Yes, that's intentionally vague.

But, I sent an inquiry e-mail to someone on the inside, and she was typically encouraging and informative, so another possibility opens up.

(Now playing on iTunes: "Beautiful Mind" by The Verve.)

Hope springs eternal.