It's been a hectic last couple of days.  Last Friday, I received word that my drug screening and background checks were in, which allowed me to attend The City's New Employee Orientation two days ago.  Eight hours of orientation left me with a pile of handouts at least six to seven inches high.  I've got thirty days to figure out all the insurance stuff, so I'll have homework for the next couple of days/weeks. 

Besides the length of the day and the information overload, things went well.  It's still surreal, but getting more and more realistic as the hours tick on.  One thing amazing about orientation was the fact that I seems to have gone from an organization that has gone out of its way to prove time and time again that they don't care for their employees, to a place that seems to think employees matter. I know every place has problems -- I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses -- but it's like night and day! 

A good sign is that everyone I've spoken to the last few days have been with the city for years and years, so it's a good sign that the majority of people have thought it well enough to stay on for ten, fifteen, twenty years.

My first day at the library was yesterday.  I was nervous about the transition, but at days end I realized I had been silly.  I guess I thought that I would be doing a totally different job, like I was going from making ice cream cones to building condos, but theirs not a lot of difference between academic libraries and public libraries.  books are books.

My only complaint is that I freeze!!!!  But even that has a silver-lining.  I can wear pants!!  At my previous employer, women were only allowed to wear slacks on Fridays, only dresses or skirts were allowed every other day.  Another nice difference.  However, I must remember to bring a sweater, which seems funny to say in the middle of August when we've been having Severe Heat Warnings because of the high temps out side, but in this building, my purple finger nails tell a different story. 

I am blessed!