Something new

Thoughts on my first two weeks at new job:

• Having my own desk is great!  I love to organize the files and keep my purse and lunch in the drawer.  I have created a color-coded and alphabetized system for all the papers/maps/letters that randomly show up on my desk, and every time I file something it's a little victory.  
• I have never had a sedentary job before.  Past jobs have included: ropes course instructor, camp counselor, Curves trainer, dance instructor, touring actor, and shoe fitter.  Up and down and all around, basically.  But now I go to work and sit at my desk, then go to meetings and sit, then go back to my desk and sit some more.  I treasure the infrequent opportunities to run an errand (which is why I take paperwork everywhere instead of using inter-campus mail, and why everyone in HR and payroll knows me), and even the hour a day I'm on my feet giving a presentation.  Also, there is food in the office every day, and it's never healthy food.  I have been thinking about joining a gym so I can take aerobics classes, but it's hard to justify when we know that soon I'll be out of town, and it'll continue until Thanksgiving.  Travis has suggested I try running, since it's free and you can do it any time.  I'm tempted to try it, until I run around the yard with Sasquatch for 3 minutes and remember that would be a terrible, terrible idea.  
• I want to know how to do everything right now.  It was a point of pride at Capezio that I knew I could answer just about any question we came across in the store, from shipping and receiving to ballroom shoes.  It feels good to be competent and capable.  It is humbling to be the one with a lot to learn, and I am often afraid of over-stepping my bounds and saying something wrong to a student or parent.  It's a fine line to project confidence when needed, and be willing to ask for help when needed too.
• It's so nice to be able to eat lunch outside every day.  In Texas I would not have done this in August, unless I had time to shower and change afterward.  I usually eat at the picnic tables in front of the auditorium, but I'm not sure what I'll do when campus is full of students in a few weeks.  I'm thinking of bringing a picnic blanket and keeping it in my desk drawer so I can sit on the grass behind the little house where I work.
• I can't wait for everyone to come back to campus!  Most professors working and travel off campus during the summer, so I have only seen a few of the professors I was close with.  And campus is just so full of life when it's over-run with students.  Fall was always my favorite time of year there, so I'm bummed I'll be gone for much of it, but excited for the times when I will be there.  And I'm looking forward to becoming an accomplished traveler, a la George Clooney in Up in the Air.  I'm going to learn to put on my belt so fast, just like he does.