Saturday, July 26, 2008

Things I learned this week

Sorry to post again about the new job, but it's kind of been what my mind is consumed with this week.  So much so that I forgot what the heck day it was on Thursday and missed girl's night out - and the associated marguita(s) that came with said night out!   It's been a little strange because I'm supposed to be transitioning over the next 4 weeks or so - even though my current job hasn't been posted yet, and when it does get posted I'm sure it'll take more than 4 weeks to go through the process of being filled - AND if we hire someone internally, which is what I'm hoping for, then we may have to wait for them to transition out of their job and into my old one.  So, it seems that I'll have to be doing a bit of both for some time - even though no one else seems to be saying that.  I think I'm probably the only one thinking this much about it because it affects me the most.  

Anyway, I've spent a lot of time getting out in the plant this week which has felt much more comfortable and familiar than I thought it would - I mean it's been about 4 years since I've really been out there regularly but it felt "right" right away.  The boots are heavier than I remembered - probably because my legs have been uselessly hanging from chair for the past 4 years!  Where I was previously sweet (well, relatively so) and cardigan wearing, I now get to be saltier and jeans wearing and spend time shooting the shit with maintenance guys and contractors.  AND, this is what sort of scares me, hopefully picking up on potentially unsafe practices.  Before I got the job, I was all confident and sure that I could handle it, but the first day I went out to look at a big job with Charlie (the guy who's place I'm taking) I kind of started to panic and feel suddenly like I knew NOTHING!  gaa!  what am I doing here?  He noticed how the riggers (yeah, I get to say words like "riggers" and "rigging" now) were hooking the crane up to parts of a scale and stopped them because he wasn't crazy about how insecure it looked.  I agreed with him, but really wondered if I'd have noticed it, and more importantly if I'd have had the cahones to stop them, or just assumed that these guys knew what they were doing because it's what they do every day?  I know there's always the period of feeling like you don't have the experience to tell someone else how to do their job, and hopefully it'll pass.  On the positive side, I've learned that there are tons of people out there to help me!  Just over the course of this week I've heard "if you need anything, just ask" about a million times and everybody seems really positive and congratulatory, which makes me feel great!  

So, what have I learned about this job as it relates to knitting? (and that's what's really important, isn't it?)  I'm gonna make tons of socks!  In my previous life (meaning a week ago) I almost never wore socks.  I love making socks, but it always felt sort of stupid since I didn't wear them.  Now I wear socks everyday!  and even though they're stuck inside boots, and no one will see them, the important thing is that I'm actually going to wear them, and if I love to make them, who cares if they'll rarely be seen?  This also gives me a good opportunity to look at some nonwool sock yarns.  I wore my cotton jaywalkers one day this week and they were great - they didn't slouch down into my boots as I feared they might.  I haven't tried a pair of wool socks yet - I'm just afraid they'll be unbearably hot in this weather.  I mean my feet are already encased in boots.  Maybe the wicking that wool does will actually feel nice.  I don't know.  Right now I like the idea of rationalizing more cotton sock yarn - so shut up!  Ok, I've yammered enough, with no pictures to make it fun, so you can carry on with your day now!  Oh, I suppose I could include this picture of me in my cleaning garb 
because, like wearing an apron when you're baking, I also think you should wear a scarf on your head (tied in the front, of course) when you're cleaning.  If I had one of those snap-front dusters I'd be wearing that too. because I like stereotypes and their associated costumery, ok?  it makes cleaning windows and baseboards more fun when I make up little stories about how I'm the cleaning lady and I call the real me Miss Chris and on saturdays I make sopas for dinner but never understand why the lady and Mr. beely don't want beef on them!  yeah, I know it's fairly racist-ish, but what's wrong with a little character play in my own head to make cleaning more fun?  ok, all that being said, I'd rather you didn't look at that picture because I'm kind of hot and don't have a lick of makeup on.  Ok, now you can carry on with your day!

3 comments:

emilynye said...

miss chris, you crack me up!!! and then ryan hears me chuckling, and I always have to read him bits and pieces of your blog out loud (in my chris-style-voice)

I hope I will get to see you tomorrow night, but I have to get this paper done (::sigh::) and the end of celtic festival is tomorrow.

Ginny said...

HA! You're crackin me up also Miss Chris!

You'll be great at your new job. So grab those cahones and tell those guys whose boss.

Dharma said...

You do make me laugh, Miss Chris. You really do. New jobs are like that, I swear. It will be easy soon.