The pluses:
- Getting to work 10 minutes early after getting all three kids to the sitter (I got up at 5:20 a.m.).
- Catching up with friends/coworkers.
- Wearing my new persimmon (orange) cord blazer.
- Getting this week's pay cheque (though it's dated Jan 11 and direct deposit would've been preferable).
- Finding out I have three extra vacation days this year.
- Being assigned a project/portfolio that may be fun and interesting (Max).
The minuses:
- Having to wake all three kids (and Neil for that matter) to be ready on time.
- Having no access to work email or information.
- Having no personal ID (what happened to my old one?).
- Having no computer or space to call my own (until some stuff gets sorted out).
- Paying way too much for parking ($6 which is half of what I used to pay for a whole month!)
- Being totally famished by 9 a.m. because I ate breakfast three hours earlier (and didn't take a snack).
- Staying in the same building all day long.
- Buying my lunch rather than eating at home.
- Realizing that my office (cubicle) is in the midst of a much larger and more cluttered cube farm than the one I was accustomed to.
- Finding out that my job is quite different from the one I left -- and not in a good way (I like change BUT my favourite part of the job was completely eliminated).
Overall, my first day was very strange and unsettling compared to the last two times I returned from mat leave. I sure hope it gets better. I will make the best of it anyway.
[Added, 7:00 a.m. Jan 9: Maybe the score should be minus 4 hundred. Little things like wearing new clothes really don't make up for the fact that I won't be doing web work anymore.]
