Wednesday, June 07, 2006

call me 'el diablo'

06/06/06: what a combination; the supposed day of the anti-Christ and the first day on the new job at the City.

I tried to do myself and all of y'all proud today. I woke up early, got to work on time and watched the office fill with people that I'm not qualified to serve yet. I did try to help when I could, and if it doesn't get on my nerves to have to deal with all these people (and there are a bunch that come in for permits and site plan approvals), this may work, at least for the short term.

The specter of what's ahead has always flummoxed me, especially if I have a pile of the present I have to deal with in front of me. It can beat you down. I was feeling a little worn out for lack of sleep the night before (not worrying, more like unable to sleep) and it seemed like all these new people and new things came at me all at once. I was happy to get out for lunch.

OK, one good thing: the walk to lunch on the City Market is about one-third as long as it was from LMW. I had pizza. Seemingly nobody cares about this detail, but if I don't mention it, invariably someone will ask.

When I came back from lunch, they had evacuated the Municipal Building because someone set off pepper spray in the office next door to mine. No one was injured, but a few people complained of headaches and burning eyes. WSLS-TV, which is across the street, made a big deal out of it and the Fire-EMS blocked off the street in front.

Anyway, other than answering the phone a lot, the rest of the day was pretty mundame.

OK, another good thing: the people I work with are all very nice and I think I'll like them just fine, that is, if I can ever remember all their names.

5 comments:

  1. It sounds like you had a usual first-day experience (sans pepper spray, of course). ;)

    Please keep us posted has you start to get into the swing of things!

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  2. PIZZA! Oh, my god you had Pizza??

    Oh, my god because that's to funny because yesterday I got my son pizza, which you would think I wouldn't because I work in a pizza place, and well, come on...but I don't have the car right now because it's in the shop and there's this pizza place a block from my house, so I'm all: why not?

    ~the beast lives on

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  3. Well seems like your day went pretty good. I guessing you went to Chico's "Make Pizza not War" in the City Market building, they practically know my name. Hope all goes well.

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  4. Sounds like you had a good first day on the job. Keep us posted.

    I've filled in at our Public Counter, and worked the counter at two of our Field Offices, over my years at L.A. County. Given my customer service background, I really enjoyed it, but it can be taxing and stressful. I felt a great sense of satisfaction in helping the public by answering questions, reviewing plans, and issuing permits. However, some members of the public are mean-spirited and will treat you poorly no matter how well you serve them.

    Don't be overwhelmed by focusing on "what's ahead" when you're in the middle of an exciting new transition. Take some time to orient yourself to the new job, then tackle what's next. Try to prioritize the "pile of the present" in front of you and address one issue at a time. Good luck Steve!

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  5. Thanks to all of you for believing in me.

    Kris: I'll definately have more to say soon. It's already pretty interesting.

    Heather: You know, pizza has all four food groups and if my Weekly Reader told the truth, is very good for us.

    Weill: I used to go to Chico's all the time when I was working at th other place, so they know me reasonably well there, too. Burger in the Square, too.

    Mitch: I'm trying to follow tha addage about only taking a bite at a time out of the "elephant." So far its working, though I need to write more stuff down.

    They've let me answer basic questions on the phone while I train, and I've already gotten some very weird ones, even for that office!

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