So I have officially re-joined the “real world” as I like to say. I found a job and a place to live and completed my first week of work. It felt very, very different. I don’t feel any attachment to the job or organization yet. And in the back of my mind, I still have a slight sense of “no big deal, I can switch if I don’t like it.” I have been on the other side and survived — it had some interesting moments, but otherwise wasn’t that bad. I’ve gone through a job search and found a job. This will make it much easier for me the next time around too.
I’m hoping that this is a good fit, only time will tell. So how did my first week go? Let’s just call it an adjustment. I had to mentally adjust to not having my own schedule anymore. I couldn’t go out at 10am and go to Home Depot. I had to be at work. To be honest, I felt a little caged in at times. But I think this will pass once I get some real work to do and get into a rhythm. I think it will be OK, though, since I’m working remotely and the hours are flexible. I don’t think I will feel “caged in” in the long run.
Other things to get used to… well, for one, holidays mean something to me again. When I was out of the country, no one celebrated U.S. holidays, so they didn’t really mean anything to me. And when I was in the U.S. in between jobs, I already had a permanent holiday, so again they didn’t mean much to me. Now I can look forward to those days off again.
And here are a couple of weird ones. Working Monday through Friday as opposed to Sunday through Thursday. That will wear off quickly. Having a two-day weekend, oh Hallelujah. It feels so great to have two full days to relax. Related to that, since we had to work half days on Friday in Israel, having to work on a Friday afternoon this week felt very strange to me. All in all, I was a little discombobulated but I will get my bearings soon enough.
I have my furniture and bed delivered tomorrow and have been slowly getting my apartment set up, which I am looking forward to. It will be nice to explore a new place, but this time in the U.S. and especially in San Diego. I have a new lens in that I want to keep my old habits I picked up in Colombia, Chile, and Israel and apply them to this new living situation as well. That means walking around a lot and going for runs to explore the area.
Viva el Falafel 