New job updates

Well, this was the end of week three of my new job. Essentially, I'm a receptionist. I answer phones and schedule people for appointments and deal with paperwork. I'm only part-time and a "fill-in". I just keep things afloat while the normal folks are out vacationing, taking care of sick relations, etc.

It's not the most exciting job by any stretch. I am bored most of the time and have little way to change that at this point. And I am using very few of the skills I acquired in academia. It's hardly a dream job. However, it pays the bills and gets me out of the apartment.

So, some random points:

• The people I work with are pretty awesome. They are all intelligent, funny, generally happy people. The clients who come through the office are usually upbeat happy folks. It's generally a cheery place to work and a good remedy for those days when I find myself in a funk.


• My boss is actually also pretty awesome, what little I've seen of him. He does share some of my old advisor's better qualities, which makes me a bit nostalgic and sad for what might have been. Everyone was telling me dire stories of Boss's temper and indecisive OCD quirks. Gotta say, having run into him a couple of times, I don't get the issue. Maybe they should all meet my old advisor and then Boss wouldn't seem so distressing to them. They all say he's actually a really good guy and a great boss for the most part. I could tell you stories about him but it would make you feel bad about all the things you haven't accomplished in your life and what a rotten person you are. Yeah, he was one of those annoyingly talented do-gooders.


• Boyfriend has been acting a bit odd about the whole new job thing. Some days he's fine with it. Some days, he pushes for me to keep looking for a better job (I'm currently taking a break from all the rejection). Some days he inadvertently makes me feel like a failure and like I'm horning in on his territory. It's this last one that's problematic. Our specialties relate to each other, if not outright overlap. He was hired to be head of research for the company, eventually. They want to do research on Chewy things. Well, my research for the past several years was on Chewy things - Boyfriend's was on Gooey things (a related discipline). So I have the expertise they want while his is only related. This discrepancy is something Boyfriend and I keep to ourselves but I think he is worried I might highjack the position he was hired for. That's not something I want. This is ultimately going to be very awkward.


• Nearly everyone in the company is a conservative Republican Catholic. I am nearly as far in the opposite direction of all those modifiers as I can get and still be considered mostly sane. It has been interesting. I try to avoid discussions of politics or religion and find common ground where possible.

All in all, it's not a bad temporary landing space. If I could find something of value to offer Boss that would justify a full-time gig and a raise, I think I'd be happy to work here long-term. Stay-tuned for updates.