The first day of work.

Today was orientation day. It was a whole day of being bombarded with information - company policy this, dress code that and etc. I got to take a quick tour through some of the towers - there are four interlinked towers that comprise the corporate headquarters of Raymond James and I work in Tower 4. Wheeeee. I have to admit, I was WAY intimidated walking around there - this is the largest place I have ever worked. I felt like such a hick.

I got to see the executive boardroom. It was so quiet in there, I felt like the 14 of us were sneaking in somewhere we weren't supposed to be. They had a Haida Sculpture in a corner of the room and I missed BC for just a few seconds when I saw it.

My favorite thing about the place so far is all the crazy art that hangs in the corridors. Everywhere you turn, there are incredible paintings, sculptures and murals. The CEO of the company has put about 2000 pieces of his personal art collection on display for us working stiffs and they rotate the pieces about once a quarter. How cool is that? We're not allowed to photograph the paintings - the flashes would deteriorate the paintings over time - otherwise I would have some freaking cool things to show you today.

In the cafeteria where I had lunch, one guy who worked in the back was super friendly and made me laugh telling me that I shouldn't get too cozy at my job because since I was new, I was likely to be fed to the dinosaurs that Raymond James uses as the meat to make all the cafeteria food. Okay, pal. Dinosaurs? Did Tom James steal the bug in amber from Jurrassic Park? Should we be concerned?

I ate lunch with my supervisor Mike. He's a really nice, cool guy. After chatting about our department, I found out that he's a former cop [he quit cause he hated being one] who likes Social Distortion and South Park. It turns out we're both forgetful as hell and also should be forced to wear bibs when we eat. He told me that after my interview he wanted to offer me my job right away, but had to interview someone else - who not only didn't show up, but didn't call to let him know either. Wow. But anyways, I got a major ego boost because it really seems like the two guys who interviewed me really wanted me to work there and are very confident in my ability to succeed in my job.

It's so nice to be told that.

I found out a piece of news during that lunch which got me really excited for my job - I get my very own desk. I don't have to share with anyone. I don't have to wander in with a headset and hope I get a workstation that actually works. I am so freaking nerdily enthralled by this bit of news. You have no idea.

Watch out, when I have access to the office supplies, I may have to be resuscitated. I don't know why, but if I won a shopping spree in Staples, I'd be in heaven. I love pens, post-it notes, markers, notepads.

I am the biggest dork you'll ever meet.

Anyways. I'm also loving all the perks this job entails. I get discounts on all manner of things from tickets to DisneyWorld to postage. They have an on-site shoe shine department and you can even bring in your dry-cleaning to be sent out.

I'm so effing excited about this. I was so nervous about what kind of a job would get down here and how it would be going back work after taking almost a year off, but after today I feel like I'm ready to go in and kick some serious butt.

This is the most confident in myself I've felt in a long time. It's a damn good thing.