Mortaine’s Blog

Well, you can tell that I started my new job on Monday– no entries since then, huh?

The job started on Monday, with a 90-minute (or so) orientation/training. Nifty. Learned all about the 401K, payroll, phone system, health insurance, yadda yadda yadda. Turns out, there are 2 other tech writers who started on Monday as well. They’re cool, but one of them seems kind of shy.

My cubicle is in the software department, which means I’m separated from the other tech writers, but not by much (a cube aisle).

Did I mention I work in a cubicle? Yeah– it’s driving me crazy. I don’t mind cube-land, although it means I am perpetually lost in the maze. I mind having my back to the door. When I go to restaurants, I sit with my back to a wall. I’m going to have to do something to re-orient my workspace a little, so at least the door is to my side, in my peripheral vision instead of behind me. Either that, or install a rear-view mirror.

I still don’t have Framemaker installed on my PC, which basically means I can get no work done yet (argh!) I’ve spent my time learning about the products, learning about the software and documentation, learning the new marketing strategy (ick), asking a bunch of questions and irritating everyone around me (probably), and doing whatever is needed in other programs (MS Word, or PowerPoint– had a presentation due tomorrow that I edited in PPT).

The commute is okay, but the last 15 minutes of it are a real bitch. Basically, they are doing construction starting just before the exit before the one I take to get to work. Three lanes cut down to two. At the same point where these cut down to two, there are a couple of onramps, so there’s additional commuter merge traffic as well.

There are a couple of ways around it, mostly involving surface streets. Today, I took one of these and it still took 15 minutes. But there was an accident up ahead, which was making traffic even worse than usual, so I decided to risk it. It probably saved me a few minutes here and there.

My commute time is averaging 1 hour exactly.

My boss is great. Even if I come in late, he’s not going to yell at me, just expect me to work later. I basically choose my hours, based on what time I want to brave the traffic, and what time I want to get home. Today and next week, I have classes at 6 on Tuesday and Thursday, so I want to leave here at 5:30. That means I have to get here at 9:00, counting in a short 30-minute lunch (which is what I’m on right now, btw).

James (my boss) is very supportive of the work I want to do, and since he doesn’t really know what to do with a technical writer, I have decided to demonstrate a lot of initiative and just go after the documentation projects that I think we need. If we have more to do, then that’s fine. If we have too much for me to handle, then I guess I will have to ask James to help me prioritize.

Oh, and a cool thing: They keep a basket of apples in the lobby. Not a plate of cookies– apples. Every day.

Next week, I will probably bring things to customize my workspace a bit– a photo of John, a plate or basket for visitor treats (and bribes for the IT guys), my “tech writer’s toolkit” of books that I need to have handy, etc.

Anyway, that’s the Week 1 update. I’ve got to get back to work, and probably should finish eating my lunch.