10-31

10-31 10:00am – Orientation

Orientation is today. I got up around 9am and got ready, ironed my shirt, sorta. I ironed it as best I could, I suppose with practice I’ll get better. Maybe I’ll ask Tim for a run through on how to do it the best, especially with the slacks. Anyway, at around 11:15 I’ll start heading down to the station, so I can be sure to hop on a train early enough to get there. The sheet says I should be on the 11:59 local train to Matsudo at the latest, but I’m guessing that I might not catch the first train out each time, so I am going to allow myself a little leeway. Hopefully it won’t be too terribly boring. I know I am going to be very attentive, I need to figure out what these people are looking for from me so I can get off of probation pay as soon as possible. Ash said that they’ve been making a habit in this area of extended probation.

I am concerned about my piercings. My wrist is pretty red, and has been flaking a lot lately. I don’t know if this is because of callous forming, or because I am having a reaction to the metal. My right nipple was trying to eat the bar for a bit, and despite having had the bar extended, the sensitivity hasn’t gone down much. I brushed my nipple on the doorway coming in from the porch this morning, and it stung something awful. I would hate to have to take them out, so I am going to give them another week or so before reviewing the situation. I am going to start using moisturizing lotion on my wrist, so see if that helps at all.

I’m excited to get started. I know that it will be awkward for a little bit, but they’ve been doing this for years with people far less adept than myself at picking up new things, so I am confident that I will get the hang of it. I was scared to death when I started being a cashier, and look how that turned out. Fastest the store’s had in years, and with a phenomenally high accuracy rate. And besides, they’re paying me to talk to people, and encourage good communication. All I ever do is talk, given the right circumstances, and everyong knows how much of a stickler for proper grammar I am. Aside from you know, getting paid, I think this is going to be a really good experience. Greg mentioned that he went through a time where all he heard was trash talk about store politics, and the nature of our employ, but he got over it realizing that he was there to have a good time, and it’s worked out really well for him. Not to mention he’s been promoted within 6 months. So I will keep that in mind, and try early on to pick an area in which I can specialize, thusly increasing my likelihood of being promoted in that area.