Oops...

I forgot to write a post for Tuesday (Wednesday?). C'est la vie, n'est pas?

And that is the extent of the French I learned in college.

I start my job Monday, and I'M SCARED TO DEATH.

"Why?" you may ask.

1) I haven't worked in over 6 months, now. That's a long time-out from "the real world."

2) I will be taking on responsibilities never before encountered in their fullest.

a) I will be writing specs (the document that tells the contractor what exactly will be used in the house, i.e. type of windows/doors, sinks, etc...). I have a very small amount of experience with specs, but that was several years ago, and I haven't touched them since. Can I do it? Of course. Am I nervous about doing it? You betcha.

b) I will be expected to take on a project of my very own at some point, from start to finish. This will be awesome from the point of view that I'll get Intern Development Hours under the Project Management category, but it's a lot of stuff I've never before encountered.

3) I'm going to be judged. This is a given, no matter where you're working. Your first few weeks/months are spent trying to give a good impression of yourself to your coworkers without coming across as a self-satisfied jerk. It's kind of like a protracted interview, where you have to impress people, but not make them want to throw you through the plate-glass window.

4) I'll be learning new software. I have some experience with the programs, but only because I downloaded a free trial, so I won't be flying blind... just flying without my glasses*.

5) I have limited experience in important areas. Construction Documents (CDs), for instance. At my old job, our Design Development documents were usually pretty darn close to CDs, but not quite there. I did CDs at one of my internships, but it was mostly just picking up other people's mistakes, all spelled out for me. I've never put together a set of CDs by myself, let alone a set of CDs for a single-family residential project. I intend to spend a fair amount of time going through the new employer's old CDs to see what they expect. Of course, I told my interviewers in during my interview (redundant) that my weak point was CDs, so hopefully they'll understand that I'll be going through a significant learning curve.

Hopefully, this will be one of those "Happily Ever After" situations, and I'll catch on really quickly and get a raise in December (keep those fingers crossed, people). But if not... maybe Starbucks will have an opening.

* Okay, I'm legally blind in one eye without my glasses, so I WOULD be flying half-blind.