My first day went fairly smoothly... I didn't trip, or spill anything on my shirt. I didn't lock myself in the bathroom - but who would do that? Honestly. HOWEVER! No day would be complete for me without the slight embarrassment or odd first impression. My new position is in a northern suburb of Chicago, further north than Seasons' office and I needed to show up at 8:30am on Monday morning. Being my neurotic self, I decided I better give myself extra time for travel just in case of traffic. This sounds like a reasonable idea, right? Well, I drug myself from my bed and snugly little puppy at the ungodly hour of 5:30am in order to be up and at 'em by 7am. Alright, I realize that a LOT of you out there likely get up that early... or perhaps even earlier. Kudos to you. You are awesome and I give you a lot of credit. But I've been
Out on the road I saw the sunrise over the city (the Sears tower - I will always call it that - gleaming in the distance), I politely waved to other commuters who allowed my to change lanes, and listened to the ridiculousness of morning radio personalities jabbering about the Grammy awards. My GPS faithful led the way and as I pulled into the parking lot I stared in disbelief at the digital clock... 7:45am. 7:45?! I had successfully showed up for work 45minutes early. My new HR buddy had dealt with me being 15 minutes early for both interviews, but 45 minutes seemed a bit excessive. So, I did what any other normal human being would do. I parked my car and went back to sleep... or at least tried to sleep in the way that you can kind of sort of sleep in a chilly car after having showered, driven, and fully woken up for the morning. I set the alarm on my cell phone to alert me to enter the building at a more socially acceptable hour. After a while of reclining somewhat stiffly in a Prius with my sunglasses and scarf, I heard a tap on the window.
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| Sleeping in your car... clearly I was doing it wrong. |
"Are you ok?" a rather distinguished and professional looking man asked me.
"Oh yeah!" I replied forcing a casual and probably stupid laugh. "I just am supposed to meet someone here at 8:30, but I got here at 7:45, and that was just too early, you know? So I thought I'd just wait and rest a while..." I quickly blurted out.
"Oh, ok" He said looking at me like I was some kind of crazy person... but really, this was totally normal right? "It's just that someone saw you and they were kind of concerned..." Yep, I look like a crazy person.
"Oh well... hee hee... no problem... ha...." I reassured him.
"Alright." He slowely backed away from the car.
"Have a great day!" I called after him. Yep. That's me. Annie Walljasper, your new co-worker. Board certified music therapist. Weirdo extraordinaire. I make a great first impression.
Throughout the rest of the day I kept praying that I would not run into him again ... the tour of the facility (chock full of introductions) was particularly nerve wracking. Luckily, the poor guy who had been elected to go save the crazy-chick-sleeping-in-her-car-in-the-parking-lot was no where to be found. Why does it feel like this kind of stuff only happens to me?
Yeesh.
ANYWAY... So far I absolutely love everything about my new position. My supervisor is fantastic, I've shadowed another MT who is a wonderful musician, a lot of fun to be around, and has the sweetest southern accent, I've shadowed a great chaplain, and met some patients who instantly reignited that spark inside me and reminded me how much I truly love working in hospice. I am confident that I am where I am supposed to be... even if I am a bit early.
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| Everyone thinks it's cute when children do it. When you get old people just think you're a creep. |
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