5 to 9

Seems the average work week where I work is a 6-10-10-10-4, where you sacrifice the midweek to get an awesome weekend. Last week, due to orientation, I did straight 8-8-8-8-8, but this week, I figured I'd do as in Rome. Today was the first "ten-hour day", which is nominally 7 to 6 with an hour lunch, but in practice, people tend to do more like 8 to 7.

I almost forgot the SSN stuff, this was today, and it feels like halfway last week. We're Tuesday, heh. The person I met with yesterday basically set everything up so I just skipped the line going in, and within 5 minutes, I had my number, and was good to go!

Some people on the team ordered pizza, so I was able to get a quick lunch, and used my lunch "hour" to try to finalize the apartment stuff. That went... adequately. There's a bunch of construction in Norwalk, and once I missed one freeway entrance, the GPS kept bouncing me between two that were actively closed. So, my solution was to drive a mile in a direction I figured was the right way, and let the GPS correct from there. It worked.

The heat might have affected my driving, since I may or may not have ended up in the middle of an intersection, and had to cut off a couple of 18-wheelers turning left "for the greater good" of the intersection. I'll need to start getting used to the heat. Seems the average coping mechanism in town is to crank the A/C.

I got to the apartment complex, and got most of the logistics out of the way. They'll take a few days to check my (nonexistent) credit, which ultimately will just decide whether or not I need an extra deposit to get in. Also, seems some of these places enforce that your income is at least X times your rent, which sounds like a good idea, but that number seems low for the area... 2.8 is like, 40% of your take home pay. The Life Pie, which is a Canadian thing has like, 35% (but that includes stuff like heating).

That took just under 2 hours, so my 10 hour day didn't really pan out. I clocked out at a quarter after 6, so I have like a 9.3 hour day. I'll catch it up on Friday if need be.

However, after work, I went straight to the car dealership, with SSN in hand, see what they got. I'm aiming at a Toyota Corolla, which has a decent price, and features I want, like a spiffy entertainment system and backup camera. I spent another two hours there, alternating between the guy getting info from me, and talking to the guy in the suit. I swear, it felt like the world's worst episode of Deal or No Deal, and that's saying something. Two hours, and not a single briefcase or offer!

But they're aiming at getting me qualified for a 3-year lease. I figure costs 20k now, worth 10k in 3 years, 10k / 36 months is a bit under 300... I can live with that. Throw in insurance and gas, and I'm under budget. I'll know tomorrow what the banks think.

So, after the car, it was 8:30, and stuff closes at 9. So, the other thing I needed an SSN for was the phone. Unfortunately, turns out all the big companies with the contracts are terrible, and the best plan is a prepaid. Which I could have done weeks ago! I went to Best Buy, and saw what they had, and applied for a credit card because I had nothing better to do. Oddly enough, I think Walmart might be the answer, and I'll check their Straight Talk, because they have good plans with SIM cards, so I can use my existing phone until I get the cash for a new phone. Aiming for an S4, but if I can pull it off, I might wait for the S5. Or not. We'll see.

But, that's about it for now. I was really surprised the blog lasted this long, but I've had no lack of stuff to say. It's also nice to see others are enjoying it. I'll keep it up as long as I've got cool things to talk about, and it looks like California is full of cool stuff to happen. Enjoy the ride, I know I am.