Disorientation I

Today starts two days (technically three) of new hire orientation, which might prove slightly awkward, given I've actually worked for the company for just under four years.

The actual obstacle is getting to the company office, which is 30 miles away, and across a sea of interstate and cars. In a fit of optimism, I gave myself about an hour to get there, and still ended up a half hour late. Thankfully, they weren't ready either, so no harm, no foul. I did make some little GPS mistakes, but I'm getting better. The more often I do the routes, the more I know where I screw it up, and I can try to overcompensate.

However, getting to the parking garage, I ended up going into the monthly parking entrance instead, which got me trapped when someone else tried getting in behind me. Between four way flashers and reaching out the window, I convinced them to back out, and I went in the nearby entrance, which still wasn't where I wanted to be, but it was parking. Surprisingly enough, they didn't seem to charge anything. Afterwards, I realized that might be a horrible mistake, but the people at the office figured it should be fine.

Orientation was uneventful, it was mostly PR videos trying to convince people how awesome the company is, and teaching how to use most of the tools needed for administration. But, there was also info on US benefits, and other US-specific things I needed. They also catered, so we had food. Bagels, muffins, wraps, salad, oxford commas, and cookies.

At the end of the day, I went back to the parking garage to see how badly I screwed up. The car was not towed. It was not booted. I didn't even get a ticket. So I Houdini'd out of that one. I don't know why there's a free parking garage next to the $12 a day one, but I'm not tempting my luck again, unless I forget in an 8 am daze.

However, driving... at a snail's pace... for an hour and a half... each way... is absolutely rough, not to mention my driving toe, and knee. Thankfully, I don't need to make such a commute often.