364 days later...

It's been that long since I've had to show up anywhere specific before 10am and be ready to work for an 8 hour block of time. I'm back in the working world now. But this time it seems like it'll be more enjoyable.

I felt like it was the first day of school going to work today. "Make new friends on the bus!" Jon told me last night, along with some comforting prayers.

As soon as I came in, I was thrilled to see that I get a window seat! And I really like my desk area. It's a glass-top desk that curves like an L, and it's right up against a window that overlooks the forest. I can watch the birds and get a sense of carefreedom.

The entire designers area seems pretty lax, the lights are low and there doesn't seem to be a lot of hustle and bustle, despite that people are actually working hard. I met three of the five other designers today. Bonzai (I doubt that's his real name), Burt and Stacey, all of whom are guys. (I think there's only one other girl). I chatted with Stacey for a while about the process of things and the workload. He seemed pretty cool about it, and how easy it is to maintain. (Good!) I noticed that they keep a pretty hefty stash of kit-kats, 3musketeers, reeces cups and tootsie roll pops.

Everyone I met was really nice and helpful and kept saying if I ever have any questions about anything, just ask and they'd be glad to help. I was impressed by how much time people spent talking with me; if they had bigger more hectic things to accomplish, they didn't show it, which is nice. I've felt shafted in that way before, but not here so far. Even the Boss Man (who really is only 2 levels up from my position with the way ARS is organized) seems pretty cool. He reminds me of J.K. Simmons, ha (the father in Juno/the head chief in Superman) only a skinnier, peppier version of that guy. My creative director reminds me of my good old friend Jason Brandt, too. (Hehe, that photo is from a group costume 3 years ago as the Goonies).

Anyway, I haven't worked on any actual projects yet, but I think one of my first projects will be a fun interactive thing. I spent today talking with people, doing paperwork, setting up my computer (where I get two monitors!), familiarizing myself with how they build web files, and watching some tutorials online.