And just like that, my first week at CheeseGov is a wrap!
New jobs are always tough in the beginning. You want to contribute, but there’s that pesky learning curve to contend with, not to mention tons of onboarding requirements. Janis commented on a recent post, It always took me about a week to quiet the ‘what have I done?!’ voice in my head when I started a new job.
Boy, do I get that.
Wednesday night, I awoke at 1:30, and my brain said, “Sleep is overrated. Let’s have a mental freakout instead!” I tossed and turned for hours, fretting over stupid shit like not knowing certain processes or how to access files I’d need or who to turn to for help if I couldn’t figure something out. Things that nobody would master after three days at a new job, but in the dead of night, they took on an ominous weight. The voices in your head are loudest at 3 a.m. I’m very confident in my skills, but take me out of my comfort zone, and – as another blogger suggested – I’m beset by imposter’s syndrome. Luckily, I was feeling considerably better the next day, even if I was dragging a little.
Better rested and with five days under my belt now, my first impressions of CheeseGov are nothing but positive. Everyone has been warm and welcoming – the very definition of Midwest nice. I may be the new guy, but they treat me with courtesy and respect. My role is outward-facing and the work touches on several key areas that affect every Sconnie to some degree. This was a great move for me at this stage in my career, so those voices in my head can suck it.
There are four of us on the communications team: an external communications manager (me), internal communications manager (R), videographer (S), and communications director, Marcie (my supervisor). Whom I learned, a few days before starting, has been appointed to a deputy assistant state position, which means the person I admired tremendously and bonded with two years ago is moving on once a replacement is appointed. Well, crap. She’s very deserving and I’m happy for her, but selfishly, wish I could have worked with her longer. I can only hope my future boss is half as awesome.
The CheeseGov building I work in is one giant six-floor maze of cubicles, offices, and conference rooms. Walking from my cubicle to the bathroom takes 17 minutes! (OK, I may be exaggerating slightly, but I am racking up 3,000 steps every day just walking around the office.) And it’s a lot quieter than I’m used to. I guess government hubbub is more muted than agency hubbub.
One of the biggest perks is simply working in Madison. The city is what drew us to Wisconsin in the first place, and I assumed we’d end up buying our home there. Working there helps scratch that urban itch. There are so many options just a short drive from the office: the capital, State Street, great restaurants, a scenic park overlooking Lake Mendota. I zipped over to Trader Joe’s to do some shopping on my lunch break yesterday and got back with 10 minutes to spare. No more special trips to stock up anymore! And to think that we regularly drove 5+ hours for TJs runs in our past lif
Speaking of driving, yeah, commuting to Madison five days a week isn’t ideal. But I only have to do it for a few weeks, and then I’ll be able to work from home 3x a week. I miss my basement office and seeing the cats go nuts whenever birds and squirrels appear on the patio. Most of the time, traffic has flowed smoothly, but twice there were accidents that added 10-15 minutes to my drive. Fortunately, I’m only on the Beltline – the main highway that runs through Madison – for a brief three-mile stretch. The rest of the way there’s more corn than cars.
I spent my first week familiarizing myself with policies and procedures, communications documents, and state laws and regulations pertinent to my position, and attending meetings. I have yet to do any actual writing, but that should change next week. The highlight was Thursday morning, when I spent three hours in our 5th-floor studio with S, our videographer. He talked about all the different equipment he uses, showed me how to set it up, and shot a video in which I had to read a script from a teleprompter – which, if you’ve never done so before, is way harder than it looks. I expected the teleprompter to guide me, but in reality, you guide the teleprompter. Eventually, I nailed it. Only took 15 takes, so clearly, I AM A NATURAL.
Something else fun happened on Thursday: we had a tornado drill. Remember last month when there was a real-life tornado warning at TobacCo, and everyone just milled around the window for a minute before returning to their workstations while I was looking for a safe place in which to cower fearfully? I’m happy to report that CheeseGov takes severe weather seriously. Alerts sounded and we all proceeded calmly to our designated shelter, the interior stairwell, until we were given the all-clear. Glancing at next Tuesday’s forecast, I’m glad we went over this.
That about sums up CheeseGov! I still need to talk about elevator roulette, the low talker, and the 50 First Dates dude, but I’ll save those for the next post.
As if all this excitement weren’t enough, my parents arrived for a visit on Thursday and will be staying until the middle of next week. It’s the first time we’ve seen them since the reunion, which was – holy cow! – seven months ago already. Obviously, we’re both working during much of their visit, but we have a full slate of activities planned this weekend. With sunshine and temperatures in the 70s forecast, last week’s snow feels like a distant memory.
Mark My Words 
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