Employment

So I am exhausted and a little in shock - what I thought was going to be my translation 'test' yesterday actually turned out to be my first official day of work! I will never understand this country. Anyway, so I am swamped. And tired. No, tired doesn't describe it. I hurt.

I have a short-term trial contract which, if all goes well on both sides, should turn into an interim contract which should then turn into a real-life contract in a year (didya follow that!?). Whatever, I'm not looking that far ahead, I'm just trying to get through the extremely technical translation they've given me, all 100 pages of which are due next Friday. Did I mention it's about plate heat exchangers? What are those, you ask? Well, please don't ask!

Anyway. Am I happy with the job? Yes, I think so, though it's hard to tell as there is so much work and I wasn't expecting to have a job when I walked in their door yesterday. So it's going to take some adjusting. I work full time, which means 8 hours but luckily I'm out by 6. The money sucks (900 Euros a month, for intense 40 hour weeks) but compared to a lot of other jobs, it's downright decent.

I sit next to a French girl, Cecil, who is really nice, which is a plus. The office is cramped and my desk is pea-sized and plastic with an equally uncomfortable and equally plastic orange chair - but sometime within the next few months they plan on moving (they've already signed for the new place) and it'll be much bigger, so hopefully that means I will at least have a comfortable chair to sit on for 8 hours! The coffee's free (though they were awaiting their coffee shipment this week which decreased my production by a good 30%), it's only 10 minutes by car from home so I can eat lunch with Andrea (and Novella and Antonello for now!). And, well, I'm doing what I wanted to be doing, which makes me feel proud of myself, and thankful to everyone who told me I would get there, eventually.

TGI freakin F!