The new job

I started the new job on Monday. Another dude was hired on the same day so we sat in the same room filling out paperwork for awhile. He seemed like a perfectly nice guy, but he had one of those hairdos where it isn’t exactly clear if he spent a lot of time on it or not (it was long-ish and flipped up at the bottom, which I guess could happen naturally?). A turtle was also hanging out in the room, taking a break from the water and scraping its little fin-things on every metal object it could find. Screech-thump. Screech-thump. Feisty.

We looked around one of the parks where we’ll be doing reception (Fox Island), then drove across town to look at the other park (Metea). They were both particularly majestic since it had been snowing all day. After we looked around a bit we were sent packing.

On Tuesday I actually started my training with a guy named Matt. He’s currently a receptionist there (they have 5 now, I think, who go back and forth between the two parks I mentioned), and is actually an awesome dude. We talked for a long time about our AmeriCorps experiences, NPR, Flight of the Conchords and interesting things to read. He’s dating another of the receptionists there that I haven’t met yet, but he insists we will have tons in common and like each other very much.

On Thursday I also worked with Matt, but we were at the other park. At both places there seems to be a lot of down time, and the main focus is to just be available in case someone comes in or calls. I cleaned fish tanks, fed some animals there, walked along the trails, looked at the Ren Fair costumes in the basement, and poked the dead Great Horned Owl that’s kept in the freezer with the Hot Pockets. One of the women there dissected a cat in high school and found a fetus inside with two heads, and she keeps it in a jar on her desk. I looked at that for awhile, and started to feel sick after I noticed a lot of the little details (claws, hints of fur, etc.).

Not much else has been going on. I had a long dream last night that one of my roommates said a lot of horrible things to me and I moved out, refusing to live with him anymore. My other roommate just laughed (in the dream) when I tried to explain it to her. A lot of times people in my dreams (that I know in real life) are creepy and don’t have very good intentions.

Anyway, I’ve spent a lot of time entertaining myself with small (usually internet related) things. This is a video that I’ve watched many, many times lately, and never seem to get tired of:

How would you make this thing stop?! Not to mention navigating around corners.

I guess I’ll be going to Georgia this Xmas with my mom, sister and nephew. I haven’t been there in a long time–I can’t remember how long exactly– so it should be fun. The only down side is that I only have the 24th-29th off of work so we’ll only stay for a few days. Better than nothing though, that’s for sure.

Well, that’s enough for now. I should probably go outside or something.

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December 12, 2008

nice to hear from you again. you seem to be doing well. hope the new job works out wonderful like it seems to be. that video is hilarious. thanks for sharing.

December 13, 2008

You make it stop by not running on it. 🙂 I would definitely like to own one, as I’ve done nothing but gain weight for the past 12 years of my life. 🙁

December 14, 2008

Sounds like a pretty decent job. Cool people, feisty turtles, street cred with environmentalists. Any expiration date on the job? Still job hunting? Or are you planning on sticking with this gig for a while.

December 17, 2008

Is it bad I think the two-headed fetus is cool? Not so much about the owl with the Hot Pockets though. Ew…. Glad the new job is going well so far!