Last Day. First Day.

Yesterday was my last day at my old job. Today was my first day at my new job. 2 very weird days, one right after another.

My last day at my old job felt like some kind of dream the whole time. All day long I'd catch myself thinking stuff like, 'this is the last time I'll be driving on this stretch of road for a while', 'won't be walking these halls again', 'shit this cube looks empty without all the pictures of my kids', and of course, 'won't have to deal with that fucker again'... There were lots of shaking hands, see ya's, good lucks and exchanging of e-mails with folks. In the end, it's those folks that gave that place any semblance of being a cool work environment.

Honestly, after almost 10 years, the only thing I can say that I'll miss about the place is the guys that I worked with. I worked with a great bunch of guys and we always looked out for each other and watched each other's backs. The guys in the lab were the part of the job that was fun. Even during the shitty times when we were all like, holy fuck, get us the fuck out of here, dude, I gotta get my resume updated, we always had a good joke or insult to get somebody to crack a smile.

We never took things or each other too seriously and that's one thing that I'll look back on and smile about when I think l about the old place, knowing you could walk in the lab in the morning and give a greeting like, "WHATS UP YA FUCKIN HO-BAG BITCHES??" and not get summoned to HR for questioning. Ya just got a laugh and a "WHATS UP FUCK-TARD?" or some other crazy thing in return. I'll miss that camaraderie...

Now it's time to start fresh. Turn that page, as they say.

Today I started at a new place. New job, new faces, new things to learn. It's exciting but a little scary too being the new guy again. I've been the old, grizzled, know everything, go to guy for a long time; the trainer, not the trainee.

Now I'm the new guy who knows practically jack shit. I was nervous starting over.

I got all dressed up in my best 'business-casual' clothes (that my wife picked out for me), showed up plenty early, was all smiles and polite and attentive the whole day long, taking notes and asking questions.

I was on my best behavior. I didn't say the F word once the whole day (if you can believe it!)

It's going to take me some time to learn the ropes at the new place, but I'm really looking forward to it. It was time for a change and I needed a fresh start. Now I've got it and I've got a good feeling about this new place. I think it's gonna be cool. Maybe I can throw a rescue line to some of the guys at the old place someday too.

I got the hardest part over with today. Day one is always the worst and I didn't look like a total buffoon. I got to show that I know my shit a few times, which was a confidence booster. Tomorrow I can ditch the 'business-causual' for jeans again. Next thing you know, I'll be greeting the new faces every morning with a hearty, 'WHATS UP BITCHES?'

Ha. How about that. Not dreading going to work. Now that's something new... I like it.