My First Day on the Job

Many years ago my first day on the job was quite interesting to say the least. The cast of characters in my new organization were, let's just say, "Special". Having been previously employed by another large corporation, I was privy to high level shenanigans at a very young age, which actually led to acquiring good people skills.

My bright corner office had windows on the north and west sides. The facility was nestled on the knoll of a hill, and on a clear day, the ocean could be seen in the distance. Remember it's my first day. After being introduced to everyone in the department, and spending the entire morning on a tour with my boss meeting other managers and key personnel, I got to settle in, read some policies, and looked at some assignments that required quick analysis. Suddenly, the sound of a soft knock at my door brought a smile to my face. It was one of my new colleagues from the office next door.

A cute little lady, around my age I presumed, seemingly pleasant, and certainly easy on the eyes peeked her head in to say hello. We had met earlier, her name was, let's just say, Kate. She wanted to know how my day was going, and if I needed anything, to let her know. I thanked her, invited her in to sit, as we made small talk about what she does. She revealed that she wasn't really part of our department; she was assigned that office by the Space Manager. After several minutes I thought that the conversation was ending for the moment. I have to remind you again, this is my first day. She then proceeded to tell me, by name, everyone in my department, and who to look out for, who not to trust, who was having an affair, who lived an alternative lifestyle, who used to be skinny, and who had bad breath.

Stupefied, of course, I sat back in my chair, and the central processing unit in my brain went to work. Zoom! Zip! Zing! Those were the sounds in my head. "Uh-huh. The only person I need to keep my eye on is you", I thought. "Let's do lunch one day", I said. She left my office the same way she came in, with a bright smile. Over time I found out, for myself, that this was the weirdest group of people that I had ever experienced. I spent three years at that company. Kate and I never had lunch.