So, I started a new job on Monday June 18 at 9:30. I am a consultant for Amentra. We are a consulting firm, we help companies solve their enterprise computer system problems, or to increase the efficiency of their existing solutions. Amentra is unique in our consulting style in that we use a mentoring approach, and as we implement a solution for the client, we train their existing staff to be able to update and otherwise maintain the new solution.

I work on the 21st floor of the Interstate Tower which is at the intersection of Trade St. and Tryon St. It’s kind of neat to work in a skyscraper.

I am a little unsure as to how many people from work will read this and exactly how much I’m allowed to say, so if you have questions you can feel free to email me, but I may not go into much detail here.

All the people at work are cool. So far there have been 12, I think. The sixth or eighth of the floor that we have is essentially a square doughnut, or if you prefer, a squagel. The entrance is in the middle of one side, and there is a large Amentra sign on the wall of the squhole facing the door. The squhole is basically the server room and a kitchenette (free soda, snacks and coffee, w00t!). We have a corner space, and so we have 2 sides with windows. The far side, which is all offices and the right (from the entrance). then to the right of the squhole are several desks in the open space at which some of us work. Those who desire or require a less distracting or more private environment work to the left of the squhole in cubicles. Our offices are not very big as the majority of our time we are working on site. I have spent these 2 weeks learning what technologies to learn and how to install the tools so that I can install them and begin to learn to use them to actually do things.

From where The Great House is located, I walk 5 minutes to the bus stop and then I can ride a CATS directly into the city. It takes approximately 30 minutes, which is maybe 5 or 10 minutes longer than driving, but it’s $112 cheaper (we’re welcome Amentra), I don’t have to drive, and best of all, it’s an ecologically responsible way to get to work.

“Extreme” I told a friend she was being a little “extreme” in her conviction (or steadfastly held, and emotionally supported decision) to not “use” facebook (at all, she will not even hold an account). As with anything else in life there are a variety of ways to experience facebook. I use it to keep in touch with people, stalk others, and to manage large get-togethers (their invite system is decent/easy). Some people use it insanely, they can sit on it for hours and just…read it and edit things…wow. Anyway, I did not hold the same connotation for “extreme” as my friend, who took it as an insult and took it to mean, like an extremist or fanatic. In my opinion extreme has very little connotation that should incite emotion. I simply mean it as the opposite of moderation. And as she will not even open an account with facebook (again) she fit my description.

Her reaction made me think about two things: my reaction to my reactions, and my amazement at our ability to ever communicate even a distortion of our intended message to others. I have this thing which I’m sure I am terribly inconsistent at doing: I try to pay attention to what affects my emotions. Not that I think I am unique in this, by any means, but when I notice myself getting upset, excited, happy sad, or elated, I try to think about why. And I think this has helped me to learn about myself. I once overreacted when some friends suggested irresponsibility on my part as a bit of a joke. First of all I hadn’t realized that they were joking which is odd, because I usually have no trouble detecting sarcasm, but I was getting really upset about it, and even though it was just some trivial circumstance and had it been an oversight, would have hardly been reckless, I realized how important it is to me that people who matter to me think I am responsible. Some years later, Melissa was recounting her moving day (from The Great House [and Garage] to her apartment), and I realized that it wasn’t just responsible, it was dependability as well, and trust (learned that when Ms. Sivey thought that Jenny would be more trustworthy than I one instance in High School. So I have realized that I want people to know that they can trust me with not only information, but also their possessions, their emotions, and …I don’t know what else, but I like to be a person that people know will be there in a pinch (and hopefully more often). In fact, on the surface it irks me when someone who I haven’t spoken to in forever calls me and thinks that I will do them a favor, but somewhere deeper, I appreciate that they know that even after years, they can depend on me. This can be a bit of a problem, because this combined with my lack of discrimination in interests, yields over-extension and exhaustion. I tend to gain relationships of responsibility and to like collect them, just so I can be depended on. I have been thinking on and off for a few years about why this is and have yet to figure it out. While I wish I weren’t extreme in this, wishing that all people felt like they could trust in and depend on me, I think that I like to find this quality in others, and in my interest in working toward a reality in which optimism is more realistic than pessimism, I think that a world wherein people assume that they can depend on and hold high expectations of others, people would have a nicer time.

I must sleep, editting in the morn.