Once Upon a Time...

I used to talk about stuff that wasn't knitting related. Shall I give that another shot?

I started my new job today. It went pretty well after I got over having to wake up at 3:30am in order to arrive in Fort Worth at 5:00am for new hire orientation. I should say it went well until 9:00am, anyway, when there was confusion as to where I should be and what I should be doing. It didn't help that my new boss was out today (and will be tomorrow and Friday, also).

My co-workers are super nice, and they were very helpful in getting me acclimated to my new surroundings. There wasn't much I could do today because of the confusion, so I left at 1pm. Don't worry, my boss had given me permission (by phone) to leave at noon, but I stayed an extra hour to prove I was committed. I was starving and had a massive headache (likely from not eating or drinking since 3:45am), so I stopped at Whataburger, inhaled a hamburger and french fries, and arrived home where I immediately crashed. James woke me up when he got home and it took me an hour to tell him about my day.

One thing I have noticed about myself is that I don't feel the same anxiety/excitement about starting a new job that I remember feeling before. It reminds me of how when I was in grade school, I would feel a pang of panic/excitement on the first day of school every year. Butterflies in the stomach and all that. In high school, it was still there faintly, but by the time I was in college, it didn't faze me at all, which, ironically seems like it would be the most likely time to feel anxious. It's as though with each job I have felt increasingly at ease, and with this job in particular, I wasn't nervous at all. It makes me wonder whether this is part of getting older or just being comfortable in situations which are no longer new or unique to me or something else.

I also feel this way about traveling to new places, and James and I have discussed this at length before. My first time on a plane was a trip to NYC with my best friend (and he-who-shall-not-be-named). I was twenty-one. It was very exciting and surreal, and I couldn't sleep for days before. During my trip to Great Britain a year later, I had much the same feelings. Now, though, after having been many places and on many planes in the last few years (for business and pleasure), I no longer feel the same anticipation and excitement I used to feel. And now, I'm thinking maybe I never will again. The newness has worn off.

To be fair, it's not that I haven't enjoyed my trips (because I have enjoyed every single one immensely). It's just that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling is no longer there. I kind of miss it. I wonder if it will ever return?