It's not like I've never worked before. I've had lots of jobs... data entry, secretarial, fast-food, even the finance industry in 2005. But all those other jobs were temporary. I knew I was going back to school or moving on. I had the end date firmly fixed in my mind before I even took them on. They did not seem crucial to my identity or life in any way. This job is different. Today, I started my career.
Though I'm not admitted to the NY Bar yet (and cross my fingers I will be in November...), I am actually working as an attorney now. So it was when this morning ZW awoke at 5:30 am (her firm's first day of training lasts from 7:45 am to 10 pm!!), I woke too. There were butterflies in my stomach and I couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming day. I spent the next couple of hours packing my things and trying not to get nervous. It didn't help much that the humidity was horrible this morning in NYC - I could see the sweat soaking through my blouse and realized I would have to keep my suit jacket on to hide the patches of sweat adding to the misery caused by the heat. Damn it! - yet another thing to worry about!
Eventually, I made it out the door and onto the subway. The cars are airconditioned, so I hoped my sweat-soaked shirt would naturally dry in the train before I got to work. I didn't really want to be known as the "sweaty as a pig girl"... especially since the shirt was PINK! Damn it!
Adding to the uncertainty of the whole day, I was actually making my way to a different office. For various reasons, my departure to the Brussels office was necessarily delayed and so for one month I will be working in the New York office. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I arrived at the office. The office building near the Lexington subway stared down at me from it's great height... several dozen stories at least. After getting my bags scanned in a security machine, I picked up my temporary ID and made my way to one of the four banks of elevators. I entered the elevator and pressed the button and found that my ears popped as the elevator rushed up to its destination above the 50th floor. I tried to while away the seconds by staring at a mini-computer screen which flickered back stock quotes and the weather at me.
Things were no more certain once I got off at the floor. I wasn't really sure how to get in to the office, which seemed closed because I had arrived before 9 am. Eventually someone let me in, but she wasn't exactly sure what I was there for and it took a while for her to realize I had come to work. I sat down to wait. Sitting across form me was someone coming to interview at the firm. We began one of those nervous introductory conversations that people enter into simply because they feel they must interact to fill up the silence around them, but in which neither person is actually interested or invested. Eventually, CM and AH turned up at the office and I realized there were only going to be three of us new associates.
Once I met the other two associates and we got into training though, I was no longer worried. There was so much training to get through and so much paper to be filled out, etc... that the hours seemed to pass quite quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. The firm had organized lunch for everybody, so that we could all meet. They had even ordered a cake with our names on it, which I thought was very sweet. I made some small talk with some of the attorneys present. The office is small (only about 20 lawyers), so I wasn't overwhelmed.
In fact, some of the day had been downright cool! I still can't get used to the idea of having a secretary - who is the sweetest lady ever. Nor can I get enough of my view - I can see a good chunck of Central Park from up here!!!! AWESOME! The firm has been extremely professional and well-organized with all my equipment and materials. And everything seemed a breeze today.
Eventually I walked out of the office at 6:30 pm. Not too tired. Pleased at what had been accomplished. Looking forward to the next day, with a little less trepidation and a little more excitement. I could do this everday... in fact I have to!
Though I'm not admitted to the NY Bar yet (and cross my fingers I will be in November...), I am actually working as an attorney now. So it was when this morning ZW awoke at 5:30 am (her firm's first day of training lasts from 7:45 am to 10 pm!!), I woke too. There were butterflies in my stomach and I couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming day. I spent the next couple of hours packing my things and trying not to get nervous. It didn't help much that the humidity was horrible this morning in NYC - I could see the sweat soaking through my blouse and realized I would have to keep my suit jacket on to hide the patches of sweat adding to the misery caused by the heat. Damn it! - yet another thing to worry about!
Eventually, I made it out the door and onto the subway. The cars are airconditioned, so I hoped my sweat-soaked shirt would naturally dry in the train before I got to work. I didn't really want to be known as the "sweaty as a pig girl"... especially since the shirt was PINK! Damn it!
Adding to the uncertainty of the whole day, I was actually making my way to a different office. For various reasons, my departure to the Brussels office was necessarily delayed and so for one month I will be working in the New York office. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I arrived at the office. The office building near the Lexington subway stared down at me from it's great height... several dozen stories at least. After getting my bags scanned in a security machine, I picked up my temporary ID and made my way to one of the four banks of elevators. I entered the elevator and pressed the button and found that my ears popped as the elevator rushed up to its destination above the 50th floor. I tried to while away the seconds by staring at a mini-computer screen which flickered back stock quotes and the weather at me.
Things were no more certain once I got off at the floor. I wasn't really sure how to get in to the office, which seemed closed because I had arrived before 9 am. Eventually someone let me in, but she wasn't exactly sure what I was there for and it took a while for her to realize I had come to work. I sat down to wait. Sitting across form me was someone coming to interview at the firm. We began one of those nervous introductory conversations that people enter into simply because they feel they must interact to fill up the silence around them, but in which neither person is actually interested or invested. Eventually, CM and AH turned up at the office and I realized there were only going to be three of us new associates.
Once I met the other two associates and we got into training though, I was no longer worried. There was so much training to get through and so much paper to be filled out, etc... that the hours seemed to pass quite quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. The firm had organized lunch for everybody, so that we could all meet. They had even ordered a cake with our names on it, which I thought was very sweet. I made some small talk with some of the attorneys present. The office is small (only about 20 lawyers), so I wasn't overwhelmed.
In fact, some of the day had been downright cool! I still can't get used to the idea of having a secretary - who is the sweetest lady ever. Nor can I get enough of my view - I can see a good chunck of Central Park from up here!!!! AWESOME! The firm has been extremely professional and well-organized with all my equipment and materials. And everything seemed a breeze today.
Eventually I walked out of the office at 6:30 pm. Not too tired. Pleased at what had been accomplished. Looking forward to the next day, with a little less trepidation and a little more excitement. I could do this everday... in fact I have to!
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