1st Week

I had forgotten how it felt to start a new job until this week, my third, still under public relations but in the academe. I now leave home an hour before to arrive at work on time. I don’t take coffee at work for now, so part of my rushed morning routine is a glass of coffee to consume within 30 minutes.

It is a whole lot of adjustment, physically and emotionally. I miss SAAD dearly, especially my former workmates who defined my experience there for almost four years. From time to time, evidently, during lunch breaks, my mind wanders back to DA at Capitol Drive and the culture that envelops the workplace I used to consider my second home.

I have a new set of workmates now at Ampayon. They are friendly and minding their own businesses, which is my ideal. I have a new supervisor who is only two years older than me. I adore her principle of allowing us to explore our skills to heights. She believes that creativity should not be held back. I could not agree more. She only gives us a general direction. The rest is ours to interpret. There are only five staff in our unit alone. My other workmates are equally welcoming. They picked up my pacing in the adjustment phase. I do not feel restricted. They let me do my thing.

At the administration building, we are joined by several people, including the directors, chiefs, vice presidents, and the President himself. One chief near our space greets everyone with a charming smile every morning. I usually arrive five minutes before her. And when she sees me, she greets me by my name.

Our university has five vice presidents. We are under the VP for executive operations and auxiliary services. I remember her asking me how I could contribute to the branding initiatives of the university during the panel interview back when I was still an applicant in December. She has a kind smile, as well. She asked a more personal question on my first day: How did it go? I said all good, adding I had been exposed to one activity already, the Hugyaw, the students’ welcoming activity for the new year and semester ahead. She said I have more to look forward to.

And I sure do. But my first week introduced me to the nature of my new job. I handle the official newsletter of the university now, which is my very first project. I already started laying out the stories and conceptualizing the overall look and feel of the material. I also take part in covering events. My first one was the benchmarking by a college from Lanao del Sur. My second one involved another group of personnel from Tandag City, which included receiving them, facilitating the tour, and writing a press release for the activity. I confirmed I still have more love for writing. And, somehow, it feels more exciting now. I have a new, massive landscape to take inspiration from. I cannot wait for my first full-blown feature.

Perhaps the only bummer to all this is processing my requirements for submission to the human resource office. It is part of the equation my person reminded me of when I vented the other day. My heart sometimes wins over my rationality, so it is true that your people will keep you grounded when you are counting the clouds instead of minding the path before you. I have a few more offices to visit to update my employment details, but I am taking them one day at a time.

After my workmates and I covered the benchmarking this afternoon, we ate at the Archives room in the University Library. There, I managed to joke with them and take their jokes. I observed being more gentle with my talking, especially when interacting with our visitors. I also managed to ask the Director of the Management Information System follow-up questions as inputs for my first press release. I am making my way to my new workplace. I told Via, my sister, that I am slowly embracing my new job.