Long Day…

I got home this evening at about 7:30 from my training day at work.  Having gotten there at 9am, it was a long day for me.   I call it a training day but it was more of a sit and re-learn stuff I already knew day… which made it sort of boring at times.

It was still dark when I left for work this morning.  It felt strange, but liberating at the same time.   As nervous and anxious as I was I felt a little more like me again. 

It was actually 8:20am when I took this photo.  For some reason they have never bothered to change the clocks after they went back.   It sort of freaked me out when I first looked at it, thinking maybe I had gotten up too late and it was my clock that was wrong.  That would have been just my luck, to be late for work on my first day back.

Not a lot has changed in the place over the last two years, except the atmosphere seems more friendly than it did when I was working there previously.   Back then there was always a heavy air of … I’m not sure what, something unpleasant… in the air.   I’m glad that’s gone, or if it’s still there that it’s being kept far from me.

So what else did I learn today?

Firstly, the view from the office is looking pretty crap lately.  They are renovating Rotterdam Centraal and it won’t be finished for about two more years.  The view wasn’t fantastic to begin with (from that side of the office anyway) but now it’s even more drab and uninteresting.

Secondly… Arabic men always sound like they are angry when they are on the phone.   At one point I turned to look at one of the guys on the phones because I thought he was telling off a customer… I was shocked.

As it turns out, that’s just the way they speak.  Loud and abrupt… I think I’ll be sitting as far away from them as humanly possible.

I also learned that I have some weird Russian woman phobia.  I don’t know what it is but it seems like most Russian women I meet totally rub me the wrong way.  It happened in my Dutch classes and then again today with a woman in my training group.   She wasn’t weird or mean … she seemed nice, but still… just like the others… something was hinkey (I just typed that – hinkey – and then realized I’ve been watching too much NCIS).  Dunno what it is, but I’ll be surprised if I ever truly connect or become friends with a Russian woman in my lifetime.

Most of all, I learned that no matter how much padding is on a seat OR on my ass, if I sit on it for almost 8 hours nonstop, it aches like a sonofabitch!

Thank god I’m only going back part time.. I don’t think my nerves or my ass can take it much more at the moment.