New Job--Hurrah!

Many people have asked me how things are going with my new job.  For those of you who don’t know, I got a new job which I started on June 4^th.  I am now working at the FDIC in Arlington.  My title is Instructional Systems Design Specialist.  I will doing much of the same thing I was doing at the FAA, but in a friendlier environment with better benefits. 

So far everything is going really well.  I haven’t really gotten into my job yet as they are introducing me to the FDIC and the departments I will be creating/editing training for.  I have an office with a door which is nice though we are still working on moving furniture and getting the walls painted, etc.  Hopefully they will get that done sooner than later. 

I went from a ten minute commute (from door to door) to a two hour commute round trip.  I know that’s normal for many people here, but it’s quite an adjustment for me.   I am getting up at 5:00 am to drive to the park and ride and catch a bus that takes me to the metro.  Then I take the metro to my office.  The metro is directly across from my office which is very nice.

The other great part is that my office is really close to the Custis trail.  The trail is a biking/walking trail that connects to other trails so you can bike quite a ways.  I decided to be adventurous last week and biked part of the way to work.  If I had biked from my home it would have taken me two hours so instead I drove to the bus station and put my bike on the bus.  The bus dropped me off at the metro and I caught the trail from there.  It was a gorgeous morning to bike!  It didn’t take that long and it was much better than going to the gym and walking on a treadmill.  We have a fitness center at work so I can shower and get ready there.  I can also park my bike in the parking garage so I don’t have to worry about the weather.

It ends up that I know several people who work here including an instructional designer that I worked with at the FAA.  It has made the transition very easy and enjoyable.  We have lunch together and go on walks at lunch.  It was raining yesterday, but we went walking anyway.  She is also going to do my food plan with me so I have someone I’m accountable to.  It will really help me stick to the plan!