My new job is a local company that does aromatherapy and attar perfumes. While I'm not sold on its medical benefits, the boss and the customers are and I know for a fact that scents trigger memory, which can cause a person to destress, which then aids the immune system so it is possible there really is something to this. I'm keeping an open mind about it as long as the check doesn't bounce. The main office is up on the hill a couple miles away from where I'm working with one other person, Wendy.
The two of us spent my first day on the job setting up metal shelving units, very similar to the ones we used at my old job. We will have bins of product and raw materials on these shelves and a sequential bottling machine, which is likely similar to a sequential ammunition loader (women knit, men make bullets).
The shop itself is between the main drag in town and a major creek which is running cold and swift right now. Sandbags suggest it sometimes floods, which would then flood the lower floor. We'll be careful about things on the floor when we get flood warnings. Our downstairs neighbors offered to act as backup security for us, which is really nice. Small towns have their upsides. There's also space for me to park a bicycle or even a scooter there if I want. It would free up a parking space for the neighbor so I bet she'd be all for it.
After hours of assembling shelving and letting the Comcast guy install cable internet and phone service, we went to lunch at Carl's Junior (Santa Fe Chicken sandwich is pretty good, low fat, has a skinned green chili inside the right way), then bought things for the kitchen and bathroom. Did you know you can get a microwave from Kmart for $70? Of course it was broken, but still. We'll exchange it for a good one tomorrow. They've got 6 models there for that or less, and a 7th for $85. Amazing. The last microwave I remember buying was over $450. Oh wait, that was 1990. When I was graduating high school and the parents moved to a better neighborhood.
We also bought some teas, some fruit for snacks, silverware, a cutting board, a couple cutting knives (not to be confused with MENDING knives), and dishes. With an electric kettle rather than a coffee pot since we both agreed that tea was easier on the brain than coffee after that morning cup. And I get paid lunches. My job is 1.93 miles from my current residence and there are hills in the way. Its mostly downhill on the way there, but that means its mostly uphill on the way back. More motivation to either get in better shape to bicycle it or get my license and scooter or motorcycle it. A light motorcycle, in the 200cc range would be dandy, provided its quiet enough. I don't want to be obnoxious when I have nice neighbors at work. I saw someone go buy in a 100cc 1950's bike, lovingly restored, with a high school kid at the wheel. I was impressed. It was obviously 2-stroke and loud, but I also saw a 1960's BMW go by earlier as well.
I plan to take pictures for my work and see if they'll allow me to blog it via my work email/blog. Since I'm a fast typist I can put this together pretty quick. I'll ask the bosses if that's okay first. I'm sure I can do this easily. I am having fun setting up the place and despite it being in a carriage house between a busy street, a stream, and an offramp, its going to be peaceful. And I need that. The first two years at the Poison Factory were peaceful because I had a good boss. After that, all bets were off. I think they'd say they were addressing issues in a harsh marketplace but there was no reason to be cruel when the labor of a few (mine in particular) paid the wages of 300 people who did very little or nothing. And since I'm not saying the name of that company, I can say whatever I wish.
This company is more stable and despite growing, they reward lateral thinking instead of punish it. Very small companies are like that. It reminds me a lot of the winery business I worked for right after college. I'm management here, even if my job doesn't look that way so far, which is the right direction for my career. Eventually I will have an assistant of my own. When you work for a startup, you get promoted fast and the rewards come fast too. Working for a big established company offers no mobility. Everyone is in job-protection CYA mode at a big corp(se). They're fearful of change because it might make their job go away, so they hide behind laws and Process, deliberately crippling their company's efficiency and virtually guaranteeing their company will go under. That's what my last employer was like. Its worse in a shrinking market (biotech) or a saturated one dealing with price wars (cellphones). Technology companies can be very cruel because obsolescence and out-sourcing can destroy your business model very suddenly. They are, by their inherent nature, unstable. Technology is all about science, and science marches forward on discovery. If you provide the tools or money for discovery, your business has to adapt. My prior employer was maladaptive. I am glad I don't own a single share of their stock.
Now that I'm working locally in a peaceful town where people are mostly nice, I can breathe easy and focus on getting the job done. Most of today is probably going to be IT and passwords setup so I can configure my PC to do the job I'm paid for. I can already see value in various gizmos to help. I suspect I'm going to want a barcode scanner seeing as there's a hundred different pure products. We don't do many blends, apparently, since these are technically medicines. They do smell really nice.
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