Philadelphia: First Weekend

Friday was my first day of work. I didn't actually get to do any real work yet; this was simply a new employee orientation day, where I sat in a classroom for most of the day and got talked at about the company and some common things that I need to do (like how to get in to buildings, etc). We got to go on a small tour of one of the facilities in the afternoon, and I got to eat lunch with my new boss--that was the first time I had met him.

This weekend was really nice! Ben came up from S. Maryland on Saturday evening and spent some time here--we watched some movies that evening, and then went to downtown early Saturday afternoon to look at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the associated historical district. We also got to tour the original Congress Hall/Capitol Building (ProTip: Philadelphia was the Capital of the U.S. for the first ten years). It was a beautiful day out, so we took some time to just walk around downtown. Unfortunately, most of the historical places around there charge to get in, so we didn't get so see all the things (like Benjamin Franklin's burial place) that we wanted to. Later in the afternoon we came back to my apartment and grilled bratwurst and drank beer in the parking lot; yum!

Monday was my first "real" day of work, where I actually got to sit in my cubicle! I met all of my co-workers, they seem like they're going to be a lot of fun to work with. Most of my day, unfortunately, was pretty boring; I have to spend pretty much this entire week trying to get access to all the computer systems and tools I'll need to do my job, and doing mandatory training on Boeing's policies. The export controls ones (a.k.a. don't give stuff to non-U.S. people) are particularly boring, and of course are the longest.

Today, I worked more on computer systems and training, but also got a few small introductions to the actual work I'll be doing, which was a nice change of pace. I finally got to go over to the Chinook factory across the street and take a look at how they're built; the scale of the operation is simply incredible! Finished off the afternoon with more training and computer systems, but I should be done with that (for the time being...) by the end of tomorrow.

I'm pretty much moved in to my apartment now; there's still a few boxes of miscellaneous stuff that I need to unpack, and my empty TV box that I'm reluctant to throw away (it may join forces with a slab of wood to become a table), but everything else is more or less where it's going to stay for the next few months. It's nice to be able to sit down and relax after coming home from work, instead of always feeling like there's something I need to do.