Seeking joy and meaning in a joyless mind and meaningless existence

Monday, October 8, 2012

Inauspicious Beginning

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned my new job and all the things going on with me during my first two weeks there.
 
I got the job through one of the two paralegal associations in Memphis.  It kills me that the greater Los Angeles area only has one paralegal association, but Memphis somehow needs two.  Personally I imagine some great doctrinal schism leading to a holy war but eventually détente as the two sides agree to part ways.  Anyway, I was glad to leave my old job and happy to move back to a defense firm.  Unfortunately, since the old paralegal had moved on to her new job, I didn't have any training or much in the way of guidelines as to exactly how or even what I was supposed to do.  It was all very stressful.

The Lump That Wasn't

After work on my second day of work, I decided to go to a minor medical clinic.  (No comment!)  While I was there, I figured I should ask about this pain in my left nipple that was very mild, but had been going on for several weeks.  I usually only noticed it in the shower as I was wahing my chest.  The doctor said she felt something underneath the skin and that I should follow up with my primary care physician as soon as possible.

On Thursday, I went to my doctor, and she said she felt something too and that I should go get some radiology done.  So I went and got a mammogram (Yes, men can need those, too!) and an ultrasound.  They found absolutely nothing and gave me a clean bill.  Unfortunately this little drama caused me to miss all but one hour during my fourth day at a new job.

Crown Me

During that first week I also had to get a crown put on a molar that had broken.  I couldn't put it off because the dentist told me that, if it started to decay, I could end up needing a root canal.  This meant that I had to go back the next week to get the permanent put in place of the temporary he gave me when he drilled.  During the inteval between the two appointments, one of my recent permanent crowns just came off while I was eating a Jolly Ranchers.  Luckily, the dentist was able to put it back on that second appointment, meaning I didn't have to take time off of work yet again to go back to the dentist for a third time.

Wrong Kind of Rear-Ender

On the Thursday of my second week at my new job, I rearended someone on the way into work.  Poplar Avenue, one of the major streets in Memphis that runs through the city, has this horrible merging ramp onto Union Avenue, another major road that runs from midtown to downtown.  Visibility for oncoming traffic is poor due to obstructions in your line of site, and you're pointed in almost the opposite direction of the traffic you have to merge into, forcing you to look behind you to see if it's clear.

The woman in front of me pulled ahead a little ways, and I thought she had merged onto Union Avenue.  I was looking behind me to check for oncoming cars when I pulled forward, and I rear-ended her.  The impact blew both my airbags, and my car was drivable but still deemed a total loss.  So I also had to deal with my insurance company, the repair shop and rental car company while just starting out at this new job.  The woman was nice about it, but I was horrified to see that she had four kids, including a toddler, in her vehicle.  The police came, and the officer gave me a ticket for failing to keep a safe lookout.

Getting Better

After a somewhat hellish month, the dust is finally starting to settle.  I'm getting more comfortable with my new position, and all my drama is finally getting resolved.  Hopefully I've used up all of my bad luck for awhile.