Weak One

one full week of new job has passed and i feel totally exhausted. i don't know how people work 40 hours each week. it's not like i've never had a full-time job before, but it's been almost three years. and now i'm sitting here with the sunday blues, going into the week in anticipation of the weekend.

don't get me wrong. week one at work was very good. i'm just adjusting to this new, structured reality where the alarm goes off at an ungodly 6:15 am, i'm out the door by 7:30am, at my desk by 8am, lunch at noon, then out the office door by 5pm to join the bottleneck of traffic making its way out of downtown los angeles. rat race, i have arrived. a few people have called me this week asking whether i "love" my new job. i mean, who really "loves" their job? unless you're a rock star, work is work.

i do, however, like my new job, and mainly because the people there are so geniunely nice. the environment is positive, upbeat, cooperative. i like my job because my coworkers like their jobs. and given that i'm working for a huge corporation with offices worldwide and thousands of employees, this is amazing. there's much to be said for corporate culture. i also love working downtown. there's something so sexy about it. it's urban and full of energy. i can walk to lunch, which, in los angeles, is hard to come by. i like wearing power suits and heels. if i had my way, my closet would hold nothing but prada. oh no, have i already become a corporate whore? a corporate bore?

it's not that i haven't had a few moments where i'd wish i could sleep in instead and work in my pajamas all day. i guess i'm relishing the newness of it all -- especially the security! no more student scrounging. no more buying the discounted bruised fruit. i can exhale knowing that a paycheck is coming and that i don't have to chase it around the accounting department after they've lost my invoice again. it's a peace i haven't known in ages.

on the flipside, i'm tired all the time. i had no energy for going out this weekend. i'm a grannie now, asleep on my couch by 11pm with the TV still on, remote control slipping out of my hand as drool trickles onto the pillow. i also seem to be eating nonstop lately and can sense the onset of office ass, a condition akin to the freshman 15. and until today, i was quite behind on household chores and responding to phone calls and emails. working takes so much out of you. i know, i know, welcome to the real world. i've heard that all week. i'm sure it'll sort itself out. in the meantime, i'm going to have a glass of wine and ride out the remainder of my sunday night.