New job!

So, I've been at the new job for three days now. I'm an "Income Assitance Program Specialist" for long-term care, which means I'm doing evaluations and database searches and paperwork and so on to determine whether people qualify to get some of their nursing-home or other long-term care paid for by the government.

The first big part of my training is reading a 3-inch-thick manual with state and federal regulations, categories and formulas--it reminds me of federal tax forms than anything else I can think of and much of it is boooring. Thank goodness it includes examples so I can read how things play out in certain situations. And it's intended to help people with long-term problems--old people in nursing homes, people on permanent disability and so on.

And I get to play with databases and forms (I'm one of those weird individuals who loves forms and surveys. I worked with surveys my very first job at Peterson's Guides and have a soft spot for them). Plus I have a nice cubicle with my own computer (at my old job we had to share), and the other staff have been pleasant. Best of all I have a supervisor who's bright, comfortable to talk with, and dedicated--and has a great sense of humor. Example from Monday: "the first thing we're going to have you do is kill people." Meaning I'll make the appropriate changes to the database for people who have died.

Eventually I'll be dealing with actual customers, some of whom get obnoxious, but hey, I've been dealing with that for 12 years now and most of these people will be on the phone, not in person.

The commute is nasty--1 hour by car, 1 1/2 by subway--but only till my training period is over (oh and for about a month I'll be training even further away, ack!!). But after that I'll be working at a site closer to home.
And in the meantime, there's my iPod and books...

Note: Writing this was complicated by someone nudging and moving around the mouse. Someone wants to be scritched and petted...