As I mentioned earlier, I took a new job recently. Last week I visited the company headquarters in Boulder for the company’s new employee orientation. Though I dreaded the thought of days of mind-numbing meetings it turned out to be a lot of fun. I was particularly impressed that my new colleagues and I took an afternoon out to volunteer for a local charity. That, and everyone was incredibly enthusiastic and helpful during the event. Obviously the company hires the right people – these are people anyone would want to work with.
I stuck around a few extra days to get in some work with my department, too, which was spent in a few team-building exercises and overviews of the product I’ll be supporting. It was a big jump-start to my daily responsibilities.
Though I had some time to look around after work, I really didn’t feel like doing much after most of my workdays were through. My first night in Boulder I spent eating alone at a great French restaurant but I was reminded how the experience of eating alone really sucks. My colleagues and I ate the rest of the evenings, which rocked, though I chose to go it alone Thursday night as I wanted to do some sightseeing. I left work about 5 PM and headed up Boulder Canyon to visit Nederland at altitude 8,236 feet. After a brief look around (actually not much to see), I returned to Pearl Street Mall for a slice of pizza to carry back to my room at the Hotel Boulderado. The rest of the night was spent with my nose in a book. Guess I really know how to live it up on an expense account. 🙂
On a less-fun note, I felt ill from the time I set foot in the Denver Airport Friday to early this morning. Had a headache almost that entire time. Only by mid-morning was I feeling myself again. My friends blamed it on the approaching cold front but I can’t say if I got food poisoning at the airport restaurant or not. Other than that, though, my travel was pretty easy and worthwhile. Glad to be home (and feeling better), though!