Heather Martin Reporting News

It didn't start out so well because I couldn't fall asleep so when it was 3am and I knew the alarm was going off at 5am I was scared for that yucky in my head, eyes, intestines and body feeling of barely any sleep. Alarm went off at 5am, I felt yucky, got up anyway, put my workout clothes on and went down to the gym on the 1st floor. The concierge had forgotten to open it at 5, so I asked him and he opened it. I ran 3 miles in there, mostly alone, though one guy came in for a quick probably 2 miles. Then I did 100+ jump ropes and headed back upstairs to get ready. Did the shower thing, did the makeup, hair and clothes, felt too nauseous for breakfast and then had a little time to get online. Left for the bus at about 7:05, Beaky and the Bear walked me to Port Authority. On the way the guy handing out the free newspapers tried to give me one but I said no and he said 'C'mon, Jeter's getting married, read it. If your husband wasn't here you'd read it.' He was hilarious! My 'husband' kissed me goodbye for my first day of work and my dog got a little nervous at seeing me go.

I easily found where my bus was departing from and bought a Diet Coke on the way, then had spare time to sit at the gate. The bus left right at 7:30 and I followed along w/ my droidy GPS to make sure I got off somewhere near The Company. I knew we were getting close but I couldn't figure out how to press the stop button. Luckily someone else did but they were getting off before me so then I wasn't sure if the driver would stop where I wanted. So I moved up closer and asked her and she let me out on the street I wanted. I'm not sure if that's something they typically do so I'll have to ask tomorrow when I get on the bus. I walked the 0.4 miles to the main gate while the Bear followed along on Google maps and then I checked in at the gate and made my way to the new hire orientation. There I learned about all the great perks of working for The Company and how much money I can add to my generous salary in savings and retirement and bonuses. It was a great HR spiel. We even got a free lunch voucher for the cafeteria there and then I won another free lunch answering questions about the credit union. After the HR spiel I moved on to ID picture. Yuck! ID picture machine I hate you! It made me look awful. I made the woman take my picture 3 times before I said it's just my face, there's nothing you can do about it. So I have a yucky ID but I think most people do though unfortunately it comes up when you click on your name on the website stuff.

Now I was dismissed and had to report to my crew. Made my way okay and hung out waiting for my supervisor. Then she took me to lunch, wow! 3 free lunches in one day :0) and we talked about my commute and running and the board exam, etc. I feel like I'm her 4 years ago when she was living in the city and commuting just like me, right out of a residency and studying for boards. After lunch we went to my office, I have my own office, w/ my own computer and office stuff. What a luxury! Sorry MIT ladies but I need my own space :0) Then I got a limited tour and read some policies, etc. There's not much hands-on stuff I can do for a few weeks because of all the training and orientations so I got let go a bit early and went back out to figure out the bus. On the way home I'm catching the bus on a major highway going back to NYC so basically I have to wave down a bus to get me. It was a bit tricky but worked out okay and I was home in no time. On the way home I signed up online for bikram to force myself to go so once I got home all I had time to do was change and go. Bikram today felt way better than yesterday. These classes have been pretty crowded. It's crazy coming in and out of class to get around all the people in the stairwells and locker rooms. Not enough space! They were turning people away for the class after mine. I'm not sure if I'll continue to be able to go, all depends on when I get home from work but I'll do my best. 3 days in a row at this point.

AND Beaky will be in The Bark magazine's Smiling Dogs column for the Feb/Mar issue so check it out! The do it online daily but Cleo's smiling face will be in print. Yay! Cleo!! and I get a free year of the magazine. Too bad Cleo can't read :0(