First Day.....

Yesterday was beautiful weather.  That's about all that can be said for it.  Walking to the bus stop was amusing because there was a traffic jam in the Starbucks drive-thru.  I got on the first bus OK.  I was texting Julia and such.  I got off at my stop with little ado.  I was confused, looking for the light rail track.  Eventually, I popped into the Pit of Hell to ask a very nice barista where I might board the LINK.  It's in Macy's, she tells me.  I was a half a block away the whole time.  I just had to go down an escalator (accessible through the mall) and onto the track.  Thanks to Google Maps, I already knew which track to head towards.  I was running to the train since it was already at the track but then I saw that this was the initial stop so I stopped running.  Bad idea.  The conductor gave me a bemused "Pick it up, fattie" head wave.  Once aboard, we got moving.  The light rail is so much nicer than the bus!  I guess I just look friendly and helpful because a kid got on and asked me how many stops to somewhere or other.  I had no idea but thanks to a handy dandy sign, I was able to give directions on my first day riding Seattle transit.  Well, I got off without incident., took a minute to get my bearings and headed to work.  I know that I had my phone on the walk because I had just received a text from Julia after I had arrived at the station.  I'm also fairly certain that I had it once I had entered ACRS because I distinctly remember hearing the little bubble noise my phone makes when I get a text.  Any way, at some point before I had even started work, my phone was no longer in my possession.  I had a very long day of introductions.  I had already met Alex and talked to Laura but it felt like I got introduced to half of the 240 person staff of ACRS.  I now have an ID badge and a keycard.  I also have my own cubicle.  It came with an old computer and no phone but both of those things were resolved today.  Tuesday will be my first citizenship class in Chinatown.  I'm nervous about that but I'm feeling better now that I have a lesson plan worked out.  Now to the dramatic part.  I stayed at work until about 5:30.  Google Maps told me to take the 48 bus to the U District.  Simple, yes?  Not so yes.  I was waiting at the Mount Baker Transit Center for a solid 45 minutes waiting for a 48 to the U District.  Note how I'm emphasizing where the bus says it's going?  I let 3 48's to Loyal Heights pass.  After some inquiries to my fellow riders, I discovered that the 48 to Loyal Heights goes to the U District.  Google Maps led me to believe these were different things.  After I had the knowledge bomb dropped on me, the next 48 broke down. The 48 after that chilled at the stop to help out the broken one.  I had a nice chat with a Chinese woman about why the second bus wasn't coming through to help us out.  Anyway, it was the sixth bus of the same route that had passed through that I finally boarded.  I got into another conversation with an older black lady that took the inevitable turn toward Anna Nicole Smith and peanut butter crackers (I seriously have no clue).  I got to my transfer and lo and behold, the last bus that I need already gone by.  Perfect time to call Russ and Be.....oh wait, my phone is gone.  Shit.  I took the bus that would get me the closest to where I needed to be but it turned the opposite direction after the highway.  This meant that after my already 2 hour trip from work would involve a 1.7 mile walk.  I was kind of crying at this point.  I was tired and frustrated and did I mention tired?  I got to the massive hill and a savior appeared in a pickup truck!  She stopped next to me and rolled down her window.  She said "I've trudged up this hill about a thousand times and I promised myself that when I got a car, I'd help out anyone I saw walking up."  That took a turn up but it didn't change the fact that Mom was waiting for some kind of indication that I wasn't abducted for 2 hours.  She was understandably panicked.  As soon as Russ opened the door, I got a huge hug and the phone with my mother on the other end.  She started sobbing which set me off full force.  I spent about a half hour describing my nightmarish day to her and dad and then went to bed.  Today was much better.  My commute this morning was fairly mundane except for missing my stop at the end.  I'm starting to settle in.   Tomorrow will be an IT meeting, heading to Chinatown to check out where I will be teaching, lunch in Chinatown, having my first client contact while I assist Xiangping, my supervisor, fill out an intake form for a client and going to the Vietnamese Resource Fair until about 7:00.  Should be a good day!