After just over 3 months off work I finally started my new job today. Things went pretty well. I spent the first half of my day disassembling, then reassembling my computer, assembling my desk and putting together my chair. Much of the afternoon was spent installing software. The new HP computer that I got has WIndows Vista installed on it and today was my first experience using Microsoft’s latest OS offering. I have to say I was underwhelmed. As a Mac user I can’t help but compare the experience to my experiences setting up a new Macintosh. The initial boot up into Vista seemingly took forever. I used it for about 3 hours and already want to disable all the crippling security alerts that plague the system. When working at my previous job I had begrudgingly come to the point that I could tolerate Windows XP, since I used it day in, day out. Vista may take awhile to get to that point.

Where I work is right downtown Guelph and I’m already ticked about the parking. It cost me $10 to park downtown for the day. That seems absolutely outrageous to me. Everything is metered on the streets and the public lots don’t cut you much slack either. I’m not from the area, so I’m kinda at a loss for what to do aside from show up earlier in the morning and park a couple blocks away on one of the side streets that allow parking. Anyone have any secrets they might be willing to share? Parking aside, downtown Guelph seems pretty great. There are a wealth of options when it comes to food, which is something I’ve never experienced, since my previous 2 jobs were located in industrial parks that really didn’t have much in the way of food in the near vicinity, so that is a change.

The environment is pretty relaxed and fun to be there. As I mentioned previously, everyone working in the office at one time or another worked at my previous place of employment, so it’s a nice situation to be in.