Tears into Laughter

I started my new job today. I am the new receptionist cashier at Sam Leman Dealership.

It was the worst. first. day. ever.

I'll start with last night. I was having the typical night-before nerves, just like I always had before the first day of school. I went to bed extra early to ensure that I wouldn't be too tired, and I set my alarm to give me an hour to get ready. Then I decided that I wanted to give another hour to allow myself extra time to eat and prepare.

I awoke this morning when the sun peeked through my blinds. My alarm hadn't sounded yet, so I figured I would get a few more minutes of sleep before I needed to get out of bed. When I opened my eyes later, I still hadn't heard my alarm, so I decided to look at the clock to see how much time I had left.

One hour.

Unfortunately, it wasn't an hour left of blissful sleep that I had, but an hour before I had to be at my new job, which is at least 45 minutes away from my house.

Needless to say, I bolted out of bed, washed my face, threw on the clothes that I had thankfully pulled out last night, and pulled my hair back. There was no time for make up. There was no time to straighten or curl my hair. There was no time to iron my clothes. I ran downstairs, brushed my teeth, and burst into nervous, angry tears as I hopped into my car.

In my rush to exit the driveway, I backed into the flowerbed.

Then I had to stop to put enough gas into my car to get me to work.

I was a few minutes late. I went in to see my new boss, apologized for being unable to come in for the drug testing previously because I had been out of state, and she said that was fine and began to give me the directions to where I needed to have the testing done. She told me that I would fill out my paperwork when I returned.

The place was less than 5 minutes away. It took me over 30. I called my dad to ask for directions, and he told me to ask someone. I was crying again. I stopped at a bank, and they couldn't help. I called the place, but they had to transfer me to a different branch. They gave me directions from where I was, and I went inside to see if I was at the correct place.

No such luck. She gave me more directions, and I finally found the right building. I went to the desk and signed in, but when I was asked for my photo id, realized I had left it in the pocket of my shorts when I went to the DMV two days ago. She asked me if I had any kind of photo id, and I sure didn't. She had to call my new boss and ask her to describe me. How humiliating. Again- on the verge of tears.

But the humilitation doesn't end there. I walked to the back and was handed a clear plastic cup.

Great.

By the grace of God, I was able to fill it. Talk about awkward- walking out in the hall with an open cup of bodily fluid to give to the nurse. Luckily, that was the end of that.

I made it back to work in just a few minutes, and spent the next hour filling out paperwork.

Then it was to the phones, where I could never remember the correct order and constantly mispronounced names. I spent the rest of my time doing this.

So I get to go back tomorrow and try the whole thing over again... I hope without the embarrassing parts, and definitely without the sleeping in thing. I would love to go in and feel confident about the way I look at the very least.

Now as I tell the story, I am able to laugh because it seems like something that should happen in a reality t.v. show. At the time though.... well it was just a bunch of tears and anger. I put on a happy face while I was at work, partially out of nerves, and I will keep doing that, but I hope that the nerves die down, and that things run a little more smoothly.

Eventually the nerves will be gone, and God will turn those tears into pure laughter, but as of right now, the laughs are still a little damp.