Joey's New Job

Joey started work on 21 July. When he first reported, they had him go to the Visitors' Center. There he got his temporary ID card (after waiting in an insanely long line for 0730 on a Monday) and met with his mentor, a nice man by the name of Jacob. (I think the mentors are there to help them learn the ropes and find a place to stay locally, or at least things like that.) From there, he was able to go enjoy orientation, where he didn't learn much that was new.

That same day, he went and got the ultimate phone package. Seriously, the package seems to have every accessory imaginable, except that the phone isn't a camera phone (because camera phones aren't allowed on the base). He spent the rest of the day playing with the phone.

The rest of the first week was fairly mundane; Joey got the pleasure of filling out his 10 year background check for his security clearance several times, because apparently it is impossible to be careful enough when filling out that form (I understand completely; I've filled one out before). Other than that, he spent the week with no computer and no email because he was waiting for access to those things so he could actually do his job. Good thing that week was the week with Friday off!

This week has been a lot better. Joey has been able to get his CAC (or Common Access Card) to be allowed to use the base computers, as well as an email account. He's been able to sign up for employee benefits and start asking questions about different areas of work on the base. As an ESDP (or a person in the Engineers and Scientists Development Program), he gets to do tours (or rotations) in different work areas of his choosing to find the best fit. He's almost got his first tour set up; he's got a meeting for that tomorrow. Other than that, he's met people in a lot of different areas on the base, many of whom are LDS. There are four wards in Ridgecrest, and he's met quite a few people from each of them (except the third ward).

Overall, he enjoys his job so far and is looking forward to being able to get more into his work soon.