Official Dev – One week and counting…

July 2016 · 6 minute read

One week down and I’m exhausted.

It’s not not what I thought it was going to be. Didn’t really know what to expect really…

I guess I thought I’d be asked to do a task or work on a project that I just simply didn’t understand. But, turns out that was not the case…

Well, I started my first day in the office this week with a black eye after a solid Monday morning run and sparring session with a couple of Jai Auckland’s professional fighters. So honored for the training invite, it was an awesome session to start the week off. I didn’t think it was that bad but the bruising came out during the day, turns out no one said anything cause they were unsure if it was maybe some weird makeup or something, haha! Got plenty of interesting looks on the way home, though…

Training here so far has been pretty awesome. A lot of people here are really focussed and seem really keen to train a lot and at different times doing all kinds of exercises. It’s great! There are so many options and of course, it helps to motivate me knowing that I don’t have to do it all alone! It’s great because the gym timetables suit me and my new job really well too! It’s really cool that everyone at the gym is so friendly.

The walk to work is around 20 mins each way, which is a surprisingly nice way to start and end the work day. That’s the longest daily walk I’ve ever had to commit to in my life, which is apparently quite luxurious for Auckland. Although it’s nice, I don’t think I’d deal with a longer walk…

The first day I was here, the weather was amazing! Unfortunately, that quickly turned around and it’s just as cold as Wellington (minus the wind). Managed to miss the rain a few times, though. Now, a week in and the weather is so unpredictable I end up getting caught in the rain most days. At least it’s more appropriate to use an umbrella here…

The one task I was assigned in the first week wound up taking only a few hours to complete. I had never done it before but It worked perfectly in the end… I guess they were as surprised as me because we celebrated the small victory with a beer. I’m still unsure whether it was really an accomplishment or not. But I guess I didn’t break anything, so that’s a bonus!

The people in my office are all good. Not sure what they think of me, though… They gave me control of the office music on Friday and no-one complained that I thrashed Nu Metal from 9.30am haha! Most of them wear headphones anyway, I guess. Still, I feel as though my music control duties may be revoked soon.

Sitting in front of a computer all of every day is a surprisingly tiring job. I’ve spent the majority of my first week attempting to master a new framework. New to me that is, and widely popular. Not sure how well I’m doing or how far I’m meant to have gotten along but I have completed a sample site and the basics of a custom theme.

I was hoping to replicate what I’d learned in the weekend with a personal project but as well as being a new developer, I’m also living in a new city where I don’t know many people and need to take advantage of social events and activities where ever possible.

Turns out I have a few friends here in Auckland, which is cool because I was quite worried that I’d be all alone and feeling a bit sad and lost. There are a few old friends from Wellington living here that I didn’t realize. And they’re keen to hang out, which is also cool. Seems like my weekends are filling up fast and I even have some plans next month too! Life here seems to be busy but also very interesting!

Because everything here is so much more fast paced and time is more limited, I have even more need to keep on top of my schedule. Luckily I’ve planned my living situation quite well where I can maintain an organized schedule and easily fit in training twice on most days, prep my week on the weekends and still find a little social time. The downside, I guess, is less time for additional coding and study. I think when things settle down a little more, I’ll just make more time for that, though.

I will need to sleep a little more in the coming weeks, especially since I need to be able to function and learn quickly during the day. On the bright side, I get to spend all of every day learning new things instead of doing it all night and being shattered for work. The only thing I need to keep on top of now is regular writing!

It’s funny, now that I’m here, in the place I’ve been striving to get to all this time I feel as though I somehow need a new challenge, new hobby, or something new to fill my time. After leaving such good friends in Wellington, I guess I’ve decided that people are what I need to fill that emptiness. It’s probably time to meet as many cool new people as possible. The more I think about it, the more I realize that if I can meet the right kind of people who are also intelligent with good careers, the more satisfied I will be by it. Surprise, surprise, those are exactly the sort of people I find myself talking and spending time with and surprise, surprise, I’m really enjoying it!

In a new city, it may be time to be a little more confident. After all, I’m not a bad person and I’m not stupid, I can hold conversations and I can be fun. I have no real reason to not feel confident in myself. I guess I could always go out on my own a few times, I’ve been looking for events/shows/activities that seem of interest. Not too much as yet but its still early days… And tbf I should be focussed right now on training and studying anyway. I’ve only been here five minutes, I can’t slack off just yet!