Day 2 at the job

[kareina]

 I was clearly worried about geting to the bus stop on time, as I arrived at 06:16, even though the bus wasn't scheduled to arrive till 06:30 (Google says it is a 15 minute walk, I did it in 13), so I had some time watching the bus's location in the Länstrafiken app while chatting wirh Keldor, who was ready to start his work day as I borded the bus.

 

The web page had mentioned a possibility to buy a month buss pass, good for any travel within the province for 30 days, and claimed that one could purchase it from the driver abord the bus. However, my driver didn't know what I was talking about, and didn't seen to comfortable with English or Swedish either, and after a short bit of failure to communicate, he told me to just sit down. I did, but it felt strange not buying a ticket. While I normally identify as chaotic nutural, at times I really fall a bit more on the lawful side of the spectrum. 

 

The bus should have arrived 07:50, and did arrive at 08:00. This meant I was at my desk, a bowl of museli at my side, and starting to look up useful information when my boss wandered in a little after 08:00 to ask how yesterday had gone. He was pleased with my progress with obtaining things like email and computer, and filled me in on more "good to know" information. 

 

Then I went to the weekly meeting for the Research Data group, where they gave me a "welcome to the team" vase of flowers, which feels really nice. I had to ask a few times about the various abriviations used, but they assured me that this set get used so often I will quickly learn them, and they gave me access to an internal Wiki page.

 

Then it was time for fika, and one of my colleagues had brought some yummy cardamom rolls with almond topping, and we sat and chatted rather longer than a typical work fika, which was also nice. One of them, O, grew up in Luleå and used to dance with Luleå Hembygdsgille, and has a friend who works for Norrbottens Museum, who had good things to say about my work in the Archives there.

 

After fika I started reading my way through that wiki, till I had digested enough of that roll to be interested in lunch, and after lunch I had just time to finish reading that main page before time for my meeting with J, who introduced me to Redmine, the database interface the library uses to track requests for help from students and researchers. 

 

Since I used to live in Kotzebue, the name Redmine puts me in mind of the Red Dog zinc mine just over on the mainland from there. This database is nothing like that.

 

When someone opens a case with us the system automatically records who, their contact info, a subject line, a description, and a few other bits of useful info. When we look at the database we can filter the cases by catagory, to whom (if any) it is assigned, and many other alternatives. The entries in the unfiltered list are colour coded, and it took me about 30 seconds to notice that the colours are based on the status field (yellow = new, blue = in progress, brown = has had a new reply from the user since last status was entered, green = resolved, and so in). J seemed pleased I saw that directly, and several of my other questions made it clear I was paying attention and trying to understand in advance of the explanations. I enjoyed it. The interface is old style computer, but comfortable for anyone who has used a forum, or another database, since it has features of both, given that anyone in the team can access all the cases, and we can any of us assign ourselves to work on one, or release ourselves from responsibility, or assign it to someone else, as need. Likewise, everything that happens is recorded in a way that looks much like a forum thread.

 

He did warn me that the interface for replying to the user looks like you are sending them an email, and the button at the bottom says "send', but if you don't *also* click the tiny "send a copy to the user" button on the top of the screen then your reply is saved only in the case notes.

 

Hopefully, since I have now blogged about this lovely feature, I won't get caught by it.

 

Our meeting gradually faded into general get to know you chat. He grew up in Umeå, and has never lived anywhere else, so he was rather impressed with my list of places lived. I really enjoyed the meeting .

 

After the meeting I checked in to see if I had new messages, and then walked across the street to the University Hospital, where Länstrafiken has a ticket sales place (presumably because buses from all over Västerbotten stop at the hospital, this being the one they send the patients needing serious help to, and their families tend to visit from all over).

 

The month ticket turns out to cost 2040 SEK for 30 days. A one way ticket from hone to work is 150 SEK, so 300 a day, which makes the card worth it, as it pays for itself as of day 7 in the month, and I could use it go anywhere I want in the province. Not that I will have time for that.

 

Then I did more useful settling in tasks. I was busy opening a case with IT complaining that my profile in the uni system shows the student email address I was assigned for the summer course, and not my work email, when my boss came in to see how my day went. We chatted briefly, and then I went out to catch the bus.

 

The bus stop is 5 minutes from my office. I was there 15 minutes early. Oops. The bus was 10 minutes late. At least I could watch it making progress, and then standing a long time at the hospital, and then making progress again.

 

This bus is rather full, so I wound up needing to sit next to someone, who is listening to something in headphones, so other than asking if this bus has a place to charge a phone (it doesn't, though this morning's did, which is why I asked), I have left them in peace. I have mended a seam on my coat and typed this. 

 

Now the computer says we are three minutes away, so perfect timing

 

 

 

Seen out the window early on in the trip: a huge flock of white swans covering a field. It must be time for them to head south