Duty report...

First, let me THANK everyone for all the
congratulations and WooHoos when I
announced finally getting a job.
Ya'll rock.

Two and a half days into the working world
and I am pooped. Stressed right-the-hell-out.

When I worked for this company many, many
years ago, I was in Test and Inspection. This
time I am part of Building and Assembly, so
it's something I've never done for them before.

The work is tiny, detailed and exacting. Again,
it is done working under a microscope and with
tweezers. They build electronic detectors. Little
gizmos that activate store door openers, garage door
openers and some military thingies like heat seeking
missiles. I can't offer more specifics or they will
have to shoot me for revealing secrets.

But.

What I'm learning to do is place a 1/4" tinted and
coated square glass filter inside a round metal cap about
1/8" wider than the filter. The filter needs to be centered
over a square hole that is very slightly smaller than the
filter. Then I have to reach back into the cap and apply
a drop of liquid silver conductor to opposite sides of
the filter, without moving the filter out of place.
That requires using the opposite end of the tweezers that
has a hair-thin wire attached to it for applying the silver.

I do all that while I am holding the cap steady on a table
with another pair of tweezers in my left hand.
Under a microscope.

I've never had finger cramps before. ow ow ow.

What I do is only one of several steps required to build
one of I don't know how many different products.

At the end of the first day, I thought my eyeballs might explode.

After the first morning break, I discovered that having a cup
of coffee is a mistake. Holy cow. Seeing all these tiny things
fluttering in a cramped space under the scope adds exponentially
to the stress level. Lesson learned there.

The good part is seeing familiar, friendly faces from many years
ago. Some of these folks have been working there thirty years.
And, a lot of them are younger than me. Of course.
Most of the world is younger than me.

It remains to be seen if the job will ever go to full-time.
Forget permanent. Nothing lasts forever.
I just hope it lasts long enough.