I will survive.

first week at the new place is done. I'm still alive. hopefully I'll have retained at least some of what I learned going into next week. I'm pretty good with the order entry and filing. the actual planning, not so good. the more basic units I'm down with, but that's because they're done on a constant basis, and I just need to lay out the next batch for the guys who do them. the bigger jobs will be more problematic. fortunately, as they're bigger jobs, they don't happen as often. the vast majority of the orders I do (60% or more) are either parts (easy) or shipped direct from mexico with no customisation (even easier). another 20% of the orders are the basic units, so those aren't too bad. they're always finished within two weeks, done in batches of nine, and two batches can be done in a week by the one guy who does them. the last 20% of the orders are the tough ones. even then, I should have help from the sales staff...

they do bagels or donuts every friday there. I got an onion bagel with cream cheese this morning. I asked about beers after work, but most people have long commutes, and the schedules are staggered too. there's no set "closing time"... production guys leave at 2 or so, I leave at 3:30, sales people leave around 5.

and on a totally unrelated note, miyuki sent me to the store for an optional dinner ingredient (cilantro, I REALLY like fresh cilantro), so I ran over to the store. walked through the door, and realised just how fortunate I was for my cilantro fetish. right inside the door was a small display for jones soda holiday pack 2005. I went apeshit trying to find this last year, and here were eight right in front of me. and on sale $3 cheaper at that. I bought four. called my bro in law, he said he wanted one. but he also wanted an extra to actually taste, so we're splitting that one. keep one for myself, that means I still have one left. if someone wants to lay claim and kiss a lot of butt, they'll get it for xmas. otherwise it'll go on ebay in about six weeks, and probably fetch around $50 if last year was any indication (they only make 5000 I think, very limited run). not bad for a $15 investment. five bottles, each a different flavour. this year it's turkey and gravy, salmon pate, broccoli casserole, corn on the cob, and pecan pie. I would have preferred last year's green bean casserole over stupid broccoli, but oh well. miyuki wants the pecan pie flavour. we're all a bit worried abour salmon flavoured soda.

the jones soda website has a turkey with a "3 days left" countdown, so I'm wondering if I actually got them early, or if they just hadn't updated their website...

anyway, I'm feeling lucky, punk. yay!