moving on over from LiveJournal

Hello Google Bloggers :) I've been over at LiveJournal since last year, but sadly their technical difficulties are becoming more and more frequent, and I'm losing patience. So I'm giving Google a try.

I don't know that I'll always have anything of much interest to say, but I like to write about what's on my mind, or the things that are going on in my life, which isn't always very much. I suppose I'll start with a few basics about me and my story. I'm an American living in Leeds, England. Just moved out here at Christmastime last year, and got married three months ago. Shortly after which I was granted permission to work in the UK, and as of yesterday I'm now an employee at Costa Coffee. I had worked in a coffee shop for the last five years, before I moved here, so it's sort of what I do. Actually, my last post at LiveJournal was going to be about how I just got this job, and I copied it before I lost it, so I guess I'll go ahead and share it here then...

So, I had my trial yesterday at Costa, and I got the job! It hit me when I first went in yesterday, how scary a first day at a new job can be. It had been so long since I've been new at a job, I'm much more used to be the one training new people, not being the one being trained. And add to that how it's my first day working in a new country and all, and having to be extra-aware of listening harder to people with strong accents or who are soft-spoken, and remembering all the different words and phrases to say instead of the American words for things that I'd normally say just out of habit. And I haven't gotten any strange looks yet, so I suppose I'm communicating alright so far, LOL :) but I was feeling pretty timid and reserved, and afraid to make any disastrous mistakes. It can be pretty intimidating, getting everything thrown at you at once like that, but I just remembered how it was like that when I started at Brew-Haha, and I did pick things up a bit more every day that I was there, until it became second nature, so I'm sure it'll be much the same here too. By the end of the three-hours, I did feel like I was getting a fairly good handle on the basics. My next shift is on Friday, and it'll be my first full-length shift. So for now I have today and tomorrow to relax, and not have to worry about looking for jobs anymore. I'm really glad that I've found something, and don't have to worry anymore about finding a job and how long I could be out of work. Hopefully I'll start to get more and more comfortable there, and I'll be happy enough. I'm sure it'll be ok as long as I go in there and give it my best shot.