First day on the job, and consumerist fantasies

First day at the job. First impression: pleasantly impressed. Both with myself and the job role. I felt anxious when they asked me to use scissors and cut name cards, but the name cards were on perforated paper, which isn't so bad. I must have put together about 40-50 cards, I put together about 150 or so press packs. I updated a spreadsheet, made a powerpoint presentation, I just went on and on and on, full concentration. I was enjoying the view out of the window, the ability to walk to the toilet and enjoy a free coffee machine that made good hot chocolate. I liked walking around the office and I felt an amount of freedom there.

There's a strong ICT policy and confidentiality clause, and talking about stuff on their official communications and social media are basically banned, but I won't go into that sort of thing. I'll just talk about the job experience.

The cantine was nice. I liked how there were guys with ponytails around, I liked how the women were diverse and cute. I liked how the colleagues on my desk were talking about their feet a lot (ahem). I felt sort of relaxed. I got tired later on and felt worn down. I also didn't manage to do the gym tonight. I just felt I missed the 10 minute marker where I could have made the class. I also felt to myself: it's my first day, lets settle in.

I think the best part of today was at the end of the day when I was thinking about what the hourly rate of the assignment would be - and it was higher than I was calculating. I have been playing on my calculator app for the past couple of days doing things like:

x*8*3=

x*8*5 =

x*8*5*4*12 =

x*8*5 + 200 =

Those kinds of caluclations were making me think of what I could splurge my money on. Then I sort of thought reasonably, there's probably enough to pay off overdrafts and save a bit for the coming weeks. I could afford more things that are essential, but I don't have enough money to buy luxury things just yet. I should save more. What I might do is play a game with myself: when my bank balance reaches certain amounts, I'll allow myself to buy things I've always wanted. For example:

over £1000 beyond red zone: buy a fancy suit
over £300 beyond red zone: repair clarinet
over £100 beyond red zone: dominos pizza
over £200 beyond red zone: badminton racket
over £2000 beyond red zone: new laptop
over £5000 beyond red zone: holiday
over £800 beyond red zone: buy a saxophone/flute
over £1200 beyond red zone: buy a keytar
over £900 beyond red zone: airsoft gear