Last week the kids packed their bags with lunches and textbooks and headed off for the first day of school. And I joined them.

Well, not literally. But that’s what it felt like. On the same day as most schools opened, I started my new job as a warehouse shipper/receiver. I now work full-time at a company that prints graphics on t-shirts and other clothes. Essentially, my job involves unpacking the stuff to be printed when it arrives from the customer, laying it out for the printers, and occasionally helping to pack the things up again when they go out — as likely as not on the same day.

It actually reminds me of going to high school a lot. Back in those days I got up early every morning, boarded the SkyTrain, and settled in for the long commute. Now I get up even earlier every morning, board the SkyTrain, and settle in for the long commute in a slightly different direction. Of course I’ve been learning a lot about what my particular job entails and just how stuff is done, but I’m a quick study and it’s been going quite smoothly. And most important of all my new co-workers are friendly, welcoming, and very sympathetic about answering questions from the new guy.

Like I said, I’m working full-time. It turns out to be very full-time, in fact; the commute is about an hour each way. I leave the house around 6:45 and get back around 5:15. And there’s that pesky issue of my “side hobby”: writing. I’m still figuring out just how that will fit into my day and just when I’ll have the energy for it. Right now the likeliest solution is a notebook on the transit system and my lunch breaks (which is fine since I like using notebooks anyway). I’ll probably end up reading less as well, which is more troubling to me. I love to read and have a pile of unstarted books that constantly beckon to me.

That regeneration I wrote about awhile back? I wouldn’t say it’s quite finished yet. But I’m adjusting, and still finding out just who it is I am at the moment. And keeping myself busy in the meantime.