How the new job reminds me of our guild

I just started a new job in Seattle last Monday. My new office is actually just one block south and one block over from Beru's office. How crazy is that? I don't remember exactly when or how Beru and I started to chat and connect outside of our blogs, but I never would have thought that we'd end up working so close to each other. We were able to meet up for lunch yesterday, which was fun!

I'm still in the new job phase where I'm being super productive and finishing things really really fast. Probably too fast. I realized the other day that I need to slow it down a notch so that they don't expect that all the time. So there was something that I could have turned around yesterday that I decided to wait to turn around until mid day today. I need to set expectations and look ahead to when I'll be back to procrastinating a bit!

My new workplace reminds me a bit of my guild, in that the people are definitely nice and welcoming but not overtly in your face friendly. While I got taken out to lunch every day last week, outside of that I was mainly left to my own devices. Perhaps in part because I was assigned to two projects by the third day and had things I needed to do.

I've met and talked to a number of people in the office, and I think my plan is to just slowly and gradually get to know other people. I'm taking the opportunity to get advice about the job as well as living in Seattle, and I'm asking the younger consultants out to lunch to do so. But all very slowly. In all my previous jobs I've formed really good friendships with female co-workers, but it has taken time. And I don't think this job is going to be any different.

I don't know how you could explain an environment like this to someone new joining our guild. What do you say, that it'll take time for us to get to know you and vice versa? So don't expect us to be holding hands and singing kumbaya in one weeks time? That you can't expect to come right in and be on the same buddy buddy page as everyone else? I don't know, but perhaps Jess and I can do a better job trying to explain it to future new guildies. Though part of me also thinks that if we have to explain that to someone that perhaps they aren't the best fit.

However new guildies, especially new male guildies, will have to prepare for a certain guild environment as depicted below:

Just to explain a bit, Sam/Nikolai/Anjelique has a thing for pallys. Especially ret pallys and when ret pallys, um... (I'm a bit embarrassed to be typing this out right now on the blog)... but when ret pallys divine storm... all over your face.

So yeah. As a female in this guild, you have nothing to worry about. If you're a guy? Watch out.