Don't put your finger there, it's sharp.

Today I managed to stab myself in the finger with the sewing machine needle as I simultaneously turned the fly wheel and reached for the thread. Yeah. Didn't require stitches (or an accident report) but I felt like a right idiot.

Yesterday I had my new employee orientation. I really like working for Colonial Williamsburg, when they talk about teamwork and taking pride in your work, I really believe that the family of people who work here are guided by that and it's not just some Succestories poster like other places I've worked that I could mention here but won't. CW employs about 3,800 people, and they are all very friendly--lots of people have husbands or wives who work here, or kids in the fife and drum corps. And everyone was excited about starting work. Most of my fellow orienteers were interpreters, some of whom freely admitted the only reason they wanted to work here was so they could wear the pretty costumes.

Today I was back in the shop. I have my own dedicated work station, which is nice, but I'm having a little trouble with my sewing machine. It's a Bernina (which I have christened "Brunhilde") and it's rather like driving a Ferrari when you've been tooling around in a Honda. I'm finally getting the hang of it, but it took me about an hour to darn my first shirt. Forty-five minutes of that was getting it all set up, pulling thread out of the bobbin when it got screwed up, etc. The second, third, fourth, fifth times went a lot more smoothly. But it's hard not to feel outclassed when the woman sitting next to you, who's pretty much your own age and has your name, is tossing off a gown like it ain't no thang. Luckily I'm on Team Mending so I won't have to get in over my head until I'm ready, but let's face it, we all want to make the pretty costumes.

These past couple days have been pretty tiring, not a lot of routine going on. I'm going to have to work hard if I don't want to end up going home every night and spacing out in front of the shiny, shiny TV. I'm also concerned about the price of living out here: it's higher than I thought, plus I am seriously considering buying a vehicle of some kind. I'd love a snazzy little moped, but maybe I should just break down and invest in a car.

I love living in the historical area though...last night they fired off the cannon about three hundred yards from my front door. :)