Caffeinated Coder

Here are a few scenes from the first day at my new job:

• My welcome kit consists of a coffee mug, a pen, and a DVD of the Big Lebowski. My new boss is a huge fan of this movie and several technical artifacts and regular meetings are named after characters and scenes.
• As we are leaving for a group lunch, I quickly run back to my desk because I remember some friendly warnings about what happens to people who forget to lock their computers. Apparently any of a number of fetish sites is likely to be prominently displayed when you return.
• I suffer through an enthusiastic rendition of “If You Believe” by Cher from a few of my new co-workers. This appears to be a ritualized part of a certain surreptitious installation process. Enough said…
• I hear a torrent of indecipherable curses interspersed with the words ‘dirty Gypsy’ that are directed at the developer who sits next to me. His practical joke is apparently under-appreciated by the developer on the receiving end. The victim later explains to me with a smirk that the prankster is Romanian and takes particular offense to being called a Gypsy.
• The lunch crowd votes that the largest group member (at least 6′5” by my reckoning) must squeeze himself into a car that would be considered under-sized in Europe. Everyone lingers to gawk at the spectacle and at least one person attempts to take a picture with his camera phone.

I think I’m going to like it here…

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