Garnius Workdy

Please bear with me. I started writing this tale on January 8. Of course, I was still in the midst of recounting CasinoPalooza 2 for you, so it had to take a back seat. Actually, it kind of got left asleep on the bus after the driver parked at the bus barn, swept up, and went home. Thank goodness the weather has been mostly moderate, and I wandered by at the right time to retrieve it.

This is the 3-week anniversary of the start of Genius's career with Garmin!

That title was just a working shorthand to hold the draft until I was ready to flesh it out. I DID capitalize two letters to make it an official title now. That was supposed to represent "Genius Work Day." I'm kind of informal with my drafts. Speed right through them without benefit of corrections, hoping I'll remember what I meant at a later reading.

Genius's first day was January 8. I didn't want to bother him. I figure Garmin doesn't look too kindly on Momcopters hovering over the workplace. They might even have equipment in place to shoot one down! If any company would be able to detect an unwanted intruder, I would think Garmin would be near the top of the list.

Genius called me at 5:17 p.m. that first day. He was in the parking garage, getting ready to start his commute. He has an apartment in Kansas City (the Missouri side) even though he works in Kansas. He has since determined that his drive takes 20-25 minutes, if he leaves before 4:50 or after 5:20, and 40-60 minutes if he leaves in between. So he adjusts his schedule accordingly. Both ways, he is driving opposite the heavy traffic, so there's that.

I really wanted to hear all about his first day. He'd been so excited to start. I asked how his first day went, and Genius said, "Okay. I guess." Not his usual ebullient self. Like something was wrong.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just that my computer doesn't work. So I have a learner laptop, and I couldn't do much of anything all day."

I'm definitely not an expert, and in fact don't have even a nodding acquaintance with IRONY, but I think this qualifies! My Genius son with a just-graduated degree in computer engineering started his first day of work at Garmin, and they gave him a computer that didn't work!

Anyhoo...they said he'd have it back the next day. I'm pretty sure I'm messing this part up, but he mentioned that they were using a picture that did something weird when the year switched to 2018. His was the first computer it was discovered on, but by the end of the day, there were a couple of dozen with the same problem. So they were using his to figure it out. Genius wouldn't elaborate. He kind of treats me like that SNL character, Your Company Computer Guy. "I won't even bother to try to explain it. You wouldn't understand." Maybe he should have tried for a job in Garmin's IT department!

I asked if he brought his lunch, or went out. Genius said he ate in the Garmin cafeteria with members of his team. Marine team. Not the fighting kind. The fishy kind. That's what he works on. Equipment for underwater. Like fish finders. He says he will probably take his lunch most days, since eating in the cafeteria could get expensive if he did it every day.

Genius also found out that he gets an employee Sprint discount. Which he applied to our account, since his phone is still on our bill until the contract runs out. He has offered to pay his portion, but since the discount will more than cover it, I don't think I'll charge him! It's good enough that he's taking over his own car insurance.

Last Friday, Genius got his first payday. And also the relocation money that he didn't have to pay out of pocket, because Hick helped him move. I think his health insurance kicks in next Monday.

I asked for a picture of his desk/office, but Genius said they are not allowed to do that. I asked if he was really just pretending to work for Garmin, and was part of some secret government project. He denied it, and even stopped short of calling me a conspiracy theorist, though I think I heard him snort with disgust.

Genius shares his office space with 3 other employees. He says the whole department is guys, which is no surprise, since gals were rare in his major during his 4.5 years of college. He has an L-shaped desk, with a 3-monitor computer spread out over the main part. On his left countertop (he IS left-handed) he has electronic gew-gaws to fiddle with. He said they cannot take pictures because they are working on things that have not been released. So they are, in effect, top secret. His office is usually dim, lit by the monitor screens, because that's how his workmates prefer it.

Today, Genius texted me that he will be filing his own tax return for 2017. I'm going to miss my little deduction.