My descriptive paper

Sagar Shah
September 1, 2009
English 1101
First Day on the Job
As I stand in front of the mirror, looking at my shirt with my name and CVS Pharmacy on it, I shiver and take a deep breath. I take a look at the clock and see it is 2:15pm. I spike my hair up, spray axe on my shirt, and put on my white lab coat when I hear a loud knock on the door that startles me. As it opens, my mom tells me it is time to eat. I eat my lunch quietly and feel the rumbling in my stomach from nervousness. I get up and go to the car. As I back out the driveway and head down the road, intense images pop up in my head. I picture myself being late and getting yelled at. I shake my head and drive calmly, holding the wheel and watching pedestrians walk on the sidewalk. Finally, I tell myself, “WOW, I am here!”
I pull into the parking lot outside of CVS Pharmacy on Zebulon Road when suddenly I realize that I forgot my papers that I needed to give to the manager, John. As I walk inside, I feel the cold air as sweat drips down my face; my fingers beginning to tremble. On my way to the office, my mind is going crazy with thoughts like what to say and how to greet him, when suddenly I am interrupted by a worker in the photo lab. She says, “John says for you to meet him in the storage room.” I nod and turn around, slowly wiping the sweat off my forehead and taking deep breaths. I get to the storage door and I open it with a smile on my face, when a buzzing sound makes me jump. “OH SHOOT,” I realize I had forgotten to type the code for the door. John walks to the door, types in the code, and says, with a chuckle, “Bet that scared you didn’t it?” I nod in agreement, shake his hand, and ask him what I am supposed to do today. He points into the corner and asks if I can take these heavy boxes, filled with chemical containers for the printer, to the front for the Photo Lab Technician, Cory, for my training.
As I push the cart carrying the boxes to the front, Cory greets me. I say hello back and walk behind the gate. As I walk through, my hands are shaking and I am trying to take deep breaths so that I can relax. Then the training begins. I had several detailed things to learn. First, whenever a customer walks into the store, I must greet him or her. Then she teaches me stuff within the photo lab. I have a pen and notebook, ready to write. Also, I am supposed to sign in with my account number, type in the password, and then, when a customer comes in, I ask for his or her CVS card. She then talks about the big printer. It was very difficult at first knowing how to change the paper size, what folder to click on for what type of paper, matte or glossy, stopping the machine, and shutting it down. Processing the 24mm film comes next. At first, it was taking a long time to get the film to clip on to the paper, but I got it now. Hours go by with the training and then I am told it that is time for me to close up the photo lab. To close the 24mm machine, I have to first turn it off, open the cover, take out the clips, and wash them. After that I have to refill the water tank, put the clips back, and leave the cover open. Then, Cory tells me how to close the big printer by clicking stop, waiting until the button is red, and then opening the machine up. When I open it, I think to myself, “Wow, this is what it looks like when I print out a picture.” I get to see all the dirty pipes, the yellow and brownish rollers, and the brown sticky-greenish chemicals in the machine. I then clean the rollers with water and close the machine and then I go to the sink and drain the chemical water. I then have to vacuum all the yellow, brown dirt from the front of the store, clean near the entrance, and wipe the windows near the drinks. After that I close the register, and give it to the shift manager who is working. We go towards the door, wait for the pharmacist to come up, and walk out all at once. After walking out that door, I call it a night.
While I get in my green Toyota Camry, I wave to everyone and say goodbye. My thoughts are raging with excitement of how I realized that the first day on the job wasn’t so stressful and as bad as I had thought it would be. I wonder to myself how the next day and day after that will be. I can’t even imagine my relief when I had clocked out: I had made it through my first day on the job. It was really fun and I met a lot of new people. It was a brand new experience for me. I won’t ever forget my first day on the job.