Confusing grown-up stuff

Yesterday, I took the hour long journey to the location of my new job.  Yes, you read correctly.  I will be driving an hour (more when you account for traffic) to get to College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center.  I picked up all my paperwork from Human Resources and had my photo snapped for my new I.D. badge.  Then I headed over to the school where I met the instructional coach and the principal.  Zeke, the instructional coach gave me a tour of the school.  I found out that I will be working with a new teacher, so we'll be figuring all this out together, which is exciting.  Also, I got an early preview of the classroom I'll be working in - it's 1 of 4 portables in what have come to be known as the "learning cottages".  How cute!

After a few more wrong turns, I made the trek home again where I began to fill out all the paperwork.  As I tried to fill out tax forms and medical insurance, I realized that it was quite confusing. So I ran to my Dad for help.  The next hour's phone conversation included a string of words and acronyms such as... HRA. HDHP. HMO. G-4. W-4. Out of pocket. In network. Out of network. Deductible. Dependents. Allowances. Marital status.  Woah!  I was somewhat more enlightened post-conversation but still have a long way to go.  I filled out the forms to the best of my ability and will leave the rest to human resources.

Oh, and there's still all the retirement brochures and paperwork that I haven't even looked at yet.

So, my conclusion at the end of the day was this:
1. Growing up is easy.  It's the "grown-up stuff" that is confusing.
2. I can't wait to start my job.