I have no internet connection at work.

Well, I have a connection, but not a useful one. Gmail is blocked and, from what I understand, all internet traffic is logged on my permanent record.

I can't decide if this is bad or not.

On the one hand, why doesn't this company trust me to do my job without baby sitting me or locking me in an internet prison? Do they distrust their employees so much that they have to resort to blocking email? Now I'm not allowed to connect with home, except via cell phone. That's unacceptable!

But then I started to really look at my situation. Why was I grasping at this perceived "freedom"? Was I that addicted to the internet that I couldn't let go of it for 8 hours and do work? Here I was with a good Java web programming job that I've always wanted, a screen full of code in front of me and all that I wanted was to go back to my old habits of surfing the internet for most of the day.

By the end of the day, I saw the lack of internet and email kind of freeing. Without constant, self-inflicted interruptions throughout the day, I was able to get into a flow state of sorts and really apply myself to learning the code I was given. It was kind of like meditation; if my mind wandered, it would have nowhere to wonder to and I would just bring it back to the task at hand. If I really got to a place where I needed a break, and when I'm coding, I rarely need a break, I could just get up and walk around, talk to others in the office. Plus these discussions seemed more fulfilling and interesting because it was the only contact I'd had all day. I was more "in the moment" than "on the 'net" and I feel like it was for the better. It helped explain why their team had only three people and were able to get so much done.

All in all, a good first day. The people are great, the work looks interesting and I already feel like this close knit team has accepted me into the group. If I can keep my sanity, I think everything will turn out okay.

Now, if only they can get me a mouse.