I’ve been so used to deferring my medical needs that I almost don’t know what to do — what to tackle first? My teeth? My chronic headaches?

The healthcare costs of my company went up dramatically this year, so they had to change insurers — but I still have 100% paid medical, even if the copay is a fairly high $30. The deductible is also fairly high, but I am mostly concerned about prescription coverage and simple GP doctor visits — if I have to go to the hospital, chances are it’ll be serious enough to cost much more than the deductible and therefore be a good ROI.

With “premium” dental, $100k term life insurance, AD&D insurance, and the medical, I only have a paycheck deduction of $13.00 per 2 weeks. I’d say that’s a pretty good set of benefits given the outrageous price hikes that plague the whole industry.

You’re nervous, you don’t know exactly where to go, you feel lost in the maze of cafeteria queues, and you don’t actually end up doing much work. And this first day was no exception.

I ran into someone I’ve seen before (only on the internet of all things; I must have better visual memory than I thought), and also ran into someone I already knew (the husband of a former coworker of mine in New York). The fact that the office is so far away from home is a nuisance, but they have a large cafeteria and I doubt I’ll have much time to get away on lunch breaks, at least for the first few months.

Maybe it’s because of the economic uncertainty, and the uncertainty in my recent past, but I am very cautious and the slight sick feeling in my stomach hasn’t quite subsided. We shall see.

How I envy this woman, with her monitor wipes and floppy disks.

• David Bowie — D.J.