Baptism of fire

They say the best way to learn something is the hard way.
As a general rule I'm not sure I agree but I found out at work today that being thrown in the deep end is actually beneficial. You find out whether you can handle a difficult task.
At this stage I think I handled a difficult task quite well, though I didn't have lunch until 2.30pm or so and thought I might explode (for different reasons) around lunch time. So much information to take in and so many different people coming to you for instruction.
So running the show today was unexpected, it wasn't supposed to happen until next week, but it seems a baptism of fire can tell you a lot about yourself.
And, in hindsight I think it was great to get the experience today for next week.
Like I said a while ago, careful what you wish for.