2000 semi-auto performance

[shaka]

Hi everybody, i recently got my 2000 boxster (2.7L) about a month ago and can say that i absolutely love it! :-)
I do have a question though, regarding its performance, i'm not even sure that its a problem but since i dont know anyone else with a similar machine, i cant compare.
basically, my question relates to performance in first gear. The car seems to change-gears out of 1st very quickly, ruining any "great acceleration". i'm not a rev-head and dont treat my cars like race cars, but coming from a twin-turbo supra, the acceleration leaves a bit to be desired.
This "issue" is more pronounced if i am driving using the tip-tronic. starting in 1st, the car will very quickly rev high, meaning that i have to switch to second to aviod redlining (and i'm probly not used to the sound of the engine, but it seems to be screaming, making me worry).
is this a common performance characteristic of boxsters and their engines? having the auto start off in 2nd by default when in auto mode seems to indicate that htis may be true. i guess i was more expecting the car to hold each gear for a bit longer.
Ofcourse, i am not expecting the same performance etc. as my supra but i am just curious as to if this was normal or whether i should take it in to the shop to get it looked at.
the auto also seems to shift up to 5th gear too often, ie. even when i'm travelling around 40-60kms, it'll shift to 5th so the revs drop to around 1800 - 2000 rpm, where the engine "sounds" as if its laboured (again, this may not be an issue, i'm probly not used to the sound the engine being directly behind me)
in saying all this, performance when the car is working @3000rpm in all the other gears except for 1st is outstanding, it reacts beautifully to every command and it feels VERY zippy (more so when i'm driving in tip-tronic mode) but driving around so that i'm at 3krpm constantly in the city is pretty hard, and i cant do this great car justice :-)
Anyways, i was just wanting to hear other peoples opinions/views on this, if its all normal, then i'll shut up and get used to it cos i love it anyway :-)
thanks again in advance
Sab