So I get to work about 10 minutes early today. Bonus! I walk in; Office Mate is at her desk looking somewhat rested, but tense. At not quite a quarter past 8, Boss beckons me to the receptionist area to tell Office Mate to clean out her area, file everything on her desk, and pack personal items up. I’m feeling a wee bit tense now myself now. Although the interior design people came here on Friday to discuss what they could do with this office area to make it appear more professional, Office Mate was not here for that discussion. I mean, to me, if I was her, I would take the whole clean up your area request/demand a little paranoid-like. I was instructed to help the Office Mate to clean up the area and attend to the phone answering. Office Mate says she prefers to clean up her own stuff and take care of things she needs to get sent out. Etc-etc-etc. Now I am watching the phones, munching on honey wheat pretzel twists, and waiting for something to do besides twiddling my thumbs. Oy-vey. Meanwhile, I am waiting around for lunch because these pretzels really aren’t cutting it with me. I plan to make incremental entries here as I can. This is my way to stave off the boredom and keep my butt covered as things unfold. :)
Post lunch! I decided instead of eating cold Chef Boyardee from a can and forgoing the two bananas I packed, that I would walk down to Café Vienna. It’s an off campus coffee shop that makes decent cold sandwiches and vegan pastries. Both of which are adequately tasty enough to entice the 10-15 minute walk from my office to the café. Right now, it’s essentially the consistency of a vegetable steamer outside. Nice long hot walk.
Just a moment ago, the office mate approaches me after the Boss has left for an hour meeting. She wanted to inform me of why she’s so upset with the whole office situation. The prior occupant of this position apparently lied to the Boss saying the Office Mate wasn’t interested in this position. How dare they call themselves friends to her if they’re all lying in some big conspiracy to keep in her monkey cage? I don’t know why there could possibly be a conspiracy. She just told me she can’t stand the guy and that he’s also a temporary department head himself! Ok, what does this have to do with me other than I am just a place holder for the regular office monkey to come in and take the position? Eh?!
There doesn’t appear to be anything else to babble pointlessly about at the moment. Blah-blah-blah; a bird just rammed my window. Harrumph. I am also beginning to think that I don't fit the physical profile for a secretary here... I'm not middle aged, chunky, and wearing bad make up from the retro-era of the 1970s. I also have all of my teeth, they're straight, and I'm markedly more intelligent in most respects. Scary...spOOky even! I have noticed that unless someone is in an authoritative or administrative position, there’s not much intelligent life out there. Sadness.
I think I will stop scaring myself now and finish off today’s saga of as the office collects dust around me. Man I need a nap.
Tammolly ~Quite bored and feeling somewhat isolated from the real world.
...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel ...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
More Life ~ Is it Intelligent?
Day 3 on the job here. It has started out quite nicely. No drama. NONE! Excellent! It turns out death by firing squad wasn’t actually death at all. It’s apparently HR policy to accompany a supervisor/department head on meetings that involve current office personnel that apply for other positions in that department. It’s a CYOA approach. Apparently the office mate did not see this approach as kind or appreciated. Hey! It’s much better than applying for a transfer and never hearing a word about it after the application is sent in to be considered. Essentially, it was a courtesy extended to let the office mate know that she was not being considered. Boss coulda said nothing to her and brought the regular employee after me and not said a single word.
Yesterday, at the end of the day, there was enough tension on this building floor to snap the Brooklyn Bridge into little tiny miniscule pieces. DUST! Boss and office mate get into it BIG TIME and I am caught directly in the path of, “You’re my witness to this.” EEK! Nooooooooo! The whole HR thing was explained to office mate, office mate wasn’t hearing any of it. This was all over the fact that the Boss asked office mate to find some information for him. I essentially got sent to give her the message because she was busy visiting with someone over the counter next to her desk. Office mate’s response is with attitude, “If I’m not qualified to do that position, why should do anything for you?”
Ruh-roh-reorge. I thought WW III was gonna ignite right here!
So what began as a pleasant 1st day, an iffy 2nd day with mixed messages of, “Oh crap! What have I gotten myself into?!” And “This isn’t so bad, it’s even kinda fun!” The 3rd day is looking promising for me. I mean office mate took a day off to go floating at Indiana Beach because she was stressed out. Lesson to myself; don’t blow up in tantrums and drama at the boss when HR is there. Don’t cop an attitude like you’re the victim of discrimination or the victim. PERIOD! Oh and certainly, don’t get in the Boss’s face! It’s just bad form and it will be remembered the next time this position opens up again.
Another thing that occurred to me, this is a professional environment. There can be friendliness between boss and employee. There can even be pleasantries and lots of fun. In the end, the boss has to be the boss and the employee the employee. It’s not about being friends! There’s a job to be done and a pecking order that occurs within the confines of that job. You can’t mix personal feelings and emotions with what’s just plain old business. Again, something else I will need to remind myself when it comes time for me to move into another office/cubby hole. This one isn’t so bad though. I have a window that lets natural light in. It also cooks my head for about an hour and a half when it goes by. Still, it’s kinda nice and not so depressing to be stuck indoors all day long.
Last night, I went to Cap ‘N’ Ginos for a couple of decaf mocha-coconut cappuccinos and two slices of raspberry sauced cheese cake. Mmmmmm. Yummy num-nums. It was well worth the $17+! No really! I know that I could have bought about 5 maybe 6 McDonald’s meals with that $17+, but hey, sometimes you have to treat yourself to the good stuff. Right? Right! :)
I have babbled enough this morning. I guess I should go find myself some coffee or soda or something to wake me up! I mean I’m so tired today. I need to start getting to bed before midnight or find a job that lets me sleep ‘til 8 rather than 6:30. The past 8+ months of sleeping ‘til late in the morning and working at the restaurant which allowed me to sleep ‘til 9 in the morning, have spoiled me rotten. It’s hard to get back into good sleep habits. Time for me to go now. Things are picking up here. YAY! Stuff to do!
Tammolly ~All philosophical like today.
...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel ...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin
Yesterday, at the end of the day, there was enough tension on this building floor to snap the Brooklyn Bridge into little tiny miniscule pieces. DUST! Boss and office mate get into it BIG TIME and I am caught directly in the path of, “You’re my witness to this.” EEK! Nooooooooo! The whole HR thing was explained to office mate, office mate wasn’t hearing any of it. This was all over the fact that the Boss asked office mate to find some information for him. I essentially got sent to give her the message because she was busy visiting with someone over the counter next to her desk. Office mate’s response is with attitude, “If I’m not qualified to do that position, why should do anything for you?”
Ruh-roh-reorge. I thought WW III was gonna ignite right here!
So what began as a pleasant 1st day, an iffy 2nd day with mixed messages of, “Oh crap! What have I gotten myself into?!” And “This isn’t so bad, it’s even kinda fun!” The 3rd day is looking promising for me. I mean office mate took a day off to go floating at Indiana Beach because she was stressed out. Lesson to myself; don’t blow up in tantrums and drama at the boss when HR is there. Don’t cop an attitude like you’re the victim of discrimination or the victim. PERIOD! Oh and certainly, don’t get in the Boss’s face! It’s just bad form and it will be remembered the next time this position opens up again.
Another thing that occurred to me, this is a professional environment. There can be friendliness between boss and employee. There can even be pleasantries and lots of fun. In the end, the boss has to be the boss and the employee the employee. It’s not about being friends! There’s a job to be done and a pecking order that occurs within the confines of that job. You can’t mix personal feelings and emotions with what’s just plain old business. Again, something else I will need to remind myself when it comes time for me to move into another office/cubby hole. This one isn’t so bad though. I have a window that lets natural light in. It also cooks my head for about an hour and a half when it goes by. Still, it’s kinda nice and not so depressing to be stuck indoors all day long.
Last night, I went to Cap ‘N’ Ginos for a couple of decaf mocha-coconut cappuccinos and two slices of raspberry sauced cheese cake. Mmmmmm. Yummy num-nums. It was well worth the $17+! No really! I know that I could have bought about 5 maybe 6 McDonald’s meals with that $17+, but hey, sometimes you have to treat yourself to the good stuff. Right? Right! :)
I have babbled enough this morning. I guess I should go find myself some coffee or soda or something to wake me up! I mean I’m so tired today. I need to start getting to bed before midnight or find a job that lets me sleep ‘til 8 rather than 6:30. The past 8+ months of sleeping ‘til late in the morning and working at the restaurant which allowed me to sleep ‘til 9 in the morning, have spoiled me rotten. It’s hard to get back into good sleep habits. Time for me to go now. Things are picking up here. YAY! Stuff to do!
Tammolly ~All philosophical like today.
...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel ...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Life is Happening
Office hysterics or is it just plain meanness afoot on the second day of my job temping at Purdue? Apparently Purdue office jobs can be kinda cruel and unusual. I suppose if the departmental head/Professor doesn’t want to reject an applicant for an open position; it would be their prerogative to do so. In any case, they can send HR down to drop the bomb in firing squad force. Thus, the reason I have an office mate, whom I have just met yesterday, upset and crying. The position that I am temping for is just that, a position waiting to be filled by “qualified” person. I don’t know whether or not I am qualified or not, I just know that I spent most of my day yesterday fighting bouts of grand boredom between dinky busy assignments.
So far, everyone I have met on this floor is pretty nice upfront. My department head, AKA The Boss, seems pretty jovial but a stickler for proper props. Must refer to him as Doctor So’N’So, not his first name and certainly not an abbreviated version of his first name. Props is good, I will call him Dr. So’N’So. It’s when other profs introduce themselves to me by their first name, not Dr. "Fill in the blank here" and I get corrected like a school girl; kinda irksome. It’s mainly a joke it seems, other profs are in on the joke, just not The Boss. So it goes down something like this, “I am, "Fill in first name here.” With a wink-wink-nudge-nudge, don’t worry; I will be corrected as needed on a daily basis. FUN! Blarrrrrrrg! I guess so.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things are going well with Adam. Mad props to Adam! My birthday last Saturday went off without a hitch. The BIG 32. Just another day on the calendar, it was nothing to write home about actually. I got to go to Pennsic for my birthday. YAAAY! The trip there and back was NOTHING like the trip to Gulf Wars last year. No death defying trailer loaded down threatening to toss us and its contents into a Tennessee ravine on the highway. YAY!
Pennsic cannot really be described with words. It’s just Pennsic. Pennsic is going down a major highway, coming around the last curve before your exit and then Medieval Pavilions EVERYWHERE! It took us the week we were there to find all the merchants and even then, I am not sure if that was every merchant available. Pennsic was Gulf Wars on major steroids. I mean from one end of the camp to the other was about 3 miles it seemed. I think I lost weight while I was there, which was kinda nice. Plus, you just can’t get the shear volume of people like Pennsic does. 15,000 pre-registered and 10-12,000 showed up on camp. Nice eh?
I think that’s about it. My last rant of the day would have to be and will always be for as long as I live in the confines of Rivenstar, PURDUE STUDENTS ARE BRAINDEAD! Not only are they unable to effectively think for themselves most days, especially the freshmen, they expect to not have a 7:30 AM class to interrupt their precious sleep. Try telling your employer that you don’t want to start your day before 8 in the morning and you won’t be finding many jobs. Right? Right! Oh! And don’t get me started on the mental midgets that walk right into traffic against the lights. Arrg. So that’s my rant of the day and an update on what’s happening in the Tammolly’s life.
Tammolly ~ Just surviving Purdue temporay employment services.
...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel ...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin
So far, everyone I have met on this floor is pretty nice upfront. My department head, AKA The Boss, seems pretty jovial but a stickler for proper props. Must refer to him as Doctor So’N’So, not his first name and certainly not an abbreviated version of his first name. Props is good, I will call him Dr. So’N’So. It’s when other profs introduce themselves to me by their first name, not Dr. "Fill in the blank here" and I get corrected like a school girl; kinda irksome. It’s mainly a joke it seems, other profs are in on the joke, just not The Boss. So it goes down something like this, “I am, "Fill in first name here.” With a wink-wink-nudge-nudge, don’t worry; I will be corrected as needed on a daily basis. FUN! Blarrrrrrrg! I guess so.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, things are going well with Adam. Mad props to Adam! My birthday last Saturday went off without a hitch. The BIG 32. Just another day on the calendar, it was nothing to write home about actually. I got to go to Pennsic for my birthday. YAAAY! The trip there and back was NOTHING like the trip to Gulf Wars last year. No death defying trailer loaded down threatening to toss us and its contents into a Tennessee ravine on the highway. YAY!
Pennsic cannot really be described with words. It’s just Pennsic. Pennsic is going down a major highway, coming around the last curve before your exit and then Medieval Pavilions EVERYWHERE! It took us the week we were there to find all the merchants and even then, I am not sure if that was every merchant available. Pennsic was Gulf Wars on major steroids. I mean from one end of the camp to the other was about 3 miles it seemed. I think I lost weight while I was there, which was kinda nice. Plus, you just can’t get the shear volume of people like Pennsic does. 15,000 pre-registered and 10-12,000 showed up on camp. Nice eh?
I think that’s about it. My last rant of the day would have to be and will always be for as long as I live in the confines of Rivenstar, PURDUE STUDENTS ARE BRAINDEAD! Not only are they unable to effectively think for themselves most days, especially the freshmen, they expect to not have a 7:30 AM class to interrupt their precious sleep. Try telling your employer that you don’t want to start your day before 8 in the morning and you won’t be finding many jobs. Right? Right! Oh! And don’t get me started on the mental midgets that walk right into traffic against the lights. Arrg. So that’s my rant of the day and an update on what’s happening in the Tammolly’s life.
Tammolly ~ Just surviving Purdue temporay employment services.
...So if I die today I'll be the happy phantom
And I'll go wearin' my naughties like a jewel ...
I'm still an angel to a girl who hates to sin
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