This is Joe's Fault

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Mishcallaneous

Well, I guess I'm not updating for real this week, as I started to work at a temporary job today. It is a position in a stuffy accounting office. Yay. Well, at least the people are nice. So far, anyway.

Since I haven't worked in a proper office in about two and a half years, and haven't actually worked in about three months, today was a bit different for me. I was all ready for an office, I knew what I was getting into. I mean, I had to interview for this damn thing twice (yeah, it's a TEMP position), but I was still shell-shocked. I swear I almost overdosed on gentle, unfunny humour today as I was being introduced around.

"Alanis... Like Morissette? Well, if you hear me singing you'll know it's for you!"
"Welcome aboard! I hope we don't work you too hard!"
"Alanis? Oh, like the singer! Isn't that ironic! Haha."
"Welcome aboard! I hope you'll be able to stand all of our craziness!"
"Hi I'm Bill, don't believe anything that they tell you about me! Har!"
"Alanis? Like Alanis Morissette? blahblahblahitallblendstogether"

The most strange thing about the office for me, though, is that it. is. quiet. Phones purr unobtrusively, people speak in dulcet tones, drawers glide open and closed with a subdued whirr. When you come from a warehouse in the middle of trucker-central with a dog that barks at every courier and a radio blaring in every office, the silence is offputting to say the least. Not to mention drowse-making (if that is indeed a word, which it is not).

But, I must say that they have the cleanest, neatest, least disgusting lunch room I have ever had the pleasure to waste a lunch hour in. And there are other good things about this assignment (yeah, there actually are positive things about it), such as the fifteen minute streetcar ride to work in the morning and the ability to walk home at night (which gets my workout in by the time I get home AND saves on TTC fare), and the commuting-friendly hours of 8:30-4:30. If I can just keep myself from falling asleep, this should be a good gig.

That's a big "if", of course...