A realjob. Imagine that

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Added: Fri. Mar 19, 2010 12:56pm
Posted in: Career

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I’ve been working for three whole weeks in a real job at a real corporation. For the first time in my life, I am wearing a badge and struggling to arrive on time, an ability that eludes anyone raised on an island. I have been spending my days parked in a cubicle, listening to the chatter around me and trying not to be a nuisance. Cubicles are in short supply, and I’ve become something of a nomad, occupying whatever space isn’t currently in use. Two of my co-workers who work opposite schedules of in-office and telecommuting days offered to share a cube so that I could have a permanent space, but I declined. I don’t mind schlepping around, and their respective cubicles are highly personal, festooned with artwork , cartoons, photos, and chatchkes. It doesn’t seem fair to ask them to move, when all I have currently is the laptop I carry in with me every day anyway. I can wait to bring in personal stuff until there’s a cubicle available for me that doesn’t displace someone else.  

 

The cafeteria here is like the United Nations. Sit at any table, and you’re surrounded by people speaking every conceivable language. I’ll admit, it’s a little intimidating. With my lifelong love of the English language and overriding fascination for words, you might assume that languages would come naturally to me, but that has not been the case. I studied Latin, French and Spanish, and I would most likely still order poached brains in entrail sauce given a menu without English subtitles. But I can still conjugate a few verbs in Latin, so all those years of study weren’t entirely wasted. My working plan is to memorize “Where’s the toilet?” in the native language of whatever country I’m going to visit during my future travels. I’ll be fine. Poached brains probably won’t kill me.

 

Overall, I like the job. I work with a great group of people, which is a little unusual. They are all exceptionally intelligent, so they are secure enough not to be threatened by a newcomer, and they’ve all been welcoming and helpful…which is great because I was completely lost for the first few days, and that includes geographically. Finding my way back to my desk after lunch was a real challenge for at least a week. I seriously considered getting a flag pole and one of those balls old people put on their car antennas. Course, I could just start a rousing game of Marco Polo and hope for a response in a voice I recognize. Next time I get off one of these twisty staircases and am unsure of direction, I’ll give it a shot. It can’t be any less obvious than wandering over to the windows to see which side of the building I’m on.