On a Study Break

A few weeks ago I moved offices. I wasn’t really happy about it because I would actually be sharing a room with someone. Previously I was in a divided space with a common entrance. It was still a share, but much more private.

There are a few advantages to the new space. Aesthetically, it’s a bit nicer. It’s closer to the parking lot, making for easier access to my office and I can see my car from here. It has better air conditioning than the old space.

I should be lucky to have any air conditioning at all since the majority of the staff doesn’t. They are also the ones that get to go home when it’s super hot. Staff without air conditioning have probably already had the equivalent of 5 days off this summer. Staff with air conditioning get to stay and work. How fair is that? Of course, there are some days that it’s so hot you don’t care because you dread going outside.

The woman I share with is 62 and near retirement; she’s working half-time and is only here two and a half days a week. Fortunately, she’s got a youthful attitude and is not a technophobe like the rest of her contemporaries. She’s much more interesting than the guy I used to share with. He was the super quiet type and didn’t have the best social skills. Hard to talk to. I was always a tad nervous he might be a psycho or a rat. (He’s the nephew of the president. I heard he used to be an auto mechanic before he worked here. Now he’s a systems programmer. I guess all you need for qualifications is to be related to the top boss. Can you smell n-e-p-o-t-i-s-m?)

I knew my new roomie would have a revolving door since she’s the executive assistant to a VP whose office next door. She’s always ‘hostessing’ for vendors and fielding queries from staff. Aside from that, the biggest thing I worried about before moving here was that she might yak constantly or be a whiner. I just hate that. I’m the kind of person who likes things relatively quiet while I work (or pretend to work) so I can concentrate. I don’t usually play the radio, talk on the phone or socialize much while I’m at work. (It’s important to minimize distractions for someone who has that short, Internet-addicted, attention span.) Fortunately, she is neither a yakker or a whiner, and seems to have a pretty good sense about when it’s okay to initiate conversation.

There’s only two things about this space that are really, really annoying. If my roomie is not here, the people who come looking for her expect me to know the answers to their queries. Some are quite persistent. I am, after all, in her office. Secondly, when people come to see her, the first thing they do when they walk in the office is say “Wow, it’s really cool in here!” Then they’ll stand there… with the door open. It drives me insane.

I’ve perfected the smiling, pleasant, joking toned retort “Well, it won’t be much longer if you don’t close the door behind you!” adding a silent “MORON” to the end of the of my statement in my head. After all, if I can’t leave at noon like everyone else because I have air conditioning, I sure as hell don’t want to lose any of it.

(Okay, one more hour then it’s off to the test.)