are you easily distracted?
well, i had my first real 9-5:30 workday today.
i don't know how it worked out like this, since in a strictly technical sense, i started two weeks ago. between national holidays and my weekly schedule, i just never managed to get the full day in until about a half hour ago.
so i have a question for all of you 9-5ers out there. (or longer- you know who you are). it goes something like this:
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
how do you sit up straight and not slouch? how do you stifle your yawns? what do you do when your butt falls asleep? how do you keep your eyelids from sliding shut?
do you get paranoid about blood clots in your legs?
i felt like i was back on an international flight, with the fortunate exception of decent bathrooms (although...the doors are made from the same kind of screen as they have in the women's balcony at shul, so while no one can see in, you can see out, which i must confess is a strange sensation.)
don't get me wrong, i am absolutely thrilled to have this job, and i try my darndest not to blow it. i feel like my supervisor gives me a lot of tasks which she knows will teach me valuable skills for my career field, for the express purpose of getting me acquainted with them, and i am grateful for that. it definitely beats barnes and noble (although i still kind of miss the cat herder.) and there is that little kick of adrenaline you get from working during the day in midtown manhattan - the jumbled-up mass of limbs and briefcases that is an 8:30 subway train, the pedestrian parking lot of 5th avenue at 6:00 (people literally inching their way home), all the accountants and suit-wearing personnel perched on the central park benches during their lunch break like pidgeons. if there is any place to have an entry-level job as a college student, it's right here. sometimes you have a creeping urge to throw yourself down on your knees and press your forehead to the gum-glued sidewalk. 'we are not worthy! we are not worthy!'
then again, sometimes it takes a significant amount of willpower not to hunt for the solitaire application on your hopeless, hopeless mac interface.
i don't know how it worked out like this, since in a strictly technical sense, i started two weeks ago. between national holidays and my weekly schedule, i just never managed to get the full day in until about a half hour ago.
so i have a question for all of you 9-5ers out there. (or longer- you know who you are). it goes something like this:
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
how do you sit up straight and not slouch? how do you stifle your yawns? what do you do when your butt falls asleep? how do you keep your eyelids from sliding shut?
do you get paranoid about blood clots in your legs?
i felt like i was back on an international flight, with the fortunate exception of decent bathrooms (although...the doors are made from the same kind of screen as they have in the women's balcony at shul, so while no one can see in, you can see out, which i must confess is a strange sensation.)
don't get me wrong, i am absolutely thrilled to have this job, and i try my darndest not to blow it. i feel like my supervisor gives me a lot of tasks which she knows will teach me valuable skills for my career field, for the express purpose of getting me acquainted with them, and i am grateful for that. it definitely beats barnes and noble (although i still kind of miss the cat herder.) and there is that little kick of adrenaline you get from working during the day in midtown manhattan - the jumbled-up mass of limbs and briefcases that is an 8:30 subway train, the pedestrian parking lot of 5th avenue at 6:00 (people literally inching their way home), all the accountants and suit-wearing personnel perched on the central park benches during their lunch break like pidgeons. if there is any place to have an entry-level job as a college student, it's right here. sometimes you have a creeping urge to throw yourself down on your knees and press your forehead to the gum-glued sidewalk. 'we are not worthy! we are not worthy!'
then again, sometimes it takes a significant amount of willpower not to hunt for the solitaire application on your hopeless, hopeless mac interface.
posted by fudge at 4:03 PM
12 Comments:
Oh dear. You merely reinforce my desire to stay in school forever. I hope things start speeding up for you.
Getting up and walking around every so often solves many of the problems you mentioned.
You could always try http://www.solitairecraving.com/
How do you keep a full-time job and manage to be a (full-time?) student at the same time?
B'hatzlacha!!
I believe that after training, we had a few weeks of going near-crazy before we realized that we can do other stuff on the comps at the same time and it was okay. Um, yeah, I'm not the best example...
You'll make friends...you'll socialize. It will get better!
(Oy, that doesn't sound like good advice...ignore me, go with what your Dad said and walk around every so often.)
Good luck!
That sounds way cooler (and more diet-friendly) than my college job at TCBY. Lots of luck!
i feel the need to clarify: i work two days a week and am in class two days and two nights...if that makes sense.
i feel like i'm talking about journeying to the mountain. 'two days and two nights they wandered in the desert...'
the thing is, i really have no excuse to get up and walk around, since virtually all of my work is at my own desk. and the people on either side of me are not quite ready to befriend a college intern..
Just say that you need to stretch or something.
You'll get used to it, eventually. It is a challenging adjustment. At least you don't have a long commute.
Well, you can always be like me, playing online and talking to people on Gmail all day to pass the time in between work. :)
Hatzlacha rabba!
I'm with Scraps on this one. I remember, from my days as a temp, that some bosses had a fit if they saw me reading at my desk. Maybe that would not be such a taboo activity for a journalist. But just in case, here's a work-around for when you're between assignments: Don't unfold the New York Times--read it online. My bosses' objection seemed to be that reading a newspaper, magazine, or book was the functional equivalent of make a public announcement that I had nothing to do. But as long as you use your computer, you always appear--at least, to the casual observer--to be working. Just make it a point to switch screens to something job-related whenever anyone gets close enough to be able to read what's on your monitor.
Reading your blog is a great way to spend some spare time at the office. :)
Shanah Tovah!
I'd advise against blogging at the office. Unless you are the owner.
I'd advise against blogging at the office.
Umm...
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