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five years
It's been five years! I was a coffee girl for a few years and then I went back to office-ing. It is pretty terrible, but there is an end in sight. I am also back-to-school-ing so I can get out of this/these hellhole/s. I have been temping for 2 years. It's been okay, but not ideal. Not ideal.
Also, I am on Twitter if you want more rants.
- Thursday, April 16, 2009 12:26 p.m.
new times and old times
This page now stands as a memorial for an old zine I did four years ago. I don't currently have any old issues left, but I might make more. I am now working on a couple of things. A zine about coffee and a zine about public transportation. To see what I am doing these days, check out badpicturetaker.
- Monday, October 25, 2004 05:21 p.m.
okay, an update
It's been a long, long time since I've updated this. A summer and a fall have passed and now we're in the dead of winter. I currently have no job, but my internship for summer 2002 was the most kickass! I miss those people. I really haven't kept in very good contact with them and I've gotten invitations to visit. I've been busy though. I had a winter class in January and now is spring semester and I'm taking 18+ credits. Oh my!
I should be graduating soon and now all I can thinking about is how I'm going to make money and if I can do it the hard way or the fun way. Hopefully I can get another amazing internship or try to go back to where I was. Or else it's me in a Starbuck's uniform slinging the double espressos around to pay the rent!!
I found the original print of Office Girl and I might type it all up again and do a reissue. And I've been rooting through my stuff and finding other crazy things I've written. I really want there to be another installment. Whether paper or web, it will get out sooner or later. But probably later, not sooner.
Wish me luck!
- Saturday, February 15, 2003 05:36 p.m.
new horizons
I never did go back for that internship last summer. In fact, I did not work at all last summer. Lazy me. I actually declined the offer thinking I would get a better job. I didn't get ANY job. I asked if the offer was still open, but then they never responded. It was good and bad. I made no money, but I didn't kill myself doing stupid things.
I am doing another internship now and it is a much better one at a much more prestigious place. I write things down daily on yellow pads and in Word files in between projects I am supposed to be doing. Documenting everything possible. I am so happy to have this internship opportunity right now. Yay. This website probably won't get updated very much since I plan on doing some super print version about all the office work I've done. E-mail me if you want.
- Friday, June 7, 2002 03:35 p.m.
if they will have me
I might go back to the dot com this summer. There are factors to be considered. Will they want me? Will they take me? If yes then good. They will pay me higher. That's for sure. Will I want to [go back]? Will I be able to stand it? Will it ruin me? Will I cry for the human race? DO I NEED THE MONEY THAT MUCH? We shall see.
- Tuesday, April 24, 2001 11:57 p.m.
ways to answer your phone
for the first time ever, i have a direct line at
my job. i've never had one before. what's a good way
to answer? usually when I answer it i go "This is
Kevin?"
like i'm asking. but i know the person calling is not
kevin.
I had a direct line.
The British man would answer, "This is Justin." Then he would usually something British during the course of the conversation. The other man I worked with would go, "M_____ K_____ here." I just said, "Hello?" on my direct line, but at reception I'd say, "Hello, how can I help you?" And variations on that depending on the time of day. "Good afternoon! How can I help you?" "Hi. How can I help you?" "Can I help you?" You gotta mix it up a bit.
- Friday, April 6, 2001 02:54 p.m.
don't hold your breath
It's February and I stopped working about three weeks ago. I took a picture of the infant daughter of an old co-worker. The word co-worker makes me feel like I am older than I am, which is 19.
My brother was telling me a story about his job and how he was talking to a man from Brinks and the man offered to show him "the facilities." Meanwhile my brother was on the phone wondering if the guy realized that he was no one important really. That he was just a 24 year old doing his job. I told my brother I knew what he meant and how he felt. At the age of 18, I was answering phones for a dot com company. Potentially important clients whose money was desperately needed.
I also did a lot of the little work. Work that needs to be done, but is tedious. That survey didn't take too terribly long. I then had to save addresses of the respondants. that wasn't fun. The guy in charge of that project was out a lot, or busy, or slow, or confused. I sat around plenty of times wishing for things to do. This nice woman told me I could go through the tools on the new website (to be launched in March) fand see if they worked. I did and I wrote down all the little problems and she told me I did a good job. She wanted me to look at the page on Netscape and on a Mac, but I didn't have enough time to. She knows I am a diligent worker bee.
The new zine is not underway yet, and I don't know when I will ever work on it.
- Monday, February 12, 2001 11:56 p.m.
money money money
Today I came in to find that I had been moved to a new location. This has happened before. I have a new desk. I opened the drawer to see what was inside. Strangely enough, I could not get the drawer back shut. I don't understand.
I noticed there was change in the back of the drawer. I gather it all up just now and counted it. But while I was gathering it, I got stuck in the finger with a thumb tack. It hurt, but I'm okay . No blood drawn.
I found $2.33 in coins. $1.40 in dimes, $.70 in nickels, and $.23 in pennies. And three Asian coins. They say 100, 100, and 50. I have 250 of something to spend in some country.
- Wednesday, January 24, 2001 01:49 p.m.
Today I found out:
No one wants to export to Africa. They must not think there is a market. They want to export to Europe. And maybe Asia. Sometimes Latin America. Australia doesn't count. And Antarctica. No way, Jose.
No, wait. I was wrong. Most people want information on trading in Europe, then Asia, then Latin America, US, and Africa. Word up.
- Friday, January 19, 2001 09:33 a.m.
well yes! here I am
I am getting paid much more this winter than I did when I worked here over the summer. All I can say is hell yes. I just had an eggplant sandwich for lunch and my breath... it speaks for itself. All the tomato(e)s and garlic. I also paid $2.15 for a vegan cookie which I regret now because the cookie is very dry. I am still eating it though, to get the taste out of my mouth and because it is still tasty, despite the dryness. I am receptionist for the day because the usual woman had a doctor's appointment. I feel quite bad for her. She was in a car accident awhile back... many months... and still she has back problems. She has to get cortisone shots and other horrifying things. She describes these procedures to me in great detail and I sometimes wonder why she bothers coming to work at all. Lifting even moderately objects aggrevates it. I was originally told that I would only have to sit at the front desk in the morning, but I anticipate that she will be out the whole day. The poor woman. I am stuck up here feeling spasms of carpal tunnel as I enter things into a spreadsheet and wait to walk with someone to the bank.
- Tuesday, January 16, 2001 01:16 p.m.
how can things be so different and stay the same?
My desk faces a wall and I dare not decorate it because I only work for two weeks. There are no office supplies in the office supply cabinet. If you want supplies, you tell _fake name_ and she will order them for you. Cutting back on costs. My project is collating survey results. 341 people responded to the survey. I get to sort and count it all up... MANUALLY. Of course the count goes into a computer as I go through each packet manually. Lame I say. There is a ping pong table now. Apparently there are tournaments. I have no idea. A sign that I printed up over the summer is still on the refrigerator. The fridge gets cleaned out every weekend. The sign states that if you are leaving food over the weekend and you don't want it to be thrown out, you'd better label it.
The bus driver recognizes me. I rode the bus to DC three times this week. When I get to the bus stop there are two buses waiting. They both go the same direction, but about ten minutes apart. My bus driver from the summer drives the second bus. When I get on the first bus, he is always sitting there chatting with the driver. The first day that I got back on this week, I was putting in my money and heard a familiar voice. "I remember this young lady!" And that nice boisterous laugh that puts you at ease. I got to the office building. There is a front desk. You need a key to the elevator if you use it after hours or before 8:30 am. The woman at the desk said, "What's your name?" "_fake name_" "Did you work here before?" "Yeah, I worked here over the summer." It's nice to know that people remember you after you're gone. Even if you never really interacted with them on a personal level. I learn more about people every day of my life.
The zine may be out in February. Cross your fingers.
- Sunday, January 14, 2001 10:51 p.m.
wurc hard, play hard
I have about 4 copies of Office Girl left. I would make more, but the pages I use to make copies are at a drawer at school, unable to be retrieved until the end of January. Recently I've been motivated to start working on the new zine. I want it out in February. I really liked the stickers i got made at the copy place in August. The sticker paper was sturdy. Don't make paper stickers at Kinko's. Kinko's is anti-good-sticker. I was looking at a few people's paper zines and thinking about how not good they were. Anyone can put out a zine these days. Look at me!!
- Tuesday, January 2, 2001 10:27 a.m.
the joys of wurcing
My zine is not fancy, but I think it has some decent content. I have no idea how to get the word out about it. It's kind of sad.
The new issue is actually NOT in the works yet. I need to make a list of people to ask to write things for it. I need them to write stuff. Then I need to write. Then I need to make it all flow. And format it and figure out how to make it look nice and have it cost not so much as it might usually cost. What am I undertaking????
Hours on public transportation these last 24 hours has left me drained and I can only imagine how much sadder I will be in January when I will ride it for four weeks just so I can support myself and have money in the summer for anticipated study abroad in England.
But I'm rambling now and thinking that I will have motivation to type the first few words of the new issue probably over Thanksgiving. Or at least handwrite it as I am munching on non-turkey.
Once again: The next issue of my new is called Wurc. It is about working. Clever, eh? It needs submissions. I know you work and that it makes you depressed. No matter how happy you are, there are always aspects of work that are so unfulfilling. Feel free to bitch about it or defend it. Whatever. Write it down. Send it in. Or maybe not. Do I care? I can do things on my own. Screw you.
- Thursday, November 16, 2000 11:01 p.m.
older office musings
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