There must have been an office in the garden of eden

Working in an office is the dumps.
No matter how much work you do, there is more coming because everyone always has papers to be filled out. There is always paperwork for everything. And I don't care what my boss says about job security, I'd rather have the fear of possibly losing my job motivate me to work harder than working 10 - 12 hour days under flourescent lighting and when my friend comes to visit me, her legs are 57 shades darker than mine at the end of the freaking summer!

So anyway, it's really great to be back at work. I missed crazy travel lady. She's a native Alaskan and I think she looks so majestic. Sometimes when I'm feeling really campy, I put the song from Last of the Mohicans on my iPod and watch her work. It's inspiring. I imagine her standing at the top of some crag looking off into the distance, with a forlorn look on her face, listening to her ancestors whisper in the wind. I just realized I totally stole that scene from Pocahontas. Oh well. I was inspired by Pocahontas, too, you know.


I also missed the IT guy. He always comes and talks to me for about 10 minutes out of the day. Therein is contained friendly banter, candy exchange, and suggestions of things to do around town. I like him because I feel like he understands that his job is just a job. It doesn't consume his life like so many other people in my office let happen. He has longer greying hair that he pulls back into a ponytail and he always wears old jeans with Self-Made Creases in them and old tshirts from old festivals and 5K runs. I know after he leaves work, he goes back to his little cabin and shakes off the days dust, lets his hair down, and listens to some Jimi Hendrix while he lights up a big fattie blunt. No, change that--he listens to some John Prine and eats cookies and throws back a cold beer. Yes, thats the IT guy.
I wonder if I will be missed when I'm gone. I mean, I really only have 13 actual work days left and then I'm unemployed. I know the admin dept will miss me because they will have a bigger workload without me to do my part. But what about crazy Pocahontas? Will she miss me staring at her, all starry eyed and plugged into my headphones? Will IT guy miss our inside jokes and my inability to not wear a hat every Tuesday?

I had a date tonight and I cancelled it because I was tired from work. And I knew I'd be pulling atleast 10 hour days all week. Well, that was just a good excuse, actually. I think he bought it because I made myself sound really tired so he would definately know that it was fatigue and not an avoidance cancellation. Even though, in all honesty, it was an avoidance cancellation. We went out a few weeks ago and it was fun enough. But can someone get the straightjacket and ADD medication out? I mean how hard is it to sit still for 10 minutes and watch a movie? He was so hyper the whole time and happy. I was like--doesn't anything piss you off? Ever? Aren't you sad sometimes? Then I got him talking about his engagement that just ended a few months ago and he got all sad cause she ended it. He was trying to be upbeat and look at the shiny side of it, but I could tell he was sad. So I milked it. I focused on the misery and we ran with it. I made him talk about the sadness until he was calm and ready to be normal. I'm awesome, right? Except, no I'm not, because now he feels like he shared a personal part of his life with me so we are all bonded and BFF's. So obviously cancelling the date tonight was a good thing. Because we were going to sit out in the cold and watch the northern lights. Well kids, let me tell you something, I have learned something in my twenty four years and that is that "watching northern lights" is code for the big MO. Zipper Sparkin. Tonsil Hockey. No thanks, I'd rather spend my night doing something productive. Like knitting or catching up on episodes of The Office. The new season starts and I really need to see what became of Pam and Jim. So...if I'm Pam...who's my Jim counterpart? Do you think if I stay a receptionist for long enough I will find a Jim? I'm willing to put in a few extra months if there is a return of that caliber. Offices aren't so bad, you know.