adventures in the workplace

so i always laugh at myself at work.

for instance: today i was waiting for the fax machine to send me a confirmation and i was bored. I peered at the screen to see the progress....read a random flyer on the copy room counter....gazed around and i noticed the hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall. Thinking it would be a good time to sanitize my hands since i had nothing better to do, i placed my hand under the dispenser. what happened next i did not expect. A FLOOD OF HAND SANITIZER came rushing out and dripping down my arm. i tried to rub it in just on my hands but they became oversaturated quickly. Before i knew it i was practically showered in hand sanitizer.

or the days where you need one page in the middle of a 114 page document, and you print all 114 pages and you need it like yesterday for your boss who is shouting your name from his office every 5 seconds to find out if you've printed that 1 page, page #111.

Or yesterday when i had to go out and pick up a document from another office "across the street" so my boss said, and i read the address wrong and walked five blocks down when i realized the building was really ACROSS THE STREET.

yesterday was a goodie of a day - i spoke with this secretary/assistant maybe three times for the first time ever in my whole life. I didn't think much of it. we were both lovely people, i mean thats what you do, you're nice to other assistants because we're all in the same boat. if you're an assistant who is nasty to other assistants you're just a miserable b*tch and there is no hope for you. do us all a favor and go work at the DMV. thats where miserable people work. Because in the end all we have is eachother to survive in the workplace.

So anyway, Noreen at 515 Madison Avenue agrees to meet me in the lobby of her building so i can make another pickup. (different from pickup stated above). I arrive in her lobby and wait. I'm trying to remember the description she sent me of herself and figure she'll realize when i am the only one waiting in the lobby that i am waiting for her and she will make herself known. WELL. Noreen comes around the corner on her cell phone. Sees me. Tells the person on her cell phone she'll call them right back. proceeds to RUN, JUMP, HUG ME (dramatic reinactment) kiss me on the cheek and exclaim how happy she is to meet me.

Cue me trying to hide the confusion on my face.

this is just another edition of adventures in the workplace.

no rush on rosh hashanah

As a non-jew we learn a few things during the jewish holidays: 95% of those on the train either are jewish or work for establishments that close for the holidays. Us other 5% are not so fortunate. But on the plus side I have no one snorkeling next to me on the subway this morning. In fact, my bag even has a seat!

Heartbreak Hotel

I once heard a story of heartbreak. A girl who had given herself so fully, as she always did, but this time it was given to a person who knew nothing about giving back. This person was an expert at taking and knowing just how to keep getting. It was too late when the girl realized she was dealing with a master deceiver. Her heart was fully invested, beating only for this person she thought she knew. She felt her heart burst into a million piece when the truth was revealed.

"But, but, she loved me, didnt she?" The girl questioned. "But, wait. All the things I've said to you, did for you, all the sweet words you said back to me, were they never said? Did I hear you wrong?" The girl said, left with confusion, anger and sadness.

Where would she go and what would she do? Who could she trust?

She was left to put her heart back together, alone. Examining each piece, re-living the past, trying to figure out what went wrong, trying to get back the heart she had before this all began. This was all even more painful than the moment of truth. Everyone told her healing was the hardest part, for it would not be quick. Why was this fair? There was no pain for this other person!

* * *

The heart is a funny thing. We think of the heart as a physical organ in our body that pumps blood and keeps us going. Then there is the figurative heart. <3. This heart still beats but it can also break from emotion. You can "give" your heart to someone.

I always wonder about heartbreak. I have been so lucky to not experience much. But the little that has come my way, its a tricky game. Life, love, friendship, trust.

Be good to those around you. Be good to those who love you for who you are. Keep your mind open, hold your heart safely. Give slowly, carefully. If you are a giver, overly compassionate, be proud and love yourself for it. We are a rare bunch. We keep whatever peace, love and goodness that is left in this world alive.

one of these things is not like the other

The sun is hot on the subway platform this morning. I find it awkward that I can see the building I work in from here.

It is hard when ur heart is somewhere else. Longs to be doing something more fulfilling. And its hard to put ur whole self into what u are doing to get by. I know im where I am so that I don't get comfortable. I was so cozy where I was there wasn't anything I really longed for. Occasionally it would cross my mind...its good to be uncomfortable right now. Its just keeping me motivated to get comfortable where I belong.

I can fit in anywhere. Do any job and do it well. Its my nature. But most mistake that as feeling like you belong. There's a difference.

I fit in in every office I've worked in. But I knew it wasn't where I belonged as a whole. In tax cert it was where I was meant to be inside that office, in my pod its where I am meant to be and the girls do a good job of making me feel like I belong.

The thought of belonging, truly being who I am every day will be one of the biggest blessings of my life and the way things are now, uncomfortable, I wont stop til I am there.