Interesting email find

So there I was, killing time by cleaning out my inbox, and this little story popped up. I wrote it a couple of years ago, while working in an office lobby connecting calls. Not strictly autobiographical, I for example do not drink coffee.

In any case, I just want to fatten my blog up a bit.

Read it and weep.

**


She looked at her hands, and decided to take action. The sight was appalling,really.
Her nailpolish had been cracking for the last two days, but somehow she’d neglected to remove and replace it. While reaching for the drawer to retrieve a nailfile she was interrupted.

- Excuse me, is Mr. Johnson in?
-- Just a moment please, I’ll check… No, sorry, unfortunately he’s left for theday.
- Right, well, can you call him anyway?
- -Sure, just a moment please

She called the required gentleman, and informed him that he had a visitor.

Turns out that Mr. Johnson was actually still in, and came to see the man. Damn businessmen who can’t use the personnel registry machine. Engineers, pfft, right.

She kept on ranting to herself while smiling politely, untill the two men left.

I was doing someth… fuck that, I wasn’t, I was about to file my nails as I havenothing more constructive to do. Hooray for me.
She continued on the bitter line of thoughts as she contemplated thesurrounding office with a bored sigh. It was a nice job, she admitted that. Actually it was lucky that she had a jobat all, undergraduate students rarely got anything that payed something worthcalling a decent amount of money. Especially when she wasn’t even studying fora business related degree of any sort.

Thank god for relatives. She hadn’t gotten the job really as such a direct consequence of her genetic heritage, but it had gotten her the interview. She liked to think that it was due to personality that she was hired, and not blood ties.

But you never know.

10:26

Seems like the morning dragged on forever. Most people were on holidays, so there wasn’t that much to do for the whole following month. A phone call or a fax every now and then, but mostly just sitting and wondering how to pass time.
Who was she trying to fool, really. She actually enjoyed very much the leisurely pace of the job. Rushing and hurrying wasn’t her thing after all. Had her desk been situated elsewhere than the lobby, she would’ve considered bringing in a book to entertain her in the quiet times. But with the desk being where it was, people passed it quite often so discreet reading would’ve been difficult.
After all, she didn’t want to seem like she was doing nothing.
When you sit all day in a company office, and have a significant amount of time dedicated to doing nothing, one tends to think of topics of a wide range.

Wonder where she got that top? Looks nice on her, though I doubt it’d really suit me, not quite my style as such. Is it lunchtime yet? No, damn, yet an hourto go. Oh well. That’s a shame. The bastard still didn’t call. Not that I’d beexpecting a call, no, I had no reason to expect anything, as people are independent individuals and do not necessarily call each other if there is nothing to say.
Nothing to say.
Howbout that.

Yeah..

Dammit…
Wonder what Mr.Johnson does as he gets so many calls? Engineering of some sort, I’m sure. Or maybe it’s sales. Sales could be it. Sounds plausible.
Plausible.
Goddamn plausible excuses, isn’t that just the only thing I’ll ever hear, except that there was nothing to hear, nothing to want to hear, from anyone in particular at all.

I’ve really got to give up this line of thought. Denial is my friend. Can’t even sigh properly here, what if someone walks past and they hear it and think I’m tired and if I’m tired I’m not doing my job (what job, I only sit and connect a call every half an hour or so!) properly, and then that won’t seem good at all.

Seem.

It’s all about appearances, isn’t it?
Oh shut up, and stop it.

She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was around, and let out a very audible sigh. She felt a little better instantly. Before she could continue her rambling thoughts the phone rang, and saved her from herself. She stood up, waited if the phone would go off again.
As it didn’t, she headed for the coffee machine. She brought her mug back to her desk, and took a sip.

--Yeeegch, was her initial reaction to the bitter black liquid she tasted.

I know it would taste better if I’d have it with milk and sugar, but quite frankly, it’s just extra effort. Besides, then it’d taste more like watered down, sugary, lukewarm milk. With a bitter aftertaste.
Thus, she had her coffee black.

The effects caffeine had on her were rather interesting, especially after having a reasonably coffeeles weekend. First she found herself wanting to laugh outloud in the “I am so happy, life is so beautiful” –kind of way, that made people fall in love in movies. The instant follow up reaction is that every emotion becomes just too much, and she feels on the verge of tears, and might cry if anyone in the near vicinity expresses an emotion of any kind. All of this takes about 5 minutes altogether, and then her body adjusts to the caffeine intake properly. Luckily there’s usually no one to witness these reactions, or properly trigger them.