Work musings

* I wonder how self-conscious people feel when they go to the bathroom to have an explosive bowel movement at work. I have noticed that they tend to stay in the stall until they think everyone is gone, or at least until they feel that it’s ‘safe’ to escape while the other stalls are still occupied. In fact, it happened when I went in there to wash my hands about half an hour ago.

* Last July, when I started my internship at OUP (can that really have been a year ago already?!), I mentioned the reproduction of the Mona Lisa hanging in the ladies room. In case you were interested, it’s still hanging at a slightly slanted angle. My obsessive-compulsive tendencies are going haywire.

* Wouldn’t having a massage at work feel weird? Do they do it at your desk, or in another room? And how are you supposed to jump back into work after that if you know that it’ll lead to stress and tension and the necessity of another massage that you have to pay for…? At least our company is taking the initiative to look out for their employees’ needs and well-being.

* Are vending machines at work really such a good idea? Even if you have a healthy variety of muffins to choose from (such as spinach and feta)? Just let me mention that these muffins aren’t packaged individually, put in packs of 3 or 5 (not sure about the exact amount at the moment).

* The fact that I am working has caused me to start eating ‘breakfast’, which is a good thing because it is alleged to be the most important meal of the day. True, ‘breakfast’ consists of only an oats-and-raisins cookie/ bar, which I ingest while sifting through my e-mails during the course of the morning… but that’s beside the point. At least it’s filled with fibre and iron! (And isn’t eating something better than eating nothing?)

* Working also ensures that I drink a lot of water throughout the day, something I do without even noticing. I bring about 1,5L of water to work with me, and by the time I leave, I’ll have drunk it all. I don’t even have any tea while at work. Only water. Not only is it cleansing at keeps me hydrated, but it means that I don’t have to get up from my desk every now and again to make tea, which takes time.

* LOLcats can brighten up any workday and should be shared with colleagues. Just be sure to look busy when someone approaches you.

* I’ve been pondering the possibility of having the company come up with an agreement to have us finish work earlier on a Friday. If some government employees only work until 1PM, why can’t we clock off at 4PM, at least? One hour makes a big difference. [Note: this is simply wishful thinking… though I’m sure that many of the employees here would agree if we were ever to take a poll/ vote on such a decision.]

* If it weren’t for lunch times and a few minutes here and there waiting for correspondence or documents to arrive, would I have read as much as I have already this year? I think you appreciate your spare time much more when you’re working and then use what time you have to catch up on things you enjoy. When you’re sitting at home all day, you become lazy and usually end up doing not much of anything.

* Just because I work at a publishing house doesn’t mean that I’m a walking dictionary/ thesaurus/ encyclopaedia.

* Having someone who you can talk to, who understands you, who knows exactly how you feel about certain things, and who you can share a laugh/ smile/ look with adds so much more value to a workday 🙂

* Never would have thought I’d be comfortable wearing jeans to work. During my internship, I only wore my jeans once or twice. Now that I’m here as a Project Manager, I’ve started wearing them far more regularly (though, at least, they look very neat and are black, thus they don’t look as casual as faded/ blue jeans).