I have spent most of my time working in classrooms and as a freelancer, so there are moments in my new job that tickle me simply by being new but stereotypical, like the sort of thing I am used to seeing on television.
For example, everyone was concerned about the affects of the government shutdown. We receive no federal funding, but we are hosting a golf tournament at a military owned course Friday. Oops. Good thing the course is revenue generating so it isn’t affected.
Then I sent a normal email to the publications committee and got an auto-reply from an attorney who works for a government agency in Memphis, letting me know she’d reply when the government reopened. A good reminder that the craziness in Washington does impact people all over the country.
I worked from home today and the printer had my proof ready so he couriered it over. Kind of cool to have something brought to my door.
Yes, we have a water cooler. We don’t really talk about television shows, though.
It’s funny the way that seeing offices in television and movies really has prepared me for some of what my job requires and helped me to navigate it with more ease. If only all of life were more like a sitcom and I could use the laugh track to move things along and depend on repetitive trope to provide the vast majority of conflict and resolution so I’d always know how things were going to turn out.
But that’s just not the way life works. And furthermore, as much as it sometimes pains me to admit, I’m not the star of the show. The story of the world moves on with or without my active participation. I’m but one human among billions and the world does not revolve around me. Most of the time, I know that’s a good thing.