State of the Union, or, How Things Are Going at the Office
This week is pretty slow at work. I’m feeling unmotivated in a vast array of ways – not least among them being that there’s not much to do, and since I quit/put in my notice I’m essentially just waiting out the next 1.5 weeks. But something in me can’t tolerate sitting and literally doing nothing, nor can I bring myself to stop caring altogether. So today I scrubbed some nasty toilets and added some decorative touches (candles, vases, etc.) to one of the bathrooms.
Yesterday, though, I was all ready to head home at 3:00. The only other person in the office was leaving, too, because there was nothing left that really needed to be done. But alas, at the last minute the boss came in to get ready for a party that was happening later that night and was in kind of a predicament because there were some things he expected to find prepared in the kitchen that were not prepared. So I spent around 2 hours meticulously sorting through tiny pieces of fancy lettuce, discarding the wilted, rotten leaves and delicately blotting off the nicer leaves to make sure they were clean and presentable. Did I mention that this lasted 2 hours? Because that is 120 minutes, just so you know. And it was right around 40 degrees in the kitchen because there is no heat source other than the ovens in there, and nothing had been baking anytime recently.
I was wearing my coat and trying to make the best of it. But my nose kept running, so I kept dashing out every 10 minutes or so to blow it and then wash my hands again. I have poor circulation to begin with, and my hands were freezing! I felt like a cripple as I methodically selected and dabbed each bite of some wealthy diner’s salad with my ever less-nimble fingers. Then I tacked on another half hour or so making tomato roses to decorate plates. I’ve never gotten to help in the kitchen before, so, to be honest, it was an interesting change of pace. Other than the cold, it was decently fun I suppose.
Yesterday, though, I was all ready to head home at 3:00. The only other person in the office was leaving, too, because there was nothing left that really needed to be done. But alas, at the last minute the boss came in to get ready for a party that was happening later that night and was in kind of a predicament because there were some things he expected to find prepared in the kitchen that were not prepared. So I spent around 2 hours meticulously sorting through tiny pieces of fancy lettuce, discarding the wilted, rotten leaves and delicately blotting off the nicer leaves to make sure they were clean and presentable. Did I mention that this lasted 2 hours? Because that is 120 minutes, just so you know. And it was right around 40 degrees in the kitchen because there is no heat source other than the ovens in there, and nothing had been baking anytime recently.
I was wearing my coat and trying to make the best of it. But my nose kept running, so I kept dashing out every 10 minutes or so to blow it and then wash my hands again. I have poor circulation to begin with, and my hands were freezing! I felt like a cripple as I methodically selected and dabbed each bite of some wealthy diner’s salad with my ever less-nimble fingers. Then I tacked on another half hour or so making tomato roses to decorate plates. I’ve never gotten to help in the kitchen before, so, to be honest, it was an interesting change of pace. Other than the cold, it was decently fun I suppose.
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