Category Archives: Work

Office Meerkats

Posted in Dilemmas, Food, No Thanks, Peer Pressure, Work by

Free food is great. Free food at work is even better, but sometimes I can’t help but notice that people get a little … crazy … when it comes to food up for grabs at the office.

Everytime I hear someone mention free food in the office, I can’t help but picture little meerkats popping their heads up looking for danger. Everyone seems to pop their heads up from their divided workstations (I wouldn’t call them cubicles) looking to see where/what the food is.

I’ve been able to practise caution when there’s food in the office. Usually, it comes in the form of cake or donuts, and I’ve been able to harness all the willpower inside of me not to have any. I already don’t exercise, and eating cake when I sit on my butt all day does not help. Still, I get asked a millions times, usually by just one particular person in the office, if I had a piece of cake/a donut/ice cream cake.

I’ll tell them, “No, I’m okay,” but that doesn’t seem to be a good enough answer. “Well why don’t you want any? It’s FREE,” they’ll say. “I just don’t feel like any, thanks.” “Why not? It’s not like you’re overweight!” (Umm, thanks, like I didn’t know that.) “I know, I just don’t want any.”

It’s just amusing how people are all vulture like when it comes to free food, but when they have to pitch in a couple bucks or so, they’re not so keen on anything. Me? I just don’t need cake everytime it comes into the office (which is surprisingly often). I even caved to the company barbeque thrown by our new publisher. I wasn’t really going to attend because it was before I actually started work and I didn’t feel like leaving early, but my supervisor convinced me and I did actually enjoy my hot dog.

Am I just being weird? Surely I’m not the only one who doesn’t fall for food everytime it makes a guest appearance at work, right?

Tell me I’m not alone …

Putting on the Thinking Cap (Again)

Posted in Awesome, Inspiration, Jobs, Work by

Image from We <3 It

Sometimes, life is just good.

Yesterday my boss at Job #1 hollered at me wondering when my coffee break is. Panicking that he was going to fire me because my three-month probation period had JUST ended, I told him. He told me he and one of the editors wanted to discuss something with  me. Cue a breath of relief from me.

As it turns out, one of the sub-editors (if that’s what you’d call her, I have no idea) , is looking for some help with freelancing. Woot! A plus is that I know how to use InDesign. Woot woot! So now I just have to email her some of my clips and go from there. The great thing is that I just packed them into a box this morning so I had to dig them out. That was a lot of work.

Anyway, I’m super excited to potentially getting back into writing again. I was a little worried that I would get rusty and essentially forget how to construct a good story. A plus is that it’s feature writing; Hard news is not really my forte. I’m really looking forward to pulling out the thinking cap and getting some writing done again. Yay  me! Which reminds me, I should probably dig out my voice recorder too, since it’s in a box as well. Ugh.

Career vs. Job

Posted in Jobs, Money, Work by

The other day, as I muttered that I hate Job #2, my friend C (who’s dating the Roommate) told me that I should hate Job #1 and like Job #2. I asked her why should I, when Job #1 is my career and Job #2 is the supplemental job.

My career (Job #1) is what I went to school for. I enjoy my work there and know that I’ll eventually get a position within the company that I’ve dreamt of doing, be it writing, layout or something similar. I don’t hate my work there by any means. I don’t have to work weekends or evenings. I don’t have to fight with 20 other coworkers for a day off.

My side job (Job #2) is my ball and chain, so to speak. It ties me down and all I want to do is run away from it screaming, but I can’t. I need it to survive. I’d living less comfortably if I didn’t have it. I hate mostly everything about it: The drama, the immaturity of some of my co-workers, the union B.S. and so on. (Job #1 is union too but it’s far less political than #2). What keeps me sane at this place is a few select coworkers who make me smile and the paycheck I get at the end of every week.

Maybe what also makes me loathe Job #2 is the fact that I’ve already quit and restarted twice. The first time was for a better paying summer position and the second time was because I got a career job but then my hours there were cut and I needed a supplemental income. Every time I think I’m done working there, something drags me back. I’m just waiting for the day I can finally say “Sayonara!” to that place.

I haven’t had a full day off of work since July 1, although I get one on Saturday (although I asked for the whole weekend off of Job #2 to go to Vancouver, but didn’t get the time, another reason why I hate that place) and then again on the 7th (same story).

Job #2 is wearing me out, making me more cranky and bitter than someone my age should be, and just plain old horrible. That’s why I don’t like it. That’s why I love Job #1, my career, so it’s not really a job at all.