"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." -- unknown

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results - Albert Einstein

A bit about work
June 20, 2008 - 8:13 pm

Since I mentioned this the other day, why not write it?

I work for a large company... a fortune 500 type company. I'm in the mothership as they like to say... a single building with 4,000+ employees. It is, in it's own way, a historic building... but never mind about that.

I really, really think 'never mind' should be one word, but whatever.

Working in a place with so many people... means there's people of all sorts. There's the super high-level execs in their suits and the lowest of the low level interns plodding about in flip flops. On any given day you will see every possible mish-mash of dress, but... what strike me most are the cubicals.

Never mind the offices, those are all pretty much a like. They are occupied by all the same sort of manager-type folks.

The forest of cubicals is where the interesting stuff is. Some are barren -- like mine, probably nearly disturbingly so. Others are littered with all sorts of family photographs and kid-like drawings. Others still are packed with mountains of papers and folders.

It's curious... we are more or less grouped by function the size of your space more or less dictates your level in the company -- space has no correlation to how much space you need, just... how much the planners felt you deserve.

Some people have these tiny little cubicals, literally half the size of mine... and every possible inch of the desk and walls is covered in something. I can't decide if they really need all this stuff or if it's some sort of ploy to appear hugely busy.

My boss is over 1,000 miles away. I feel little pressure to try and appear busy.

Some people you can tell recently got upgrades... like the folks, I've no idea what they do, who now have 20+ inch flat screen monitors. Each and every one of them still uses (or tries to use) the 17 inch glare screen.... so the left most three inches is uncovered. I laugh. Their group was willing to pay enough for the monitors, but not spring for the glare guards...

I doubt they really need them.

One lady had a TV on her desk. A little one she 'hides' under a bandanna.

Another lady has some how acquired a third chair (two -- one for the resident and one for guests is the standard). I wonder sometimes who she took it from and if they care.

Occasionally I'll place pennies about the place and see how long they stay. In the old building, the record was something like 3 months -- we moved out before anyone touched it. In this building... they only last a few days.

I wonder why?

Some groups move about in well... groups. They all get up for coffee or a smoke break or whatever together each and every day. A true herd.

When I called it a forest before, it really is. People get lost... it all looks the same. The only saving grace is that some folks have put items on top of their cubes, so you use them and landmarks. I hear people mutter to themselves all the time as they pass that they are lost.

I sit by a printer and people like to talk to the printer. One lady... gets very frustrated with it -- which is understandable since it jams all the time. She talks and talks, getting louder asking what should she do.. how should she fix it..

I quite sure she's making the ruckus in hope someone will come and fix it for her. I never do. I have my own printer. A relic from the old building. An item I scavenged.

Who ever laid out the design was, I believe, drunk. Some parts of the the floors... there's no clear path. One must weave and zig and zag to get anywhere. There's actual deadends. With actual signs people have made alerting you that a given way leads to a deadend.

A couple areas are walled off in large squares. I don't know what they do, but there's literally one way in and out -- no loitering or strolling through there I assume.

Sometimes, I'll set at work and daydream what it would be like to play paintball in the office. It would be ideal. Or what it would be like if the floorplan was turned into a first-person shooter game... It would be excellent.

We've got little atrium/courtyards in the place... hard to really explain unless you see them. Perfect for a Doom-like game. There's escalators, elevators, fitness center, nurses office, a real auditorium, an historical museum of sorts... a separate little 'wing' connected by walkways for the senior folks. It's old school.. from the 1950's, but with all the new furniture.

A curious place indeed.

For a while I was keeping track of all the odd partial conversations I hear. It's staggering what people talk about. I forget them now, I stopped paying attention really.

Hrm, in my head, I actually had interesting things to say, but nothing worth saying wants to come out.... so oh well.