The Office
I should be going to bed now, so I’ll try and make this short. I
started work, as a contractor, yesterday. I like the people I work
with. They are generally witty and nice. However, there are some
really strange things afoot in the office. Maybe this is strange
because it is so unlike America. But I will give you an example;
when someone goes to get a drink, they ask everyone around them if
they want something. The machine with the drinks fills little
plastic cups, first of all, it is free, which totally unAmerican.
All the drinks have numbers you punch into the machine, a cup drops
down, some mysterious liquid comes out, and fills the cup. So
someone says “Can I get anyone anything?” and people respond, “Yeah,
I’ll have a 99.”
“A 43 please.”
“Might you get me a 15.”
Like a Chinese restaurant.
I asked about the machine and was warned, “Stay away from the soup.”
I have no idea what the numbers mean, so I just randomly pick one.
Sometimes it is a drink.
“Gimme a 57.”
It is also like Bingo.
You hope your number comes up and it is a hot chocolate and not the
minestrone.
Also, unlike American offices (maybe because there is no
fraternizing at the coffee machine, since one person gets drinks for
everyone) people actually get a lot of stuff done.
Weird.
The only slacker is the person who always volunteers to get drinks.
That’ll kill 20 minutes, easy.