September 12, 2005
Monday Musings
It's funny-during the weekend, or when I get home from work, I always think of amusing or semi-witty things that I can discuss in here.
When I actually have a moment to write stuff down, it miraculously and instantaneously jumps right out of my head, and sits around waiting to jump back in while I'm watering my flowers in the back yard.
Work's been getting on my nerves lately. It's been insanely slow in the land of selling paperclips, toner, pens, and Post-its. Last Monday, we blamed Labor Day weekend. People were obviously taking a four day weekend. We wished like heck that we were among them.
Today, we couldn't come up with any excuses. Either we've trained people too well in the art of being self-sufficient by faxing their orders in or going online to place orders themselves, or we're just seriously slow. I gotta say that a slow day is about 1,785,439 times worse than a busy day. A busy day, you rush around, you pull your hair out, you're wishing for a little more time to do things. That's cool-you look up, and the day's over already.
A slow day, and I find myself contemplating the lint hanging around my belly button ring, counting ceiling tiles, making snarky comments about my co-workers, checking the clock constantly to only find out that mere minutes have ticked by, and trying to look busy. A slow day feels like three busy ones, without the effort and fulfillment of positive accomplishment.
I'd much rather be working and getting paid for it than appear to be working and getting paid for it. I somehow feel guilty if I get paid almost as much money as I enter in sales that day. That's just dang pitiful, is what that is.
Not to mention that when you've got all this extra time, it's so easy to critize what everyone else in the office isn't doing. Never mind that I've got all the time in the world to point out other people's faults and should be doing something more constructive, but I've really noticed how my co-workers (and, ok, I'll include myself even though I just KNOW I'm perfect) seem to regress back at least 15-20 years. Silly comments are made behind backs. Order sniping occurs. (Order sniping is when one CSR takes another CSR's order off of the fax machine and enters it in for credit. The CSR who "owns" the order is assigned that particular account for one reason or another, be it simply because they just quoted the order over the phone, the customer belongs to the CSR's salesman they are assigned to assist, or because the order is being sent to a specific CSR's attention.) Comments and speculations on whether to tell the supervisor are intensly and surreptitiously discussed regarding an activity a bored CSR is performing, whether going on line, making personal calls, or playing solitare. Everyone basically gets on everyone else's nerves and generally pisses the other off.
The office becomes less like a workplace and more like a daycare center. I really don't know how my boss can stand us, and why she doesn't charge extra for babysitting services.
I, on the other hand, do my best to keep to myself, but it's as if this awful vacuum of hatred and boredom sucks you right in. You try like heck to tell youself to be grown up about it, to keep out of it because you'll wind up looking better, but somehow you get word that so & so said such & such and you're involved in the whole damn thing with a vengance.
After work, I can put it all in perspective and remind myself that all I really do for a living is sell paperclips and office crap, for Gosh Sakes. What's to get all worked up about? Am I that bored at work where I've got to be like all the other "women" (and by that I mean those types of gals that give all the others a bad name, simply by sharing the same gender. I've never played "girl" well before, and don't really get along with most of them. I do, however, know some really terrific women that I would do anything for. Thank the forces that be for Balance and Perspective.)and get in the Snark Off game. Oh yeah, you said what about me? Well, take THAT. And THIS. And, I'm going to tell Mom (I mean, the boss!)
It's getting to the point where I really need this place to get much busier and thereby occupy my mind, or I need to take myself out of here and try to do something more constructive with my life.
I know that there's office politics and one upmanship everywhere you go. It's human nature, and it's a pattern most people have gotten stuck in. I think (hope, wish, desire, crave for, believe) that if I was doing something in an industry where I felt like I made a difference somehow, that the office crap wouldn't get to me so much, wouldn't matter. I wish that there wasn't a need to be involved in an office popularity contest.
I wish that this wouldn't piss me off so damn much.
Maybe if I had a Real Job (whatever THAT is) snarky co-workers and childish office behavior just wouldn't matter so much as would the reason I was actually working there in the first place. What would matter was the passion that attracted me to the job, not the passion to get away from the people I work with.
Gosh, no one told me that as my birthday drew nearer that I would start having "adult" thoughts and think about Growing Up. That blows-I didn't get the memo!
~Toodles~
clipchick at 5:43 p.m.
All thoughts, ideas, and musings are � Clipchick. Please don't snipe my stuff!
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