One of the things I really love about this summer job is the time it gives me to read. Oddly enough, sitting at my desk with a book is not something the school particularly likes, but at the call-place it's something they greatly prefer to people surfing around. Some of that probably has to do with the fact that, when I'm killing time at school on a computer, it IS sort-of related to my work. At the summer job, there are data security issues so they really don't want people surfing around on the computers, but hey, reading a book is just hunky-dory. Last summer I revisited some really great books-since the reading is constantly interrupted, it's best to read books you've already read, and I'm a world-class rereader. There are books I've reread so many times, sometimes yearly or even more, that I can wholesale quote them, page after page. To me, it's something like admiring a painting you love, I just never get tired of examining it. Last summer, I was ongoingly entertained by things like Watership Down, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, The Name of the Rose, a lot of my favorites.
This summer I'm revisiting weightier fare; I'm almost done with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and will plunge right head-long into Lila. Robert Pirsig's first book really changed my life in many ways; his second book is the reason my cat is named Lila. I'm going to have to do a lot of thinking about this, because I would like to talk some about Pirsig and his philosophy, but maybe not right now.
Soon, though.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It's cool you can read a book on your job. Everywhere I worked they refused to let people do things like that. You were expected to "look busy" even when there was nothing to do. A little weird when you think about it but one of the worst things you could do is give the appearance of "Goofing Off".
ReplyDeleteI think it came from the management pecking order. Any level manager could be walking by at any time. That meant your boss's boss or even his boss could stumble in and see you goofing off. He'd immediately chew out your supervisor, and then his, on up the line. Since you never knew when a big dog might waltz through, supervisors were paranoid about anyone loafing. The first thing he'd be asked is "Don't you know your men are loafing? What kind of manager are you? If you don't have any work for them I know someone who does".
So you either got on the phone to bullshit, or rolled out drawings no one was working on, or simply walked out to a coffee joint. Anything but get caught loafing at your desk.
Corporate Institutions can be extremely silly.
Actually, I was amazed when I first worked at this place at how progressive their thinking was-they are pretty picky about the kind of temps they hire, they want bright folks who think creatively but at the same time the nature of the work requires a great deal of attention to security; how do you keep bright people mentally engaged when the queue gets thin, and you don't want them surfing the web, etc? Their solution? Promote bringing in hand-held games, books, magazines, puzzle-toys; heck, one girl likes to draw and color pictures! As long as you are hitting the performance marks, they're cool with it all. Last summer we had a couple of crocheters and needle-pointers, but they've moved on. It's mostly a younger crowd now, and they do like the games. There's a small cadre of us readers-a couple who busily pass thrillers and mysteries back and forth, and a few of us more serious readers, chewing over weightier fare. I've got to say, were it not for this tolerance, I doubt I could make it.
ReplyDelete