Categories: uncategorized
Date: 10 June 2008 09:29:24
My office is tropical today. And it's only 9am. I'm not looking forward to the usual temperature rise over the course of the day as our 5th floor open-plan greenhouse catches the sun. I am wondering if I should be here at all. And, it seems, so are a few others.
I arrived at work yesterday morning 5 minutes late. A gentleman's tweed jacket was on the back of my chair and a briefcase was parked by my chair. Just as I was pondering the evidence, one of our site engineers appeared carrying the cup of tea he'd just made himself. He apologised, saying he thought I wasn't in that day, and moved his stuff to another free desk.
Today I arrived (again 5 minutes late) to find someone's laptop open on my desk and a rucksack dumped on the floor by my chair. Guessing that it must be the other, younger, site engineer that occasionally pops into the office to work, I wander down the single flight of stairs to the kitchen. He's there making himself a cup of tea. Immediately he sees me he apologises and saying he thought I wasn't working today, and he'll move to another desk.
To be fair, I do officially work part-time. Although my bank and mortgage company inform me that they consider 30 hours a week full-time working. There is just one day a week I'm not in the office. And that day is always a Wednesday. Exactly half-way through the week. How hard can that be to remember? Too hard it seems for those that pop into the office occasionally and make me waste precious moments of my day as I try to re-claim my desk from them.
And then waste further time telling you all about it.