At the Office

These are just some random thoughts/observations that I took the time to write down today during the less busy moments I had at work. 

I really like how all the days of this month fit so neatly into four weeks.  February 1st was on a Sunday, and there are 28 days this month, so the last day of the month will be a Saturday.  Every month should fit like this.  It's so right.

I wish my office printer didn't spit the pages out so messily.  Why can't it stack them neatly?  I have to shuffle them for at least 10-15 seconds to get the newly-printed pile of paper to lie neatly after that printer is done with it.  Surely design engineering is not so difficult that they couldn't have come up with a solution to this obvious problem before putting the machine on the market!  I know this shouldn't annoy me so much.

Why is it that fruit apparently feeds my hunger demons?  Every morning around 11 I start to feel very hungry.  But, since Jordan and I don't eat supper until pretty late in the evenings, I usually eat lunch late...like around 1.  So, I bring along a piece of fruit to eat when the frustratingly predictable hunger pangs begin promptly at 11. (I'm trying to give myself healthful choices to satisfy my sudden desire to snack on something.)  However, my plan backfires every single day, and I don't know why.  About 30 minutes after eating my carefully-selected, conscience-soothing piece of fruit, the hunger pangs are back with even greater viciousness than before.  Why is that?  (And, just for the record, I do ignore my growling stomach's complaints and wait until 1 o’clock for any further gratification.)

The banks around here have a very annoying practice of folding each piece of paper individually when they send out the bank statements for the companies we do accounting for.  So, I open the envelope and pull out 10 pieces of paper all folded separately and lying next to each other rather than folded together.  So, to straighten them out and page through them, I can't just run my finger along the opposite side of the fold and have them all fall open.  Nnooo.  I have to pick up each of the ten pages and run my finger along the opposite side of each of the folds to open the pages.  Jason, you're a banker.  Does your bank do that?  Any idea why a bank would do that?

Some of the people I work with are pretty interesting characters.  I'm thinking of one lady in particular who works part-time here in the office.  I'll call her Shelly to keep her anonymous and my conscience happy; she's very tall, single, owns her own home (lives alone), and mentions her parents in some manner in nearly every conversation.  She has a strange sense of style.  Not that I judge people by their clothes (or at least I try not to), but her clothing is such that it begs observation.  For example, yesterday she wore an outfit that I'm not even sure how to categorize.  At first I thought it was a jumper.  Then short-alls.  Then, I realized it was a 3-piece outfit, so it couldn't have been either of those.  I've added a picture of the couch whose upholstery (I believe) was used to construct the shorts and vest of this outfit.  

The shorts (yes, shorts!) had maybe a 6" inseam...so they came down to about mid-thigh on her.  Under them, she was wearing dark blue tights.  Under the matching vest was a cream-colored blouse.  It was very unique.  Can't say that I've ever seen an outfit quite like it.  On Friday, she wore red leather pants.  Not the really tight ones, but they were red and they were leather.  It was the kind of outfit you might expect to see at an English equestrian school.  Shelly is one of those people that leave me wondering what she expects me to say in response to her conversations.  For example, the other day, after exchanging typical pleasantries, she started telling me about these pads you can get for your baby's diaper that completely soak up any messes and that you can flush down the toilet.  “Nice”?  “Interesting”?  (Honestly, I was wondering if that means you reuse the diapers over and over?)  But she is full of this unsolicited advice about things that you wouldn’t think she would feel qualified to share advice about.  Another day she told me about her mother's pregnancy with her (apparently in an attempt to identify with me and my pregnancy).  Although she usually talks about babies with me, one day she deviated and told me all about the episode of "Property Virgins" (a show on HGTV) that she saw the night before.  Again, I found myself at a loss as to what to say.  I don’t want to sound mean…she’s a nice lady.  She just strikes me as a walking character sketch just waiting to be written; so there's a start, at least!

Here's an example of how a normal question asked at the wrong time can be pretty awkward.  I had just finished my 'business' in the bathroom and was walking down the hallway on my way back to my office.  At the end of the hallway is another office that I have to pass by to get to my office.  In that office is a college-age guy (the boss' son) who is helping out for tax season.  I said Hi, and he nodded and said, "Busy day?"  Maybe, since he just got in an hour or so ago, he didn't know that was my 10th trip to the bathroom today...but, still, don't you think that's kind of a weird question to ask someone who just left the bathroom?  “Um, yep, I'm keeping busy all right!”