Tuesday, August 26, 2008

A Question of Etiquette


Ordinarily I am a very friendly person who likes to see people happy. I would gladly do something that might not be very convenient for myself to see a smile on a child's face. I've been known to help feeble old ladies cross the street when they are too scared of the mean New York crosswalk.

Of course, sometimes my patience and sense of samaritan duty is questioned --

Office celebratory occasions.

I'm no Oscar the Grouch. I love a good reason to kick back a glass of "vino" mid-afternoon and substitute Factiva searches for a piece of Buttercup cake. However, when this celebratory brouhaha is also tied to a gift to a person I don't really know, that's when I get a little peeved.

Sure I've seen you in the hallway Cubicle Cathy, but do I really need to feel obligated to spend money on your engagement? You will probably never know that I contributed, and I probably will be too busy to enjoy your surprise fete.

The only reason at all to help out in the gift is to save face in front of the co-worker who is arranging the whole thing. With all the "corporate team" brain-wash that floats around most offices these days, it's hard to look at someone's face and say "Sorry, I rather spend these 10 bucks on Chinese take-out tonight".

I guess I'm wondering if there is a more polite way to say "no".

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Stand Up or Bow Down?



image courtesy of Brian Bramer

Starting from the bottom on the rungs of the corporate ladder it is very easy to fall into a habit of letting "bygones be bygones" and eating a plate full of "humble pie" when it comes to managers.

Rather than defend your pride, and scream "No I did NOT triple check the website for updates" if you are like me, the initial reaction is to apologize and say "Oh, sure, let me just check one more time."

This type of behaviour becomes very taxing on the human psyche, especially if you in turn have no one's "balls to bust".

I would like to introduce to the workplace the "corporate punching bag." Take your stress out in the form of healthy physical exercise rather than picking on me, Boss Lady!"

Thursday, June 19, 2008

In which I come back from Paradise to Reality...





Vacation.

What.A.Tease.

Just when you start feeling the groove of making your own decisions that do not involve Microsoft Outlook or the crackberry...it is time to go home again.

Just when beautiful views and a cool breeze start substituting a quick cup of coffee as a wake up call...it is time to go home again.

Just when the money starts running out of your pocket because you've been taking cabs instead of taking public transportation like you swore you would...it is time to go home again.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Why reading Gawker is much more helpful for office water-cooler talk than reading/watching standard news

I bet you feel real educated when you turn your computer on in the morning and zip straight to the New York Times homepage. Or perhaps, you're more of a Wall Street Journal on the train to work type.

I will proudly admit that my first source for the news every morning is Gawker.

Gawker provides me with little nuggets of information which I can select to read or not, and if I do find something interesting I then go to the original source, or use the various hard news outlets for supplementary material.

Way before I noticed that Sharon Stone is grimacing on the cover of Financial Times for making highly inappropriate remarks about China's karma, I read about it on Gawker.

Of course the assumption is that just because I am in PR that means I read Gawker. The true payoff however is in the fact that the media industry blog also offers you snarky sarcastic opinions. How else can you take an educated tone when seeing your manager in the kitchenette? You might know the facts, but have no idea whether the public is in favor or against said actions and happenings. Gawker offers a litmus test of societal feelings on a topic, and facts are never interesting unless they provide insight.

If you lack opinion and your own view of the world, Gawker really is the next best thing!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

ManhattanHenge




Finally! A reason to rejoice about midtown Manhattan!

If you are like me, the idea of getting stuck in midtown after work is an experience equal to that of having your soul slowly sucked out of your body by a large vacuum in the shape of middle-aged man in a suit shaking his fist in the air. Is that just me?

Finding an activity in this part of town that does not reek of failed corporate expectations and wallowing self-pity is near impossible on most days.

But not between today 5.28.08 and Friday 5.30.08 --- It's ManhattanHenge!!!

According to Wikipedia (thanks Wikipedia) ManhattanHenge is a semi-annual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east-west streets of Manhattan's main street grid. So apparently 14th, 34th, 42nd and 57th streets are the spot to be and the farther east the better. The sun sets close to 8 PM.

I'll be there tomorrow in my druid robe and diadem.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Rain, rain, go away...

I really hate when it rains in the morning and its that nasty grey depressing color outside, and its just chilly enough where you can't go to work without at least a trench. Then around noon, global warming rears its sweaty head and it is impossible to go to lunch wearing the layers you piled on to be comfortable on the commute and in the ice bucket that is your office. Just as you imagine the post-5 PM strip it starts raining again and you are right where you started...trudging back to the subway in your rubber galoshes.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Memorial Day



pic courtesy of metro.co.uk

It is Friday before Memorial Day weekend. For most people this means willing your way through the work day and then hopping on the jitney, or a bus, or another vehicle of sorts in hopes of playing in the sunshine.

My plans include a sweaty concrete new york city BBQ and perhaps a ferry ride to a New Jersey beach. Note to self...plan ahead next year!

But really what I should be working on is rest. Because starting next week I am beating my addiction of hitting snooze 5 whopping times before I need to get up (thus causing me to skip breakfast in the morning, substituting reading Gawker for a delicious bagel) and I will be the most happy little buzzing busy bee this office has ever seen!!!

Right after this weekend, I swear!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Life in a Cubicle


This is my first cubicle. It is both limiting and liberating.

Limiting because I cannot see two feet above my head when I am sitting. Liberating because no one can see me either.

I'm flashing the cubicle wall and my neighbor doesn't even know!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Presenting entry #1

So here it is...

Upon much pressure from friends, I an ex-blog-hater am now ready to take the next step and enter fully into bloggerdom.

Baby steps.

So, faithful reader (if you're even out there) what should you expect from this little canvass of internet space?

The idea behind this blog centers around trying to figure out my way through the tangles that come up in the life of a 20-something young professional aspiring to kick some butt in the corporate world while still maintaining slightly hippy ideals. I am a wannabe hipster who can't help but get a little turned on by the idea that one day I will enjoy a corporate office.

Read and discuss!

Till my next entry...