1:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. -- Work
I would go into a detailed description of just exactly what it is that I do at work, but then I would have to kill you. Ok, I wouldn't have to kill you, but it wouldn't be appropriate for me to share too much information about what it is that I do, so I'll share a little.
First, before I DO any work, I arrive at work. Since I'm a contractor for my company, I'm not always at the same location, even though I could be working on the same contract for several months at a time. I even worked one place for a full year. So, I get to the building and head up to the 3rd floor where my team sits. The team I work on now is migrating a large amount of data for one of the larger banks in the northeast Ohio area. Actually, this bank has locations in several Mid-West states, so they have a LOT of information.
The first person I walk by is Megan. She's the receptionist who moved up from some southern state to live with her boyfriend who plays for the Akron Zips. She's nice and can be occasionally swindled into giving me a Charleston Chew (the mini size, all you diet hounds). I walk past her toward the back of the office and on the way I pass the two unfriendly sales people. They might just seem unfriendly, but they always bury their heads when I walk past. I greet them with a hearty "Good afternoon," then proceed around the corner to where the team sits.
We have a counter-top type of area along a wall in the back part of the office area. So, we all get a small space on the counter along this wall. I think it's made of formica (sp?). Everybody else works in a cube or an actual office and we get the command center style seating. This is where it gets interesting. We sit close to the developers, who are all working on a big project for Kroger. Yes, Kroger needs computer programs, too. Developers, though, are a unique breed. This group is very quiet and keeps to itself. They like to work with the lights off, so that all lighting is coming from outside (not bad, but what if it's not exactly bright outside?). The funny thing is, we need the lights that light up where they sit in order to see what we're doing, so we usually come in and turn on all the lights. When we do so, we are met with the look of death from the developers. They collectively, silently moan, because we have just ruined their entire existence by turning on the lights. HELLO, this is a business office, and lights tend to be a normal part of something like that. They just don't undertand.
Usually, right around the time that I arrive at work, the Looney Lunch Lady arrives. She has her own business of selling home-made lunches to all of the businesses in this area of town. She purchases and makes everything at home, then packs it up the next day in coolers galore to take all around town for business people to consume. It is not drastically expensive, but it probably costs slightly more than the average lunch-time meal that an average person might purchase during the average day at work. The Looney Lunch Lady carries a wide variety of foods, from soup and sandwich to stir fry and dessert. The quality is high, and if you don't like the price, might I remind you that this lunch was hand made and came delivered to your cubical? You ask, "Why do you call her the Looney Lunch Lady?" I respond by telling you that she always seems to be talking to herself under her breath and she always talks about the same thing: weather. There is something about her that just makes you think, "Hmmm, I wonder what exactly is going on in her head." She also seems to be in a hurry all the time, because she probably IS in a hurry all the time. No matter, I bring my lunch nearly every day, so I think I've only purchased 1 thing from her in 3 months.
Throughout the rest of the day I'm typically working on updating information or some other type of work that helps the team get ready to move data from the Novell world to the Microsoft world. Again, we're moving lots of data, so there is plenty of stuff to do. Although, lately things are winding down a bit, as there is only 1 more month on the project. Migrations are fewer and fewer, but more and more complex. It should be an interesting month finishing out the project.
10:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. -- drive home, settle in at home, go to bed
The drive home is usually quiet and meditative, or I'm listening to Delilah. Sing it with me... De-Liii-Laah. Ha! If you know that tune and just sang it, then I got you. Phffllght! I arrive home close to 10:30. When I walk in the door I am greeted by two people: Allyson and Myles. Myles does a nicer job of greeting these days than he used to. He has begun to truly get it through his head that we are not out to get him, so somewhere deep down he's allowing himself to enter into the joy of life with us. Allyson has hugs and kisses to bestow upon me, since she is the love of my life and the designated snuggler. We embrace and soon after begin discussion of how our days went. I might plug in one last time in order to check all of my email and make sure there are no fires that must be put out right away. If I'm really engrossed in a project, I'll probably spend an hour working on a customer's new website, or updating my local servers at home, or downloading some patch for a program on my computer, or something I.T. We might catch one of our favorite shows that we have waiting for us on the DVR (Bones, CSI). More often than not, we are both very tired at this point during the day and we simply head up to bed. This brings us clear up to 11:00, typical bed-time.
So, now you have been an audience to a day in the life of The Rook. Perhaps your curiosity was satisfied. Am I as normal as you thought I would be? Is my life so much different from yours? Would you be willing to write about your life and share it here on the site? I'm looking for more contributors to the site, so drop me a line on the contact us page if you're looking to write. Otherwise, keep lurking, keep reading, and when something strikes a chord with you or offends you, write back! Bunch of sicko's. Lighten up, it's a joke.
