Stephen the Unemployed

Bums. It seems I no longer have a job. (This is Stephen, by the way.)

My time at GE Insurance ended today. When I started they said it would last for between two weeks and two months (depending on instructions from their head office in Melbourne) so they were honest with me. What annoys me a little is that they kept me hanging on until Friday afternoon to let me know whether I’d be required on Monday. Such is a temp’s lot in life I suppose.

(I’d already told recruitment consultants I was on the market again, and would have left with a day’s notice if something better had come up, so it swings both ways.)

Anyway, now that I’ve left this pretty dull job in a slightly unfriendly department I’ll tell you an odd thing about the place. Two odd things.

Just act like I’m not here

First, hardly anyone spoke to me there. Now, I’m not that loud or confident when I first start a job so I wondered if perhaps I wasn’t making enough effort for the first few days. However, after a week a new PA joined and sat near me and two other temps (one of whom spoke to me, the other was very quiet). After a few days she was told she should send an email around the office introducing herself, saying that she was a permanent member of staff. Apparently people were ignoring her because they assumed she was a temp! I think I pretty much gave up when I heard that, and satisfied myself by doing the crossword on my own in a food court at lunch time, whilst eating my noodles (brilliant Asian food over here!) I was surprised because we had a lot of temps at The Economist and they were generally welcomed into the fold. Makes me appreciate my old employer.

So I’m not that sad to leave.

Please – avert your eyes

The second odd thing was the toilets in the offices (the men’s – I didn’t think to check in the ladies’). The floor was really shiny. REALLY shiny – you could see your reflection in it. It wasn’t slippery – just shiny. Not so bad, you might say – at least it shows it’s clean. Well, yes. However, in addition to this there was also a gap of about a foot between the floor and the bottom of the cubicle walls. This gap is a bit too big for human decency in my opinion.

Anyway, put these two seemingly unrelated facts together and it means that when you’re sitting on the loo you can see the reflection of people as they wash their hands. Given basic laws of reflection this must mean that they can see you sitting on the loo too. (I never dared to check this out when someone else was in a cubicle.) I found this a little disturbing, and I must admit it hampered my movements.

Sorry to bring the tone down there.

Do what makes you uncomfortable

Anyway – part of the aim of this Big Adventure is to take us out of our safe, secure environment and challenge ourselves. This sudden unemployment is surely just a part of that adventure. I’m trying to be like George Costanza in that episode of Seinfeld where he decides to do the opposite of what he would normally do in every given situation. I’m looking forward to a few days bumming around and enjoying Sydney. I hope the weather’s nice. And I hope it doesn’t last more than a week – we need the money! I probably can’t justify having any more Magnums now until I find another job. Again – bums!