Interning in the jungle
I got a call from a familiar number on Monday. YC was looking to stop by and pick up her stuff and finally get her last paycheck. I let her know our business hours hadn't changed, and she hemmed and hawed; she wasn't really looking to come do stuff right after work. I think she gets off at 2:30 or 3:30 PM most days, and her job is close to her home, which is about a half-hour away from here. Well, I mean, that's what people do...they run errands right after work if possible since they're already out and about... She ended up coming by around 12:30 or 12:45 yesterday. It was kind of hilarious, actually. DW was by my workstation and had asked about her, and then he went, "Speak of the devil!" She'd already stopped by to see BBC in the other building and they both walked over to where we keep the paychecks back by the cubicles, and DW was facing that direction and saw her walk by. I immediately grabbed the Post-It kitty I'd gotten her for her birthday and hid it behind my back; that was one of the few items of hers I hadn't put in her big ol' box of stuff. The other items were these colorful Sharpies her sister had given her as a gift, which she'd purposely brought to work when she got them because she didn't have a use for them at home, plus a couple bottles of hand sanitizer, brought to work because her mother was basically hoarding bottles last year and they had more than plenty. I did eventually return the kitty, and she double-checked to make sure nothing she wanted got left laying around; I'd been pretty thorough, so she didn't add anything to the box.
I'd started to walk toward the back door with YC and BBC, and we'd stopped to talk, when the front door opened. It ended up being our intern. YC asked her, are you the new me? Well, not quite. This is why I know it wasn't quite 1 PM when YC showed up, because that's when our intern starts. Anyway, before that, I briefly talked with YC. She now works at a warehouse named for a jungle, and it seems like it's going well. It's a better fit for her than her driving job. This is not a surprise. Again, when you're not the world's greatest driver, taking a behind-the-wheel job is not the best choice to make for yourself. Given that her spirit animal is a sloth, it's surprising she'd take a physical job, but it's good for her, and there are different tasks for her to do; it's not just one particular job. Hey, if she's enjoying it, that's fine. I do want her to be happy. I'm also kinda glad she's someone else's problem, should something arise. I don't entirely miss her. I miss having the freedom to run to the other building as necessary, because I automatically have someone to cover for me, or I miss someone being able to grab the phone if I'm in the middle of something. But I don't miss her whining or antics. I do miss having someone cover those hours. I got really spoiled with going home at 3 PM for so long. I'd even take 4 PM. Having to go until 5 o'clock every day is wrecking my body. I'm only just now recovering from my rough week, two weeks ago. My back still hurts but it's getting better. I got used to six hours a day on my feet; that seventh hour just does me in, and any more than that...ugh. I should remind my boss that he was all for anti-fatigue mats, but he hasn't bought them yet, because that would make a huge difference.
Also potentially making a huge difference: The intern. She's part of the same program that got us our previous intern a couple years ago. She interviewed last Thursday and came in for about an hour last Friday. Yesterday was her first full day, and she caught on quickly. We're mainly having her shadow BBC, since he is eyeball-deep in projects. She's supposed to get cross-trained, in a sense, at my workstation, but things have slowed dramatically in the past couple weeks--not to say things are slow entirely, but it's not as hectic--so that we mainly want her in the other building. And, when she *does* come up by me, I can't show her things because all of a sudden, things get busy. You know how one's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard? Well, my intern brings all the clients to my workstation. Last week, I wanted to explain certain paperwork to her. I'd grabbed an example and went to make a photocopy so we could do a mock-up of it, except I only got as far as placing the original on the copier glass before I got interrupted. Today, I was able to make the copy itself, but that's as far as we got. I joked that tomorrow, perhaps she'll actually get to write something on the piece of paper.
As she was leaving yesterday, I made mention about our back building coworkers. I got a surprise during a busy point in time yesterday; BBC's former helper had popped in and was going to lend a hand to some projects for a bit. He's the one who'd worked for us for about two and a half years and had gotten really adept at things before taking another job. He knows we're busy and could use the help, so whenever he can, he'll pop in. Bless you, Helper 1. Anyway, BBC and Helper 1 are...quirky. I mentioned to the intern that they're kind of weird. However I phrased it was freaking my boss out; he was standing there, as was one of our room renters, and after the intern left he was like, uh, maybe you shouldn't put certain thoughts into her head; she's only in high school. These are basically geeky gamer guys. They have a particular sort of weird to them. That's where I was going, not that they're going to prey on her or do anything creepy. I talked to her about it today and she'd totally gotten what I was saying; they're similar to her friends. Okay, phew. I mean, they're a particular category of people, and if you know others like them, you recognize those traits. She was quick to catch on to that and apparently got along really well with them, so that's good. She's also expressed an interest in continuing with us after the internship, and frankly she'd be great. She's a quick study and personable. She really reminds me of the last high schooler we'd had here, whom we missed when she went off to college. Her family subsequently moved out of state so we haven't seen her in years, which is too bad. It's been long enough ago that she may well have graduated this spring. Anyway, things potentially are improving.
I'd started to walk toward the back door with YC and BBC, and we'd stopped to talk, when the front door opened. It ended up being our intern. YC asked her, are you the new me? Well, not quite. This is why I know it wasn't quite 1 PM when YC showed up, because that's when our intern starts. Anyway, before that, I briefly talked with YC. She now works at a warehouse named for a jungle, and it seems like it's going well. It's a better fit for her than her driving job. This is not a surprise. Again, when you're not the world's greatest driver, taking a behind-the-wheel job is not the best choice to make for yourself. Given that her spirit animal is a sloth, it's surprising she'd take a physical job, but it's good for her, and there are different tasks for her to do; it's not just one particular job. Hey, if she's enjoying it, that's fine. I do want her to be happy. I'm also kinda glad she's someone else's problem, should something arise. I don't entirely miss her. I miss having the freedom to run to the other building as necessary, because I automatically have someone to cover for me, or I miss someone being able to grab the phone if I'm in the middle of something. But I don't miss her whining or antics. I do miss having someone cover those hours. I got really spoiled with going home at 3 PM for so long. I'd even take 4 PM. Having to go until 5 o'clock every day is wrecking my body. I'm only just now recovering from my rough week, two weeks ago. My back still hurts but it's getting better. I got used to six hours a day on my feet; that seventh hour just does me in, and any more than that...ugh. I should remind my boss that he was all for anti-fatigue mats, but he hasn't bought them yet, because that would make a huge difference.
Also potentially making a huge difference: The intern. She's part of the same program that got us our previous intern a couple years ago. She interviewed last Thursday and came in for about an hour last Friday. Yesterday was her first full day, and she caught on quickly. We're mainly having her shadow BBC, since he is eyeball-deep in projects. She's supposed to get cross-trained, in a sense, at my workstation, but things have slowed dramatically in the past couple weeks--not to say things are slow entirely, but it's not as hectic--so that we mainly want her in the other building. And, when she *does* come up by me, I can't show her things because all of a sudden, things get busy. You know how one's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard? Well, my intern brings all the clients to my workstation. Last week, I wanted to explain certain paperwork to her. I'd grabbed an example and went to make a photocopy so we could do a mock-up of it, except I only got as far as placing the original on the copier glass before I got interrupted. Today, I was able to make the copy itself, but that's as far as we got. I joked that tomorrow, perhaps she'll actually get to write something on the piece of paper.
As she was leaving yesterday, I made mention about our back building coworkers. I got a surprise during a busy point in time yesterday; BBC's former helper had popped in and was going to lend a hand to some projects for a bit. He's the one who'd worked for us for about two and a half years and had gotten really adept at things before taking another job. He knows we're busy and could use the help, so whenever he can, he'll pop in. Bless you, Helper 1. Anyway, BBC and Helper 1 are...quirky. I mentioned to the intern that they're kind of weird. However I phrased it was freaking my boss out; he was standing there, as was one of our room renters, and after the intern left he was like, uh, maybe you shouldn't put certain thoughts into her head; she's only in high school. These are basically geeky gamer guys. They have a particular sort of weird to them. That's where I was going, not that they're going to prey on her or do anything creepy. I talked to her about it today and she'd totally gotten what I was saying; they're similar to her friends. Okay, phew. I mean, they're a particular category of people, and if you know others like them, you recognize those traits. She was quick to catch on to that and apparently got along really well with them, so that's good. She's also expressed an interest in continuing with us after the internship, and frankly she'd be great. She's a quick study and personable. She really reminds me of the last high schooler we'd had here, whom we missed when she went off to college. Her family subsequently moved out of state so we haven't seen her in years, which is too bad. It's been long enough ago that she may well have graduated this spring. Anyway, things potentially are improving.