On the road from Scranton to DC
"My summer," Jim said, laughing as he turned back to watch the road. "Let's see. I started out with that vacation in New Zealand. That was pretty cool. Did a lot of hiking, took a lot of pictures. I didn't run into any actors playing halflings, which was just a little disappointing. I wanted to send Dwight a fax with a picture of one, just to freak him out. You see, before I left Scranton, I stole some of his personal stationary? And I could have sent him a message from himself - dated in the future, of course - so he'd be convinced that he was going to meet a halfling. But how far into the future would that have been? It would've been a great question." Jim flashed a quick smile at the camera man in his passenger seat.
"Then I was going to transfer over to the Stamford branch when I got back, but I thought about it some more on the flight home. I mean, sure, it would have been a promotion - Assistant Regional Manager, Stamford Branch, absolutely no 'to the' in the title - and if I worked hard and kept climbing that ladder, I'm pretty sure I could have earned my own branch eventually, then maybe a place at Corporate... All for a company that can't quite keep up with the big box stores in a collapsing industry. You know, I didn't really want to worry about my job every day until the whole company finally fell apart."
"And so I took a job as a teacher - which is something I am completely unqualified to do - in a town so small that it makes Scranton look like New York. But on the plus side, I don't have to sell anything and I don't have to see Dwight ever again."
The drive continued in silence for a short time.
"Where do I stand with Pam?" Jim asked, looking a little uncomfortable before giving a convincing smile. "We're friends. I haven't really talked to her much since I got back from my trip. I've been a little busy with my unemployment and getting ready for the new job. But I heard she called off her wedding? Yikes. I'm not sure what happened there. But yeah, I'd still say we're friends. Why wouldn't we be friends?"
***
After parking in a motel's parking lot and checking in, Jim stopped for another talking head.
"So, we're in DC right now - I've never been here, but really, you can't go wrong seeing the sights at night from the parking lot of a Motel 6, right?" Jim shrugged his eyebrows and continued, "The plan is sleep tonight and get an early start in the morning. If everything goes well, I should actually be there on time. Maybe early."
Jim seemed to think about this for a moment. "Which would be the first time I was early for something work-related in about three years, I think. Time flies."
[OOC: Establishy!]
"Then I was going to transfer over to the Stamford branch when I got back, but I thought about it some more on the flight home. I mean, sure, it would have been a promotion - Assistant Regional Manager, Stamford Branch, absolutely no 'to the' in the title - and if I worked hard and kept climbing that ladder, I'm pretty sure I could have earned my own branch eventually, then maybe a place at Corporate... All for a company that can't quite keep up with the big box stores in a collapsing industry. You know, I didn't really want to worry about my job every day until the whole company finally fell apart."
"And so I took a job as a teacher - which is something I am completely unqualified to do - in a town so small that it makes Scranton look like New York. But on the plus side, I don't have to sell anything and I don't have to see Dwight ever again."
The drive continued in silence for a short time.
"Where do I stand with Pam?" Jim asked, looking a little uncomfortable before giving a convincing smile. "We're friends. I haven't really talked to her much since I got back from my trip. I've been a little busy with my unemployment and getting ready for the new job. But I heard she called off her wedding? Yikes. I'm not sure what happened there. But yeah, I'd still say we're friends. Why wouldn't we be friends?"
***
After parking in a motel's parking lot and checking in, Jim stopped for another talking head.
"So, we're in DC right now - I've never been here, but really, you can't go wrong seeing the sights at night from the parking lot of a Motel 6, right?" Jim shrugged his eyebrows and continued, "The plan is sleep tonight and get an early start in the morning. If everything goes well, I should actually be there on time. Maybe early."
Jim seemed to think about this for a moment. "Which would be the first time I was early for something work-related in about three years, I think. Time flies."
[OOC: Establishy!]