Work.

I have decided to share with all of you the ever-increasing joys of my new job.

If you don't know or remember, I'm working at a school office for the summer. Most of the time it's just me and the principal in the school. He's interviewing for teachers for the fall right now, so sometimes the applicants will sit a minute in my office. I'm getting better at making small talk. You know things like "That rain's really coming down out there" or "Yes, this place really did used to be a Winn-Dixie" or my favorite, "Oh, the lights just do that" (More on that one later). Some people are really chatty and some people sit in a fidgety silence. Who enjoys a job interview? It' s pretty interesting being on this side of the interview, getting to see everyone who comes in, because for them, this is a nerve wracking, out-of-body experience and they will question everything they did or said as soon as they get in their car to leave in 20 minutes. (How I wish I was getting in my car to leave in 20 minutes.) But, me, I get to calmly observe their different behaviors and sometimes offer encouragement and distraction if they look like they need it. I think the principal is interviewing until the end of the month. Yay.

Amusing work anecdotes:

Anecdote 1: The lights in my office shut off every 10 minutes. They are motion activated and the sensor is by the door, so if no one comes in or out in 10 minutes then they just turn off. And I don't know how to keep them from doing this, so it happens often. So I'll just be sitting there, doing whatever, and boom, I'm in the dark. Most of the time, I don't even care that much to get back up and wave my arm around by the door so I just sit in the dark. It's funny if there's someone waiting to interview in here when it happens. People react differently to it. Looking around bewildered or just a raised eyebrow or just pretending like they weren't just plunged into darkness. So that's when I offer my line of "Oh, the lights just do that" and then go into the finer points of light-sensing mechanics. Quite stimulating. I feel it's a part of my job to reassure them that this is normal and no, they are not going crazy or experiencing a seizure of any kind.

Anecdote 2: Turkey. Turkish people. Everywhere. I have discovered that a lot of people from Turkey work at this school. The principal, vice principal, all the computer teachers and the IT guy. The IT guy is funny because he's so painfully shy and kind of won't talk to me. I don't know what that's about but oh well. So if you know anything about Turkey or Turkish customs, let me know.

Anecdote 3: My boss is strange. He's the principal. We have a serious breakdown in communication. Often. Take Wednesday for example. He had previously told me that he would not be in the office all of Wednesday so I was surprised to see him go into his office at 8:30 Wednesday morning. He came right back out, stopped by the front office (where I am) and told me that he would be at the school until 12. I repeated what he said back to him in the form of a question. "You will be here until 12?" I asked. "Yes," he replied. Then he went out the front door, got in his car and drove away. I did not see him for the rest of the day. What?!?!

I don't know about this job. Am I working for the Turkish mafia? Will I ever get paid? Why is the IT guy scared of me? These burning questions and more will soon be answered. Well, that pay check one better get answered.