In my own work I am so singleminded I didn't realize (for years!) that other people noticed me much or even paid more than cursory attention to what I was doing. I used to get almost as irritated by a compliment as I might by criticism. It's MY job, I figured- stop being so nosey. Silly me. Not that I'm some bigshot. But, for better or worse, people DO tend to see me as a neighborhood institution after 10 years on the job.
So I feel rather sheepish watching other people work. And not just because it seems like such a private activity to me. I probably also feel a bit guilty (is that the word?) for not working on Wednesdays anymore myself. Of course, another part of me celebrates that fact with great joy each week!
And it's not that I go out of my way to watch people toiling away at their desks. But our downtown apartment is surrounded by office buildings. It's mixed-use zoning down here, with plenty of condo conversions to be sure- but many buildings are still used for commercial purposes. So really I can't help but look out the window and see how working people spend their days. ;)
Wednesday mornings I'll sit at the little table in our apartment and look out at the great wall of offices across the empty lot below us, as I (leisurely!) eat my breakfast. First, if I'm up early for tennis, I see the cleaning people walk the open spaces between cubicles, pushing giant garbage bins ahead of them as they slowly make their rounds across the floors. After about 8am, the desks start to fill up randomly as people take up position in front of their computer terminals. And finally, just before 9 o'clock, a stream of administrative assistants converge on the entrance below, and moments later they too arrive at their desks to start the work day.
By then I'm off to the gym myself. Which, because its on the third floor and on a different side of our building, gives me another view where I can't help but watch people work.
No comments:
Post a Comment