Changing the world, one glorious cup of coffee at a time
My job is not glamorous, it doesn't pay that well, but it is a job. For that I am grateful. This job has really been my first job outside of the medical community. I have worked in doctor's offices and hospitals for years and years and felt extremely comfortable there. I wondered why that was.
Then, as I began the Spring Cleaning of the office where I work ( because there is nothing to do... feast or famine and it's famine right now.... and because I work with 9 men who don't really clean up after themselves or bother to put most things away....) I realized I liked working in the medical setting because I felt I was helping people. I was making a difference in some small way. As a phlebotomist I took people's blood. They, at times, were not particularly happy about it, but if it helped them find out what was wrong, or why they were sick, then, that was a good thing.
But here, I don't really feel that i make a difference. I am an administrative assistant ( though it should be executive assistant). I work at a think tank that is a "privately funded, NGO" but I pretty much found out yesterday that the NGO part is BS, ( this isn't relelvant, I'm just adding volume here.....) Anyway we do research, create policy, and try to educate the public about it. I hope that what we do is helpful to someone. I would assume that increasing security technology at ports, subways, and at airports, etc. will help us all at some point. Or, that if enough commercial trucking companies will switch over to Dimethyl ether powered trucks, the environment will be saved and instances of regional lung cancer will decrease..... but I don't see the results of these things. I see no improvement in the world around me as a result of my work.
Except in one thing. The coffee room. We have a small kitchen in the office. There's a big conference table in it and my co-workers dump things there, or leave things there, or make a mess with their coffee there. There are huge boxes of styrofoam cups and 3 i don't know how old boxes of domino sugar packets... but I had the boss buy me a shelf, set it up and went to work cleaning the kitchen.
It is a beautiful, sparkling clean room now. I arranged all the coffee stuff and the tea etc. neatly in this shelf. I cleaned off the table. It looks great. Everyone here at work was amazed and thanked me profoudly. They were so excited about how easy and nice it would be for them to make their coffee now.
So- my contribution to the world is not healing, it is not even really researching or planning good conferences. My contribution to the world is making it easier for the coffee addicts around me to get their coffee. Am I gonna get ex-communicated for this? I hope not.
posted by Cat @ 3/30/2006 04:07:00 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Don't worry, Catherine. You're not the only enabler out there. Today I made not one, not two, but THREE trips to Caribou Coffee to pick up what I can only describe as a gallon-size box of coffee with a plastic spiket. And of course, two cups of milk.
And here's my job-related secret shame: For some reason, in my job I find a ridiculous amount of joy in a well-made binder. You know, where the tabs all line up nicely and the label is pretty? I LOVE it. I'd like to think some other law firm employees out there can relate---but probably not...
So much for making a difference, right? Maybe we should both go apply at an old folks home or something.
I don't think you should worry too much about excommunication with all of those bishops and stake presidents who grow a primary crop of barley. I suppose that there are some church approved uses of barley, but I think most of it goes to beer.
Not that vigorously training to be a blood sucking lawyer gives me any right to poke fun of someone else's career decisions!
I am so glad to hear that I am not the only "enabler" out there :)
I also appreciate your story Micah because I am in charge of actually making the coffee every morning as well... it's a little disconcerting because I used to hate the smell of coffee and now it has kind of grown on me.... :)
However, I do have my own stash of hot chocolate complete with marshmallows :) It's a great idea!!
And here is my newest complaint- my company had a $10,000+ surplus this year that we needed to spend by the end of March. Instead of dividing it up as bonuses or having a work party, you know what they spent most of it on????? COFFEE and COKE!!!!!!!!! All you caffeine addicts feel free to come here during finals. There's NO SHORTAGE here!!!!