November 8, 2007
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Temping Diaries
As I told mom in an email yesterday, I’ve decided to like temping. I will like it until a real job hires me. Which for some reason is taking forever. But temping lets me into worlds I wold never otherwise find myself in, which is good for a writer.
Today I stuffed envelopes for a massive cosmetics company and picked up on some interesting industry trends. Most fascinating is the probability that if your birth certificate says “Josephie” and you work in a massive cosmetics company, you probably like to be called Jo. Samanthas are Sams. Alexandra becomes Alex. In the most misguided of shortenings, an elegant name like Veronica gets smashed down into the short, fat and surly Ronnie. In an industry that propagates unrealistic images and expectations of women to maximize profits, the ladies who rule that industry choose a male pseudonym. Is the masculization of their names a shield against their own misogyny? On the other hand, the men that I met today had names like Sandy and Lauren. Go figure.
Also while temping today, I got to thinking about how gross it is that we live in a world where corporate America pays privileged American office temps like me $15 to stuff a bleeding envelope but doesn’t value non-Anglo countries enough to pay them more than a few pennies a day in a sweat shop to create our most basic goods. I mean, I knew that. But it felt different while it was happening. And as thankful as I am for a paycheck right now, it did not feel good. It felt dirty. Temping is actually my first time working in the for-profit world. It’s weird. Really weird. I miss the clean conscious I felt after a day at the Writing Center, museum, or design festival. I need a shower.
Tomorrow I’m off to work at the same cosmetics company, different office. And after, I have a whole Netflicks disk of those witty, witty Gilmore Girls to look forward to. Wash all the corporate bad away with some good scripting paired with some strange (bad?) acting. Love it.
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Did you learn a new thing today?
::Random Tangent::I love all the concern about my heinous wardrobe! Ha! You people are funny. And full of grand tips: thank you! Not to lessen my gratitude here by any means, but perhaps I should let you know why I’m not like all the other girls when it comes to getting dolled up.
Shopping is not a fun endeavor for someone like me. I’m WAY too tall for clothes and too broke to buy anything if by chance it did fit (rent trumps clothes). And women’s fashion sucks. You either get to be sexless and comfortable or rendered immobile by your “sexy” shoes/itchy, clingy fabric. Those ballerina flats that are all the rage now almost got it right too! If only they had thicker, water proof soles and didn’t cut into the tops of your feet and weren’t cut so that I walk out of them every 5th step. Living in the city means that you actually walk where you want to go. For blocks. For miles. Only ugly loafers are made for that and for looking “work-ish.”
Another reason I generally hate shopping is that I feel like shite buying things – like Payless Shoes – that I know have been made by starving child labor. Also, I just keep thinking about how much more fun I could have with my money if I was saving it for travel or buying books or buying concert/theater tickets or basically doing anything but spending it on clothes. I like fun, quirky, pretty things at little boutiques. But I don’t like them enough to fork over a huge chunk of paycheck. I do, however, like traveling enough to fork over a huge chunk of my paycheck. I may only have one dress in my closet, but that dress saw Europe with me.
Plus, the wardrobe situation is not all that treacherous. I have a weeks worth of snoring office wear, but just not the stuff that gets you hired into high-end fashion places. I wear the clothes of a woman who works at not-for-profit cultural organizations because, well, I am that woman. I look like a cute enough creative professional. I even own a tailored suit for interviews! We had to get rid of a lot of stuff when trying to get ourselves over an ocean, so my shoe situation is a bit sticky at the moment (hiking boots, running shoes, a pair of funny dress shoes with skulls on them, and tragic Payless loafers), but it will suffice until we get back on our feet again. And by that time, our feet will be overdue for a new pair of kicks.
Wow. What a rant. I’m such a dork. Ha! Good night world.
Comments (4)
Today I learned that our December graduation is not happening where we’ve been telling people it would. That was interesting. More importantly, I learned just how world-aware some of our students are. Very gratifying.
I enjoy shopping and could spend a lot on clothes if only my impulse wasn’t so strongly geared toward bargain-hunting. Sometimes I think my love of a good buy trumps anything I have resembling fashion sense. Oh well. We’ll live to survive our paradoxes.
-I learned that I really do have a major crush on the bank guy. How dumb. That and I learned about the gestation period of dogs.
p.s. how is your kitty cat doing?
I agree with you on shopping. It seems that everyone these days just goes out on mindless shopping trips, when they already have enough things.
^^ Is not lying. When I first met him, he had linked on his blog to a potential workout suit by that was on major discount. And rightfully so, it was neon lime green. A human road cone he would have been.
I kept thinking of Sedaris and all the crappy temp jobs he did and all the good writing that came from it when I read the first part. I hope it works like that for you. It seems to have a bit already.
Aw! I know that guilt and dirty feeling. All I can say to assuage it is that you had no say in the luck of the draw and you have worked to make things better and will get that chance again.
I learned something about a tiny little virus today/yesterday. Not pleasant but kind of new for me.
I remembered about your hight after I wrote that! Holy crap, I kep thinking about the possibilities. I mean you have that model form. I wonder if there is a secret sort of Goodwill for the tall and still style conscious on a budget. Now, that would be cool. Probably doesn’t exist.
The name thing is funny. Perhaps androgyny is in its hey day.