The Only Constant

The only constant is change.  I know I just typed that, but those aren’t my words, at least not originally.  I believe it was a Greek philosopher who may have coined that phrase some centuries ago.  I am merely restating his words and in doing so, I admit that I agree with his words wholeheartedly. 

I, like most people, do not like change.  I like things the way they are, especially when they’re comfortable and familiar, and most of the time, I’d prefer that things remain the same for as long as possible.  Sometimes change is inevitable and life always has a way of tossing us curveballs.  I guess not everything can be a fastball down the middle.  In some way, you have to be ready for whatever might come down the pipe and adjust accordingly.    

As is typically the case, work continues to be work.  Things continue to roll along and I anticipate that things will remain steady as we approach the end of 2025.  I’m still busy, but nowhere near overwhelmed.  My overtime remains intact.  I’m still putting in the work that I always have.  The majority of my immediate coworkers are still garbage.  Unfortunately, that hasn’t changed.  Even the latest addition to my work group remains one of the biggest retards in the entire office. 

Being that I continue to keep to myself to the best of my ability, I’m not privy to all the goings-on within the office.  I don’t talk to people as much as I used to.  I tend to keep my distance from most people.  I barely get up from my cubicle like I used to.  If I get up, it’s usually to go the restroom.  Sometimes I don’t even “go” when I’m in the restroom.  As it turns out, the men’s restroom is one of the coldest spots in the entire office, so there are occasions where I will go in there just to cool off.  Maybe I’ll check my e-mails in peace?  I suppose I’ll hop on Amazon or eBay for some much-needed retail therapy.  Sometimes I’ll check the scene at Open Diary, which has become a very irritating endeavor of late, given all the damn spam and pointless advertisement entries that have infected this site.  Anyway, the air conditioning on my side of the office continues to work sporadically and when it wants to, not unlike many of my coworkers.  While during these last few days the temperatures outside have dropped just a little, my side of the office remains much warmer than it needs to be.  I know once the winter temperatures are officially here, I’ll be much more comfortable and content than I am now.  There’s also a good chance that I stop complaining, about the weather and warm temperatures anyway. 

What was I talking about before I got sidetracked?  Oh yes, change in the office.  I’m not usually on top of these sorts of things because no one tells me stuff and honestly, I don’t really care about what happens in the office because much of what does happen, does not affect me in any way.  There were a bunch of empty cubicles in the office, many of which I happened to notice for the first time just last week.  Empty cubicles are nothing new in that office.  People come and people go.  It’s a thing and it’s always going to be a thing.  I’ll tell you this though.  I want to say that most of these previously vacant cubicles are now going to have new hires sitting there.  This did not take long at all.  People leave and then suddenly, you have new folks coming in to take their place.  It all happens pretty quickly sometimes.  From what I gather, many, if not all these new hires will be sitting on the opposite side of the office, so there’s a good chance that I won’t have to interact with them. 

Actually, that’s not true.  Before I continue, let me just say this.

People talk.  Word gets out.  I guess I’m a thing again, though not necessarily willingly.  I guess I’m just all of sudden open to helping again, with both new hires as well as with the office’s current group of interns. 

All it took was my taking out an intern, as well as one trainee, on different days and showing them the proverbial ropes before word got out that I know what I’m doing and that I’m at least mildly entertaining.  Now, I’m in high demand and my work schedule is no longer my own.  Make no mistake.  I’d rather revert to working alone and not having to entertain interns or trainees.  I will always favor being by myself over spending time with others.  At least when I’m by myself at work, I can leave at will.  Can’t do that anymore.  Now, I’m stuck in the office for the entire day.  I don’t want to say that I’m obligated to help anyone in the office.  Instead, I guess you could say that I am once again doing favors for certain select individuals in the office.  That’s the only way I can explain my sudden taking to having interns and trainees accompany me during my workday.  I don’t know for how long this will go on, but damn, here I am.  Maybe this ends by the end of the year?  I do not know. 

From what I’ve seen thus far, most of the trainees seem decent, at least from a distance.  If I had to say how many of these trainees may struggle or not make it at all, as of this writing, I’m counting two.  They need help, though one definitely needs more work than the other.  The interns are still students who are actively working towards earning their degrees, so I’m not as quick to criticize them like I might with the trainees.  Now, when those interns return as new hires some months later, then I’ll let the judgment and criticism flow a little more freely.  Until then, they’re just students.  They’ll either blossom into decent workers or they’ll let their entitled sides show.  It happens all the time and that entitlement shit can be quite the deal breaker. 

I may take to at least two (a different two and not the two I mentioned above who I think need help) in this current group of trainees, both of whom I see as being especially motivated and eager to learn the ins and outs of the job.  They might turn out to be decent workers once their training is completed and they’re actually doing the job.  I’m not saying that I’m right and that I see all.  At this point, maybe my gut feeling is just a hunch?  I’ll admit that I’ve been wrong before.  Still, I’d hate to think that I’m wasting my time, though once again, I will admit that I’ve wasted my time before.

Speaking of wasting time, my work group had a meeting last week, where we came together for over two hours to discuss issues that are currently plaguing internal morale and how we interact with each other as a group.  I attended reluctantly, as I typically do when it comes to these kinds of work group meetings.  Without delving into the specific details of this meeting, I’ll just say that now everything is now on the table and everyone has a good idea as to the current group dynamics that have seemingly always been there, but that are now out in the open and have been confirmed.  That is to say that I know for sure that you don’t like me.  You know for sure that I don’t like you.  The reasons behind this dislike now sit on the table, with glitter and a nice bow on it for everyone in the work group to see.  As far as I’m concerned, whatever problems exist in my work group are going to remain, until certain people leave.  People aren’t going to change.  It’s going to take people leaving the work group for any kind of change to occur.  I don’t know if any change that happens will last, but I would prefer that certain people leave the work group anyway because they suck as workers and at least three of them aren’t particularly good people.                                            

This entry ran much longer than I had intended. 

I didn’t plan to discuss work for as long as I did, but I guess I got to venting and when I looked up, I realized that I had damn near written a novel.  That was not my original intent.  I meant to go into gaming stuff and other things that are taking place around me, but this entry has already gone long enough, so I’m just going to end things right here. 

Clearly, work is still work and it still sucks.  Maybe there’s some hope for the office, but for the most part, things are still far from good.  They’re not even close to being even slightly improved. 

Any lasting positive change is still months away, if it’s going to happen at all.