It has happened. No, not the hot flashes kind of change. I have a grown up job. I know, right? I have reentered the land of the commuters and cube dwellers. I have become a Dilbert cartoon or a character on The Office. I am Regina Phalange, a business women in town on business.
It has been awhile coming, but honestly, I am so grateful on so many levels for the opportunity. I know how many people are looking for work and have been unemployed for unfathomable periods. I know how many people are struggling financially and, I imagine, psychologically. I can only count my lucky stars for the perfect storm of circumstances that lead me to this position.
I am also grateful on another level. Five years ago, even three years ago, I would not have been in a position, psychologically or emotionally, to accept this opportunity. I had to learn to live with out my best frenemy booze: a toxic relationship and a difficult breakup. I have also had to navigate my way out of the quicksand that is depression. Both will be ongoing battles but I am appropriately armed now.
The workplace has not changed all that much in my absence. People are talking about last night’s television between cubes, but now it is about Jersey Shore instead of The Real World. Fantasy football has replaced the outdated betting brackets. Instant messaging now camouflages the extended gossiping that used to take place at the copier. There are still happy hours, but the drinks have gotten more expensive. Oh, and I won’t be the one who drinks too much and becomes the topic of the aforementioned gossip in this iteration of my corporate life.
It is nice to be back among the living. I wasn’t exactly under a rock, but I wasn’t really out there either. So far I am taking to my new day gig like a fish to water. Speaking of fish and other odiferous food items, going forward I will have to remember that offices are a shared environment. A giant head of cauliflower purchased at the farmer’s market during one’ s lunch hour does nothing to improve the odor of one’s cubicle nor does said odor serve as a particularly good way to start a conversation with your new colleagues/neighbors.