Blog Week 92: A beached wail.
Sunday 26 August 23.28
One of our stagiaires is leaving at the end of the week. He has been particularly diligent and hard-working, impressing all he worked with. He wanted to stay as an associate, but the "powers that be" have kept their silence assuming he would stay on as a stagiaire for a while longer. So he is leaving for pastures new - one of our rivals (no less). Hairy and Shakespeare were saying how it is that firm's gain and our loss.
Monday 27 August 23.46
A lonely call came my way around lunchtime today, courtesy of the temp at reception.
It was Neanderthal: he is on holiday and it sounded like he was phoning from a beach somewhere. I thought I could hear the sea nearby and there were some kids having an argument in the background. He was agitated, perhaps because he could not speak to the people he wanted to speak to: his own secretary was not around (I think in his absence she was taking the opportunity to have an extended lunch with Barbie, Bill's secretary); Bill, who he also wanted to speak to, was also not available and neither, of course, was Barbie.
So could I do a little something for him? It was said with such an agitated tone that a mischevious thought flickered across my mind about what would happen if I did not. But that's not me and the request was simple enough. Plus it would help break up some of the monotony of this particular August. Even with the sun shining it does not feel like any sort of summer.
After I put the phone down I realised how this situation was a little bizarre: Neanderthal, totally unrelaxed on holiday, while his secretary and others were relaxing at work. So who relaxes where? I guess it depends on who you are rather than where you are.
Tuesday 28 August 23.02
My evaluation has been postponed into sometime next month. Fine by me.
Thursday 30 August 00.17
Tomorrow there is a farewell drink for the stagiaire I mentioned last Sunday. It is always nice to be invited along - although I suspect it partly is to make the numbers up (Mockney is invited too). But it is an opportunity to keep my ear to the ground.
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