Work

I would like to preface this blog with the following: I like where I work. I like two of my bosses a whole lot, and I have a special love for my coworkers. However, working the desk is new and tough for me. I've always been the mail girl during the school year and that left me with almost no interaction with new freshmen. Now as the desk attendant I find myself having to interact with them constantly through my entire shift. I get frustrated and annoyed very easily, which is not a good combination with freshmen. I find myself having to try REALLY hard to be nice to everyone of them that comes to the desk. Literally, if I don't get to work in a perfect happy mood, then these poor freshmen are doomed. So I realize that I have to look at the bright side, put on a happy face and breeze into the office full of life like nothing could possibly be bothering me. On top of that, I have to deal with Timothy. Which means that I have to act pleasant and friendly without being too friendly, because we're not friends. It's difficult for me, and I am learning.

So yesterday I was doing really good. I was nice to everyone that came to the desk. If someone got locked out I told them not to worry about it because it happens to everyone. I dutifully made copies, gave directions, answered questions and grabbed packages. All with a smiley face. All while holding my vomit down when people came by to swoon at how wonderful it was to have Timothy there.

And then, right at the end of my shift (literally 15 minutes before I got off) one of the "priviledged" freshmen came in. He came with his friend and I greeted them. Before they said anything to me back, they turned to each other to play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The loser had to talk to me. The loser then asked me for some pool equipment. I kindly told him sure, and asked for his room number, followed by his ID. He started to recite his ID number to me. "No, actually, I need to see the ID." "Why?" "Just to verify that you are who you say you are." These things I said in a pleasant voice. Honestly, I don't get much more pleasant. He then said that it was stupid, took out his ID card, and threw it at me. Not just handed it and it dropped, but THREW it at me. And I went from 0 to 60 in .02 seconds. I kept my happy face on and filled in the info we needed, and then asked for his phone number. "That's not on the card," he rudely replied. As I explained that I knew that he started reciting off his phone number to me. I gave him back his ID card, walked into the mailroom and grabbed pool equipment for him, and watched him walk off with what he came for. What I really wanted to do after he threw his ID at me and treated me condescendingly and rudely, that I had no desire to serve him an optional service and that he could wait 5 hours for the hall office to open and get it from them.

I hate freshmen. It takes every ounce of strength I have to be friendly throughout a busy, pathetically freshman shift. And the last thing I want is to be treated as less than a person by someone 3 years younger than I am, who thinks that they are God's gift to the world because they are in college.