I got kicked out of my office today. The reason: I had stayed to the unconscionably late hour of 5pm. Yes, I do work for the government.
This has never happened to me before. To be honest, my illustrious 9 year professional career can’t be totally characterized by diligence and initiative. But, of the times I’ve shown such positive traits (like, well, now) I’ve never had them countered with cross armed intransigence. You need me to leave because you need to lock the door? Rotate the knob ninety degrees and firmly pull shut; I think I can handle that – thanks.
Ok, yeah, the above comes across as whiny and petulant. That’s because it is whiny and petulant. I’m grateful to have an internship and I like the people I work with and think it will both be rewarding and look good on a resume. But still. I’m not good at acting like an intern. I’m thirty fucking one years old for the love of god. I know how to act in an office setting. I am a professional. And for the first time since entering grad school, I feel like a college student. And not in a good way.
The internship is a great opportunity and the overall goals are totally worthwhile and the people I’m surrounded by are as intelligent and professional as they are friendly. I just feel confined. And I don’t like it that much.
But talk to me again in a few days. Who knows, it all may be better. That’s the way my life rolls.
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In other news, nice try to both Jenn and Pete, but you are both sadly wrong. Although, two things….
Jenn, the library wasn’t a bad guess. It was designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, & White and is considered a great example of Renaissance-inspired design. And Pete, I didn’t even make the connection between the reflected building and the Bromo Seltzer Tower, but you’re totally right. It does look like it. An interesting side note is that the tower was a later addition to Boston’s Customs House that was built in the 1830’s-1840’s. The designer of the Customs House was a guy named Ammi. B. Young who also just happened to design Wheeler House, the home of UVM’s Historic Preservation Program.
No, my favorite building can be see to the left of the large glass tower. (is that the Hancock Building?) Trinity Church, designed by larger than life, debatably crazy, and my favorite architect – Henry Hobson Richardson. Nuance is a challenging word to throw around when talking about Richardson’s designs, but I will anyway because I’m pretentious. Trinity lacks some of the nuance of Richardson’s later designs, but it’s an unapologetic lacking. Trinity is massive, it is textured, and it is decorative. It is both fanciful and real at the same time. Richardson’s influence was such that he is considered the developer of the first true american architectural style – Richardsonian Romanesque. Instead of an adaptation of european styles, Richardsonian Romanesque was exported from the states and influenced tastes and designs in europe.
Anyway, I like the guy, I like the church, and I got to take a tour and see it from the observation deck of the Prudential Building. Lucky me.
Now it’s time for dinner where the pasta sauce will substitute soy crumbles for ground beef.
Lucky me? To be determined.
