Wednesday, July 12, 2006

On engineers and vampires

As I step into my sixth week of hell employment, I've gained more and more insights into the nature of my job and also the people around me.

Job wise, I'm starting to bear responsibilities regarding the product I'm supposed to take care of, which is a controller that is used in automobiles. Yes, Cars. Lightning McQueen probably had a piece of me, or will be. My basic job is to carry out improvements and cost reduction, but any further description about it here would probaby bore you to death.

People wise, now that's the interesting part. Although I've never been an extremely 'people' type (unlike some of my colleagues who truly excel at the art of PR, rare for an engineer), I've never felt bored observing people. Observation is where you get to know them (or at least their face value). Of course I always run the risk of judging a book by its cover; one has to be cautious when it comes to this.

I guess they will never lack interesting characters in an organization, especially a large one like this. First up to catch your eye are the queer ones. There's the guy who wears white T's to works every single day; his entire wardrobe must have been purchased in one go. Then there's this new girl who just looks too damn pretty to be an engineer, and everytime I see her she seems to be chewing on something. Gum, I suppose. Not to mention the super-'in' guy with blond hair and styles a pair of shades while working; he'd probably look more at home at a design house than an engineering firm.

Of course, there are the workaholics. My boss for example. I've been leaving the office past 7 for the past week, and yet I never fail to see him working way past office hours. Being a manager sure isn't easy, the amount that you sacrifice goes in line with the amount you get paid. Well, at least he's a nice guy and deserves the respect that he gets.

Oh, and what's a good movie without the bad guys? There are some who just don't get my liking. The fact that you're being two-faced (or I think you are) just pisses me off. To hell with all the sweet talk and buddy chat. You all can fuck off for all I care. Fortunate that I haven't met with many of these type...yet.

It isn't easy being an engineer. No wonder HR's been giving all these brainwashing talks to convince us that we should spend our lifetime in the office. Balanced lifestyle? Team building? Company benefits? That's just a way of saying, "I give you a day off, so you need to put in 100 days more for me".

Doesn't sound right, right? And the funny thing is, it works.

* * * * * * * *

I'm totally immersed in The Historian, written by Elizabeth Kostova. It's about a young woman who goes in search of her father, whom she believes is being pursued by the evil Dracula. A wonderful mix of fact and fiction. Barely halfway through the 800 pages and I'm already hooked on it. Beats the Underworld and Van Helsing movies anytime.

Let's just hope I can finish it before I get carried off by a giant bat and get bitten in the neck and transform into an undead being thus craving for blood and go on to suck the red stuff out of every living being on the planet.

On second thought, that's not such a bad idea, huh?

Technorati tags: Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian

thought completed at 11:07 PM | 0 comments

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