Photocopier Chats And A Walk With Selma (Part 3)

Warren Plays It Quiet

Getting now to my day at work, arriving there earlier than expected and grabbing the mail from downstairs, I noticed Thao stepping into the building to which we acknowledged each other with a handshake. Barely into a couple of words, we noticed Gawain grace the hall to which he kept to himself in the presence of a gorgeously hot chick working in our building. Looking more like a missy-doll who with her red dyed hair and overly used makeup overused her flamboyance, I figured Gawain was trying to get her bad.

Catching the elevator up, Gawain said hello to Thao as I said hello to a constrained Gawain while the girl just stood there with an impeccable blank smirk on her face. Being the first upstairs before Najla, I wrote down all my little notes of the train trip on a piece of paper and with her arrival, we began upon incoming mail. In short, I had an agenda to catch up on my briefs by completing as much as possible on the day and even with one and a half hours on filing, I managed to complete four briefs, well, three and a half.

A Chat With Manny

During my morning stint of photocopying and with Jana heading over to my desk, over-dramatizing a brief that needed to be urgently photocopied, I held an undying conversation with Manny, the Lebanese guy whom I loathed to love. Being the first to say hello and continue with adjoining words, we started talking freely about work and other events that shaped our lives. Introducing myself to him again incase he forgot my name and making myself look blatant, we digressed from names to acquaintances. In all, he asked if I knew anyone from Campbelltown to which I replied, “The only one I know is Mazin”.

Not thinking at the time that this Leb could have actually been the match, he noted that this was indeed the guy in his mind to which we started talking about Naqi and how he’s gone to the loony bin. Again, I have to tell someone and I figure that these people at work are just nobodies to tell because they don’t know the entity or the facts. It’s just gossip, something interesting to note without being so melodramatic as Jana. Furthermore, he seemed to also know Jabir, nothing that he was cousin with his brother bill or something like that.

Through the day I ended up chatting with him three times as he had a large file to photocopy. With him always leaving behind what he had photocopied, I had to sort through mine and his to separate them. When taking all my photocopies back to my desk I found another stack of his medical certificates piled on the bottom and taking them over to him he just chucked them on the top of his pile saying “Who cares”.

A Wrong Name And A Lesson

Beginning upon my briefs and completing three before I had to head off for lunch at 1:00 p.m., I had plans to head down to Circular Quay and that I ended up doing. However, with Karina now being the new worker sitting where Esme used to sit (The lady who originally sat at Thalia’s desk now when we had a heap of temps at the start of my stint), I figured that she was lingering around, waiting for me to walk out so we could have lunch together.

However, that didn’t end up happening and neither did my hope of taking a chance and asking Calla out to lunch to which I found out today that her name really is Selma, whoops. Apart from the wrong name all this time, I’ve learnt a valuable lesson in life and from Ally Mcbeal last night. Life is too short to fool around, I have to take some chances in life, learn not to care and just not worry about the repercussions.

I should concentrate more on the actions instead of the “What if” that would be plaguing my mind for the rest of my reflective life. I don’t want to be this lone rider for the rest of my life, I want someone on the back of this baby to guide me through the grandeur of life.

Teriyaki At Circular Quay

Lunch itself wasn’t too spectacular a depiction but as I’m keeping up appearances, might as well jot it down. Heading out at 1:00 p.m. for lunch, I made my brisk walk to Wynyard station to which I bought skin free chicken Teriyaki and caught the train to Circular Quay. Jumping off and looking at the street buskers of the new millennium, I sat myself down in the warm park digging into my Teriyaki, thinking to myself that I should have brought along my glasses.

Munching the last of my food, I headed for a brisk walk through the wharves, thinking to myself that it would be nice to catch a ferry from Circular Quay to Darling Harbor, eat my food on the boat and then take a walk back to work from there. With these thoughts in mind, I jumped back on the next available train and buying a drink from downstairs, headed back up to my section to begin some more work upon briefs and filing.

Najla Skips The Filing

Speaking of filing, for the whole day Najla didn’t touch hers again and considering she only has eight briefs left to do and me eighteen, she should have at least one week to get it all down in the near future. However, with her lazy attitude and my predictions, I foresee her not lifting much of a finger next week. Rather, when all her briefs are done she’ll sit there whinging about some little problem or she’ll begin work on next months briefs way too early.

If Najla ends up doing the latter then she’ll be way ahead for the months briefs thereafter to which she’ll eventually have to take a break and attend to filing.

Jana Questions My Delivery

When back from lunch I headed on a delivery to Martin Place on request from Shayma who wanted me to deliver an update. With Najla and Jana in my immediate area, Jana made some comment about not being able to find a file and in her humor which wasn’t that funny, I blurted out “See you later”, clutching a wrapped up brief in my hand. The delivery didn’t take me long at all to which I noted to the Receptionist that she was always on the phone.

Taking enough courtesy to now say goodbye to me on the way out, I headed back to work and noting that Najla and Jana were standing around chatting to each other, I knew Jana’s concerned expressions would be about me. “Oh, here’s the man in question” Jana remarked as I uttered “What did I do now”. Asking me twenty questions about the update I had just delivered and if anyone had sent me out for it, I told Jana of its necessity to which she then withdrew her concern.

Jana and Najla seemed to be speaking about it being unnecessary for us to be hand delivering brief updates, figuring it’s a common practice between us to get away from some work. Truth is, this request from Shayma has been the first brief update hand delivered in a while. This just goes to show how much awareness Jana is shedding into our department.

She blames me for the mess of filing, I get picked on for my briefs and now because I tend to most updates, the both of them are having a little discussion about the problems that this could create where in fact I had no reoccurring tardiness permitting me to much hand deliveries. I can understand how that girl that Thalia knows quit work because she couldn’t stand Jana’s attitude, you either love her or you hate her and each day I’m sitting on that fence waiting to fall either way.

Chatting With Selma

During my day at work today, I also had continuing chats with Selma to which when passing her on my way back to my section from the kitchen, I stopped to say hello. Both our faces brightened up with anticipation as I stopped upon her walking up to me and then turned back towards the kitchen so that we could carry on the conversation in relative privacy. Chatting away for five minutes where the talk was again about the Pontoon Bar and how I was invited tomorrow.

However, I know that I would never really feel welcome, feeling more comfortable if we have lunch together tomorrow. Nevertheless, I felt satisfied when Selma advised me she would probably be heading into work on Thursday to say hello to a couple of friends to which I might be one of them. What also surprised me is how Selma noted she wouldn’t be leaving back for England until December. Hoping that her choice would have been touched upon her desire to get to know me better (I might be dreaming), only tomorrow and my courage to ask her out to lunch will tell.

Selma and I seem to be finding each other in the right places at the right time of a day now. For example, when heading home I found us catching the same lift down together to which we started upon a conversation downstairs. Being with Najla, I thought I had an obligation to make her feel like part of something I wasn’t too overzealous on speaking with Selma. However, I was impressed by the fact that Selma told me she had to stick behind to say goodbye to her friends and seconds later, she caught back up with us and done the proper thing, started conversation.

Introducing Najla And Selma

Najla seemed a dismal sight keeping spaced and to herself as I was engorged in conversation with Selma but as we crossed the road I soon introduced the both of them to each other. Casually I said “This is Najla and this is Calla, or is it Selma”. Looking at me with a little smile and noting that it was indeed Selma, in this inadvertent way I’d shed the burden upon her shoulders that she was too kind to note. In our brimming conversation never in err we talked about her having to head to her part time job as a waitress now.

Reminding me exactly of that girl from Scotland who used to work with HIH at the start (The tall girl with the long legs and red shirt I think), Selma explained how she needed two jobs to save up money for her next trek to Ayers Rock. Explaining how she’d been working hard at HIH I mentioned that they should give her a bonus at the end of the day tomorrow but we both knew that wouldn’t happen.

Heading to the station, Najla seemed to cart off forward by herself distancing herself but as we all regrouped, Selma ended up heading over to a donut store where I had seen the blonde in the morning. Heading through the gates I said goodbye to Najla and then jumped on my train for the rest of the trip home. In regards to my train trip, there wasn’t anything really interesting as I slept for most of the way and had a view of one decent girl but apart from that, nothing.

Small Moments Before Bed

With the time almost reaching midnight and my having a couple more things to say about today, I won’t be able to shed any light on Friday to which my plans have been thwarted for another night. Anyway, bidding an end to the chronicles of today, I’ll just note how Ottilie also came over to our desk asking for pink string to which she noted I smelled nice. “The smell is nice and not overpowering” she noted to the fragrance of my Lynx Africa. This might be old news but Ottilie is leaving within a week or two to which she has already handed in her resignation.

There was also Anneliese who came over to our area looking for a file and in sarcasm exclaimed “Have you ever had one of those days where you just love coming to work” emphasizing the word love. Letting out a laugh I noted how I emphasized with her woes to which she also let out a laugh and dragged herself back off. Then there was the comment from Karina who has a knack of making herself seem morbidly weird. She brought up the prospect of our needing bunks under our tables so we could just take naps at lunch or through the day and the weird thing about it is she was being serious.

From Monday, I wasn’t too sure of Karina’s name until Thalia actually came over to our desk and spoke her name in reference. That lay to rest much question from Najla who kept whispering to me “What’s her name” to which I should have known but have a bad memory. Anyway, the time is now 11:42 p.m. and well enough to turn off this computer and sleep away this full stomach of pumpkin and fish.